Simplicity –

This is one of the essential techniques to make life easier and more enjoyable as well; practicing this method in all walks of life will avoid mental confusion and untidiness too.  Keeping things which are in frequent use and removing the unwanted things will keep your space tidy while buying things whether it is clothing or daily supplies, buy only things you need.  Do not stuff your stomach with all that you crave, instead eat what your body needs.  Physical exercise is important, do not leave any opportunity to walk around, it can keep you fresh and elevate your mood.  It is good to have a clear awareness about what’s your necessities, comforts, and luxuries in life, it keeps differ from person to person.  We have every right to treat us with luxuries once in a while, so don’t be a miser.  Cooking meals at home will keep you engaged; most importantly it will keep your health safe in your hands.  Never leave the thirst to build up knowledge, give up interest in accumulating material possessions; otherwise, later you possibly will feel that they are an absolute burden in your life.  We are ordinary human beings; we have a lot of flaws, it is necessary to work on our weakness, focus on your priorities, I would certainly advise  keeping journal about your life and passion is something you will love to look back, interesting fact is that you can be your own, you need not wear a mask while writing about yourself, you can be a genuine and you have all the freedom to write about your interests, fears, weakness, and strength, the happiness out of that moment is praiseworthy, especially when you have ample time of your own.  Money and time are precious and limited, make good use of both.

Wisdom –

Our revered spiritual Master Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa has an exquisite ability to teach the greatest of values with simplicity.  This is one of the examples to differentiate common sense and wisdom.  Master was giving a simple practical lesson to teach his three disciples about wisdom, he instructed each disciple one at a time to go to the adjoining room and drink a glass of milk and return to his chamber.  The first disciple went to the closed room and saw three glasses of milk kept in golden, silver and a glass made of a mixture of alloy, copper, bronze, and tin respectively, he had milk from golden glass and happily returned to Master, the second disciple went to the room and saw the golden glass was empty, he noticed silver and  metal glass filled with milk, he was a bit disappointed for not  getting an opportunity to drink milk from a golden glass, but never mind, he had milk from a silver glass, the third disciple went to  the room and saw  gold and silver glasses are empty, but the mixture of metal glass is full of milk, he was completely distraught,  though he was disappointed thoroughly, he sincerely followed his Master’s instruction and returned to him.  When Master asked their experiences of consuming milk, first disciple was extremely happily to have milk from golden glass, second one was satisfied to have milk from silver glass, and the third one was uncontrollable with tears.  Master replied that all three glasses were filled with the same flavored milk with saffron and cardamom, but their experience of consuming the milk was completely different,  because they three gave importance to the glasses in which they consumed the milk, they did not give importance to the flavored milk they had in common.  Therefore, the moral is wise people do not think about the texture of the glass, they value the content in it.

The shocking revelation is that many of us forgets to appreciate what we have in our lives, three fourths of our lives we spend in finding what is lacking in our lives,  like the third disciple without knowing the value of the content.

Emotional dependency –

Emotional dependency can be described as the requirements of physical as well as mental support.  It can be out of likeness or affection or love or sense of insecurity or lack of confidence, whatever may be the reason, and it is not a great idea.  It is like an emotionally or physically dependent on somebody to calm down you, is it welcoming?  Definitely, it is not feasible in everyday life.  My mom uses several tricks to boost our personality while we were kids, especially when we meet with silly accidents like knock down ourselves, or finding difficulty in performing any minor tasks, she won’t pay any attention to us, but we could sense that she will be in reach anytime, If she is ignoring means, it is a silent saying ‘I am there for you, you can do it by your own.’  It is a warning sign that we should try to stand up ourselves or we have to help ourselves to resolve the task.  Not only me, but most of the Moms out there also train their children in this way to boost their confidence and persona if not rushing to every need of a child is like poisoning a child.  Therefore, one  thing is sure that we do not require emotional or physical support to live on this planet, we are mentally and physically strong and capable to perform our tasks,  we can handle our needs very well without any external support, we all are very well custom-made to this practice from early years of life.  The needs of physically challenged people are not included; they always have a special place in everyone’s heart.

You are your best friend!

You read it right.  Ours is a fast-moving life, all have their own dreams to chase, work to finish, hobbies, and passion to discover, earn to meet necessities of life, comforts, and luxuries of life, a few people like me would find heaven in solitude, only a  few have time to check on you.  Somebody focusing on own self is not ‘introvert’ or ‘reserved’, they are not people with lack of confidence or depressed, they just do not want to talk to anyone, I would say they are way too intelligent, because there are lots of benefits in this attitude, it will give ample time to be your own, gives a chance to know who you are, what’s your strength and weakness, what are your beliefs, how to improve yourself etc… Do extroverts get time for all these? Yes, because I do both, I have experienced pros and cons of both the approach.  Therefore, I do not agree that DNA contributes a person to be ‘introvert’ or ‘extrovert’.  You have always two choices before you, either be chatterbox or reserved, I enjoy being both.  I can be a good listener too, I do fruitful conversation as well as silly talks, I avoid people who engage in constant conflict, arguments,  wears mask in public. 

Realities of life –

Life is not a bed of roses, it has thorns too.  Everything in life is temporary, our priorities, aspirations, needs, dreams, achievements, fame, hostility, anger, jealous, attitude, including us.  We never stop chasing our dreams, but our priorities and needs keep changing over the period of time.  The biggest truth is that ‘Time has the greatest influence on everything.”  The simple thing is that our greed drives the economy and vice versa, money is essential because nothing will work without it, but money is not everything.  Our lives are predestined, we have the right to live in the present, past and future are not ours.  Education is essential, it is not the key to success, unless and until if you do not know how to put it in use, because many are having a long list of titles behind their names if you cannot utilize it sensibly, it remains a title forever.  Never take your life for granted, there are many out dreaming of having your life.  Have you heard of saying that ‘I am thinking of doing that and doing this….’ Never be like that, if your notion is perfect, do it right now, do not wait for the right moment, sometimes the right moment may not come.  Learn to meet failures and success in the right spirit, both are unavoidable, steer your mind with loads of positive thinking.

Emotional Intelligence –

Living beings are shackled with emotion, some people handle their emotions in a matured way, some are not aware of it, does not matter, one thing we should agree that we all are emotional creatures, our reflection of thought, communication, and delivering duties are based on emotion.  Emotional intelligence is awareness of self and others, ability to recognize the emotion of oneself and others as well, understanding weakness and strength, understanding the mood of the person on the current situation, taking pause before acting or thinking, can help you to avoid an embarrassing situation, it helps to refrain from taking major decisions of life-based on the sudden rush of emotion.  You need not control your thoughts or emotions, let it flow as usual, but you can control your reaction to it, eg: A bird landing on your head is unavoidable, but you can make sure it is not building nest.  No one takes harsh criticism on the right spirit, but the interesting fact is that it gives us great opportunity to grow, therefore never ignore criticism, I have learned so much from criticism, I always look into it with a positive spirit, sometimes with a plainness or annoyance.  Authenticity is very important, sticking on your values and principles also equally important, I am aware of the fact that everyone will not appreciate my thoughts, although some may agree with it.   Be empathetic, understand others feelings, try to fit in their shoes to understand the situation thoroughly, instead of judging or labeling them, empathy is understanding another person’s point of view, not agreeing to it.  Never be a miser to appreciate others upon good work which needs a pat on the shoulder, encourage with constructive feedback, not destructive.  Demonstrate humility, apologize for your mistakes, it needs courage and strength to do so.  Forgive and forget, though it is not so easy, but we all can strive to achieve it.  Keep up your word, follow your commitment sincerely, and always be willing to help others in need.

Moss gardening –

Now a day’s who is having time to maintain a garden, but we all need little green in our homes to elevate our mood, all you need a little space in your balcony to grow mosses.  An interesting fact is that mosses are drought-resistant plants on Earth.  It can be seen in the forest area, Creekside, wet trees, and garden areas; they preferably grow in humidity and steady moisture.  If you are getting mosses from nearby creek area or forest area or from gardener it would be ideal to plant in your home balcony.    All you have to do is collect some mosses from trees or forest areas or creek, keep it in a zip-lock bag.  Take a blender, mix two glasses of water with an equal quantity of buttermilk and top up with these mosses you have collected, blend it well, your moss mixture is ready.  You can paint this mixture on your balcony wall or on the flower pot and keep it in shade for few days, you will notice mosses start growing all around, make sure to keep it in shade for the first few days, let it grow, once it is ready it can survive in any temperature.  These mosses have no lengthy root, all they need is to moisture and nutrition for survival that they will absorb from air, they absorb unwanted air particles, smoke, and bacteria and it restores within it.  It is a natural air purifier, it makes the air clean and free of toxin, it stabilizes room temperature in a pretty well manner.