Who enjoys life?

As I am walking to burn off my calories, I see him eating crumbs of left over to gain those calories

As I try to figure out a way to entertain myself, I see him fight desperately to keep his life going

As my eyes are in search of sensuous pleasure, I see his eyes begging for some sleep

As I try to figure out the best restaurant for dinner, I see him pleading with his wife to cook from whatever is left

 

As I am worried about my looks, I see his desperate attempt to survive

As I am worried about my future plans, I see his worry about living the next moment

As I am worried about my status in society, I see his worry about acceptance

As I am worried about my personality, I see him worry about livelihood

 

Oh, Is there a leveler between me and him?

Something that would compensate his paucity to my lavishness

As I look upon his dimming eyes, I see a glimmer of hope

A ray of delight that streams from his attitude to live for “Today”

Your life changes when you find real love

Life without someone to love you unconditionally is a pain. Take it from me, it is absolutely sucking to live a life without loving someone and being loved by someone. The emptiness that you feel inside is a manifestation of the void in your heart for those drops of love that your soul earnestly longs. In this post, let us take a look at how your life can change when you find real love.

Some turn to money and others to sex and other stimulants to fill this void but only find a temporary relief in them. The root cause, which is the scarcity of love still lingers on, unaddressed and looming large…

You imagine how comforting it would be if you have a loving shoulder to lean on when you are down, someone just caressing your hair, kissing your forehead and saying that everything would be alright and that they would be with you until the end.

The biggest problem in today’s world is looking for love around with a wrong intention, without considering mutual benefits and just looking at it as a narcissist. In this hi-tech era, there are enough social media and dating sites that offer you plethora of choices to bond, but not with the right intention as lust gains prominence over love.

Yes, as human beings, we have all the feelings, feelings of joy, despair, lust, love, anger, greed and what not….If someone says that they don’t have these feelings, then they should be from another world. But, how we control these feelings without harming others and derive mutual benefits out of it is what helps the most in life.

If you want love, offer love first and this is the most important secret. The world longs for love and you see people all around starved for love. Connect with people and just listen to their heart and you will find that behind the hardened countenance that they present outside, there is a very delicate being inside that longs for love.

Trust is another important factor in finding love. You need to be truthful in any relationship. What it means is that you need to really love others with an intention to help them rather than just expecting something for your personal gains.

We have an inclination to love good looking and charming people and most of the time, it is not love but lust and hence it will not last long. Go and connect with people without bothering about outside appearance or beauty and you will for sure find true love.

Not everyone is privileged with loving parents or spouses though there are a few who have this great asset. But for others, who miss out on this aspect, find someone who could love you, guide and motivate you all the time. It is a very tough world and you need love to keep going!

 

A tribute to womanhood

 

Those sweet talks that melt your heart!
Those lavish smiles that crush your worries
That gentle walk that excites your spirit
That lovely look that nourishes your wounded soul

Those silent whispers that caressed your ears
Those chirpy giggles that made you laugh
That troubled voice that made you to cry
That flowing tears that pierced your heart

That beauty that draws you like honey
That charm that stuns you with adoration
That warmth that makes you super confident
That concern that makes you forget your trouble

God made woman for man
Together they are made for God
In this order lies the power
To change and transform this world!

Love and respect women
Treat them with care and respect
Provide them the honour they deserve
To make this world a better place to live

Their real power is in their patience
Their real strength in their persistance
Respect and adore women for what they are
God’s own agents to preserve the world!

http://www.lifejottings.org

A very simple technique to relax

In this fast paced world, everything is based on money. The predominant reason for the high level of stress is nothing but money. “Money is like honey” for many of us, it is sweet, intoxicating, fulfilling and serves as a way to supress those inner thoughts that cry out for liberation.

How many of us take time to relax ourselves? Relaxation doesn’t mean that you need book one of those costiliest sea side castles, pack off, land there and have a great time. Even, the well planned vacations are turning out to be stressful these days. The reasons for stress are out of scope for this article, but I want to press on the need for relaxation in our lives.

Relaxation is more mental than physical. What this means is that you don’t have to be in your most cherished surroundings to feel relaxed. During relaxation, you give rest to your hard working and highly abused brain that is being tossed here and there in the context of idea, strategies, intelligence, knowledge etc…many don’t realize that these words also put so much pressure on us that we are forced to prove to the world that we are something special.

I am going to teach you two simple relaxation techniques that would help you to wind down on your stressful thoughts and feel relieved off your tension and stress. You don’t need to move away an inch from your place to do this. Isn’t that interesting? Here we go…

1. Sit in a comfortable position, preferably in a dim lit room. Stretch your hands and legs out, close your eyes and remain silent for 2 minutes. Now, board the thought wagon that would help you to revisit each year of your life, starting from your earliest childhood day that you can remember. You need to just visualize what happened then, who were your best buddies, what you did in your school, your crushes over the course of time, your college days, those mischievous activities that you were part of. Keep travelling in your thoughts and think about your achievements during your studies, what you were good at, the appreciations that you got, your search for a job, the early years of your job….there is no limit..keep travelling till you feel satisfied. This exercise will not only help you to relax, but would act as a great self analysis tool that would unearth so many of your hidden attributes.
2. The second trick is also simple and the physical position remains the same. Now, you need to think about your favorite vacation spot in the world. Imagine that you have checked into the best resort in that location and are being pampered in the spa or visualize yourself lying on the beach with the waves kissing your feet. Your visualization need to be so powerful that you think that you are physically present in that place for some time. I am sure you will feel a lot relieved after this.
3. The third is also a visualization technique and the physical stance remains the same. Now, imagine you have become the person you have wanted to be. For e.g, if you wanted to become a business tycoon, visualize yourself to be one such and just keep enjoying each and every moment that you can associate with that “person whom you wanted to be”. This will help you to reduce your anxiety and feel more confident.

These are not permanant cures for any of your problems, but definitely will help you to feel good and relax yourself for some time. Try this out and enjoy your life!

The dangerous craving for junk food

“Kolluppu Aappam” or “Aappam high on fat”, a dish advertised prominently in a restaurant. Aappam is a south Indian dish which is considered to be very healthy as it is steam boiled in a pan. It is very surprising to see how some restaurant owners can corrupt it with fat (Goat’s fat) to make it a completely unhealthy proposition altogether.

What is even more surprising is the fact that there are people who might want to try out this dish and get addicted to it in due course of time. We are living in an era where lifestyle related diseases especially cardiovascular diseases are on the rampage especially among the younger generation. Health enthusiasts repeatedly advise people to be very careful on their cholesterol intake, but these alarms have not reached the seemingly deaf ears of many.

A day spent in the the atmosphere of a coronary care unit of a hospital would pass on one of the most important messages to this generation. If your heart gets messed up, you would have to pay for it so heavily both in terms of pain and money.

Why am I writing all these? Not without a reason. I have witnessed and experienced the damage unhealthy eating can cause to an individual. There have been days in my life where I have ate like an animal from roadside eateries, just gobbling up anything and everything. The result was a fat and ugly look coupled with stress and hypertension.

I had to work very hard to get out of this terrible habit of relishing on unhealthy and junk food. You need to jog for 15 minutes to burn out the calories added by eating a cookie. Then, I would leave it to your imagination on how much physical activity you would have to do if you eat fried chicken, extra cheese Pizza and Burger, ghee rich Biryani etc

Folks, I am not threatening or blowing a doomsday trumpet. My desire is that you have to live long enough to achieve something in this world and make your tribe happy. God has gifted us with a body and entrusted us to take care of it properly. If we deliberately keep damaging it, then the result is inevitable.

You can feed upon these cravings once in a while and I am not against it. But, if this is your lifestyle, you may have to rethink about it. Coronary bypass graft, Angioplasty etc should be the words that should come to your mind if you get tempted by these high cholesterol foods again and again.

A new wave of organic food is hitting hard on the culinary habits of our generation. I will write about it in another post. Till then, say “No” to junk food to save your heart and from breaking the hearts of your loved ones!

Software engineers need to be more smart with handling money

Yesterday morning, I stepped in to a famous vegetarian restaurant in Chennai on the IT highway along with my wife for breakfast. As it was their self-service section, I went to the cash counter and ordered 1 plain dosa and 2 mini coffees. I wanted to drink only a coffee as I had already eaten at home and wanted my wife to have a dosa and coffee. The cashier asked me to pay 136 rs and handed over the bill. I gave him two 100 rs notes.

I never verify the bills and for that matter don’t count the change received either, and I am sure this is the case with most of the people working in IT. We don’t give much importance to small amounts of money!. I don’t know why but I had an unusual glance at the two bills (one for dosa and another for coffee). It worked out to only 86 rs. I told the cashier that it is only 86, for which he said 2 dosas and 2 coffees is 136. I told him that I asked for 1 dosa and two coffees and the bill also reflects the same 50rs bill for dosa and 36 rs bill for coffee. He was stumped and asked me how much I gave him. I said 200 and then he returned back 114 rs change. You see how smart these guys are!!!! All the vice presidents, super managers etc become fools in front of them.

Though, it is a small incident, it reflects two very important things

1. Whenever dealing with money, it is very important to verify even to the extent of a single rupee. We don’t get money just like that. It is all hard earned through long work hours with high amount of  mental pressure.
2. There will always be someone who would be a habitual cheat. They could be in the petrol bunks, restaurant cash counters or anywhere for that matter. It is our responsibility that we should not become a sitting duck in their hands. Don’t hesitate to raise your voice when you see injustice being meted out to you!

It is only because of software engineers, many of the business ventures thrive, starting from the road side tea shop to multi cuisine restaurants to those exotic luxurious furniture showrooms. I am not blaming our desire for materialistic pleasure, but advocating the importance of taking responsibility for our own money and spend it in a wise manner. I resolved to put this into practice every day so that I too become a little more responsible in matters of money!

 

What does various experiences in life teach you?

At times, in our lives, we are taken through a varied range of experiences comprising of thrill and joy on one side to sadness, fear, solitude and anger on the other side. The negative experiences transform a few but also shake and destroy others. How is it that certain individuals are able to withstand all the negative experiences that they go through whereas some crumble easily by its impact?

The secret lies in how you prepare yourself to face the adversities that come your way. I have seen that the most resolute people are those who keep their emotions perfectly under check. They don’t get carried away by their emotions, both positive and negative. In other words, they won’t be jumping for joy or bundle into gloom by the transient moments of life

When water dashes on a structure made of rock, it can move or displace the rock from that place, but never break it. The same water can just wash away a structure made of sand in no time and leave no traces of its existence. The secret lies in how it is built. Laying a strong foundation for life is very important in the same way as how a strong foundation for a tall building matters a lot.

What does experiences in life teach you?

1. Never be too emotional on anything – We all need to show our emotions, but in a very calculated manner. If you want to win over the world, you need to remain calm and focussed when the world expects you to be enraged. A confused and enraged mind cannot think.

2. Never badmouth anyone – We all live in a fast paced world where yelling and blatantly accusing someone is not uncommon. Be it the motorist who cuts your lane or the customer service executive who frustrates you, you have no right to bad mouth anybody. This will leave you more bruised and broken than the person who was at the receiving end.

3. Never compromise on integrity – You can stand with your head high if you have not cheated or taken advantage of anyone. Make sure you are truthful to your own conscience and follow all the rules and regulations properly.

4. Have Less expectations – You will feel broken if someone whom you have trusted much chooses to ignore you when it really matters. Always remember that nobody is obliged to help you and if they do, accept it gratefully. Learn to do things on your own. Choose to travel the tough path and don’t settle for short cuts

5. Don’t exploit anyone – There will be times when you get an opportunity to take advantage and exploit people. Never do it as time machine will pace itself in such a way that you too will be exploited by someone at a later point of time.

6. Don’t promise blindly – when you assure or promise someone, make sure that you would be practically able to fulfill it. A promise unfulfilled will create the most embarassing situation for you when you meet that person the next time

7. Be patient – This is a very difficult virtue to follow but trust me, people who are patient will definitely have the last laugh in everything

8. Avoid quarrel – Take all efforts to avoid quarrels in relationships. It is perfectly ok to go down and apologize or give up an argument to save yourself from a dampening a relationship.

9. Don’t give in to attractions – You may be attracted by a lot of things and also people. Don’t pay too much attention to it and feed your mind with unnecessary thoughts. Always remember that the more garbage that you put in, it becomes very difficult to clean it up. Why make a mess?

10. Its not the end of the road – There is always a chance to turn things around and make a come back. Don’t take any impulsive decisions in life and finish it off. Stay calm and focussed. Find the right people, be mentored and motivated by them and make a strong come back to your life

I would like to close this with an analogy. Gold is subjected to a very rigorous process and put through a very hard treatment before it glitters and is highly valued. As individuals, we too need to be toughned up and cleansed from every angle so that we become people of high value and make a great contribution to this world. Cheer up!

Everyone does these things but will never agree

1. In every home, there is a quarrel. But, people prefer not to talk about it with others

2. Every person, even those whom you consider as an epitome of sacrifice have a few selfish ambitions.

3. There are certain secret thoughts and desires inside every human mind (These desires might include every single thought which a normal human mind can perceive). Some speak about it openly while others keep it to themselves to maintain their image.

4. Every single person has the desire for money, but will say that they are not money minded

5. Most of the help done by people will definitely have an ulterior motive behind it. It will mostly be selfish. I say selfish because sometimes you do things just to feel good.

6. Everybody would have committed certain big blunders but when you commit one, they would act as if they are the smartest people on earth

7. Inside the heart, everyone want others to fail. But, will seldom reveal this.

8. If a neighbor becomes prosperous, there would always be this jealous feeling for a while. This happens to everyone, but people will act as if they are happy for others.

9. Every single soul has a bloated ego in one way or the other. You need to really analyze the motive behind their actions to understand it

10. People say that they don’t like to poke their nose into other’s affairs. But, in fact, they will only think about the personal matters of other people all the time.

11. Everyone would like to get more likes and shares on social media. Even upvotes on Quora. You know what they will say “We don’t care about what others think about us”

12. Everyone is attracted to someone who looks good, but always say “Looks doesn’t matter”

13. Everyone thinks that they are irreplaceable, but would say that they are nothing and others are better

14. Everyone gets annoyed, frustrated, anxious, angry and disappointed at various points of time. The “calm and cool demeanor” which is projected outside is not always the reflection of the internal state of mind.

The fact of the matter is every human being is weak in certain areas. Nobody can be perfect. How you manage those weak areas without revealing it to others to dent your image is the key to your survival. They call this as “diplomacy”.

13 things you can do to improve your life in the next 5 years

Sometimes we go through a state of mind where everything in life has come to a standstill. You want to do so many things, yet are not sure on what to do and when to start. you want to achieve big things in life but have so many questions and confusions. Here is a list of practical things that you can start doing today and will help you over the next 5 years of your life

1. Learn to control the usage of social media because it is a time sucker. Though, most of the time you intend to use it positively, invariably you end up using it just to kill the time. The usage of social media is turning out to be an outrageous addiction which people are finding very difficult to overcome.

2. Start working hard and have the patience to wait until you succeed on something. Don’t jump ships quite often. It requires strenuous effort to master something. Be ready to put in that effort if at all you want to get over the competition around you.

3. If you are addicted to too much of video games, television watching, movies and other entertainment stuff, learn to control it so that you don’t waste your valuable time. If you have too much time for these activities, then you are missing on the life’s plan.

4. Plan to involve in some physical activity daily. Be it sports, running, walking, swimming or going to the gym. Come out of your sedentary lifestyle

5. Learn to speak with people whom you don’t know either in person or over the phone. Volunteer to introduce yourself and pick up conversations. You need to learn the art of networking. Kick off that shyness that is in you.

6. You can think of starting something on the side to earn money. It could be selling over the internet or providing your expertise during your spare time.

7. Have a very disciplined and great spiritual life. Allocate time to talk with God every day. This will help you to stay on course in the midst of trials that may come anytime.

8. Never fall for the trap of earning quick and easy money.

9. Plan for visiting some interesting places on earth with your family and friends. Unleash the spirit of adventure hidden in you by trying out activities like marathon, cycling and trekking

10. Read, read and read. Yes, you need to read more and more in the coming days to keep yourself updated with vital information. Introduce a reading schedule in your day to day life.

11. Make it a point to spend quality time with those whom you love and build relationships.

12. Make sure you eat right and avoid unhealthy food as much as possible.

13. Volunteer for a social cause and create an impact in the community.

Is your life really counting up? Read and explore

I was speaking to a group of exciting youngsters on various topics about life. Some of them were very enthusiastic and wanted to do something worthwhile in their lives. One person wanted to make it big in business some day and another wanted to change the society in a way that he could and also take up some charity activities in the future. A few of them were not sure of what they wanted to do with their lives. They just could not explain about what is their passion or purpose in life.

Let us put ourselves in this context and understand where we really stand. Do we really have any passion left in life or we just live without any emotions day by day. What is really the point of living without passion, purpose and priorities in life? No wonder at times we feel life seems very boring and uninteresting. There are days in which we feel our worst when getting up in the morning. We just don’t want to do anything. The reason…We could not decide on what we are really after in life.

Everywhere there are two major categories of people. One, who really want to achieve something while they live in this world and make their lives count and the other who just want to be lazy, complaining and murmuring about anything. If you are in category two, I have good news for you today. You can change your life today if you are really serious about a transformation and want to live the rest of your live with vigor and passion.

There are many examples in the history where some people really shook the world after they realized that they are not really going anywhere with their present lives. They took a firm commitment and made sure that their later part of life is not wasted settling for mediocrity. Let me share with you some great personalities who really made a huge impact in the world history with their lives. I am sure after reading through their lives, you would be inspired to make a U turn and change your vision, mission and passion. I would leave you with three P’s of life that you need to figure out immediately.

1. Purpose – Find out the purpose that you exist. What you want to do in this world and make an impact? Do it right now
2. Passion – What is that keeps you awake at night? What is that you enjoy doing all the time?
3. Priority – What are your major 10 priorities at hand right now and what actions are you taking to accomplish them?

Nelson Mandela

Mahatma Gandhi

Abraham Lincoln

Christopher Columbus

Albert Einstein

Nikola Tesla

Mother Teresa

William Booth

Thomas Alva Edison

Muhammad Ali

APJ Abdul Kalam

Adolf Hitler

Martin Luther King Jr