God proposes, Man disposes​:​

All of us have been blessed with senses, but sensibility has to be learnt…

If you have to see, see the brighter side of every situation.

If you have to listen, listen to what is not being said.

If you have to smell, smell the goodness in people.

If you have to speak, speak kind words.

If you have to touch, touch hearts.

​Last but not the least, 

Have everything, just know that nothing is yours

With social media bringing disasters to our attention almost immediately – Nepal flash floods, California Wildfires, Ukraine War… There is a growing sense of helplessness of how do you respond to such tragic news? Then you remind yourself that natural and man made disasters have always happened through history and they will keep happening. Some people believe in rebirth and that gives them a modicum of comfort that the life lost will take form again, since it’s only the form that dies and not the life force within… 

Regardless of rebirth, the fact remains that there are so many uncontrollables in life that you have no other choice but to accept them. Then do so with a grateful heart, thank Grace for the blessings you have received and hold a goodwill towards all living beings to help them to the best of your ability. If you can’t reach them physically, do so through your prayers – it may or may not change the situation at the place of tragedy but it will certainly change things in your heart. A loving, caring, sharing heart is the best response to any situation….

As your hair is more salt than pepper,

As the skin starts to loosen at places, 

As the body starts sagging,

You know that age has caught up, 

But you hate to admit it…

Young ones start calling you uncle/aunty,

And you start wondering when did this happen? 

Then the game of deception intensifies,

Dyes, creams, tummy tucks, botox …

But no matter what you do, 

You know you are fighting a losing battle in trying to deceive age…

This is actually time to take a step back, 

To Contemplate, Meditate, Accept

And not the time to agitate yourself with what is inevitable

In acceptance you find peace 

In denial you search for ways of deceiving 

But ask yourself who are you deceiving?

Best is to accept gracefully what comes your way and go with the flow.

The river has no purpose but it eventually meets the sea….

In the name of passion – people are trying to achieve new records by putting their lives in harm’s way such as climbing worlds tallest mountains without oxygen, in quick succession. So the achievement is no longer climbing Everest but climbing it without oxygen or cycling to it or flying down from the top…Is it a scientific experiment to test the limits of human endurance? No it is an egoic need for self importance. So if it is not in a book of records then is it really worth doing? The thing with records is – they hold good only till someone else comes along and breaks them. 

True joys of life are in simple things – did you love with your full heart? Did you share whatever you could?… If the answer to such questions is yes then you are already successful in life and don’t need to chase any records to establish your self importance. Simplify life, don’t complicate it…

The first time I bet on my favourite horse at the Derby the odds given to me were 1:0.22 and after having the joy of winning and collecting Rs.122, the bookkeeper said that the bet was not worth the risk (I win only Rs.22 but am risking Rs.100) and that I should consider the risk reward ratio in future. Of course the joy of winning outweighed the risk but when I reflected on it later it made immense sense and has served me well in investing in the stock market. If the RR is not favourable, then however good the company is, the bet is risky and to be avoided. 

The Risk Reward ratio affects all other aspects of our life as well, the only thing is that we don’t have the tools to evaluate our emotions/feelings. What is the risk of working overtime for money you don’t need vs spending quality time with your family or your own hobbies? Unless you figure this out for yourself, you may succeed in your profession but will fail in life. And then there are those who have retired and still try to cling on to roles that give them money, power, fame since that’s the paradigm they have lived their lives by. 

Living a rich life has nothing to do with wealth, being powerful has nothing to do with power, being famous means nothing in an impermanent world. 

The day you realise this your life’s Risk – Reward Ratio will align automatically. 

As we cremated the mortal remains of my Dear Aunt yesterday, the inevitability of all of us ending up there one day was a grim reminder. 

“Aaj jawani par itaranewale kal pachtayega. 

Chadhta Sooraj Dheere Dheere Dhalta Hai Dhal Jayega

Tu Yahan Musafir hai yeh sarah fani hai.

Chaar din ki mehemaan teri zindagani hai”

It really doesn’t matter what you do/have done(achievements), it matters how you were in every moment that you lived and was there love in it. Love isn’t something you get, it is something you give and it is your job to clean away everything that is keeping you from experiencing it but you are too busy chasing things that really don’t matter. It is never too late, start from wherever you are….