Are we living under a material trap???

HAPPINESS….What do we mean by happiness or let us put it in this way- what brings happiness to us?

We would say that money can bring happiness. We can buy anything we wish for, we can visit any place we desire for and can acquire any comfort we want to avail for. So money can fulfil all our wishes, wants and desires and hence it brings happiness.  But the question is- Does it really happens so?

Let us try to understand it by means of a short story.

One day there was a man sitting on sea shore enjoying serene beauty of the nature and peace of the place. A businessman visited there for vacation. He used to observe this man daily doing the same thing for entire day.

One fine day out of curiosity, he asked him- “why don’t you work inspite of spending time sitting idle daily?” The man asked-“What will happen next?” The businessman said-“You can do fishing, sell fishes in the market and earn good amount out of it.” The man asked-“What will happen next?” Then he said-“You will be able to buy good food and clothes for your family from that money”. Man asked- “What will happen next?” He said-“Then you can expand and deliver fishes in nearby market”. He asked again-“What will happen next?” The businessman said-“You can keep people under you and cater more market needs and have more fishing and make more money out of it” The man again asked the same question. So then he said-“You can become an entrepreneur with a big empire and you can fulfil all your wishes, wants and desires”. The man again asked-“what will happen next?’ The businessman excitedly said-“Then you can chill out, enjoy and relax just like me.” On this, the man said-“Sir, I m doing the same currently.”

So, happiness is all about the satisfaction that we feel. Our degree of happiness depends on degree of satisfaction that we keep in our life. A person’s wishes, wants and desires have no end. A walking person will desire for cycle, a person with cycle will desire for a scooter, a person with a scooter will desire for car, a person with car will desire for SUV and the chain will keep on moving in the same pattern.

In hustle of these desires, we forget living, we forget the happiness of being with our near ones, we forget happiness of discovering ourselves, we forget happiness of the things that we already have, we forget the happiness of being physically fine, we forget to cherish THE SOURCE OF HAPPINESS ITSELF and get engrossed in achieving the material things in our lives.

“Happiness is not out there;

It is in YOU”…”

There are so many beautiful reasons to be happy. Let us choose TO BE HAPPY rather than keep on running behind our desires which are endless. Let us live and cherish each moment of our life as -

 

Zindagi na milegi doobara…

 

Work Life Balance-The Tree Way

A very well-known and favorite connotation of today’s professionals which is being referred by everyone be it a job seeker, an employer, an employee or for that matter HR professionals too is ‘WORK LIFE BALANCE’.

But the question is what exactly we mean by work life balance? Mostly we refer it to as no stretched working hours, no working on holidays and no carrying of work to home for which we heap the responsibility on the shoulders of either the organization or its culture or the manager.

But actually speaking these are not the only factors for disturbed balance between our professional life and personal life. There is something else also attached to it. Let’s understand it by means of a story:-

There was a carpenter named Mohan. He lived in a town called Kurusat. He had a small and happy family comprising of his wife and 2 kids aged 5 and 7 years. Mohan belongs to a very mediocre family wherein his ancestors were also into carpentry business and spent their daily livelihood by working on daily paid basis. Mohan was associated with a contractor for his project assignments and was paid wages on hourly basis.

One Sunday Mohan got an assignment at Raj’s place. Raj was working with a reputed organization at a mid to senior level position. Mohan reached his place by 9.00am, understood the work to be done by Raj and started taking out his tools. When he plugged in his machine, he found that it’s not starting. He did some R&D but still it didn't work and owing to Sunday no technician was available for repair. So he had to drop his day and return back home. When he called up the contractor to inform this, the contractor was immensely angry and scolded him to check his machine a day prior. Mohan, with a heavy heart of losing his daily wage for that day, informed Raj about his inability to complete the work. Raj noticed the sadness on his face and hence followed him till gate. Now when Mohan tried starting his Luna, he found that it has got some technical problem and because of which it is not starting. Again being Sunday, the mechanic was not available. Raj was observing him from behind. He asked Mohan to drop him till home. On the entire way Mohan was upset, sad and didn't utter a single word.

On reaching, Mohan invited Raj to visit his home and have a cup of tea to which Raj agreed. While entering, Mohan touched a tree trunk outside his home and thereby entered. As soon as Mohan entered his home, Raj noticed a drastic change in his behavior. He happily called his wife and introduced her to Raj, hugged his both kids with joy and started talking to them. After having tea, when Mohan came to see off Raj near his car, Raj asked him why he touched the trunk of tree before entering home. Is it part of any tradition or what? To this, Mohan smiled and replied that this tree is his TROUBLE TREE. Every evening, when he returns from work, he hangs his worries/problems/overheads of work on it and thereby enters home. While daily next morning while he leaves for work, he takes it back from tree. He added: - “Believe me sir; the load is lesser as compared to which I hung last night”. On the entire journey back to his home, Raj was thinking about Mohan’s incredible practice and felt highly enlightened by this incidence.

Work life balance has lot to do with our internal factors like behavior, attitude, and mindset. External factors are not in our hand but remember internal factors are guided by our own-self. Everyone of us shall have a trouble tree with us wherein we can hang our professional life worries/backlogs and do not allow them to fade away/take away the happiness and involvement of our personal life.  To have a balance between personal and professional life; it is necessary for us to keep both lives discretely apart from each other. Its all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and family and friends. Ultimately life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

“Never get so busy making a living that we forget to make a life…”

 Stay Balanced; Stay Carefree

“Perception about Life-The Sculpture Way”

What is the meaning of Perception???

* The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through senses

* Way we think about or understand someone or something

* Ability to understand or notice something easily

Let us understand how life changes by means of perception through a simple story-

One day a man was wandering around in jungles. While enjoying the beauty of nature, he suddenly noticed some tickling sound. On searching, he discovered that 3 workers are dismantling the small traditional temple for building a new one. The man went to 1st worker and asked-“What are you doing?” The irritated worker replied in a loud tone “Can’t you see, I am doing laborious and gruelling pathetic work of breaking the stones? Just go away and let me continue sweating by blood in this draining boredom.” 

The man moved ahead and reached the 2nd worker and asked-“What are you doing?” The tired worker replied in a pity tone “What else we would do sir? We are born to do such arduous work and earn our daily bread to run our family; so doing the same without choice.” The man became little sad on hearing both the workers and understanding their situations emotionally. 

Moving further he saw the 3rd worker. He asked him the same question expecting the same disappointment; but to his astonishment, the answer was completely unexpected. The 3rd worker replied “I am doing a historical work of building a residential place for my Almighty. I am the blessed one of thousands who is chosen for such a noble opportunity of creating shelter for one who gives shelter to all.” 

On listening to 3rd worker, the man understood the biggest crux of happy life which is nothing but our own perception about our own life. 

Some of us are like 1st worker who are frustrated with our lives and rather than looking out productive ways of coming out of problems, we tend to get more negative and frustrated. This creates anger which increases day by day and we end up living a horribly discouraged life!!!

Some of us are like 2nd worker who have accepted the life the way it is. Although dis-satisfactory but no aspirations and thereby no efforts to make it happy going. All fine to spend the whole life as a life waiting for end!!!

Very few of us are like 3rd worker who finds positivity in all the circumstances irrespective of being odd or even and this optimism keeps them happy going. They enjoy all that they do and lives life with a stint of satisfaction. These are the kinds that are always ready to welcome future with a smiling face and be firm in all the offbeat tracks of life too.

It all begins in mind. Our life is reflection of our mind. It is very rightly said-

“Life is based on perception; perception is based on opinion, opinion is based on thought, and thought comes from mind…So….

“Change your Mind; Change your Life…”