Celebrating Summer

Summer is waiting, crouching in the shadows to leap upon us with an orange roar of colour, heat and sweat. In the drama of the four seasons, summer is the brightest. The Kashmir valley celebrates the Tulip festival in April at Siraj Bagh, clasped in embrace of the scenic Zabrawan range, in Srinagar. Nearly 60 varieties of beautiful Tulips worship the sun in over 5 hectares of land.

Imagine a living carpet caressed by the cool summer breeze, woven by the great Architect of the Universe Himself! It is a changing kaleidoscope of red, yellow, variegated pink, white, orange, light blue and magenta. The Kashmiris celebrate this event by displaying their handicrafts and cultural programs. Authentic Kashmiri cuisine is part of the festival. After last week’s events, I wonder whether blood is good for the Tulips to grow? Vibrant life and the tragic death of beautiful young people lie so closely woven together, here.

Summer too is like that, let us decide to enjoy the joy and vibrancy of the season and push the discomfort to the back of our minds. Welcome and celebrate the summer. Plant the colourful, short lived summer flowers. Float them in water, in artistic mud, wide mouthed, pots.

Celebrate summer in the evening breezes in flower strewn gardens and lazy beaches. Celebrate with raw mango juice and lime sherbet. This is the season for a luxury bath – set apart time for your tryst with cool water sprays in the pool and in the bath. Emperor Akbar had to get his ice from the Himalayan glaciers on elephant back. We just need to keep the fridge well stocked. Wear a cool attitude and retreat to cool air conditioned spaces at noon, instead of testing your tolerance with outdoor tasks.

Create a water spot for people who walk past your house. Fill the bird baths and set out water for the squirrels. Happy summer holidays!

The International Family day

The International family day is on 15^th May. As the world becomes more and more self centered, and people shift to a more solitary and independent way of life, it is a way to remember the most important bond in human society. It is the family that is holding and protecting the human society through the ups and downs of the human life cycle

This day highlights the importance of this relationship which is the birth right of all. It also focuses on important issues that can strengthen it – equality, sharing of domestic responsibilities and work life balance. The family is the most important institution that has existed from the beginning of human society.

The family today has undergone many changes, but it is usually made up of married adults, and their children, living together and enjoying economic co-operation. Here are some steps we can take to strengthen the family unit.

·         Enhance the bonds of mutual affection and goodwill by organizing annual get-together, pujas, prayers and religious festivals like Diwali, Eid, Bakrid, Good Friday, X’mas, Mahavir Jayanthi, Guru Nanak Jayanti, etc and also other festivals like Pongal, Onam, Baisakhi, Ugadi, Holi, etc.

·         Ensure that caring adults in the family shape the lives of children during the first three years which are spent at home. Elders should help young parents to accomplish this, especially if both parents are working

·         Enjoy and celebrate successes in the family digitally. Comfort each other through loss and failure.

·         Ensure ‘family time’, good work-life balance and proper sharing of work at home.

·         Celebrate the contribution of care, wisdom and love of elders to the family. Teach respect for them, from youngsters, by setting an example in your behavior towards your elders.

The family is the most permanent institution in human society. Make sure that it remains strong and stable for the well being of future generations and Mankind.

Proactive Change

The results of transformative change are all around us this summer. Sunflower plants busting out from seeds where they have slept tightly curled, butterflies leaving behind their worn out cocoons, flowers dressing up the bare limbs of trees. This time as the financial year begins, it is the time for proactive change.

Change is the only certainty in an uncertain world. This year you will change, merely because everything around you will change. What you can decide is, whether you will lead the change or become a victim of it.

Think about proactively changing things in the following areas of your life.

1.      Personal

2.      Family

3.      Professional

4.      Social

Things will change anyway. Make sure they change in the way you want. And remember a butterfly is not an improved caterpillar. Just as a sunflower is not an improved seed.

Give Yourself a Hug

Soon you will be looking at March, 31^st the time of financial reckoning and feeling completely drained and knocked out. You are overworked and exhausted and you don’t like the person you see in the mirror. Your doctor does not like the person he sees in your medical reports.

Now turn inward and start a personal affirmation account for yourself.  Give yourself a big hug for being the most hard working, kind and special person in your life. Invest in a note book which will document your love affair with yourself.

v  Write a love letter to yourself. Recognize your unique beauty, your capacity to do your best and all the gifts that make you such a fabulous person. “Love yourself first and everything else falls into place,” said Lucille Ball.

v  Start a gratefulness dairy where you record all the things you are grateful for. Thank God for His blessings.

v  ‘I can,’ is a hundred times more important that IQ. Celebrate your smallest successes. Stop that nagging, critical voice in your head that keeps picking on you. Speak to yourself kindly and lovingly.

v  Stop worrying. The way to be happy is to stop worrying about things which cannot be changed.

v  Plug into the Source of all power, through prayer and meditation and acknowledge that you are a child of God, made in his own image.

v  Explore, dream, discover: at the end of your life do not regret all the dreams you have failed to pursue.

Take care of your body. It is the only home you have: nourish it, nurture it, exercise it. Make friends with a young physician. Focus on it, love it! Have fun! Because as Oscar Wilde said, “To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.”

Why Regret?

Imagine a buttoned down, French stock broker, suddenly flying off to the South Sea Islands and becoming a famous painter. Paul Gauguin a Post Impressionist painter, who influenced many modern artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse is an unusual case of having achieved his dreams in mid career. I am sure he died without regrets. It’s never late to follow your dreams. If only, or it might have been…. are the saddest words in the English language.

Most people, on their death beds do not regret what they have done. Most regrets are about all the things they have not done. So it is important to do all the things you want to do, by preparing a to-do list. This is a human privilege, because humans are the only living creatures who are able to plan for the future.

The best way to be happy is, of course to live intensely in the present. That is why it is called a gift or a present. Plan at least 6 ‘happiness breaks’ every day. Because research shows that it is many small, minute-to-minute happiness creating activities, that lead to a happy life rather than the one big, award or achievement.

Recharge Yourself Regularly

1. Take short relaxation breaks, at least thrice a day.

2. Eat fresh, energy-giving foods.

3. Take a walk outdoors during lunch break.

4. Stay away from politics and back-biting.

5. Involve your spouse and children in your work. Bring them to the office during lunch break or on a Saturday.

6. Spend time reading and improving your mind.

7. Get involved in activities that will benefit others.

8. Develop an absorbing hobby or skill—driving, dancing, gardening, carpentry, painting, amateur radio, etc.

9. Keep in touch with your close friends and extended family; use the power of the internet.

10. Plan to cut off from work on weekends.

Create a positive field around yourself, your home and office

·         A mental process which draws a magic circle of love around all those who are participating.

·         A prayer or mantra said together.

·         A common exercise, a company song, common goals.

·         A handshake, a friendly look, an encouraging word.

·         Thinking, believing and acting in a positive manner.

·         Laughter and shared jokes.