Thursday 28 January 2016

Mind your own business Akira!



One afternoon, a wealthy rancher decided to hold a competition amongst the the village's young cowherds to find the most hardworking and able cowherd for his ranch. "The winner of this competition has to be the one to graze the largest group of cattle within the shortest amount of time", said the rancher. The young boys of the village were extremely excited to enter this competition and work as the rancher's cowboys for a living. Akira was also extremely excited to partake in the competition. 



As the competition began, Akira looked at his fellow competitor Kabira from a distance and yelled, "Hey Kabira! You are not allowed to graze the cattle that side of the hill! It's against the rules!"

Just then, he glanced at another competitor Akiko and remarked, "Yo-ho Akiko! The rancher specifically said we are not allowed to take on more animals till the one at hand is completely full. Looks like the calf you are feeding is still hungry. Maybe you should feed him properly before you move on to the next one!"

Before long, he noticed another competitor Habiki and screamed, "Hey there Habiki! You are not allowed to feed them fruits to cease their hunger. That's unfair! According to the rules, we can only feed them fresh grass. Stop cheating!"


Shortly afterwards, as the competition came to an end, the rancher set off to search for his winner. 

"Kabira, how many animals have you grazed today?", the rancher enquired.
"I have grazed 8 animals today master", said the calm Kabira.
"Interesting. Akiko, how many animals have you grazed today?", the rancher questioned.
"I have grazed 10 animals today master", said the excited Akiko.
"Well done! Habiki, how many animals have you grazed today?", the rancher queried.
"I have grazed 15 animals today master", said the overjoyed Habiki.
"That's brilliant! Akira, how many animals have you grazed today?", the rancher interrogated. 
"Master, I have still to graze the only animal I took out to graze", said the disappointed Akira. 
On hearing this, the rancher walked towards Akira and said, "Next time my boy, mind your own business".



_ _ _ _

How often do we engulf ourselves in what other people are thinking or doing? "Are people judging me?", "Does he care about me?", "Do people think I'm ugly?", "Are they lying to me?", "Does she like me?" are only a few questions of the many that we have probably asked ourselves a number of times in our lifetime. Do these thoughts make you happy? Does finding the answers to these questions give you peace? Probably not. Satisfaction is a tough thing to achieve, especially if one's mind is involved in someone else. Even if you find satisfaction in the answers of these questions, it might be a fleeting feeling. Answers to these questions will only develop more questions, and in turn, restlessness. And so, mistaking this satisfaction for permanent solace is a faulty ideology created by our unawareness.

Human mind is a constant battlefield, and always feeling the need to know everything does not cease the battle, but rather instigates war. The war of emotions, that fuels and empowers our ego in controlling our minds. Jealousy, envy, insecurity and anger are nothing but the offsprings of not minding our own business. 



So let the world turn upside down, but continue focussing your energy internally within yourself. Remain calm, and you will remain content. Bring yourself out of constantly thinking and remind yourself that you can't change anyone or anything, but yourself. So help yourself towards peace of mind, and don't forget, mind your own business!

#LaughingAnanas






Sunday 24 January 2016

Turning 25...

25.

Such a strange number, such a strange age. It's the age of certainty, the quarter of stability. The age you're either this side or that. There's no in between. By the time you're 25, you're most likely to and expected to have a perfect job, a dream relationship, deep core values and a hell load of wisdom. In other words, your status is 'settled', or 'soon-to-settle' at worst. You're living the life you dreamed of on your graduation. You're serving as an idol to many. And you're probably exercising, eating green, healthy food and flossing everyday. But does turning 25, by default, grant you with the life so conventional, life so perfect? 

The answer is no. Turning 25 you might still find yourself juggling with your values, swimming in confusion, and not always reaching the shore. Your job might not be as perfect as you imagined, and you may not have a clue of what you'd like to do to get closer to your perfect. You probably find yourself contemplating on a startup idea a day, and not settling with any for a life long business. You might not be married, possibly not even engaged. 

Well, let's come to terms with this in saying IT'S OKAY. Living in the hope of being magically hit with that breakthrough start up idea has its own charm. And to be honest, it is not having something that makes you want to have it and work towards having it. So the contemplation is probably worth it. At the end of the day, Facebook is the child of Zuckerberg's contemplation. And then there are relationships. Let's just say, knights in shining armours are seen riding on their white horses at every corner these days. The idea of one and only true love is long forgotten. And living in a world with 7 billion others, surely you'll find your knight. 

I may not have achieved the most conventional life so far, but if there's one thing that I've learnt in these 25 years, and attempt to practice everyday is to live in the present. Presence of mind is so underrated. You may have your baggage of past and your bundle of future dreams, but it'll always be the present that you are living at any given point. And yet, it's this present that we miss out living at large. So turn 25, 30 or even 100 if you like, as it's not about how many years of life you've lived, but about how much of that life you lived in the moment. So have big dreams and wishes even bigger, but stay away from indulging into stresses of not living the society-approved life at a given age; because seriously, IT'S OKAY. You'll figure it out, even if it's in the midst of the ifs and buts of life.




#LaughingAnanas