There is always space to learn and understand more
Space to grow and evolve
And it all starts with a little shift in perspective.
A little rebalancing from the way things are…
Work & life
It often amazes me to see the adulation that certain people have for being the first to arrive and last to leave their workplace. I wonder if anyone has cared to check how their families feel about this?
Many on the so called respected and admired list, are people who are workaholics, burning out by the minute.
They are there, working beyond the call of duty perhaps out of personal passion, sense of ownership and responsibility or even perhaps because they feel they can’t afford to fail, may be even because it gives them an edge of pride to be known as some one who is committed.
However life is about balance and simply put, more of one leads to less of another. The trick is the wisdom of balance and steering clear of extremes.
To every workaholic out there here are few reflections…
☆Avoid stretching yourself too thin.You are already on razors edge and you are hurting one part of your life, if you continue to do what you do. Reclaim your life. Find other passions and take care of your health. Stay safe than sorry.
☆Your personal life is at stake and is also your responsibility.
☆Bringing home the money and comforts is just one half of the whole. Your family is best nurtured by your loving presence in their lives.
☆Your absence at home and family/ social affairs is missed at first and then adapted with along the way to a point of being indifferent to your presence in time. Because you are never there for them.
☆ At a certain point in life, lack of care and connection begins to show and no amount of money can be valued over time .
☆Money cannot buy love they say and it certainly becomes true, as people begin to use you for your money and you will never feel fulfilled and content after spending it.
☆Everything around you becomes materialistic to the point of manipulation and its your own doing as you threw in the money and comforts where ever and whenever your time was required or requested.
☆Relationships become meaningless without a sense of togetherness. Missing out time with another in the excuse of being busy for years will take a toll on personal life. People will get used to you not being around for them and then expecting them to be there for you when you need them is a selfish ask.
☆Your children will be affected by your continued absence . Your presence in their growing years is very important for their holistic well being. Your partner will be angry or isolated with you. And expecting things to be different as you continue your ways is not going to change anything.
☆However in recognizing the signs of workaholic and your choosing to balance different aspects of your life will start making a meaningful difference.
☆For starters acknowledge your value for your time and energy.
☆Speaking of your energy , if you have spent most of your day at work , how will you find yourself able to give more of you as you have exhausted yourself
☆Recognize where it’s slipping away and start to chalk out a balancing plan. It can transform your life and those around you.
☆Find moments that are solely yours and use it for your personal development.
☆Your career is only one part of your life. It helps you sustain your life but the relationships you have nourishes you. Without it you have no true sense of purpose.
☆If you are one of those who are thinking of grabbing opportunities and climbing the corporate ladder acknowledge that you may possibly often have an unsatisfactory family relationship at the end of it all.
☆Your passion for your work may begin to affect your health watch out early signs of strain and stress and care to take help .
Thankfully today the world is more aware of work week and many countries are Consciously doing something about it. How it affects productivity in time will be seen and how much it could contribute to work life balance, but it definitely is time reclaimed for family.
The truth is its about prioritization of what’s important for well-being in life. Personal and professional lives both are important and have demands that need your time. So balance is the key.
Sometimes good work needs appreciation… And that becomes a source of inspiration to do more … Today I am sharing a few of my dear daughters social work experiences at her stint with the HOPE foundation in India, in her own words that she had expressed about the satisfaction and contentment from the heart in doing good and sharing goodwill with the world around us.
I hope it inspires and motivates more in the path of positive intentions and acts of goodwill.
Have been working with an non profit organisation called H.O.P.E for almost a year now.Even though I focused primarily on events , I did want to try helping in their other verticals like Ad Care ,which was basically teaching shelter home children , academically as well as non academically.
Now, the children here hated studying and upon entering for the first time , all I noticed was books thrown outside the window! So we decided to use glitter pens and stickers to motivate them.
I was one such volunteer who taught English through games and then I would draw something for them on their hands because they loved the idea of ‘glitter tattoos’. Everytime I’d do so, all the kids would lineup to get one of their own and I honestly enjoyed the process every Sunday even though I sucked at drawing(I literally drew the kid version of a bird but that would still make them happy). Soon it led to me writing their names for them glitter pens in different fonts.
Coming back to the photo, this was clicked a day before Christmas and I was writing their names in different fonts when two kids asked me to write their parents names as well. This took me by shock as most of them are orphans or have been abandoned by their parents. Nevertheless, I did write their names the way they wanted and it lead to a moment that crushed my soul.
I watched them both High five after the tattoos for the fact that both of them had never seen their parents and they abandoned them here. I was truly appalled as I saw them jump in excitement and running down the hallway.
When I was leaving , the kids came to me and asked me to click a photo with them and asked me to spend every festival with them as they felt lonely. Kudos to our team and H.O.P.E for making a difference! 🙂
If we walk on a thorn slipper , however soft the pathway be, we will be in pain. Neither we nor the path or surroundings , only the thorns are the reason for our pain which do not let us enjoy the other beauties of journey.
The negativity in our mind are like thorny slippers. If we have negativity in our mind , whatever be the situation, the accumulated negativity will not let us enjoy & will make our life miserable for both us & others surrounding us.
Our mind has a habit of searching and storing such negativities, making a strong imprint in the brain. To come out of it is entirely on individual’s efforts . Our thorny thoughts & the chain of memories it brings along has to be cut off by our intentional effort to remember the pleasant & positive thoughts that gives us joy.
Momentary change is also the capability of the mind if we intend. After all everything is transient in this life. Pleasure or pain, how long it will last is not in our hands. But the effort to make each moment happy is something we can try.
Spoken words and harsh actions cannot be taken back. We have to be careful with the words we utter. Do not get carried away by the momentary emotion which will make us regret later.
Peace is what everyone seeks. Sound will not come with one hand. No one is without fault. The sadness is everyone of us thinks we are perfect and others are faulty. There lies the problem.
Another way is putting ourselves in other’s places & think what I would have done in such situation. May be we may have behaved worst.
Letting go of the past should be a continuous process. If we want peace, mere knowledge is not enough, consistent practice is necessary.
If our vision is not clear the fault is not in the eyes or the visuals. Just cleaning the accumulated dirt on the glass will make everything clear. Start cleaning the tarnished memories.
Remove the spiky slippers, cut off the horns , fangs and claws that troubles you . Bring out the positivity and the goodness in you.
No one to be blamed. Destiny sometimes puts us in hard situations without our faults. But That too will pass in its own time.
Patience & faith are the need of the hour. Compassion & kindness we give ,will come back to us when we need them.
Saw this post and I was struck by the truth of these words.
In fact what made me post this is that I have carried this exact feeling of being truly alive whenever I have danced.
In fact I had captured it years ago in a set of verses dedicated to dance and the way I feel about it .I had summarized it to this very same concept of being alive.
Am sure if there are other dancers reading this post they would agree,
Life and Living soulful stories share that come my way…
John D Rockfeller was once the richest man in the world. The first billionaire in the world. By age 25, he controlled one of the largest oil refineries in the US. By age 31, he had become the world’s largest oil refiner. By age 38, he commanded 90% of the oil refined in the U.S. By 50, he was the richest man in the country. As a young man, every decision, attitude, and relationship was tailored to create his personal power and wealth.
But at the age of 53, he became ill. His entire body became racked with pain and he lost all of his hair. In complete agony, the world’s only billionaire could buy anything he wanted, but he could only digest soup and crackers. An associate wrote, He could not sleep, would not smile and nothing in life meant anything to him. His personal, highly skilled physicians predicted he would die within a year. That year passed agonizingly slowly.
As he approached death he awoke one morning with the vague realisation of not being able to take any of his wealth with him into the next world. The man who could control the business world suddenly realized he was not in control of his own life. He was left with a choice.
He called his attorneys, accountants, and managers and announced that he wanted to channel his Assets to Hospitals, Research, and Charity work. John D. Rockefeller established his Foundation. This new direction eventually led to the discovery of penicillin, cures for malaria, tuberculosis and diphtheria.But perhaps the most amazing part of Rockefeller’s story is that the moment he began to give back a portion of all that he had earned, his body’s chemistry was altered so significantly that he got better. It looked as if he would die at 53 but he lived to be 98. Rockefeller learned gratitude and gave back the vast majority of his wealth. Doing so made him whole. It is one thing to be healed. It is another to be made whole.
Before his death, he wrote this in his dairy, “The Supreme Energy taught me, that everything belongs to Him and I am only a channel to comply his wishes.My life has been one long, happy holiday;Full of work and full of play I dropped the worry on the way and God was good to me every day.”
Here is beautiful perspective that I received in a share today
My grandmother always drank her coffee like this! I thought it was because it was too hot. Do you remember older generations drinking from their saucer? Then today I came across this poem that made me feel there was symbolism to the coffee ritual.
Drinking from My Saucer by John Paul Moore
I’ve never made a fortune and it’s probably too late now. But I don’t worry about that much, I’m happy anyhow.
And as I go along life’s way, I’m reaping better than I sowed. I’m drinking from my saucer, ‘Cause my cup has overflowed.
I don’t have a lot of riches, and sometimes the going’s tough. But I’ve got loved ones around me, and that makes me rich enough.
I thank God for his blessings, and the mercies He’s bestowed. I’m drinking from my saucer, ’Cause my cup has overflowed.
I remember times when things went wrong, my faith wore somewhat thin. But all at once the dark clouds broke, and the sun peeped through again.
So God, help me not to gripe about the tough rows that I’ve hoed. I’m drinking from my saucer, ‘Cause my cup has overflowed❤️
Savvy Raj 
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