Let’s Simplify Life

Let's Make Life Simple & Beautiful

Confucius once said, “Life is really simple, but men insist on making it complicated.” This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get. Humans have been victims of this practice since time immemorial and the journey of rise and fall, gain and loss, and triumph and defeat of human race describes the same. Life is a string of inevitable experiences. Happy events are savoured while adversities are considered as wrongs, inflicted upon us by destiny.

Today everyone is thinking wistfully the same question whether the life will be normal or not and if yes how? The life during lockdown is somewhat similar to when there were no TVs. People would love to spend time with friends, relatives and play outside (amidst lockdown playing virtually) and were contented with what minimal resources they had. In 90s TV was introduced to the society and people glued to the idiot box for hours to watch cricket and serials. Physical work from routine and socializing for the purpose of entertainment took a back seat. Sports were lesser played in streets and more watched on screens. Then entered the world of Internet, PCs, laptops and multimedia. Though initially the services were plagued by certain issues but gradually became an indispensable part of our society. Obesity and other life style diseases were included as gift hampers in the package, indoor and outdoor games were replaced by video games. Junk foods and sedentary life became the new trends, visiting friends and relatives needed appointments or formal invitations. Eventually human relations, care and concern for neighbours and seeking or giving advice to relatives were on the verge of extinction.

Life was too fast now to devote time to value and practice gestures of kindness and generosity as the time was much needed to be spent in traffic jams and in pursuit of mundane and materialistic goals. And now enters our favorite Guest whom we want to cling to us forever, yes these are none other than androids, 3G, 4G and high speed internet services. The digital enthusiasts were so engrossed in striving hard to fulfill their dreams to become mightier than ever and became supercilious in attitude. In this race of ambitions and achievements we forgot what the very purpose of human life is. It won’t be wrong if I term this journey as Evolution of Human Intellect, yes we changed, we evolved and we grew in all dimensions with materialistic mindsets; expanding in a different milieu during the years from 1990s to 2020s.

Thought Provoking Read: All That Glitters is Not Gold 

The feeling of having the world just a click away gives a sense of supremacy to humans, ironically the supremacy gave us rights only, not the duties-the duties towards nature and ecosystem, the duties towards lifting up humanity and our inner self, the duties to realize the very purpose of our life i. e. being altruistic to all life forms which are dependent upon us as mere philosophy of evolution without  a life imbued with love, compassion and service cannot sweeten and glorify human advancements.

Though the human mind is responsible for great advances of culture and civilizations it has grown unable to handle negativity caused by traumatic experiences. While struggling with feelings of distress and uncertainty amidst the pandemic many think as if they will hardly find their way back from such an emotional cul-de-sac as negative events have a tendency to imprison our minds. The lockdown has taught us that to live a happy life we need to be alive not to be the supreme power; we need to reinvent and revamp our life so let the life be lived at its fullest instead of dreaming for tomorrow. Let’s remove all toxins and obsessions of materialism and enjoy a serene, happy and wholesome life. Let’s take the blessing in disguise to value and appreciate the fact that life demands nothing it is we who keep demanding incessantly from life. Let's simplify life. Let’s enjoy just being alive. 

Life is simple, Simplify The Life.

Miles To Go Where I Can Sleep

The Problems Faced By Migrant Labourers During Lockdown

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost’s famous poem ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ is a source of inspiration to many and the fan club of this poem has recently been joined by millions of Indian migrant labourers who are on their journey to reach the destinations where they can sleep without starving. The contrast with the poem’s traveler is that the woods are actually not lovely, dark and deep for these poor daily wagers so they are forced to plod on.

Kasa Madkani, 22, a migrant worker from Odisha’s Malkangiri district, breathed his last due to exhaustion while walking back home from Hyderabad due to lockdown.

For 35-year-old Sandeep, his wife and three daughters, the ordeal has no end. Like thousands of other migrant workers, the vegetable vendor decided to leave for his native village after exhausting his meagre savings over a month and a half of the lockdown. His wife Rekha, a heavily pregnant and famished 28-year-old woman covered 900 kms from Noida on foot and in the back of a truck to reach Gopalganj on the UP-Bihar border before her body almost gave up. She gave birth to a girl child in the Gopalganj Sadar Hospital

When thousands and thousands of migrants, burdened with pain, agony and trauma walk everyday to their hometowns from all over the country, each one of them has a heart wrenching story to tell. Who better knows the length of Indian roads than these self rescuing exoduses who have measured them in uncountable footsteps? Enforced by the ardent desire to salvage themselves from the apathy of our so called efficient, innovative and benevolent government they found it easier to walk miles than to remain languished at their work stations. Witnessing the desperate exodus of migrants, the Indian highways must have shed tears in helplessness as their subservient creators who had once pitched in to construct these roads and brought them into life have been left with nothing except trudging to their home. 

Interesting Read: Self-Isolation or Self-Adoration?

The travails of these migrants are unimaginable. With loss of shelter and livelihood they have been thrown in disarray, on the mercy of meagre help provided by authorities which was surely not enough for sustenance. Completely shattered, many of them embarked on arduous journeys to their native places to get some support at a time of acute distress owing to the belief that home offers emotional and social support, especially in times of a crisis like Covid-19. The journey was going to be precarious for many as no provisions were there for food, shelter or medical relief. Many died on the way back home due to hunger, sickness or mishaps.

The developing notions of social justice and the expanding horizon of socio-economic equality seem to be futile when a large number of migrants are spotted walking on highways across states with their families, growing immune to heat, hunger, body pain and even police lathis.

Time plays a crucial role in any crisis.What if the government could have provided them with adequate support in time? When the Vande Bharat Mission can be scheduled to bring back Indians stranded abroad why can’t the Shramik Specials could have been planned earlier and executed promptly. If welfare of these migrant workers is not taken care of, the pictures of their leaving the cities will be going to haunt the country for years to come. Our beautifully constructed big cities have sent their pillars at home. They have shown their strength by walking hundreds of miles now it’s time for the government and our society to reciprocate as words are always not enough to win trust of these poor folk.

Dear Readers, my blog ends here but not the story, it’s just a beginning for all those who reach their desired destinations where they can sleep comfortably but the questions will remain unanswered for them how to find solace? How to tryst with a confident living? How all the migrants will be employed again? Who will provide them substantive succour?

I am still trying to convince myself with these lines:

And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep

To Succeed in Life, Burn Your Boats

Make Your Life A Success Story 

“If you want to take the island, you need to burn the boats.” This famous line of Tony Robbins has a great relevance not only for those who are already on their expedition to touch the pinnacles of success and see all their dreams fulfilled but   for those also who come across situations when they find themselves in a terrible dilemma as how to choose and what to choose out of the plethora of the options since it’s very important to make a right choice in order to bring the plans to their fruition. A good decision with strong will power impacts not only the process but the outcome also and can attribute to achieve an uncompromising mental reservoir of strength. 

Enriching Read: Where There’s a Will There’s a Way

The phrase ‘Burning the Boats’ has its origin in the year 1519 highlighting History’s one of the most inspiring leadership stories. During those days it was known to all that Mexico had a magnificent treasure for which many invaders attempted for over 600 years but none of them could succeed. When Hernán Cortés, a young Spanish commander heard about the same he decided to acquire it and started sailing towards Mexico with a convoy of 11 boats, 16 horses and 600 Spaniards. The clamour of their excitement was enough to break the silence of the sea. But gradually fear and despair loomed large with sailing farther from their homeland. The fact that none could acquire the treasure hitherto the crew began to develop cold feet and it turned to be an evanescent ambition for them. Hernán Cortés could sense the despondency and fear but he kept waiting for a right moment. When they reached Mexico, he ordered his people to evacuate the boats. Once everything was settled he called a lieutenant and instructed him to burn all the boats and he began his address which created history then. He sent a clear message to all that there was no turning back as all the boats had already been burnt. With no exit strategy either they would win or they would perish. The soldiers fought with indomitable courage and conquered the island with its magnificent treasure.

The story gives a life-changing message to all. The boats are the insecurities, fear, escape, and anxiety which always hinder our growth and weaken our commitment with self to accept challenges in life. When we want to improve our careers, personal lives or emotional status we must understand that once a strong and earnest decision is made there is no turning back, no escape. Now every effort and thought must be focused on succeeding and achieving what we have yearned for. Burning the boats means making your mind to reject all those fears and preparing yourself for no turning back and accept that there is no plan B. When you don’t have a plan B for your dreams and ambitions it gives a message to your mind that there is no point of return now and it strengthens your commitment to yourself and you put in your best efforts to achieve your goals in life. This strategy is the key determinant of both personal and professional success despite challenges that inevitably happen on the way.

Hebrew tradition teaches a similar value, the Israelite armies would besiege enemy cities from three sides only facilitating them with an escape route. They knew it very well that the enemy would no longer remain a formidable opponent if they had a possibility of flight. In most cases, they celebrated the conquest.

We all face difficult times when we need to make a decision especially when we are confused which path to travel. We research on our plans, collect facts from good resources, take advice from our best friends and well wishers, measure the risks, analyze the ups and downs and then we trust our own judgment whether to step ahead or not. And the most important factor of this process must be once we have made our decision we have to be committed and focus only on our diligent efforts to make it a success story of our life.