How to live and not just exist

July 24, 2007

Dumblittleman has an awesome post on 39 ways to live life and not merely exist. Most of us probably aren’t doing it and this is a good reminder. All the 39 points are gems but a few of them caught my attention as they’ve been the ones I’ve been trying to follow (and some I’ve been wanting to follow) and advocating to people close to me.
They include (I quote from the article) My comments are in italics.

Find your passion. Find your calling. Make your living by doing the thing you love to do. First, think about what you really love to do. There may be many things. Find out how you can make a living doing it. It may be difficult, but you only live once.
I’ve always firmly believed in this and this only re-iterates what it takes to find your passion.

Turn off the TV. How many hours will we waste away in front of the boob tube? How many hours do we have to live? Do the math, then unplug the TV. Only plug it back in when you have a DVD of a movie you love. Otherwise, keep it off and find other stuff to do. Don’t know what to do? Read further.

Travel. Sure, you want to travel some day. When you have vacation time, or when you’re older. Well, what are you waiting for? Find a way to take a trip, if not this month, then sometime soon. You may need to sell your car or stop your cable bill and stop eating out to do it, but make it happen. You are too young to not see the world. If need be, find a way to make a living by freelancing, then work while you travel. Only work an hour or two a day. Don’t check email but once a week. Then use the rest of the time to see the world.
Enough said

Rediscover what’s important. Take an hour and make a list of everything that’s important to you. Add to it everything that you want to do in life. Now cut that list down to 4-5 things. Just the most important things in your life. This is your core list. This is what matters. Focus your life on these things. Make time for them.
This is also a very important step and you’ll want to refer to it when things don’t go the way you want them to go.

Be positive. Learn to recognize the negative thoughts you have. These are the self-doubts, the criticisms of others, the complaints, the reasons you can’t do something. Then stop yourself when you have these thoughts, and replace them with positive thoughts. Solutions. You can do this!

When you suffer, suffer. Life isn’t all about fun and games. Suffering is an inevitable part of life. We lose our jobs. We lose our lovers. We lose our pets. We get physically injured or sick. A loved one becomes sick. A parent dies. Learn to feel the pain intensely, and really grieve. This is a part of life — really feel the pain. And when you’re done, move on, and find joy.
I think it is very much important to feel the pain. Keep to yourself for a while and sink in the pain to know how it feels like. This has 2 benefits. You would know what pain and suffering feel like and you would appreciate people and relationships better once you come out of it.

Play with children. Children, more than anyone else, know how to live. They experience everything in the moment, fully. When they get hurt, they really cry. When they play, they really have fun. Learn from them, instead of thinking you know so much more than them. Play with them, and learn to be joyful like them.

Talk to old people. There is no one wiser, more experienced, more learned, than those who have lived through life. They can tell you amazing stories. Give you advice on making a marriage last or staying out of debt. Tell you about their regrets, so you can learn from them and avoid the same mistakes. They are the wisdom of our society — take advantage of their existence while they’re still around.
The author has conveyed what i feel. I don’t have anything to add to it.

Be in the moment. Instead of thinking about things you need to do, or things that have happened to you, or worrying or planning or regretting, think about what you are doing, right now. What is around you? What smells and sounds and sights and feelings are you experiencing? Learn to do this as much as possible through meditation, but also through ringing your focus back to the present as much as you can in everything you do.
Spot on!

Read the complete list here. I’d like to hear your views on the same.

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Posted in Life, General 2 Comments »

Tori Amos

June 24, 2007

I had heard of Tori Amos once or twice a few years back though I never had a chance to listen to any of her songs. Recently, I heard one of her songs on Worldspace without realizing it was she who had sung it. Anyway, I was able to decipher some of her lyrics and Google was there to help me figure out the rest.

The song was absolutely fantastic and then I downloaded a few of her other hit songs. If you like Alanis Morissette’s songs and lyrics, I think you have a high chance of liking Tori Amos’ songs as well.

Do check out a couple of her hit songs on youtube.
A sorta fairytale
Crucify

Both these songs are mellifluous and utterly captivating. I guess both of them will continue to play in my playlist till I get tired of playing them.

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Posted in Music 1 Comment »

Save the tiger

May 28, 2007

I’ve always had a great fascination for tigers. They command awe and fear at the same time. I would love to see one in the wild and probably do anything just to see a Siberian tiger.

However, all is not hunky dory currently. This is what National Geographic has to say about the biggest problem tigers are facing now.

There were once eight tiger subspecies, but three became extinct during the 20th century. Over the last 100 years, hunting and forest destruction have reduced overall tiger populations from hundreds of thousands to perhaps 5,000 to 7,000. Tigers are hunted as trophies and also for body parts that are used in traditional Chinese medicine. All five remaining tiger subspecies are endangered.

We are in a pretty hapless state. Probably in another 50 years or so, we would only have memories of how tigers once looked in zoos if we don’t act now. The fact that Chinese medicine uses tiger parts further aggravates the problem.

To do our bit to stop poaching please take a moment to send a message and stop the poaching of one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring creatures in this world. This campaign is supported by WWF and other partners.

Click here to make a difference. Thanks!

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Questions

May 26, 2007

Of late I’ve noticed that we tend to ask certain questions either because we don’t have anything to say or just for the sake of asking one. A classic example would be ‘Whatz up?‘ Do you think I would be able to answer this question by listing what is currently happening in my life given the innumerable thoughts that run in my head at that particular moment.

Even if I were to list them out, would someone have the time or the inclination to listen to them? I admit I ask this question too but have we given a thought about what would happen if the other person rattles off their thoughts in one go. Do we even have a minute to empathize with the other person’s answers?

Another seemingly innocuous but damn irritating question (to me at least) is ‘What are your weekend plans?‘. I definitely plan my weekend in advance when I am going on a trip or when I am going home or when am about to meet someone. Otherwise I keep it open as I would like to take it as it comes. However, I don’t think I would be able to explain this to every one of them who asks me what my plans are. So I am forced to answer ‘I am now not sure of what I am gonna do. Let’s see how it goes.‘

So far so good is what you’d think but it doesn’t stop there.A few of the really inquisitive persist by asking ‘Hey man what is this? How come you don’t have anything planned?‘ This is when it gets my goat but I quickly mutter ‘Yeah i know i should’ve planned something.’

Incidentally, I don’t get annoyed when I hear the question ‘How was your weekend?‘ because I would be able to tell them what I was upto. Anyway, I feel we have become accustomed to asking these questions by habit and I don’t think there’s any end to this given how much fast paced our lives have become now. So until then, I’ll have to accept these questions and probably get to ask them too. Speaking of which, whatz up in your life these days?

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Posted in Musings 2 Comments »