Finding Happiness

Just a couple of days more and many of us will get busy in greeting each other and exchanging wishes for a happy new year. I have taken after my high school teacher who disliked being wished Happy Teachers’ Day on 5^th September saying it was up to us, her students, to do something to make it a happy day for her, our teacher. Applying the concept, I believe mere words or wishes don’t make me happy. It is for me to choose to be happy in a given situation; greetings only spread cheer and positiveness.

Not always do we have to force ourselves to choose to be happy. As humans, we have ample opportunities for – and are capable of – creating situations or proactively doing something, to ensure happiness for ourselves. Children choosing to play a game of their liking, adults indulging in parties to commemorate an occasion, spending time with pets or even traveling out are only a few of the countless examples of how we use our freedom to make happiness happen.

Looking back this year, I found I voluntarily did many things which made me happy and resulted in rich rewards like good health, new friends, continuing joy and even money!!!

In January 2023 I signed up for a fitness initiative launched by my workplace. It was for a limited period of 2 months only, but it started my fitness journey and took it to a totally another level. I ranked 6^th and won a prize of 5000/- in the Beginner (walking) category. Later in the year, in November month I participated in a breast cancer awareness marathon, ended up 2^nd Runner-up and won a prize money of Rs.2000/-. It was MY willingness to participate, and sincere efforts that got me all the above.

I visited Navadarshanam, a vegan nature resort in Tamil Nadu, just on the outskirts of Bangalore, 3 times this year, only for the sumptuous vegan and organic food and the green surroundings which suit both my body and mind so well. Each time I return, I plan for the next visit. I made friends with people who believe in a vegan lifestyle just like I do.

My blood check-up in July showed my cholesterol level had visibly reduced from what it was last year – thanks to brisk walking for the last several months. Giving gives inexplicable joy. I donated blood in September and my haemoglobin was a whopping 14.4 g/dl – evidently an outcome of my vegan diet and regular walking/jogging. My sacrifice of unhealthy foods, and sticking to a strict whole food plant-based diet paid rich dividends.

Yet, what stands out from my happiness experiences in 2023 is my trip to Aamchi Mumbai during Dussehra in October 2023 – stayed with total strangers, pursued my fitness goal with walking, met some reel/real heroes on my walks. Mumbai trip was a reward I gave myself and I am happy for it. I made some great friends who changed my perception of relationships and life itself. (This calls for a dedicated post altogether, to follow soon). However, again, it was MY readiness to travel by bus and local trains which yielded such positive effects.

I hope to have conveyed the message that happiness is for us to find by ourselves. Greetings and good wishes convey good vibes but it is for me to step out, make the necessary efforts and win happiness for myself.  

After all, I wish happiness to all – may God be with us always.

My De-stress Mantra - 3P

I put my de-stress mantra in a very short abbreviation that’s easy to remember. It is 3P – the first P is for Prayer; the second is for Pets and the third stands for Pastimes (hobbies). This is in order of importance, effectiveness, and ease. I repeat – first comes God, followed by my pets (sometimes they sit beside me when I pray) and lastly my pastimes. 

By Prayer, the first P, I mean talking to God, thanking Him for another day to live, praying for strength and grace to go through all that is going to come my way during the day, with a lot of hopes that it will go well for me because I have Him by my side. I wake up and pray even before putting my feet on the ground to start the day’s work. This will be repeated before I close my eyes at the end of the day also, thanking Him for all that happened during the day, believing everything was for my good. I resort to prayer anytime in the day I feel I need divine help to face a situation. Prayers help us to let go, let God (take care of our affairs after doing our best). 

Coming to the second P, I have three pets – one dog and two cats. They dote on me and sit by my side even without having to be called to do so. At times, I vent out my disappointments and share my aspirations with them without any fear of being laughed at or judged (which is most likely when one shares one’s feelings with human beings) or even being said “I told you”. I believe pets are the best counsellors one can have, for free and 24x7. When I am happy, I cuddle them, speak to them, thank them for being in my life and promise to be with them as much as possible. A dog and two cats living together under the same roof, shows me the power of acceptance and love, day in and day out. While people wonder how they can co-exist, I ask why not. It’s after all a matter of mind. The pets don’t mind, so it doesn’t matter. 

The third P is Pastimes meaning hobbies which let me explore my creative side outside of my job. I read, and write both prose and poetry in English, Kannada and Hindi languages, and sing to Karaoke tunes. I stitch on the sewing machine, do hand embroidery, crochet, macrame, and paper mache (working with paper pulp). My indulgence in gardening teaches me patience and helps me remember the law of the seed - multiple efforts need to be made for simple results to show; success therefore is an outcome of a multitude of efforts. Solving crosswords keeps my mind stimulated in fun ways, even as it enhances my vocabulary. 

None of the above could have been possible if I didn’t focus on fitness and good health. Being fit helps in coping with stress. I walk upto 6-7 Kms. on weekdays and 10-15 Kms. on the weekends. I also do Yoga amidst my daily chores. You can’t ask God to give you good health if you don’t move your body towards it. The Bible says our body is the temple of the holy spirit. So, it is up to us to invest time into the wellbeing of our body because a healthy body results in a healthy mind.  And of course, vice versa.

 

My fitness journey with FitBrit 2.0

It was past office time when the FitBrit 2.0 contest was announced on 13^th January 2023, and the last date to sign up (and start the contest) was 15^th January, which left me with just two days to make up my mind. The next day being a Saturday and a holiday for those of us working in the corporate office in Bangalore, gave me some space to contemplate on this opportunity to work on my fitness while getting to be a part of a ‘contest’ also. 

The FitBrit contest was launched to get employees of #Britannia across the country to pursue physical fitness, with prizes thrown in to add an element of fun. It was a simple contest where the participants had to do a physical activity like Walking, Running, or Cycling, and log those activities on Strava (an App that is used to track physical activity). Prize vouchers were given out to the top 10 in the country, (with prizes given out for certain other criteria also), based on the total distance and pace accomplished during the period of the contest. FitBrit 2.0 was for a period of two months.

There were 3 categories – Pro, Amateur and Beginner – based on the distance and pace the participants committed to achieve.

I have always liked walking and had started regular walking on a serious note after the doctor warned me of high cholesterol which she said could be tackled with brisk walking of half an hour daily or for at least 3 days a week. But this contest was a different ball game altogether. It required me to walk as much as I could in one hour, and daily, barring one compulsory off every week. Additionally, the rating would be on the pace of walking, so I knew I had to walk with a difference, if I had to come out with some decent rating at the end of two months.

I realised it would be exciting walking with my eyes on the pace (literally) and having someone monitor me (as we had to both register on FitBrit and link to Strava). I loved the double accountability. With the prize angle factored in, it was like icing on a vegan cake, so without further delay, I signed up as Beginner, in the walking category 😊

On the first day January 15^th, I went to a public park nearest to my home and walked my fastest, with the highest zeal I could muster, only to find that time had passed but my walk had not got registered on Strava because – I learnt later – I had failed to put Location on in the phone. Precious learning there. More failures (or errors) followed – I walked on a leave day (we were to walk only after office hours), once forgot to put Strava on, at times I unknowingly combined two walks over two different times of the day.  

Soon, I got the hang of it and how. I ranked 6^th among the top 10 in the Beginner category 😊

The two months of walking were rewarding in more ways than one. I enjoyed the experiences on the road. Once seeing me walking REAL fast, a woman walking in the morning asked me whether I was going to some gym, as, like most, she thought only those going to gyms walk for health. I was so focussed on walking – and breathless too – I barely answered her but smiled to myself. I had some fun moments too. At another time, I had a cute street dog running in circles in excitement as I walked past him. Mostly, he thought I was in a competition with him.

I chose to walk in the mornings to avoid the busy traffic on the roads, and I am glad I did that. Being a nature lover, I realised these morning walks were God’s way of opening my eyes to beautiful mornings, at times rain-washed the previous night, which I would otherwise miss if I slept a little longer. A lot of observations around me gave me plenty of ideas for my writing projects. I got a whole hour to reflect on several things in the quietude of my mind. Prayers said on the move braced me to face the rest of the day with a new level of confidence. Each time I completed my morning walk and reached home, I felt so much more energised and grateful for being able to walk so much.

The contest ended on 15^th March, two months after it started, but I kept my paced walking going on. I had discovered a new high and was not going to let go of it any sooner. On April 8^th we had to convene at a common place with other participants and replicate our performance over the previous two months. I walked with high spirits and new fitness levels – obviously it showed in my performance on that day. I clocked a little more than 7Kms. for the hour, pleasantly surprising myself. The following map on Strava is an artwork to me!

Lessons to remember –

ü  The starting level doesn’t determine the final performance. What matter are consistent efforts with discipline, in the meantime. I started off with a speed less than 6 Km/hr but am now at 7+ Km./hour after the regular self-imposed walking stints during the contest.

ü  Age doesn’t matter what one can do or how. If I could do it at 50+ years of age, anyone can. If I could walk, I can do just about anything else, ignoring the age bar.

ü  Every action has ripple effects on everything else in life – I am not just fitter and trimmer, but also faster. I don’t get tired when I run around in my daily life. I am geared up for a marathon now.

ಮರದ ಮರಣದಿಂದ ಆಸೆಯ ಕಿರಣ

 

ಮರಣವಾಗಿದೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮರದ ಮರಣವಾಗಿದೆ

ಎಂದೋ ಅಗಲಿದ ಆತ್ಮೀಯರ ಸ್ಮರಣವಾಗಿದೆ

ಬಿರುಗಾಳಿ ಮಳೆ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಮಾನವನ ದುರಾಸೆ

ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಷ್ಯ ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣವಾಗಿದೆ

 

ರೆಂಬೆ ಕೊಂಬೆಗಳು ತುಂಡು, ಮಧ್ಯ ಸೀಳು ಭಯಂಕರ

ಬೃಹದ್ ಮರದ ಈ ನೋವು ನೋಡಲತೀ ಬೇಸರ

ಬೀಜದಿಂದ ಮರವಾಗಿ ಬಾನೆತ್ತರಕ್ಕೆ ಬೆಳೆದು

ಈಗ ನೆಲಸಮವಾಗಿಹುದು ದುಃಖಕರ

 

ಶತಮಾನಗಳ ಈ ಮರವು ಹಿರಿಯದಾಗಿತ್ತು

ಮಳೆ ಬಿಸಿಲಿನಿಂದ ಕಾಯುವ ಗೋವರ್ಧನ ಗಿರಿ ಅದಾಗಿತ್ತು

ಪುಟ್ಟ ಪ್ರಾಣಿ ಹಲವು ಪಕ್ಷಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಆಸರೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ

ಸೊಕ್ಕು, ಅಹಂಕಾರಗಳಿಂದ ಬರಿದಾಗಿತ್ತು

 

ಇನ್ನಿಲ್ಲ ತಂಪು ತಂಗಾಳಿ, ಇಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ ಆಶ್ರಯ

ಬರಿ ಬಿಸಿಲಿನ ಕಾವು, ಸಂಕಟದ ಭಯ

ನೆರಳಿನ ತಾಣವಾಗಿದ್ದ ಸ್ಥಾನವು

ಈಗ ಆಶಾಹೀನ, ಏಲ್ಲವೂ ಲಯ

 

ಹಾಗೆಂದು ಕೂರಲಾಗದು ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ

ಜೊತೆಯಾಗು ತಂಗಿಯೇ, ಕೈ ನೀಡು ತಮ್ಮನೇ

ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಜೊತೆಗೂಡಿ ಸಲಹುವ ಇದನ್ನು

ಮರವಲ್ಲ ಇದು ನಮ್ಮ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಅಮ್ಮನೇ

 

ತಡೆಯಿರಿ, ಮರೆಯದಿರಿ ಈ ಮರದ ವಿಷಯ

ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರಿ ಸುಂದರ ತಣ್ಣೆಳಲಿನ ಆಶಯ

ನೋವಿನಿಂದ ಜೀವ ಪುನಃ ಉಕ್ಕಲಿ

ಬೆಳೆಯಲಿ ಮರಳಿ ಹಸಿರು ದೇವಾಲಯ

 

ನೋವಿನಿಂದ ಜೀವ ಪುನಃ ಉಕ್ಕಲಿ

ಬೆಳೆಯಲಿ ಮರಳಿ ಹಸಿರು ದೇವಾಲಯ

 

The Fall of the Mighty One and More

 

The damage was huge, the scene gory

The mighty one whispered a sad story

Of human greed for selfish gains

Not just heavy winds or thunderous rains

 

The trunk badly split and the boughs fell apart

The sight pulled at the strings of my heart

From a humble seed to a huge green canopy

Now a mere wooden stump it hurts to be

 

A witness to different phases of life

Times of peace and those of strife

The patriarch has seen it all

Be it powers that rose or had a fall

 

A safe haven for all, a place of rest

He sheltered everyone, patron or pest

Home to myriad birds, insects and bees

Yet we called him just one of many trees

 Now it’s all a thing of the past

His life is ebbing away really fast

The green and the brown, will soon become grey

Before we know, another life will pass away

 

But should we keep watching him die?

Or waste our time in regrets and only sigh?

No, we should pay him back for his fruits

Strengthen his arms and build his roots

 

We ought to show him our loving care

For life without trees is a real nightmare

Hug the tree, water him with love

Shower him with reverence and take a bow

 

He’s the Mighty One, for today and tomorrow

We can live only when he can grow