Sreenath Sreenivasan

Thriving Mindfully

Tag: Personal Growth (Page 9 of 9)

The gift of gifting

April 30, 2018 / / 0 Comments

As a pure stroke of luck, I found myself in the midst of a few hundred Bicyclists today. We were all participating in a bicycle rally, a 25 kilometre ride along the coastline in Trang, South Thailand.
It is funny to confess that I still have no idea what the rally was about !
Everything was written and communicated in Thai and barely anyone spoke English.
I mimed my way into the rally much to the amusement of my fellow Thai cyclist friends.

Towards the end of the race, there was a freebie distribution session for all finishers. We had to choose a ball from an opaque pot containing balls of many colours. The ones who got a red ball went home with a bag, blue balls got key chains, green ones got pens and so on.

It was such fun to observe that everyone there could easily afford all these free things. And no one really felt the need of these extra things in life. Yet, the joy of getting something for free was much apparent on everybody’s faces. It was hilarious to see a 60 year old grandmother jump up and down as she got a free water cooler. I am quite sure it wasn’t the most pressing need of her life.
But oh the joy of getting something for free!
It cuts across all of humanity, location and culture notwithstanding.

Most often, sponsors use this vulnerability of participants by giving away things that can serve as a promotion tool for them. All bags would have their names on them, so would t-shirts and other accessories
A freebie costs the sponsor some money, but it provides an avenue for promotion, with avid participation from all.

No freebie is totally free.
While there is joy in giving, it comes at a cost.

I got thinking about the prospect experiencing the Joy of giving without a monetary cost per se.
And I thought about kids.
Just through their pure being,
Kids give out so much energy filled with joy and laughter at every moment!
In fact the whole community around a little child feels the happiness that it emanates through its existence.
What makes it ever more beautiful is that the child has no idea how profound a difference it makes in the life of everyone around. Just through the pure state of being, it acts as a true harbinger of joy. A true freebie, where everyone wins, and the smiles are much more lasting and meaningful.

If a human wishes to experience the joy of giving unconditionally, by all means he can. He just has to turn to a kid to learn how.
Expressing an unadulterated state of pure being,  sharing one’s creative energy, or just even making people around feel good, is a profoundly meaningful gift to the community.

The best gifts is one which the receiver didn’t realise he needed so badly in life. All of us can use a source of good energy in our lives.

And gifting someone with constant nourishment of good energy also helps one cultivate his best self.
Both the giver and receiver benefit, with no ulterior motive, with no additional cost.
A true win-win situation.

Every human, no matter how poor or rich, is in a position to gift abundantly.
And it is the greatest feeling to spread love like a child, without even realising you are, through the pure state of being.

It is a choice,
That not surprisingly,
Is free for all.

On Harnessing Latent Smiles

April 25, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Passing through a little village nestled in the hillocks, I wished to reach my destination before sundown. The bicycle ride had been a long one, eight hours long to be precise. I was still an hour away from the destination.
I stopped for a moment to have a sip of water. An elderly village lady walked towards me in the meantime.
She started speaking to me in Thai quite avidly.
I couldn’t understand much of it.
I just told her , ‘Me, Ban Samoeng’
Ban Samoeng was the village I had to reach.
‘Ah, Ban Samoeng! ‘ she exclaimed.

As I got on my bicycle and started to pedal, I felt a gentle push.
I looked back to see that the old woman was pushing my bike forward intending to help me bicycle on.
Oh the carefree smile on her face!
‘Bye bye!’ she waved to me excitedly.

And from deep inside me, she summoned a latent smile on my face. I was tired from the days bicycling, and had no energy to do much. But her gesture proved me otherwise. She fueled me enough to reach my destination with a smiling face, right in time.

It got me wondering about the power a human being possesses. You might often have experienced a lull in your daily life. There might seem no apparent reason to smile. But a stranger smiles at you with such warmth that you find yourself smiling out of nowhere.
Kids have this power over the whole world that surrounds them. No matter how tiring the day has been, once the father is back at home, he has all the reasons to smile and feel grateful as he looks at his child.
Even a stranger cannot resist the smile that a baby springs up on his face.

Realising this influence over each other makes one feel empowered. And as they say, with great power, comes great responsibility.

We have the power to summon smiles on people’s faces like a sorcerer. We can, with a simple decision to smile, being forth a discerning change in the energy of the world around us.

And once we choose to do that,
We feel,
‘The world is suddenly a kinder place.’

As humans, as social engineers, at every opportunity,
We should trade smiles.
For in this business,
Everyone Profits,
Smilingly.

A Lesson on Mindfulness

April 22, 2018 / / 0 Comments

The roosters announced the arrival of the first rays of sunlight. The sun, still hiding behind the hills waited for the earth to turn, and experience daylight.
Petals dripping in dew greeted onlookers a spirited day ahead.
Bright and early, I got out of the dormitory and savoured the sunrise.
I looked around to find out if my friends had woken up or not.
Some friends were practising Yoga, some sitting by the garden, enjoying the moment in stillness. It seemed like a deeply immersive start to the gift of new day.

As I walked around, I found my friend Alice brushing her hair, transitioning slowly to wakefulness.
I walked on and went to the kitchen to help cook breakfast. Soon, Alice walked down the stone stairway into the open kitchen.
She looked at me briefly and said
‘Good morning!’
I nodded smilingly and continued with my work.
She washed her face under a tap to freshen up.

Soon I heard her voice again from nearby.

‘I don’t think that was the most mindful good morning I could offer Sreenath.
I wish you a very good morning’ she shared as she looked into my eyes with an open heart.

That gesture made me bloom like a flower in springtime.

As she was walking away I called her out,

‘Alice!’
‘It’s wonderful to be mindful of your own un-mindfulness.
And even better so to improve upon your un-mindfulness so quickly.
Thanks for your mindful behavior!’
‘You made my morning !’
I shared lovingly.

She walked off with a smile, and we continued on with our day’s work with the pursuit of being mindful in all our actions.

This interaction made me wonder about how we are used to giving ourself an unending grace period to correct our mistakes. It even needn’t be a mistake, it could just be an action that could be done better, in a more mindful way.

For instance, a person might not have been the kindest to a friend. He keeps thinking that he would acknowledge his mistake and apologize soon but that never happens. And with time it becomes easier to forget, harder to confront.
It doesn’t help the relationship in any way.

It can be something even simpler than this. We have all experienced that interaction where we forget the name of the person we’re talking to but we still navigate our way out of the conversation without simply asking them their name once more. Wouldn’t it be a more meaningful conversation if we accepted our un-mindfulness and asked for their name again?

In all our daily interactions, there is always scope to be more mindful. If we acknowledge this and resolve to better ourselves the moment we find an opportunity, we will definitely create a more loving and mindful energy around us.

On that note,
In sincere hope
I wish you a series of mindfully led moments,
As they culminate into days,
And eventually
Into a mindfully led lifetime.

On sculpting your identity

April 13, 2018 / / 0 Comments

You.
Yes you, my friend.
Grant yourself a few moments of perfect stillness.
Take a deep breath.
And Imagine.

Imagine who you currently embody. Your mind, body, thoughts and soul.
This is what you represent.
You’re a being in incessant flux, becoming and evolving.

Accept it.
This is YOU in the present moment.

Now imagine the version you wish to embody.
What do you represent?
How do you ennoble the people around?
Do you shine in your own glory, and invite people to do the same?
Visualize and believe in it.

Now,
Think of your present self as a chunk of marble.
And your better self as the finished work of art, the timeless sculpture you wish to create.

Now, let me share a story about the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo.
When Michelangelo was asked about his creative process of sculpting, he simply quipped,
‘You have to see the sculpture in the block of stone and chisel out the bits that aren’t the sculpture.’

Drawing a parallel,
each adversity,
each challenge,
each responsibility you willingly take represents the chisel your stone like self has to go through to inch closer to your better self.

Then, the question remains,

Can you visualise the better version of your self?
If so, are you ready to weather adversity, face challenges, embrace responsibilities that shall sculpt you each living moment?

It is a slow process.
It takes time.
It takes mindfulness.

But it also takes you closer to your better self.

So I ask you, my friend,

Are you ready,
To begin the journey,
Of Chiseling
Your own self?

If life is not going anywhere

March 30, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Deep in our hearts, we all have that little dream of an adventure. But we are guilty of postponing it forever. We think that life is not going away anywhere and we will fulfill our dream of that adventure someday along the way. We do this because we are too afraid to stray from the constancy of life. Since an adventure asks for a tectonic shift in our lifestyle and outlook, we postpone it.
‘Life isn’t going away anywhere,’ we rationalize. ‘One day we will embark’.

However, there is another perspective which might serve one better.

Life truly is not going away anywhere.

Yes, an adventure asks for time and mindspace. But if we give it what it takes, our life will only be further enriched through the experience. We can always come back to the constancy, the mundane daily life. And it is best to come back to it enriched.
As we return to our previous lifestyle after the adventure we’ll discover that we’ve evolved. And we are ready to imagine a life that’s true to who we are deep inside.

So if you feel your life is going nowhere, remember that life is not going away anywhere. Make time, be brave and fulfill the adventure you’ve always wanted to.
In the interest of the evolution of your soul.

Learning to Unlearn

March 14, 2018 / / 0 Comments

‘Don’t strain your body, let it loose’ commanded my swimming instructor.
I gasped for a breath after another failed attempt at floating in water. The sun shone brightly on the disappointed trainer’s face.
‘Try again’ he said in anguish.

Swimming is one of the life skills I did not get an opportunity to learn as a kid. Battling my phobia of water, I finally convinced myself to learn to swim. It was the third day at class and my instructor couldn’t believe how stiff my body was under water.
‘ Why are you so stiff? And why can’t you hold your breath for longer? Even a ten year old kid can do this!’ he said.
I didn’t have much to explain. I kept trying for the rest of the session.

Once I got out of the water, I started thinking about what happened during the training. I kept wondering about the comment he made about how even a ten year old kid could do what he was asking me to.
While I was a bit worked up after hearing that, over time a sense of calm dawned on me. I realised that accidentally the trainer had given me a great sermon.

We always associate progress with growing up. We always envision to be the best version of ourselves in future. But I realised that it is a partial perspective. Progress should be associated as much with growing up to maturity as with preserving the childlike elasticity of thought and action. The innate wisdom of body and mind programmed in kids is often unlearned as we age. Our body and mind grow up to an ‘acquired stiffness.’
The pursuit of true growth should be aimed in both directions, as much in ‘unlearning’ as in learning.
As a 27 year old, I aspire to have the maturity of 45 old man as I age while preserving the elasticity of being in a 10 year old boy.
That combination would make for a complete human in my opinion.
So now as I prepare myself for my next attempt at floating, I will focus on unlearning, to grow past my acquired stiffness.
In sincere pursuit of having a nimble body and mind of a ten year old boy.

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SREENATH SREENIVASAN

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