Little Joys of Life

 

Every one of us carries a part within us that demands attention at various phases of life. Too many theories and studies are accredited to the field. And hereby, I accept that I have not studied any of them.

But I'm conscious enough to understand that there is a part of me that demands attention and healing at one point or the other. The side which demands to do something which I always wanted to do. The side which demands a certain amount of solitude.

So here I'm, sitting at my desk near the window on a windy night. My reading lamp is on and is giving a romantic glow to my so-called literary endeavors.

Reading and writing grew up with me. Though not more than a dozen people read my essays and articles. Neither I'm a voracious reader having books of difficult-to-pronounce Russian and French authors.

I enjoy simple things. Be it the books in my mini-library or little write-ups that are accumulating in my journal, I try to keep them simple.

I'm too afraid of mental conditioning - choosing one side over the other, without knowing the truth behind it. Neither I'm eager to influence my reader-friends. 

Sometimes I think that we are too busy accumulating more and more knowledge and awareness that it becomes difficult for us to see things as they are - right in front of us. 

So tonight, on special demand of that 'Part' of me, I switched on my reading lamp and started writing my thoughts. I found some white sheets, which actually turned yellow. The time took a toll on their appearances too. But I like them more than the fresher ones. I find them mature - capable of handling my mischiefs and the tantrums I throw while writing. I find them pretty experienced as they stick together through thick and thin.

And the pen I'm holding, oh! there is a story behind it.

When the lockdown was implied and I was sick of reading what I had, I requested Cambridge Book Depot, Musoories to send me some  Ruskin Bond's books. They were generous enough to make every book duly autographed by the author himself.

And when the books arrived, I was mesmerized by Mr. Bond's handwriting. It was a thick violet ink, with a smooth texture. I requested Mr. Arora, the owner of the bookstore to kindly enquire which pen Mr. Bond uses. He texted me the name of the pen that very night. 

In a couple of days, I was holding that pen in my hands. I felt like a superhero as I held that pen. It's a different story though. 

I like writing the initial draft of whatever I write with my hand. I enjoy the romantic encounter between the pen and the paper, spilling the ink in an anonymous fashion.  I feel that a write-up directly entered into a computer or any electronic device is a body without a soul.

A few books are lying on my not-so-clean desk. One of them is coincidentally written by Mr. Bond. It's an anthology with various essays written on hills.

The other book which is lying on my desk is called 'Meditations' written by Marcus Aurelius, a former Roman ruler, who wrote this with the intention of keeping his thoughts to himself only. Luckily (or rather unluckily, if you look at this from the author's point of view) it was published and became an integral part of Stoic literature.

An exercise notebook is lying around which has no more space to write in. I still like to fit some of my thoughts in it. 

And there is a little portrait of Swami Vivekananda, gifted by my Father when I was in college. It has a permanent place on my desk - The other things keep changing with time.

The reading lamp flickers as I move my chair forward and backward. I take this as an indication to remain calm and focused. 

Being in that not-so-perfect environment, reading and writing not-so-perfect things are what 'That' part of me demands.

These little joys of life keep me sane.

Love, Laughter, and Peace

Himanshu R. Nagpal

 

Minimalism and the Art of Time Management

 

Since my childhood, I have heard from so many sources that Time Management is very crucial for one, no matter who he or she is. And I cannot deny the fact that I have had a very hard time managing my time. You must have also heard about maintaining a time table or write a ‘To-Do List’ in your journal to save time, which increases one’s efficiency and effectiveness of the task. No points for guessing, that I tried all that stuff and failed not once but many times.

So in this little article, I’ll try to cover that what the heck is minimalism and how it is connected with this evergreen concept of time management.

First things first, let’s try to understand what is Minimalism? Don’t worry, I will not give you a definition copied from the websites of the west blabbering about Minimalism a concept originated from the west. I will just write what I feel about this.

Minimalism is something that physically makes you survive on the least resources possible and spiritually it makes your existence lighter.

By the definition, when I say that it makes you survive fewer resources, I mean to say that there are no extra clothes in your closet which you don’t wear anymore or which doesn’t fit you anymore. There are no extra pens and pencils in your pen holder. There are no unused files  (Audio, Video, or images) on your mobile phone. There are no unread and unattended Emails in your Inbox. There are no idiotic pages followed on your Facebook profile.

One of the most time-consuming tasks of every one of us is to stand in front of our closet every morning and think about what I should wear to the office. The reason is very simple because our closet is un-managed and filled with lots and lots of clothes, which we don’t wear anymore, we have actually forgotten what’s actually there in my closet. Our own habit of accumulating things and attachment to them is making our daily chores slow and time-consuming, also it is also digging a hole in our respective pockets.

Have we ever thought that why are we spending a large chunk of our monthly income on clothes and other accessories? The answer is very simple. We believe that we are judged by the clothes and watches we wear at a party instead of the way we express ourselves in a party. As we have discussed in our earlier posts, our clothes, gadgets, and accessories are not our identity.

So there are certain not-so-easy but amazing ways to save time by adopting a minimalist way of living:-

1. Every Sunday try to invest at least 15 minutes in managing your closet.
2. Make a list of clothes which you don't need anymore and then - Donate them.  (Or you can also sell them. There are certain websites that help you in finding buyers for your clothes. Though I haven't tried them yet.)
3. Understand the difference between needs and wants. Needs are of utmost importance for one's well being but unnecessary wants can fill your life with hell lot of physical and mental clutter. 
4. Don't think about what other people will say if you repeat clothes often. It is you who have to pay for your clothes, not them.
   
   So my dear minimalist, these steps are time-consuming at first but trust me, it will save a lot of your time in the long run.
   
   So, I'll see you next week then.
   
   Om Shanti:
   Love, Laughter, and Peace
   Himanshu R Nagpal
   Edited By:- Geetika Nagpal

 

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Connecting with the Mother Earth

Every day I came across many people who always complain. They complain about everything they come across – Be it their job or their home or their spouse or their neighbors and the list go on and on. But in their daily life and routine, they always miss the chance to say thank you to the almighty who has given us innumerable gifts which generally stays out of our gratitude list. So today, I’m going to talk about one of the greatest gifts to mankind – Nature.

My dear ones, every day we have to be conscious enough that our human body is nothing but an accumulation of the five elements or the Panch-Tattvas. The Panch-tattvas comprises of Water, Sky, Earth, Air, and Fire. No matter how much money we earn or many houses we build, no one can add another element to his or her body. In this blog post, we are going to talk about our connection specifically with Earth, because in the journey towards Minimalism, probably the biggest role is played by Earth.

This might sound a bit philosophical, but trust me, in your journey towards minimalism you cannot proceed without connecting with Earth. So sit back, relax and calmly touch your feet to the ground. As you touch your feet to the ground, feel the energy in your body. We need to understand that Mother Earth is the sole provider of energy. Pray to the Mother Earth to always keep us grounded. Pray to Mother Earth no matter how many worldly possessions we might have, one day, we have to sleep forever in her lap. May She never leave her little children alone. Say Thanks to Mother Earth for always carrying our burden on our shoulders. If possible, every morning bow to her for providing us nourishment, care, and love.

I know this may sound foolish in the beginning, but it is very much required. I have seen many people who constantly quote about simple living on social media platforms. But their lifestyle doesn’t support what they say. They are carrying the latest smartphones, wearing branded watches, uploading their pictures while donating food and stuff to the needy ones, and so on. The only reason behind this is they have lost the connection between themselves and the Mother Earth. They are busy polishing their roofs without gaining strength in their roots.

So let’s say that this is the first step in the process of living life simply and effectively.

Though I have missed this point many times, I want to say that I have no hard feelings for the ones who love gathering stuff and filling up their closet with what all they can. They have full right to live their life as per their will and we are no one to guide them or tell them what’s right and what’s wrong.

Let’s conclude this little post on the fact that no matter how many things we have, we can’t take even a penny with us to the other world. I hope this helps you in making you aware of the fact that we shall not run here and there with the purpose of finding God. God is here, inside us, below our feet, above our head, in each and every breath of ours.

Stay Grounded.

and yes, If you haven't read my earlier articles in this series, you can read Here :-)

Om Shanti:

Love, laughter, and peace

Himanshu R Nagpal (HRN)

Edited by:- Geetika Nagpal

PS- I'm Protected

Have you ever thought that is there any power which is governing us and protecting us at every turn of life? or are we all alone on this planet? How often we feel that there’s no one to protect us and care for us. And how often we feel that there’s completely no one who can completely understand us and feel for us.

Questions like who created this whole system of life and death and after death always appears in my mind. Who created our emotions? Who created these religions? and there are a lot more ‘Who’ in the list. And one thing which constantly appears in my mind is how can there be no errors or faults in the system? How everyone has to die, no matter sooner or later, no matter who you are, but one has to die. There’s completely no escape.

A few days back I was going through a little emotional trauma and was a bit shattered. I felt that there’s completely no one who can understand me or help me to come out of it. I felt naked. I felt Vulnerable.

But I’m very fortunate that I have some friends who, no matter what happens, never judge me. So, I texted one of my friends and I told her what I was going through. First thing She did is to wholeheartedly listen to me, which I think, made the major impact on my improvement. I felt relaxed and calm. I looked at her display picture. two fairies were standing. Out of curiosity, I asked her who are they. She replied that they are Archangels. I had no idea who Archangels are, so I tried to gather more information. She said that Archangels protect us, heal us and take care of our well-being.

“Is there any Archangel who is protecting me?” I asked her.

She said to me that I need to close my eyes and Inhale and exhale slowly. She asked me whether any picture or number visible to me. Honestly, there were none.

She told me to try again and this time I inhaled through my nostrils and exhaled through my mouth. Out of the blue letter ‘G’ was visible and then a word Gibrel or Gabril appeared in my mind. I can cross my heart and can say that I never heard this name in my entire life.

What she said next actually shook me up and made my eyes moist:-

“Archangel Gabriel is working with you”

Archangel Gabriel, as some of us know, is the one who Conveyed Almighty Allah’s messages to Prophet Muhammad who wrote Al-Quran when he got those messages. She also came to Mother Mary and gave the message that she is about to give birth to the Son of God – Lord Jesus.

Archangel Gabriel helps writers, Poets, Speakers, and communicators to convey their messages clearly and efficiently.

At that moment two things were so darn clear to me. First, that no matter what your religion is, you are not away from the divine grace. Second and most important – I'm Protected.

I felt delighted when I understood that there’s a power who is always protecting you. there’s a power who is there with you on your path. You are not alone my dear. You are Special. You are Protected.

I dedicate this article to Archangel Gabriel who helped me in finding words

De-Cluttering your shelf. De-Cluttering your Life

In the last blog post, we discussed what living simply looks like and what are the various reasons to opt for simple living. In this article, we’ll try to understand the first and one of the most important attributes of simple living and that is Decluttering.

We, humans, are extremely strange being among the ones who are present on the planet earth. We feel contented and happy in accumulating more and more stuff. We love to own the latest Mobile phone, with the features which are going to be outdated in a couple of months. We love buying more and more fashionable clothes so that we don’t have to repeat them in office parties. And the sole reason behind it that we have that feeling that everyone is looking at us, judging us. We have a tendency to try to stay above our league, Isn’t it?  But less do we know that we have a very limited time on this planet. So, we have to take care of what we choose to own, what we choose to be, and how we choose to spend our time.

Warren Buffet put it very beautifully when said that “If you are buying what you don’t need, soon you will have to sell what you need.” Mr. Buffet is one of the greatest investors of the last century. And the kind of life he lives, we can say that he is simplicity personified. He drives his own car, living in the same house for many decades and still one of the richest men living on the planet presently.

So let’s get back to De-Cluttering.

Decluttering is a twin-faced sword. When we talk about De-Cluttering we are talking about controlling our emotions. Buying what will soon not be of any use for us is nothing but our uncontrollable emotions taking a toll on us. So first of all let’s start with clearing what all we don’t need anymore. So the question arises here is how can we classify that what’s required or what’s not required. Now, this might be a debatable topic because our emotions are still ruling our whole system. So I have made a simple rule – make a list of all those items which we haven’t used in the last 90 days. Be it the clothes which don’t fit us anymore but still lying in our closet from so many years, or the old books which we have read and we are not going to read them again, pass it on my dear ones.  There are innumerable people who always dream of the things you are thinking to discard, pass it on.

The other aspect of decluttering is thinking before buying new products. You need to set a series of questions that you need to ask yourself before buying any new stuff and bring it to your home.

• Is this product going to make my life easier?
• Can I afford this product without cutting my basic expenses?
• Do I have enough space in my home for this product?
• Can I survive without this product for more than three months without this product?
• Am I buying this product to impress others?

If any of the above questions make you think that there is no need to buy that product, please don’t buy it.  I know it’s difficult but it’s worth doing it. When you make the decision not to buy that thing, whatever it is, you confront those emotions which are troubling you for so long. And the more you will confront them, the better you will be able to take control of yourself. It will always make you feel light and happy. Remember what you read in the last post? ‘Less is always More’.

See you in the next post

And yes, If you haven't read my previous post, you can read Here ☺

Om Shanti:

Love, laughter, and peace

Himanshu R Nagpal (HRN)

Edited by:- Geetika Nagpal

Make It Simple Silly

Most of us are sitting at home during this lockdown period and must be thinking that when can we finally go out and carry on with our daily activities. Most of us might be getting sick of those funny, yet idiotic tik-tok videos or those silly forwarded messages, which are making fun of this whole situation. But my dear friends, don’t you think that whatever is happening is somewhat is the result of our own deeds? Our Lifestyle was so darn fast that nature was not able to tolerate more. And this is nothing but nature’s warning that we need to slow down. We need to stop for a while a need some time for self-reflection. We need to understand that there is no point in accumulating things and filing our drawers and shelves with the stuff which we rarely use.  As it was once said, “It is enough in this world for everyone’s need but not enough for anyone’s greed.”

So my dear ones, I’m starting with this little series of articles through which you can simplify your life.

Now let’s start with the understanding that what is the actual meaning of this simplification of life.

“Simplification of life is nothing but a natural state of being. It focuses mainly on understanding your wants without compromising your requirements. In other words, it’s a gesture of love towards the other beings residing with us on this planet as well as learning to love ourselves.”

Let’s break the definition now and try to understand it more deeply.

• It’s a Natural state of being

Since we were born, we started accumulating whatever life threw at us. Be it the way we talk or the way we walk, most of our gestures are accumulated. Our Subconscious mind is busy with recording the stuff which we see and we listen to. But when we talk about the natural state of being, we are talking about what’s genuinely ours. To simplify our lives we need to know ourselves inside out. We need to de-clutter those gestures, those emotions, those ideas which we have copied from someone else. Before proceeding in our respective lives, we need to know who we really are.

• Understanding Wants without Compromising requirements

Let’s learn a basic statement of Simple Living – ‘Less is Always More’.  Though I would like to talk about this concept in my future blog posts, For now, let’s try to understand that de-cluttering doesn’t mean that you should sell off everything and live your life like a monk. I’m sorry, no hard feelings for monks, but I haven’t lived that life so I’m not in the correct situation to talk about that life. Every person has certain dreams and requirements. One must think big and work hard towards achieving it. But bigger goals should never contradict your basic personality. In the process of achieving goals, one should not become someone who they are not. So the essence of simple living is the concentrated point between wants and requirements.

• The gesture of Love towards other Beings

This is the high time that we should genuinely understand that the resources on this planet are limited. No matter how much money we have in our banks or how many cars we own, we should always think about consuming as few resources as possible so that we can offer it to other people. So, Its high time to show some love to our neighbors, to our friends, to the animals around us, so that everyone can use those resources. There is another important statement I want to introduce here regarding the topic – “Sharing is Caring”.

 

• Learning to Love Ourselves

My dear friends, there is a tried and tested thumb rule. Though it took me a hell lot of time to learn this concept, and I’m still learning. So sit back, relax, and try to understand this. It is completely impossible to love others without loving ourselves. That’s the thumb rule. You can’t love/care of/ Respect others without first loving /caring for/ respect yourself. When we shed off what’s not belongs to us, we come to that point where we can reach the person who we really are. And that person is holy. That person is lovable.

So my dear friends, let’s start this journey of making our life simple and worth living. Let’s try to learn a lesson from this pandemic that one should stop for a while and devote some time to think that what we are doing and why we are doing it.

I’ll be coming up with more ideas to make our lives simple and happy. Let’s join hands and try to make this world a better place to live in.

Om Shanti:

Love, laughter, and peace

Himanshu R Nagpal

Edited by Geetika Nagpal