View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Elephant Journal (@elephantjournal) on Aug 30, 2019 at 10:52am PDT

Death terrifies most of us, though it’s a certainty from the time we are born.

We want to live forever, but are we living or merely existing most of the time?

Things change when we discover we have an illness which can cut short our life’s journey or that old age has crept up while we were struggling to live up to the dreams and expectations of others and society.

This realization fills us with despair for the unachieved or deep resentments against those we had tried to please. A feeling of sand trickling out of the palms makes some bitter, while others find improbable means to delay or deceive death.

This mirage of escaping the inevitable keeps us tied to hospital beds in more agony than the probable end.

This certainly does not mean that we shouldn’t seek treatment to enjoy a quality life. But it means that a certainty cannot be denied. So why not live a life being true to ourselves?

This can be done while fulfilling roles and expectations too. To serve does not mean we have to deny ourselves.

1. If a particular passion electrifies your being, make time for it. Invest in discovering your passion—whether it’s music, theater, books, carpentry, or outdoor sports.

2. Be in relationships that nurture your being. Make efforts to keep the spark alive. If something is stifling you, it’s not working. Exit, without making a villain of the other person or destroying the moments when the relationship had life.

3. Give back to society what you have received. It takes a village to raise a child, thus we all owe a lot to our surroundings and the people in them.

4. Volunteer, mentor, assist people who need support. There is no bigger happiness than being able to be of service.

5. Spend time in nature. We all are connected to the elements of life—they recharge our energy and feeling of well-being. Earth, water, and trees have healing properties. Spend time walking barefoot on grass, sit under a tree, or listen to the waves of the ocean or the music of rivers.

6. Keep a pet.

7. Read literature that interests you. Books are constant companions and help us discover ourselves.

8. Listen to music that electrifies or calms your soul.

9. Spend time with friends; make the effort and have patience when you’re with them. They could be struggling with their problems too. Listen to them. Be there for them.

10. Be kind to strangers. Offer your seat on a bus or train to an elderly person, child, or pregnant lady.

Life is not found in big achievements. It’s often found in these smaller milestones—in the journey of the steps we take to reach those destinations.

It’s here we can pause to smell the flowers, marvel at the magnificence of sunshine and rainbows, and inhale the jasmine-scented gentle breeze after a monsoon shower.

~