A heart that has faith

That day my coach asked me to dive in the swimming pool,

All my friends were encouraging me and calling me “cool”,

I smiled and waved at them but when I looked at the pool my heart sank,

The voice of Fear told me not to jump as the pool is deeper than a water tank,

I was nervous and cold and took a step back,

The voice of Love asked me what did I lack?

I said to Love that I was really scared and Fear was right in asking me to hold back,

Love said to me that was untrue and only cowards like Fear took a step forward and two steps back,

“If I am in your heart” said Love “then why should you fear, because if you fall I will hold you”,

Then Fear said “If you believe in Love then you will be all alone as I will leave you”,

I closed my eyes and took a leap of faith, I jumped in the pool with love and without any fear in my head,

Love said to me “The one who has faith is never alone as I am always here”, I triumphed and everyone clapped.

Diwali - The Festival of Lights, Hope and Love

Diwali (also known as Deepawali) is the Festival of Lights, Sweets and Relationships. Hindus celebrate this festival as the day when Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya while Jains celebrate this festival to mark the attainment of moksha by Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. Diwali is celebrated in different ways in different parts of India. The most significant aspect of this festival is to light the earthen lamps (i.e. Diyas) on dark nights and to decorate homes with colorful lights. This is a common practice which is followed in most parts of India during Diwali. This is the reason that this festival is called Deepawali, i.e. the festivals of Deep (lamps). Diyas are lit on Diwali to indicate that even one beam of light can reduce the darkness and create light and hope in our lives. We celebrate Diwali by distributing sweets and savouries to our families, friends and neighbors to express our gratitude for their presence in our lives. Everyone comes together to light the Diyas and to decorate their home with colorful lights. Most people do Rangoli (sacred designs drawn on floor in India during festivals and auspicious occasions) by creating beautiful designs on the floor with flowers or colors. This festival marks the message of love, hope, goodwill and family unity.

Before this festival begins we clean our homes and get rid of the clothes or other stuff that we don’t need or use by donating them to the needy. This practice signifies the importance of getting rid of unnecessary clutter from our homes and minds and giving away what we don’t need to those who need it.

Most importantly Diwali signifies that one must never lose hope. No matter how dark the night is one Diya is enough to penetrate its boundless darkness and create light. Similarly, no matter how difficult a situation is, we must never forget to light the Diya of hope and peace in our lives. Just as a single Diya is enough to light the dark night, a single ray of hope is enough to get through the most difficult times of life.

On this auspicious occasion of Deepawali/Diwali I wish all my readers have a happy, healthy and prosperous life which is always full of hope. I also wish to express my gratitude to you all for showing your love to my blog by reading my articles. My message to you all on this occasion is to keep that one Diya of hope always lit so no darkness can ever affect your life. This Diwali, let us spread light, hope and love in everyone’s life.

Changing your life is a Marathon not a Sprint

I read this quote one morning about treating life as it was a marathon and not a sprint. These words got me thinking and so I decided to write about it. When we focus on bringing about a change in our life to make it better, we often start with great enthusiasm and somewhere in between we lose our zeal. Have you ever wondered why this happens every time we try to bring some positive change in our lives? This happens because we treat our lives as if it was a sprint where we have to run fast to win and we are so focused on not losing that we forget to enjoy the race. But if we treat our lives as a marathon and appreciate the scenery and things around us while we slowly yet consistently move towards the finish life, then it would be far easier to achieve our goals.

Every day many of us feel bored and demotivated when we are working towards our goals or towards making a positive change in our lives. It can be frustrating not to see immediate results and that often leads to a feeling of monotony and boredom. However, if we are consistent and patient during  our journey to reach our goals, then we will automatically reach the finish line of the race without further ado.

Life is a journey to be enjoyed and thus we must not be overly fixated at the end result as much as on our journey. It is the lessons that we learn and the moments that we cherish during this journey which makes the race interesting. At the end of the race there is only one winner yet all others who participated are not losers if they enjoyed the process of completing the race. The feeling of accomplishment does not come by winning a race rather it comes from knowing that you went all out and completed the race. I am not suggesting that one should not be competitive. All I am saying is that one must not be so focused on the goals that he/she forgets to enjoy the journey that he/she goes through to reach the final destination.

When we have fitness goals, we are usually focused on the amount of weight that we lost and if we don’t lose quickly we often feel frustrated. Rather one must focus on the changes that the body is going through internally (apart from the obvious external changes) during the weight loss journey rather than the pounds that are lost or gained. Notice the change in your stamina, the number of stairs you are able to climb without feeling breathless, the improvement in your moods, etc. Don’t focus on the weight as that is just a number rather focus on the positive effects of exercise and food in your body, mind and spirit. When you do this, you will surely reach your goals without feeling burnt out and dejected.

“It’s important to remember that each footstrike carries you forward and not backward. And every time you put on your running shoes you are different in some way than you were the day before” (a quote on Pinterest). Enjoy the journey and the results will follow. Always remember it’s your journey and your goals so stop worrying about others perception and focus on your path.