Monday, 03 January 2022 | Pooja Poddar Marwah
We are starting a new year with the pandemic’s wings spread across our heads. But this time, instead of fear, optimism seems to be playing its round of Chinese whispers! Every year defines us in some or the other way. Either we learn and grow or we continue in its nonchalant journey, as mere leaves that float aimlessly in a river. The thing here to remember is that despite all the obstacles the river has, it stays focussed on its path and eventually reaches the ocean. And the leaf gets lost somewhere in the midst.
When we speak of evolving, it implies a continuous growth of one’s perceptions. It leads to better handling of circumstances and projects a more mature outlook on life itself. The comparisons stop and in place, meaningful moments take over. Yes, it is all in the mind. Everything begins and ends with the flow that you allow in your brain. What you fuel, gets lit and what you douse turns into ash. A small change in your outlook has the capacity to induce life-defining changes to your own life.
The pandemic taught us to embrace the impossible. It forced us to break habits and form new ones. It pushed us beyond our comfort zones and shook us, individually and as a community. It stood as a boulder on our track whilst we sped like a freight train and bought us to a standstill at its own whim.
And now what? The human mind is a mental phenomenon that gives birth to perception, emotion, desire, pain, guilt and ego. In varying forms, it is in this occurrence that we become nonpareil actors of our own life. The high of believing that we are unrivalled further enhances ego and takes us to a point of no return. On the other hand, if we looked at situations long sighted, more often than not, we would bask in the comfort of being a calmer version of ourselves. The beauty of a mindset is that it is never fixed. It evolves with time, judgement and reasoning. And rightly so, for giving yourself a mindset that is devoid of assumptions, deceit and malice will churn out a more positive and vibrant you.
The idea is to be able to control the thoughts that we feed our minds with. It isn’t easy but instead of focussing on the obstacles if we just kept our vision fixated to our goal post, wouldn’t we be overcoming a defeatist mindset?
A minor shift in your attitude can make major changes to your life. So, how about we begin this year with a note to self – Improvise the script… add a dash of prayer, subtract a bit of judgement, multiply a lot of humour and divide the chunk of pain.
You never know… your life may just equal to the Phantom of the Opera! And that is the longest-running Broadway show that still can entertain and bewitch us with its melody.
(The writer is an award winning author and blogger who writes on life, relationships and contemporary living. Views expressed are personal)
