Quotes by Stephen King

“Get busy living or get busy dying.” 

“Alone. Yes, that's the key word, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym.” 

“Friends.
They aren’t any such thing as good friend or bad friend.
Maybe there are just friend.
People who stand by you when you're hurt and who helped you feel not so lonely.
Maybe there are worth being scared for and hoping for and living for.
Maybe worth dying for too.
If that what has to be.
No bad friends.
Only people you want.
Need to be with.
People who build their houses in your heart.” 

“Show me a man or a woman alone and I'll show you a saint. Give me two and they'll fall in love. Give me three and they'll invent the charming thing we call 'society'. Give me four and they'll build a pyramid. Give me five and they'll make one an outcast. Give me six and they'll reinvent prejudice. Give me seven and in seven years they'll reinvent warfare. Man may have been made in the image of God, but human society was made in the image of His opposite number, and is always trying to get back home.” 

“There's no harm in hoping for the best as long as you're prepared for the worst.” 

Stop to Recharge

 Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.- Anton Chekov.
We are all different, we all handle stress differently.One common thread that joins us together is the wear and tear of living. Not just making a living, but the other peripheral stuff that has become a necessary part of our survival.  Multitasking is sometimes the only way we can get through all the to-do list that we have for the day. Although I am not a fan of multitasking, that is the only way I can make through my day. Work, family, kids, social commitments,all add up and sometimes fill to the brim of our tolerance level. Weekends are sometimes crazier than weekdays. The clock like precision with which we work, where every minute counts, can take a toll on our body and mind.

Everyday we keep on adding to previous days stressful experiences - just marching on , believing that we are ready to receive the next day. We march on till  our body says its enough and gives in to a flu or cold or just plain tiredness. Come to think of it. We earn so that we can eat well, sleep well, yet how many of us can truthfully say they are eating well everyday? Many of us are eating on the run, eating while driving, skipping hours of sleep at time to finish work.

Unwinding everyday is an essential criteria in maintaining a good health. Some unwind by watching comedy, some by exercising and maybe for someone else it would just be playing and listening to the gurgling laughter of a child. It could even be playing with your pet, gardening or listening to music. Most of us do try and unwind, but if the schedule gets busier, our leisure time is also the first to go.From time to time, we all need to detoxify our lives. Vacation may not be possible for all, but to have that one day in a week (realistically for many a  month), where time stops - no looking at the clock, no schedule to follow, no information to process ( meaning no news ), can be just the medicine the doctor has prescribed. Just hearing the chirping of the birds or the rain fall, just observing the hustling of leaves or flowers dancing with breeze- or a sunset ,just observing no judging can clean your mind of the grime that collects with our day to day living. Dust it everyday and even a couple of minutes a day will be enough. So,stop and smell the roses, stop and admire this beautiful creation of God,stop in your steps and breath in the fresh air. Stop and recharge.

Problem Solving

Set your goal, make all your optional and fall back plans,  but focus one step at a time.  If you look too far ahead, you will trip and fall.
Break down your goals into smaller achievable targets. This will help in living in the moment and the problem doesn't seem insurmountable.
Visualizing that you are surrounded by angels protecting you,definitely makes you feel powerful. It might be angels, God, Supreme Being or spirit of your ancestors, whenever you feel the need for support, believe that you are not alone. Yes - I have got the power !
Breathe in and breathe out - you are alive. The only time you will be free of problems is when your heart stops beating. So be grateful for whatever comes your way. No, all problems are not that easily resolved. Some take time and all of your energy, leaving you drained out. This is the test of faith - blind trust in that in the end all turns out good.
Build your support system. Surround yourself with positive and loving people. People who believe in you, who have been through the ups and downs in life and know that it is the darkest before dawn.  People who will listen through your rant, give you a shoulder to cry and when you are going too deep in self-pity, tell you to shut up and keep quiet.
Don't wait for hardships or bad times . Prepare yourself when you are doing good in life by  helping others when you have the positive energy.  Every opportunity you get to help somebody, treat it like a blessing and act. Karma works in strange ways and you will always need the brownie points in your life .
Listen for signs. When all you hear are bad news, beware it is the universe telling you to prepare. And from my experience, the opposite is true too.
The aftermath of any loss in life is intense. Replenishing the energy is important - healing your body and soul takes time. Nourish and cherish it.
When you are going through easy times, everything just comes to you. Going with the flow is going in the right direction.
Lying low during tough times is a wise thing to do. Wait for the storm to blow over. Resisting against, fighting will drown you faster. Just hold on to faith and hang in.
Never ever take decisions when you are emotionally drained out. Hasty decisions have long repercussions.
Time seems to not just drag, but stop when the going gets tough. Patience comes in handy and so do prayers. Try and learn the lesson that it is teaching you. Every incident in your life teaches you a lesson. 
Gratitude goes a long way. Every minute being grateful for the support you have, for the food, shelter keeps your focus on the larger picture. Whatever problem you are facing, it is just a tiny  piece of this big puzzle called life.


 

 

Khalil Gibran - On marriage

On Marriage
 Kahlil Gibran
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.


Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.


Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

Self-love

"I love myself and I am the best”. Is it easy for you to say this sentence with full conviction? Really believing every word of it? If so, congratulations as you are already on the path to success and happiness. Why is it so easy someone to believe that they are special and there is no one better than them and on the other hand take a lifetime for someone like me to believe that I am not bad?

Confidence and high self-esteem are the two crucial traits for success in life. Are these traits learned or are they inherent? I am not sure, but all I know that self-assurance is a much sought out trait. On the other hand the deeper you dig into yourself; the harsher you will judge yourself. We all know people, (I have two in my house), who are never wrong and then there are others who end up analyzing and judging all actions.

The struggle with self-doubt, to be conscious of our flaws does make us more human and better human beings. The flip side of believing that you are the best is feeling that no one can compare to you, as you  start to distance yourself from others. You are assuming that no one else is better than you and it gives a false sense of security. I would love to have that self-confidence, because the claws of nagging doubts gnaw on your soul, resulting in maybe jealousy or envy.

I wish I was like my son and could look into mirror and love myself. Isn’t that the ultimate purpose of all spiritual journeys – to be able to believe that you need no validation for your existence except your self-love?

People like me, have to consciously and consistently practice positive attitude. Being aware of all your thoughts is the first step in cultivating positive attitude. You can then deliberately choose to ponder on thoughts that will foster happiness and boost confidence. It is a journey which I do one day hope to complete. A journey where I am comfortable with being who I am - not the best -but just being me. 

Hemmingway's words

“I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?”

“Courage is grace under pressure.” 

 The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.”


“The first and final thing you have to do in this world is to last it and not be smashed by it.”

“No, that is the great fallacy: the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful.”

Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.

 

Schooling and Learning.

The purpose of good schooling is to train children to be fully equipped to deal with the world as an adult – adults with characters and knowledge that will lead the society to grow and prosper. If that isn’t the purpose I don’t know why we spend years learning about subjects that don’t matter in day to day living. You learn history – but what about lessons from history? Geography – my favorite but are you instilling in them a love for mother earth? Science is great if it increases your curiosity to learn more and dispel myths. As for Mathematics and language, they are the tools that lay the foundation for your life after school. Lots to learn and add to it the array of electives you get to choose from, school life can be perplexing. Yet I dare to say at the expense of my kids getting mad at me, these are topics that should be made mandatory in schools.

Ø      Ethics: Teaching a teen what constitutes right or wrong, will help them in making ethically right decisions in future. Good work ethics will lead us to develop a generation of honest and socially conscious adult with a realization that interest of society and the world is higher than personal growth.?  Instilling in children the awareness of working towards a larger goal is more important than just teaching them how great Napoleon Bonaparte was.

Ø      Stress Management: Honestly nothing will be more useful than learning how to deal with stress when you go out in the world. Stress cannot be avoided, but yes we all can find means to deal with it and you are never too young to learn that.

Ø      Financial Management: In today’s time, teaching teens the importance of not only making money but managing it wisely is very important. Not to say that all kids will be handling their finances wisely as adults, but at least they would have a better understanding of how to make their money work for them.

Ø      Etiquette:This wouldn’t have made it to the list, if the disregard for any form of politeness wasn’t so obvious in the youth or adults. Showing consideration towards others is what it is all about, and what better age and place than schools to teach them.

Ø      Compassion: I sincerely believe nurturing a fine heart is as important as training your mind. Happiness is impossible without having compassion or empathy for others. No religious sermons, no spirituality, just plain old compassion and good heart.