Latika Teotia

Please be kind to your body, take care of it; because it loves you unconditionally. There is an army/ a plethora of organisms that are at work day and night without a moment__ respite to keep it going. It protects you from illnesses; repairs cuts and heals broken bones. Your heart doesn__ stop beating, even when you are asleep or resting; it snatches those very few moments between heartbeats. Despite the misuse that you put it to, it always faithfully and dutifully takes it in its stride. In a nutshell- it never lets you down and serves you with all its heart. So, be kind to it, don__ punish it for loving you.

The choice to remain unhappy because of your hurts, pains and miseries by hanging on to them or live happily by forgiving and moving on is yours. There are lots of times that you may have felt that injustice had been done to you, that you were kind to someone who in return turned out to be ungrateful, that you loved with all your heart giving it all that you had but what you got in return was a broken heart and broken dreams, in short life has been very unfair to you. Right? So what do you want to do? Hang on to those miserable thoughts and moments? Will it help in any way? Are you going to get justice, will your heart be the same once again? Get real. Hanging on to bitter memories will only harm you because you will turn bitter and you will go crazy simply trying to deal with this accumulated mound of misery. Choose instead to forgive, ignore and move on. Get rid of that excess baggage that you have been carrying in your heart all this while and you will suddenly feel lighter as if a huge stone has been lifted from your chest. Forgive quickly and unconditionally, that__ the best way forward. Don__ be tied down by bitterness and let it not ruin your life.

Once you come to terms with your shortcomings and not chase a mirage of an imaginable perfect person you__l be able to do more justice with your life. Learn to appreciate and love yourself.

We help people only during time of calamities, extreme pain, sorrow and losses which is a very noble and kind. But what about other regular or normal days? Why not support and be in touch otherwise too. There are many lonely ailing people living in forced solitude. I__ sure they would appreciate if people dropped in regularly to alleviate their loneliness.

We, at times, criticize ourselves for making immature choices. But if you think with real compassion you will find that those were the right choices at that point of time. Everything happens for a reason, maybe, that was destined. Anyway the best would be to accept whatever happened and move on.

Tackle your problems without delay, face them head on. Don__ shy away from taking decisions- however unpleasant they may be. By doing so you are taking care of yourself. Yes, even tackling a problem is self care because you have freed your mind from that nagging feeling of __et to face the problem._ Mundane tasks like washing your clothes, getting rid of old stuff that you don__ need any more, sitting down to study for that test, confronting those who are making you uncomfortable, getting rid of those people who pull you down and fill you with negativity are steps in the right direction, Your worst enemy is procrastination.

We are all trying very hard to be kind, considerate and compassionate. How much we succeed depends on which side of the table we are on. What we feel is our best foot forward may appear to be uncaring to others. So before forming opinions look within and grant people grace. As it is life is pretty difficult for us because we all are struggling with something or the other. No one really purposely wants to trouble or hurt anybody.

People will try your patience, bug you, irritate you, do something petty and won__ think twice about it. It__ up to you to react by confronting them, seek an apology or just ignore them. I would sincerely advise you to ignore and move on. There are far better and more important things to do then waste time over eliciting a confession or an apology. Moreover, the people who do something wrong are neither mature enough to realize their follies nor will they accept that they were wrong. You will be banging your head against a stone wall and spoiling your own day. Invest your time and energy on things which matter. Hold on to your peace- always.

Words bite. They hurt more than physical blows. External hurt disappears after some time but the wounds that words leave linger on and on. It__ very difficult to erase them from your heart- some cruel words get permanently engraved. So choose your words carefully, choose them wisely, because, words once uttered cannot be taken back.

If you notice the day we are judging and looking down on ourselves that day we are very edgy and judging others too. Our mood reflects what we feel inside. Judgment brings so much negativity and blocks our energy. We are not able to give our 100% to anything whether work or relationship. On the other hand self compassion brings harmony and has ripple effect as all love begins with love within. So try consciously to practice self love and forgiveness daily. It will bring a lot of peace into your life.

There__ nothing wrong with victims of any kind of abuse; they are perfectly normal. It is the ones that abuse others, who are not normal. It is they who have twisted minds and need to be corrected or counselled. Unfortunately people look down upon the abused victims as if they__e done something wrong and make them feel ashamed as well as guilty- which is not fair and absolutely incorrect. Victims must be shown kindness, encouraged and rehabilitated at the earliest and those who abused them must be ostracized. If you have been the victim of any kind of abuse, take down those walls of guilt, don__ hide behind dark doors, face the light and take charge of your life. Seek support- if required. You must understand that you have done nothing wrong and must not feel guilty or have low self esteem of yourself; it is the one who has abused you who should be running for cover. All you need at this point of time is love, self love and lots of self confidence. Believe in yourself and have faith in your ability to bounce back.

So caught up are we in our daily chores, our worries, anxieties, tensions and problems that we hardly notice the magnificence and splendor around us. Make a very conscious effort to see something beautiful around you; just gazing at small beauties fills us with peace. Unless we do that we__l continue to be caught in this web of anxiety. There is so much joy to be seen in the antics of children as they go about playing unmindful of the people around them. An excited dog on a leash dragging its owner, the crazy jump of a monkey from one tree to another, squirrels playing hooky pokey trying to dodge the prying eyes of human beings are all out there for you to enjoy. Just put the pause button on your routine, take time off to stand and notice; you__l be filled with so much joy and peace. So start taking delight in little things and appreciate small blessings.

Stay calm and composed even when the things around you appear to be in a state of chaos. Learn to draw on your inner strength to brave all the storms. Stay firm and rock steady and let the disorder around you turn into order. That is your real test. You must not allow anyone or anything to take away your peace of mind or unbalance you. Don__ let even the worst of storms steal your inner peace and calm. You are strong, hold on to your peace.

You are here to live your purpose not to please others. If they truly respect you they will respect your choices too.

Dream big and dream of a beautiful world where the sun always shines; where everyone sports a smile; where sorrow doesn__ come knocking on any one__ door; where there is plenty of love and where time stands still to watch you enjoy life.Dream of a peaceful world, a world where children retain their innocence and are not violated even before they bloom; where love exists in its true form and breakups are never heard of; where families grow instead of shrinking; where loneliness doesn__ exist and old age is spent enjoying the fruits of love that you sowed.Dream of a world where unselfishness and selflessness rule the roost; where we are not divided on the basis of colour or creed, instead we treat each other with love and respect; where there is equality in everything and the line between the haves and have not__ doesn__ exist. Such a world will bring Heaven on Earth.Fly out on the wings of imagination to build such a world and let not even the sky be your limit.

Life teaches us invaluable lessons through our experiences and I treasure these. If I__e been hurt, humiliated, shunned or sidelined I have grown that much stronger by learning precious lessons from them. If I__e experienced spells of failures and disappointments, I__e had my moments of sunshine too. But the best gift that experiences have given me is that I don__ commit the same mistake twice. They have taught me to overcome even the most difficult obstacles_

Not everyone can become a Mother Teresa or the Pope nor can we outperform others. Most of us have to go about living our daily mundane lives just trying to survive and making sense of the senseless things that go around us. That__ good enough. We are living our purpose and should appreciate our being.

If you are convinced that the life style you are leading is right, if you are not coming in the way of others and not destabilizing or spoiling the peace of your neighborhood or the society then you don__ have to feel guilty. If some people criticize you for your living- style , don__ bother, remember you don__ have to respond to everyone and everything that others say, don__ feel guilty for ignoring them either.