Often, we speak of life as if it is an encumbrance filled with tiresome challenges and painful experiences rather than a gift that many people would love to have. We crib, bicker and rant about what we wished we had and how much better others have it, while we are dumped with the leftovers for us to savour. For some, this is more than they can ask for while for some others, it is a case of, “This is not what I asked for!”
As human beings, we have grown up to compare ourselves with our friends and family members, to have what they have, if not more and more often than not, we end up buying things that only give us a temporary high that eventually feeds the void of that certain something within us that is gnawing at us until it consumes us whole, casting us aside like saturated pulp that is lost beyond recognition.
On good days, we want, desire, wish, hope and want again to fill our void with ‘feel-good,’ factors to anoint our lack of appreciation for the things we have, when we have so much more than the family of four who depends on their sole breadwinner who earns enough to feed his family one meal a day.
We forget about the children in war-torn zones who have never slept in the silence of a single night, when we sigh in dismay that we forgot to service our air-conditioning units to keep our rooms cool.
When we complained about the heavy rains, we forgot that we were dry and safe within the secure confines of our homes, whilst some other families were swept away in the floods of that very same downpour. That when we fussed about not having enough flavour in our food that evening, someone else somewhere had lost the sense of taste as they numbed themselves from the tragedy that took place in their neighbourhood just because someone else had a rough day.
And when we look around to count our blessings, we see that we have so much more than so many people who live on this very same planet with us – that we have clean running water, electricity, our limbs all intact to do and be whatever we wish and the liberty to carry out our desires at our whim.
That the last five dollar bill we have in our wallets is so much more than that same five dollar bill that feeds the family of four. That our pain-in-the-neck boss is so much more than that President who led his country to doom only because he reveled in his own grandeur.
That life and death is the perfect balance of our sacred Earth but some live in death while others live in fear of dying. That money is the commodity that defines the poor but is the same currency that shapes the world.
That our spiritual journey is about going within and discovering our true Selves and not about discovering the shamans and the ancient temple ruins in far-away exotic retreats and discovering ourselves through their eyes!
Discover your own wisdom within, trust that guidance and have faith that you always have more and are always more…
Happy Homecoming!
Photography by: Raghu Nath
SUJATA NANDY WORLD GURUKUL
www.sujatanandy.com
