Random Thoughts on Random Words - Day 25 "Yes to Life"

As we wade through our journey of  life on this earth,  most people believe that the "Grass is greener on the other side of the fence." We envy others thinking that they are having it easy, with a rich father or one with lot of political clout and connections. When we focus on and complain about the lack , we forget to say "Yes" to life. While we feel this way, a daily wage earner  may be thinking "These guys are having it so easy". The chain can be never ending. There is no one in this world who does not have his or her own problems. To think that we alone have problems and everyone else is having a gala time can be the most absurd thought. Yet people tend to have such thoughts all the time. A person with an overweight problem thinks all his life's problems can be traced to his obesity and that once it is addressed all problems will vanish! Does it mean that people with no weight issues have a  problem free life?

A major part of our life is lost forever, as we complain about the glass being  half empty and use it as an excuse, to  not say "Yes" to life. Excuses can be many-  "My parents did not give me a good education", "I grew up in a village", "I have a nagging spouse", "My father treated me badly in my childhood". The father would have long left for his heavenly abode,  yet, it is still given as the reason  for being mediocre in life.  When you say "Yes" to life, you acknowledge/accept the pluses and minuses of your life (everyone has them) and then move forward to do what needs to be done to be in the flow of life, and experience the spontaneous joy that we discussed in the last post on X Factor.  

Even as we wallow in self pity, we see people who have had lot more reasons to complain, refusing to allow adversities to come in the way of their life's passion/ mission. Ms Sudha Chandran, Bhartanatyam  dancer and TV personality, lost her leg in an accident at the age of 16 years. she learned to perform Bharatanatyam with her prosthetic leg and is today, one of the most acclaimed classical dancers in the country. In 2011,  Ms Arunima Sinha lost her leg when some robbers pushed her out of a moving train. This however, did not deter her from becoming the first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest. She went on to climb Kilimanjaro in Africa, Elbrus in Europe and Kosciuszko in Australia.

Muniba Mazari of Baluch, Pakistan married at the age of 18, to fulfill the wishes of her father. At 21, her  life  changed drastically when she met with a car accident that left her paralyzed from hip down. She was in hospital for over two years.  Fighting excruciating physical pain and various types of fear, she triumphed to become an accomplished artist, mother of an adopted son, television anchor and motivational speaker. I am sharing this video that gives details of her journey and also covers quite a bit of what I wanted to convey in my post on saying "Yes" to life.   

 Saying "Yes" to life  would mean making the most of every situation and opportunity that comes one's way. There are people who refuse to move out of the city they have lived in since childhood even when big opportunities are offered elsewhere. It would also mean stretching one's comfort zone in terms of experiences and assignments, saying "Yes" to possibilities for new adventures & challenges, for learning something new about oneself and others, building friendships, connecting with strangers and so on. It also means saying "Yes" to all those things that give you joy- Finding time to go on a trek,  visiting your picturesque native place, listening to music, writing, singing , dancing, playing with your children.

In this connection, it is to be clarified that what we are discussing here is about saying "Yes" to life and not to the many requests that people make at a personal level. In an office, it is possible that a person who is unable to say "No" may end up being saddled with a lot of  ordinary routine work without any challenging element in it. Accommodating  requests from others should not be at the expense of meeting one's own  professional and personal goals.  Saying 'Yes' to life also means, you say 'Yes" to what you want and make sure that you do not say 'yes' to what you don't want (then resenting, grumbling about it) .

In her maiden book "Year of Yes" Shonda Rhimes, American TV serials writer ( Grey's anatomy, Scandal, How to get away with murder etc.)  shares her experience on deciding "to say 'yes'  to everything that scared me" and acting upon it for one whole year. A workaholic who worked 15 hour weekdays with no weekend breaks, she learned to loosen up and relax when she started saying "yes" to her children's request "Can we play mama?".  Other areas that the decision impacted were attending social functions which she used to avoid because she was shy, introverted and embarrassed about her excess weight. After one year, during which period she had broken through the comfort zone to socialize, not only did she have more friends, but also shed 110 pounds of weight (saying 'yes' to health).  "I said 'Yes' to less work and more play" she says  and it has made a big difference to the happiness, health and well being.    

I would like to conclude this post by reminding and summarizing for  readers, the pivot of our discussion: In order to  say "yes to life" you have to say "yes to those  life experiences" that ordinarily scare, intimidate or bore  you. Here, breaking out of the comfort zone is the key. Dear readers, so  say "Yes to life !"It unifies our desires and deepest intentions transforming our lives forever.   

NB: This is powered by Blog Chatter's # A2Z Challenge   Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2021