Life lessons
June 2024
Life lessons
Live Life to its Fullest
Life Positive’s video editor Himanshu Kumar, writes his first article for the magazine which is a compilation of insights gathered from his life experiences and his tenure at a spiritual publication
I am a 26 and half year-old boy, born in a typical middle class joint family. I had a very normal, rather a below normal childhood. Living in a middle-class family comes with its own set of challenges. Though you dream of big things, you cannot achieve them easily. You hesitate to ask for even 10-50 Rs, because you will be asked many questions, and you won’t have a reasonable answer for them.
Where you get excited for your birthday only because you will get to buy new clothes and few rare gifts only once in a year.
In 2016 I completed my schooling and enrolled for graduation from an open university. Alongside I joined an information technology course for which I had to travel 40 km daily.
The start of self-sufficiency
Since my school was only 200m away from my home, travelling long distances alone for the first time was a bit daunting for an introvert like me. But after commuting for several months to go to ITI, I became confident and explored many parts of New Delhi on my own.
Meanwhile I started earning by giving home tuitions. The amount was not much, but when you start earning, you can spend money without facing uncomfortable questions or giving explanations.
In 2021 I got my first job after trying my hand at many things. An activity that I had started for fun i.e. video editing for Youtube turned into a full-fledged career after I bagged a job that required me to shoot and edit videos for an e-rickshaw company. I consider myself lucky because my job enabled me to travel, meet new people and make money as well.
Being a Youtuber, meeting new people, experiencing new places make you gain a wider perspective of life.
Making the most of time
Famous actor Pankaj Tripathi says, “Every child, after completing their 12th grade, should travel by local train in India on a limited budget because traveling has the power to transform you from a child into an adult, elevating your thoughts from the mundane to the sublime.”
In my opinion, not just traveling but anything that makes us happy, and brings a smile on our face, is important in our lives. For some people it could be cooking, for some reading, and for some playing cricket.
Time, energy and money, are the three important things that make up our life but the weirdest thing is that we can’t have all of them together at any given point in our lives.
From birth till adolescence, we have time and energy but no money. In our youth we have energy and money as we begin to earn, but lack the time to enjoy life, and finally when we retire we have time, and money but no energy. So, our aim should be to combine these three things together.
A friend of mine who works in New York says, “If you are earning a satisfactory amount then you must stop going for more and start giving time to things that make you happy.”
This is undeniably true because as I started focusing on things that made me happy there came a point when I started earning from them.
And even if you don’t find happiness, there are still a bunch of ‘glimmers’ that make life worth living. Glimmers are the small things in your daily life that can make you happy.
How to be happy
They include meeting and talking with people, eating your favourite food, watching movies, playing games, buying new clothes, clicking a good picture, riding a bike, or even buying a new pen. A famous Hindi quote says “Chhoti chhoti cheezon mein khushiyan dhundo.” which means look for happiness in small things.
Here I would like to add that small acts of kindness also give you immense happiness. There is no better way to uplift your sagging spirits than to help someone selflessly. It doesn’t have to be a big gesture. Feeding animals, birds, helping strangers, or consoling someone who is feeling sad or broken make you feel good as well as useful to society.
Just live every moment, every day to its fullest. Don’t regret your past, because you did what you felt was right at that moment. When I say enjoy every moment, it doesn’t mean to be happy always. Rather it means to fully immerse oneself in the experience of each moment. If there is a pooja in your house, feel the positive energy, if you are watching a movie connect with the characters of the movie. While playing cricket don’t feel yourself less than Virat or Dhoni. Even if something wrong has happened in your family, be involved in it.
I truly believe that our intuition always speaks what is actually right for us. So, believe in your intuition. To simplify you can call intuitive thoughts as the “voice of your heart”
Whatever we do in our lives we do it to be happy. So, why not live every moment. A famous quote says, “Jeene ki taiyyari mein, jeena na bhul jaayein” which means, “While preparing to live, let’s not forget to live.”
That reminds me of a scene from the film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, where Hrithik Roshan tells to Katrina Kaif, “I have planned my retirement, I’ll work till 40 then…” She interrupts him and says, “How do you know that you will live till 40? Seize the day my friend, first live this day to the fullest, then think about your 40.”
Discard your ego
I have realised that the thing which stops us from living fully is our ego. Ego forces us to behave like the person we are not. If you want to talk to someone, meet someone, do it now, forgetting the arguments you had in the past. If you made a mistake just go and tender your apology. If you love someone give your 100 per cent in making the relationship work. if still it doesn’t then leave. At least you won’t regret that you did not make any efforts.
Because you can lie to anyone in this world, but you cannot lie to yourself. Guilt is the worst feeling anyone can experience. If you did something wrong, it does not matter that if no one knows about it. That fact that you know about it is enough to change yourself.
Said Hrithik Roshan in the movie Guzaarish, “Life is very short, but it’s long enough if you live with all your heart. So go on, break rules, forgive quickly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile” One point that I would like to add to the list is “Expect less, do more.”
If you treat every conversation as though it was your last with someone, you won’t regret speaking in haste or anger later on, wishing to take back your words, if that person was to pass away.
“Don’t leave anything for later.
Because
Later, the coffee gets cold.
Later, you lose interest.
Later, the day turns into night.
Later, people grow up.
Later, people grow old.
Later, life goes by.
Later, you regret not doing something when you had the chance.
Boucar Diouf
So, experience every moment, trust yourself, be honest, keep your ego aside, believe your intuition, love, break and love again to live life to its fullest.