Enjoy the Swings!!!!

Wow! What a week it has been. Life at its best. No, I don’t mean that everything was smooth, and happy, and at ease. There were the highs and lows, and yes there were easy times as well as challenges. But then that is when life is at its best. When it makes you experience all its shades. Immerse into all that life must throw at you and see what you are made up of.

The last seven days have been nothing but a blessing. I saw the happiest of the moments coming along. Felt proud of me and of the people with who I have invested my efforts. Had to steer through some challenges that pop through at times. Some things are yet to be achieved too and are running beyond when and how they were planned to be. But the very fact that I chose to express my feelings on this, means that I take it as a week that added so much value to me.

There was an interaction that happened during one of my coaching sessions, where the otherwise jovial and happy client came into the session with a grin on his face and was seemingly upset with something. Though the agenda at hand was something else, I could sense that whatever was running in his mind was not allowing him to make any progress during the session. Having put the question to him, if he would want to address whatever is running in his mind, to clear it and be in a better space to work on his agenda, he rightfully caught the idea, and thus started the conversation.

It was so much in sync with whatever was happening in my life too, that it felt as if my life was being mirrored by his, while he spoke of his experiences in the recent past. The only difference was that what I was calling a blessing, he was getting angry and frustrated about.

Keeping in line with the ethics of my work, I chose to not allow my perceptions to cloud his thinking in any manner. But then by the end of our session, I felt satisfied that what came up for him was the same thoughts of being grateful to life, and all its offerings and take them all in his stride to experience life to its fullest. I won’t go into detail about what all happened during the session, but this prompted me to share my thoughts about how life is meant to be looked at. And how a change in our way of looking at life, changes how we experience whatever comes for us in our lives.

I am not the one who would advocate being balanced in our emotions as the only right thing that we must practice. Yes, I agree that it helps us to look at things more rationally and may help us to sail through some challenging times in a much better and smoother way. But what I am also completely for is, to experience the highs and lows of life, with equally relevant emotions of happiness and being sad. It is in these emotional swings that we see life happening to us. It is these emotions that make us experience what we are. Not allowing ourselves to be happy when something good happens and get sad when we must acknowledge something has not happened well, is not what according to me is the best way of living our lives.

What is important is to understand that life will keep on offering us, all its various presents, and we must be gracious enough to acknowledge and accept whatever comes our way, and receive it with complete wholesomeness, to live this life to its fullest. We need to celebrate whenever something good happens to us and receive the not so good times with total acceptance of the emotion that we feel when faced with it. Denying ourselves to honour any of our emotions, is not what our life deserves, and demands of us.

Instead, what is required is to be stable, and understand that all such phases are temporary and be it good times or tough, our happiness or sadness connected with it, is as momentary as the situation itself. Thus, expecting us to be always happy or always sad, irrespective of what comes our way, is what disturbs the balance that we must have. Balance which we otherwise mistake as not being very happy when something good happens, and not getting sad when we feel bad about something. Accepting and acknowledging life as it happens to us, and responding to it with whatever emotion it deserves, is the best way of living that there can be. It not only helps us understand and experience ourselves better through our various emotions, but it also helps us be thankful for the roller-coaster that our life is.

I wish that we all keep ourselves reminded of the roller-coaster rides that we used to pay for, to get some thrill in our lives. And know the fact that life gives us a chance to experience that ride for free. All we need to do it to just be mindful and allow ourselves to embrace all that it offers.

Have a great week ahead, and live life to its fullest.

Stay Safe. Love!