They were packing their bags. A wave of sadness had pervaded my entire house .And though I am particularly troubled by departure moments even of a fairly less acquainted person , I was closely observing the way they were moving around. I was feeling so sad that even my the tears could not find a vent .This couple who had spent their whole life for their only son, who were truly the cause of what he is and where he is, were leaving again back home.
My parents had come to stay with me for 3 weeks and they were now leaving. On the one hand Aii and Baba were feeling sad that they are leaving their beloved son and on the other, they were not comfortable staying in Mumbai where materialism ,money, crowd and noise were the prime disturbances.
I remember the moments when they were planning to come to Mumbai to see me. It was all so exciting, that my parents are going to come to stay with us .Three weeks had passed like three seconds and it was time for them to go back .This took me to a new level of thinking .We brood over the past, plan so much about the future but we miss the chance to catch the present. For those three weeks, when they were with me, there were many such moments which I could have enjoyed more intensely if I was mentally present with them. Giving one's hundred percent at every moment seems to be the real challenge of life and the only instrument to happiness.
I remember a camp of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra that I had attended a couple of years back in which one of the speakers had asked the participants to concentrate as much as they can on the present. "BE AWARE!!! Don’t let the moments flow. Every sound, every word that you hear, every sight that you see, should sink inside you" he had said . "Absorb all that happens around you, completely inside your self. This will help you in all the spheres of life. At work you will get more efficient, at home you will enjoy the moments with your family more and at study you’ll have accelerated pace of learning."
Being completely in the present is an extension of the power of concentration. The power of concentration is available to us when ever we need it. But in this case, a constant sense of awareness of the present (a higher type of concentration) becomes a way of life. All the great leaders, spiritual masters and top managers have this unique gift, that enables them to store and process huge amount of information.
Coming back to where we started, the biggest advantage of living this way is, it annihilates all the sense of repentance and guilt of not putting in our best .I remember a proverb that has always inspired me …” if you don’t put in your best you lose the thrill of bring fully alive “Put in your best as in giving your 100% attention.
This works miraculously in family relations as 100% attention is what is most needed by most of our near and dear ones and if you are 100% attentive it becomes much easier to identity with the people around you, understand them and give them all that they want . This accentuates the joy of giving, even more.
If only I had tried to catch those moments with my parents, I would not be repenting today that I wasted another good opportunity to understand them, love them and give them as much as a son can.
My parents had come to stay with me for 3 weeks and they were now leaving. On the one hand Aii and Baba were feeling sad that they are leaving their beloved son and on the other, they were not comfortable staying in Mumbai where materialism ,money, crowd and noise were the prime disturbances.
I remember the moments when they were planning to come to Mumbai to see me. It was all so exciting, that my parents are going to come to stay with us .Three weeks had passed like three seconds and it was time for them to go back .This took me to a new level of thinking .We brood over the past, plan so much about the future but we miss the chance to catch the present. For those three weeks, when they were with me, there were many such moments which I could have enjoyed more intensely if I was mentally present with them. Giving one's hundred percent at every moment seems to be the real challenge of life and the only instrument to happiness.
I remember a camp of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra that I had attended a couple of years back in which one of the speakers had asked the participants to concentrate as much as they can on the present. "BE AWARE!!! Don’t let the moments flow. Every sound, every word that you hear, every sight that you see, should sink inside you" he had said . "Absorb all that happens around you, completely inside your self. This will help you in all the spheres of life. At work you will get more efficient, at home you will enjoy the moments with your family more and at study you’ll have accelerated pace of learning."
Being completely in the present is an extension of the power of concentration. The power of concentration is available to us when ever we need it. But in this case, a constant sense of awareness of the present (a higher type of concentration) becomes a way of life. All the great leaders, spiritual masters and top managers have this unique gift, that enables them to store and process huge amount of information.
Coming back to where we started, the biggest advantage of living this way is, it annihilates all the sense of repentance and guilt of not putting in our best .I remember a proverb that has always inspired me …” if you don’t put in your best you lose the thrill of bring fully alive “Put in your best as in giving your 100% attention.
This works miraculously in family relations as 100% attention is what is most needed by most of our near and dear ones and if you are 100% attentive it becomes much easier to identity with the people around you, understand them and give them all that they want . This accentuates the joy of giving, even more.
If only I had tried to catch those moments with my parents, I would not be repenting today that I wasted another good opportunity to understand them, love them and give them as much as a son can.
Comments
thst is life. now we are worried about our parents, when we grow old, our kids will feel the same about us and so on.
time is a great healer.
glad to know that u r writing again. good style. keep it up.
george , a friend and confidante.