I didn’t think I’d be able to write the ‘V’ post in time. But certain things happened that forced me into contemplation about life and the lessons it teaches us. Whether we learn from it or not is up to us.
Here are 5 Valuable lessons I’ve learnt from life-
Life is so very unpredictable.
We all know this, life can be so unpredictable, and therefore we can never be prepared enough. I met my close friend’s father on Saturday. He looked happy and cheerful and spoke to me for quite some time. But just day later, he developed a mild shoulder pain. He was even cheerful on the way to the hospital and chatted away with his family till they admitted him. He recovered enough by midnight and his family had just returned home to catch some sleep when they got a call that he had suffered a cardiac arrest. But unfortunately, his brain was deprived of oxygen for just a couple of minutes and he was declared brain dead.
In a matter of 24 hours someone who was alive was gone. Just like that. The uncertainty that looms over our lives is scary.
Hence, we can never take a single moment in our lives for granted.
Set your priorities right.
Perhaps, that is why we need to get our priorities straight. Your work, your lifestyle, your social media presence - these aren’t or shouldn’t be your priority. Your family, your friends, your passions, your health - these should be. You can always get another job or buy things, but there will never be another parent, or good health if you don’t pay attention to it. The sad part is the things that matter don’t really last. You have to care for it while they are there.
Don’t hold emotions within.
We hold a great deal of emotions inside us, anger, revenge, stress, grief... why, even love and happiness. The heart cannot deal with so many emotions. Express it, vent it out, talk it over, but don’t hold them within. It eats you up from inside. I lost a cousin to stress. He was just 38, but was suffering from a great deal of work related stress. He just woke up one day and collapsed before anyone could realise what was happening. Sometimes, I wish he had spoken about it.
Don’t let ego and time eat up the relationship.
My friend said that her father had been coming down to meet her for the last three days before he passed on. But she had been busy ferrying her kids’ to summer camp and had been unable to meet him. She rues the fact that though she had the opportunity to talk to him, she didn’t, because she had been busy and now she wishes that she could have a few minutes with him, but can’t.
Life doesn’t wait for anyone. You will never have time - make time.
Her brother had broken away from his family over some issues, but mercifully he came back a few months before his father passed on. The burden of not having time to say goodbyes, of not having the courage to mend relationships, can be too heavy to carry.
If that relationship is important to you, don’t let ego come in between.
Nothing is permanent, neither grief nor happiness.
Grief and happiness are like the spokes a bicycle. As the wheels rotate, so do happiness and grief, and come into our lives alternatively. When you are very sad, tell yourself that ‘this too shall pass’. We all suffer from pain – emotional or physical. That is not in our hands. But not letting the pain become a suffering – that is in our hands. Don’t keep scratching the wounds, let them heal.
When you very happy, be thankful for it, but don’t be sad when the wheels turn. Remember, nothing is permanent. This too shall pass.
