Our Lives in a Box

Are our lives captured in a Box? Or are we locking our minds in a box?

Do you know why these questions are so essential to ask yourselves? I guess because self-evaluation is the first step in finding out the mystery of life’s complications. I recently realized that life was incredible before the pandemic. We all had moments which we took for granted and somehow forgot the essence and importance of our lives. Undoubtedly, sometimes a little push back makes you realize the importance of vital aspects of your existence. But are we eventually adjusting to this “new normal” as our pattern of life? Does it start suffocating? Don’t you feel that you are just breathing (which is itself a big achievement in 2021) and not living (which is the core of life)? If yes, then we all are in the same boat which is standstill and not moving … literally!!!

Life takes you there where you do not expect the most and surprisingly it prepares us for the worst & teaches us to have hope at every step. You will often hear this phrase “Live your life to the fullest”, but funny part is, it is full of boredom, and monotony with senseless moments. Every day I wake up with a new thought that today is going to be a different day but guess what... it gives me the same surprise every time. I am sure we all are feeling the same, but we cannot continue in this mindset and same thought.

Mental wellness is important for us and there is no shame in accepting that our minds and emotions work in such a complex and mystic manner that help is certainly needed. Help from others, people who are professionals, who can listen to us without any bias, without making any opinion or judgement, may be your friends, your parents, or a shrink but definitely not Netflix and other OTTs.

A friend from MBA shared this incident with me that couple of months back her life was surrounded by OTTs, food and work only. She got severely allergic to people and eventually become anti-social. In fact, her growing obesity started killing her inner confidence and beautiful young soul. When I had a word with her to find the cause of this disastrous situation that she had developed, I found that her life was in a box. An occupied space which she had developed in her head.

So here comes my advice like an agony aunt to rescue my friend from her vicious cycle –   

Mechanical Self-Motivation: Pushing yourself, doing productive things unwillingly is the only way when you are stuck and unable to move on your own. It is crucial to force yourself mechanically which will help you to distract yourself from any anxiety and negativity till it becomes your muscle memory and gradually you fall in love with it.

High Self Esteem and Secure Self: Be the rhythm of your life, align with the universe, and organize your thoughts. According to a certain statistic 4 out of 5 women in the world suffer from low self-esteem. According to the mental health charity, Mind, 68% of young people have said their mental health got worse during lockdown. Feeling insecure at workplace, within family and relatives were cited as the main indicators.

Change Poison into Medicine: Don’t allow your negativity to define your image. Use those aspects of your personality which you list as your weakness and change it into strength. In a very simple form as explained by Buddhist Philosopher, Daisaku Ikeda, to change poison into medicine is “to transform even the greatest evil into the greatest good.” One does not simply return to zero as it were, but one actually gains from the experience that once seemed so poisonous. “Poison turns into sweet dew [amrita], the finest of all flavors.”

Now is the time to fight your own battle to prove to your own conscious that you are not only breathing, but also alive and awake. Aware enough to understand your emotions, sensible enough to choose the right path in the midst of adversity. Let’s fight back this bleakness, hold each other’s hand in need, create joy and hope in every individual, and cherish those who do not cherish you.