Life is a "Roller Coaster" ride - This too shall pass ...

Life is a roller coaster ride, with ups and downs. One never stayed always on "top" and at the same time never been at the "bottom" all the time. One has to go through both the "Ups" and "downs" and yet remain in balance to be successful in life.

The best phrase to remember, which I came across some years back is "This too shall pass". There is an interesting story also to this phrase.

Once a King was very happy about the way his life is progressing and thought that nothing can change his status. Hence, he wanted to announce a contest to anyone who can make him "unhappy" and at the same time make him "happy". It is not easy as with a single act or sentence, one should make him both happy and sad!!!

Several people tried but none could succeed. But finally, one person came and given a phrase in a piece of paper and asked the King to read when he is happy and also when he is sad. The phrase was "This Too Shall Pass". The phrase was so impactful that the King who was happy till then, became unhappy. After he got into the sad mood, he read the phrase again and he became happy.

The phrase is universally applicable to everyone who is either happy or sad to make them understand that every stage in life shall pass and we have to face different situations every day. There is no need to be either totally unhappy or very happy as they are momentary and shall pass.

One has to remain balanced and approach life with equanimity to face every situation. If we keep in mind what the great discourse "Bhagvat Gita" said, "You have control over only your actions and not the fruits of the actions", life is more peaceful and meaningful. One has try to the best of his ability and then leave it to almighty to take over and give us the fruits for our efforts. Whatever is given, if accepted with gratitude, life is easy to live.

Life is a roller coaster ride and what goes up will come down and what comes down will come up. Who knows better than me, who has faced more failures than successes in life? What people see outside is only my current position and successes but the failures and challenges I go through in life is unknown to many and I have no intention to share the same. What I wish to state clearly is the failures did not deter me from trying again and again and is making me more resolved to fight it out. After all, what goes down must come up ... Two big failures in March (both my films Aval Peyar Tamilarasi (Tamil) and Hide & Seek(Hindi) bombed badly at box office despite sincere efforts for over a year) left me with lot of sadness for not delivering what the organization has expected me to do. It took couple of days to overcome and face the reality. But once I realized within myself that nothing I can do beyond this, I faced the situation bravely and managing to come out out it within the organization with lesser impact on my career.

The phrase, which is making me to face this situation is "This too shall Pass".

Be the Change You wish to See in Others

Mahatma Gandhi's famous quote "You must be the change you wish to see in the world" adores the walls of Mumbai airport when you arrive. I just made a small change from "World" to "Others".

We all need a working place and home where we don't have to keep explaining ourselves for each act of us. Nothing is more tiring than having to constantly explain ourselves as it will drain us emotionally more than physically in such a non-trusting environment. We need a workplace and home where we can enjoy our freedom of trust and don't have to explain everything about our acts.

Each one of us have our strengths and weakenesses. What we desire is our strengths are seen with a magnifying glass and appreciated and the weaknesses are seen with normal glass and not exaggerated. It is the normal human tendency to seek appreciation in public and criticism in private. We all expect that.

Our biggest desire from others at the workplace and at home is, our today is not viewed with the mistakes we made yesterday. We want to start afresh everyday and be treated newly without the mask of our mistakes of yesterday. We do not want someone to maintain the database of our mistakes and keep pointing at us by referring to it despite our sincere effort to improve ourselves. We want our yesterdays to be forgotten and only our today (& the work/contribution) is valued and respected.

We need a workplace and home where we can be ourselves every day for whatever we are worth and yet respected and given our due. We do not wish to fake at these two places where we spend all our life, by putting up false acts just to impress others or to get a good name.

We need a workplace and home where we can be open and transparent with everyone without worrying about how our openness will be misused and misintrepreted against us as nothing is more constraining than constantly worrying about who is going to misuse our point of views and opinions against us.

If any of us have such a home or workplace, then we must be thankful to God as there cannot be a greater gift from life than these.

If any of us do not have one, then, we should do something about it. There is a powerful saying "Do unto others what you want others do unto you?". Can we be the one to provide such an atmosphere to others at our workplace and at home? Can we be the change, we wish to see in others? Let us make ourself worthy of being other's greatest gift in their life ...

We all have expectations from others whether at workplace or at home. But others too have expectations from us ... Can we be the harbinger of change for others to emulate us for the great qualities one needs to have?

Life will be more happier and great if we change first and then expect others to change, to make it a happy world.