Seven Suggestions For The Journey Called Life

By Sunitha Punniyamurthy

In the last few years almost everyone has lost someone dear to them either due to pandemic or to the aftermath. When we lose a loved one, it brings in lot of pain along with a fresh perspective on life. Wanted to share few suggestions I learnt from my mom’s way of living which helped me not just cope from her loss but also build a better life.

Karma is Real, be Kind and Caring

When we lost my mom, all my uncles, aunts, cousins, their families came together to take care of me and my dad. But in the true sense they were there for my mom, because of what she meant for each one of them. She was always kind and took care of each one of them. When everyone started sharing stories in the evenings, it was evident how much impact she had made not just to the existing members for the family but with the daughter/son in laws who came to our family.

I was being showered with love and care from every corner and it was all because of the love my mom had spread in our world. So whether you have a joint/extended family or you have friends as family, please ensure to be extra kind and caring. Our good intentions have a way of coming back to us and sometimes our good deeds benefit our kids.

Its ok to ask for Help

We live in a world of reviews and stars, from amazon to zomato everything is reviewed and rated. We make purchase/food decisions based on an unknown person’s feedback. When it comes to real life decisions, we rely on our spouses or at the max our immediate family. We should be open to listening views from experienced people and ask for help when required from within our support system. Ask help from colleagues when you need to take time off for a personal work, ask help from your spouse when your parents need you, ask help from your parents when you have kids, ask help from elderly people in the family when you are stuck no matter if they are not tech savvy and modern in their views. You will be surprised how elders think out of the box.

Asking and giving guidance/help is how we build relations and a better society.

Health is Wealth

Every street has a hospital now and every hospital is crowded. Once we cross the 30 plus age , we should be proactively doing annual tests. With advancement in medicine we also have lot of temptations and lot of stress resulting in health complications. No matter how much wealth we save we need our health to co operate to enjoy that wealth in our later years.

Diversify wealth

Make diverse investments and always have some money for rainy day, is what I learnt from my mom since childhood. Lot of options for investments now, make smart investments. Also don’t invest everything in one place. Have investments such that every few years you get some amount. Set aside some money every month into an account which is to be used only for utmost emergencies something like how moms used to put money in kitchen boxes or under the sarees.

Don’t Compare

Our success should be measured by what our goal is and if we have reached that goal. Never compare your success with your cousins, colleagues, friends or in-laws. Everyone has something going on, some are happy traveling , some with real estate, some with kids, some with job titles. When we don’t compare we can genuinely react for our peers good/bad events.

Kids should not be compared with their cousins or their friends. In the future they should have these cousins/friends as well-wishers and not as competitors.

Never Forget

We meet a lot of people throughout our life schoolmates, neighbours, college mates, office colleagues, more neighbours and friends/relatives of our spouse. In every phase someone does something nice for us. Never forget the good deeds, no matter how small. Remember or talk about these acquaintances citing the good deeds. There is a lot of negativity around us. To balance our life we need to remind us of all the positives in people we meet. My mom always talked fondly of relatives which helped me connect better with them.

Double and Pay it Forward

Giving donations or money is something that people who have money to spare can do. But we all have lot of love and care inbuilt. When we can we should always pay forward the kindness and love we receive. Same goes for knowledge and traditions. My dad’s generation showed us how they come together for the good and bad in the families. Now my cousins and I have continued that tradition of being there for each other no matter what. And our kids witness the same and hopefully take it forward. Count your blessings and double them for someone else.

In conclusion, let’s live our life in a way that inspires and guides our next generation. Be at your best in this journey called Life.

By Sunitha Punniyamurthy