The Rich Vegetarian

Simply Being | Simple Being

Tag: life (page 1 of 9)

July 24, 2024 / 0 Comments

rules of engagement

I was watching a TV series today that reminded me of a freelance work project I had taken on years ago… The man-woman dynamic in this series didn’t end well, and neither did that particular project. And I wonder if it had to do with the way we (I, man, woman) embarked on the project/relationship.

Said woman was in love (or she thought was) with the man who was pining for someone else. The relationship began on a mild note, primarily fueled by the woman’s ardor, and even as she knew that the man was unsure and questioning, she was confident that she could make it work… with a little help from him. She felt that her love could make up for his doubt and tentativeness. She thought she could put in 150%, and that would make up for his 25-50%. And he thought that he could give it a try. But things didn’t go the way she’d hoped, and she saw clearly that it would always remain a half-hearted attempt at a relationship.

Years ago I signed up for a pro bono writing project. The client was a nonprofit organization that needed some help with website and social media content. I thought, this is easy for me—so, why not? And I started writing for them but something didn’t click. I received a lot of feedback, and I incorporated it… but the people in charge weren’t happy. Things kept dragging, and ultimately, I offered my apologies and bowed out of the situation.

I kept wondering, why didn’t it work? Why wasn’t I able to provide satisfactory content? It was easy-peasy! I wasn’t writing an essay or even a blogpost.

I think… perhaps, I didn’t enter this engagement the correct way. Yes, there was a real need, and I was asked to provide my expertise. I signed up thinking it could be an easy way for me to be of assistance but I forgot to factor myself into this equation. Of course, all the work I have done for the Art of Living in previous years was pro bono as well but I was fully aware that I was engaging entirely for myself and on my own terms. At no point did I think that I was doing anyone a favor. But here… I think I wrote myself out of the whole deal, then wondered why it all went south.

I suppose this is true for work as it is for love. You don’t embark on it to do anyone a favor, and you do not begin from a place of compromise—you do it entirely and wholly and fully for yourself.

Share via:
March 25, 2023 / 0 Comments

sVaastha

The mystery of “health” is yet unresolved.

In India, the term “svAstha” is used to denote health. Now, svAstha simply means “established in oneself,” and we can safely say that health (or good health) is an integral aspect of being established in oneself. (What does it mean to “be established in oneself?” I wish I had a good answer.)

Does (good) health imply absence of disease? Or does it mean an ability to live and breathe fully, regardless of disease condition? Can health be tracked on multiple parameters? Or is it a state that defies all measurable parameters? Is there a universal definition of good health? Is good health same as immunity?

No two humans are alike, and it seems that there is not a universal prescription for good health, or for warding off disease. There are a zillion recommendations around diet and lifestyle and exercise, and there are as many individuals who appear to lead healthy lives WITHOUT following a single one of those recommendations. I know people who have survived cancer, undergone multiple surgeries, and live with chronic pain… but you wouldn’t know any of that from speaking with them—such is their zest for life. There are people who talk endlessly about health and fitness but there is such a defeated air about them that one wonders, what is the point? I know healthy individuals in their 80s, and it may be that their longevity owes itself to their disciplined lifestyle but then I also know others in the same age group who appear healthy because they have an inexhaustible, fearless appetite for life. I know young people who consume mindfully but live fearfully. There are individuals who take all manner of supplements and there are those who have never swallowed a multivitamin in their life. Really, what gives?

What is one to do? What recommendation can one follow?

Maybe what is essential for good health is a kind of “system integrity,” and I don’t know if there is an actual term for this.

A kind of honesty in how we live life, a sense of truthfulness to our own selves about our wishes and fears and desires, a simple clarity in expression, a habit of looking fear in the eye, a habit of living comfortably and side by side with fear, or grief, or regret, a willingness to see our internal tendency to push or pull, grab or shove or hide, to rush or dawdle, an intention to breathe fully through all life experiences.

Perhaps what one needs is sufficient love and faith in Life’s essential dynamism and intention to guide us in every way, including food, exercise, lifestyle, relationships, career, etc.

Indeed, the healthy ones are those that appear to be imbued with this inner love… love for? God, World, Life, whatever. Perhaps this is a complex phenomenon but maybe it is also simpler than the simplest, and so simple that this mind cannot comprehend.

Share via:
July 26, 2022 / 0 Comments

unique beauty

Guruvayur Temple, Kerala

There is a woman I follow on Instagram, and let’s just say that she is a lot of things I am not, physically speaking. She is petite, curly-haired, plumpish, chubby faced… cute as a button. So, I get “cute” a lot myself but she and I look nothing like each other. I find her very beautiful, so much so that I can scroll endlessly through her profile, leafing through her posts and pictures and videos. Also, she writes beautifully. (Beautifully different from my own writing which I find beautiful, too.)

All this to say that beauty (or our experience of it?) is a singular and unique experience, beyond any kind of comparison and/or competition. My mother is beautiful as she uniquely is, and there isn’t a question of if/how she is more (or less) beautiful than anyone else. I am beautiful in a way that only I can be, and it has nought to do with how my looks fare on any scale, Indian or international or whatever.

And this is likely why I find my friends so beautiful, each one looking wholly different from the other. Reminded of something an Art of Living teacher once said, “Praise is unqualified.” I didn’t get it at that time, and maybe I am still unclear about the true import of that statement… and yet, I wonder if the sentiment may not be extended to “Beauty is unqualified.”

And if we were to extend the idea even further, it makes sense that our experience of ANYTHING is absolutely and utterly unique, beyond comparison to anything else. Radical, no?

Share via:
July 8, 2022 / 0 Comments

patterns

Just a thought… perhaps, maybe, think about it. If we disbelieve in patterns, do they cease to exist?

So, this notion of “this way,” or this kind of habit, or this type of feeling, or “I am like this,” or “I am this personality,” and so on… Now, instead of tracing said “object” backward and forward in time and making it into a trend or pattern or personality trait, whatever… if, instead we saw it as a unique instance (instant?), then this supposed pattern would be just that, a solo point. What we call a “pattern” would simply disappear because… there isn’t one! For, each instance is unique in time, and there is nothing truly in common between the various instances, ergo, no pattern or programming.

So also, no “me,” I think? Because “me” is also a pattern.

(Trust me to come up with pretty language.)

Share via:
« Older posts

Archives