ROTI FOR THE SOUL: Slow down and smell the roses

By Sarjit Kaur

The gush of waves travelled in a rhythmic motion. Fine sand rubbed against her bare soles. Enveloped by the blowing wind, she squeezed her arms. Tara walked slowly on the beach and recited her prayer. The seamless cloud and sea formed the painting canvas for her silhouette. She felt a sense of connectedness with her environment.

“Respect and appreciate Mother Nature, the magnetic force that surrounds us. Absorb the ray of the morning sun. Gaze into the magnificence of your universe. Hug a tree and sense its living energy. Feel the freshness of the morning dew. After all, we are part and parcel of this greater form and we connect instinctively”, shared her botanist friend. Learn to slow down and smell the roses.

Her body moved with the tempo of the music and anchored in her core. The focus on her breath led to a state of consciousness. There was nothing running in her mind, only her present moment. Conversations with God take place here. The yoga sessions always gave Tara more time than she put in. By connecting to herself, she achieves mental clarity. Despite numerous tasks on her life platter, she is able to manage them logically and systematically.

Find a therapeutic hobby, be it gardening, reading, photography, painting and so on. Enjoy the stillness when engaging in your chosen activity. Make time to bond with family and friends over meals or trips. Volunteer in Soup Kitchen efforts. Run for a cause you believe in. Whatsapp inspiring messages to buddies. At the end, its not the number of breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.

We’re at the beginning of our 2015 chapter. Let’s endeavour to make it our best episode thus far, a virtuous and fulfilling one! No more rushing through. Take time off from our fast paced world. The busier we are, the more entangled we get in our cobweb and the more reason to break away. Balance is just a door away. The choice is ours.

Eckhart Tolle explains that by consciously awakening our senses, we live in the present and not the past, nor the future. We must stop regretting the past and worrying about the future. Our minds must be freed of comparative thoughts and ego. By anchoring ourselves in the present and surrendering to the ‘now’, we are able to connect to our mind, body and soul and ‘find’ ourselves.

The past is important to link us to the future. We learn, unlearn and relearn from past experiences. They build layers of growth in us over the years. So long as we don’t learn our lessons, they keep knocking on our door until we resolve them. Leverage on these experiences and the learning points of others. But don’t delve on them.

Yes, we must plan for the future so we can make a difference and leave a legacy for our future generation. But our future planning stem from thoughts, dreams, actions and gratitude that we give today and now. If we keep rewinding our past and have apprehensions about the future, there will always be a disconnect. While we seem to be here and there, the truth is, we are nowhere.

“Where can we find God? Are we dialing the right number? What does it take, to get there? Do we need Managers of God in our journey?, asked PK, an alien who landed in Rajasthan, India. In his search for God to help locate his remote control, he discovers various facets of the human race. Having a zero-base knowledge on human convention, he seemed the most appropriate character to question the relevance of certain human behavior and religious practices, in our current time and age. Rajkumar Hirani’s movie came to mind.

The definition of God’s Manager evolves. If only life was so simple that we could give the priest an xx amount of cash and he prays for our well being, while we happily continue in our long lost ride!  The reality is we need to work hard at building our relationship with God.

Some of us are fortunate to have met and learned from sages, saints and mentors in pursuing our spiritual paths. Thought provoking books, a caring family, enlightened friends and words of wisdom from strangers also teach the awakened ones on realizing God. Subtle signals, challenges and setbacks too. In fact ‘bad’ folks teach us even more! They are all akin to Managers. If only we care to stop. And awaken our senses.

Faith precedes practices. It takes us where we belong, the way rituals don’t. Trust the Guru within us. Angels will gather where good is intended for all, so be assured that help is always there. God is watching us, from a distance.

While we are searching for God, maybe God is trying to reach out to us, wherever we are. If we learn to slow down and live life in the present moment, maybe, just maybe, we will connect and find Him. And discover that the enlightened journey has always been – about us and within us.

Roti for the Soul is a column on life and its quirks. Sarjit Kaur is a wife, mother and an official at the Malaysian stock exchange

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