Stop this guilt feeling

How do your start your day if you are married, working, or both? The obvious answer behind it is framing or managing the time schedule for the day. The list goes like what needs to be packed in for the lunch today for your husband or kids, paying attention towards your parents, fixing a get together with friends or else they will be angry, helping a colleague, doing extra work in the job to impress the boss, etc. There are a hell lot of things that needs to be done in a day that has not been mentioned in this list. Various jobs have been pulling you apart but in the midst of all, where are you?

Do you actually have time for yourself? Were you the same when you were in college? Just try to recall those days when you missed out lectures because you wanted to shop for the date with your boyfriend, or the times you have passed just calling your friends over at home and talking to them till your eyes finally gave up. What about those singing competitions that you used to have in your hostel and those grumpy looks of your neighbor the next day as you spoiled her sleep. Life has changed a lot. Right?

Yes and many of you would agree and give out this statement that times are never the same. I agree but what about giving time to yourself and when you do so, here comes the feeling- ‘I have wasted my time playing piano or dancing at my favorite number, I could have utilized this time better.’ Pursuing your hobby or spending some time with yourself is not a crime; it gives a feeling that-‘Yes, besides this, even I am somebody with a different identity of my own.’

Can’t you just sit back and listen to your favorite number without holding a guilty feeling or just go to spas to relieve yourself. Spending some time with yourself just don’t charge you up but also helps you vent out negative feelings about everything. It creates a positive environment around you and makes you happy thereby changing your perspective about a lot many things. Besides, it also helps you to feel more younger and charming and even gives courage to tackle with problems pleasantly. Just try dropping down a not-so-important work from your list, without having this guilty feeling of spending a time with yourself. I bet you will love this change.

Book Reading needs to be encouraged

Books give us a nice platform, expand your horizons, helps you cope with the stress and anxiety, makes you all the more creative as you start imagining and connecting with the characters, helps to learn important life skills, positive life choices and all round well-being.

The ultimate point I want to focus here is that there is nothing negative or bad that I hear or read about books. However, the fact remains that I personally do not like reading much. I mean that the book really has to influence me a lot so that I am motivated to read it. As little kids there used to be comic books like Archie, Chacha Chaudhary, Cindrella, Champak etc that I read a lot. However, as I grew up, the crunch of books at my native place hold back my reading habit.

After joining hostel, the crave to read some books developed and I thought of giving it a try. I issued one of the Chetan Bhagat’s popular books and finished it in six days. Quite a long time though, another book issued by me was in another four months. This time I reissued it for almost five times but did not bother to read it. Finally, I decided to return it with only five pages of reading. Bad score though; I felt there should be books with titles and content that actually lures me to read it.

In this regard when I went to the bookstore as for the assignment purpose, I found that there are many good books by Indian authors, who are still on the shelves of these stores and waiting for purchase. What do you think guys- Shouldn’t the book stores themselves have the provision of allowing readers to read books with some nominal charges? Or they can have Book café or Cha Bar as in Delhi based Oxford Book Store wherein the readers can read books or can even take pause while discovering books. Can’t we have the same book café in other small cities as well?

Dancing blues away!

Oh God! Its Monday again. After a two day weekend, one thing that depresses most of us, even though some of us might like their work, is to wake up again on Monday and going for work. Hence, most of us have ‘Monday Morning blues’.

So what should to be done to avoid a dim, gloomy and dispiriting feeling of waking up every morning and going for work. Well, why not take a 15 minutes break before getting ready and dance on your favorite tune. Have issues with the hubby or had a fight with the boyfriend last night, dance and let the negative vibes evaporate. You will have a better mood that will be shown in you the next time you talk with him or her. Believe me; it really helps both physically and mentally as it releases positive vibes and hormones that will make you cheerful throughout the day.

Doctors and psychologists too believe that it helps in curbing depression. According to Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Smita Pandey Bhat, dance is an entertaining physical activity that helps in the expression of feelings thereby improving mental health of the patient. It helps to focus on a person’s mind and body with all its moves, twists and turns. So next time you are sad, just ward off that depressing state and dance.

Water Conservation: Need of the Hour

I was recently watching a television commercial for a mineral water pack by Kinley- ‘Vishwas karo‘ and was really moved by the advertisement. The way they had presented the advertisement was all creative and had an emotional attachment to it (an emotional attachment is considered to be the best way to make product’s way into the hearts of the prospective buyers from amongst the audience). Yet one thing that can come under light is that even water has come under the umbrella of being sold.

Bottled water like these are like any other product sold by the developed countries to developing nations. However, it is advisable to use boiled water from home as it helps utilise our resources better and discourages the use of more plastic that is used to package water. Water is not a commodity that is to be sold like any other product.

Sometimes commercialization of everything in our mind overshadows our decision making. We buy it as a status symbol with pre conceived thoughts that if something is sold from a good branded company and is expensive, it has to be good. Other times it is because of our fear. The advertisements and the commercial market have made it very clear in our mind that bottled water is much better for our health as compared to any water.

However, most of the time natural water is far better as it doesn’t become stagnant. We just refuse to think beyond what has been laid before us. Imagine in our India when a day will come when death rate would increase not only as of hunger but also as of their incapability to afford expensive water. The chance to pay for healthy breathable air is stronger in near future.

India is a country of rivers and we cannot be ungrateful to the sources which provide us water to drink. We can bring a change if we take the pledge to bring it. Strategic measures should be taken to preserve this ‘golden asset’ of ours. For this purpose we have to first think about saving water from our home. These are the simple steps that we can start from our own home. Individual efforts will make the difference!

• Use bucket instead of using the shower
• Don’t leave taps dripping
• Wash vegetables in a bowl rather than under a running tap.
• There should be water saving devices installed in homes.
• Rain water can be stored and used for irrigation or there can be a provision of sending it back to earth.
• Don’t run the tap while washing face or cleaning teeth.
• Waste water recycling and watershed management solutions
• Saving rivers by not polluting them and planting more trees.

Are we really required to pay for basics of life like water? All I would like to sat is ‘It is better to be a part of solution rather than a problem.