Can we start Today?

Mourn the dead, but first celebrate life!

Exactly two weeks after my emotion ridden post on relationships (read here), I am back to writing about something that is almost similar and at the same time equally different.

Last week saw the death of a superstar actress and also the attainment of sadgathi of a pontiff - a Seer - a much revered Paramaguru. While I followed the posts on the tragic news of the actress through the social media overdose (I watch very little of TV news), it was the passing away of the Acharyan that disturbed me. 

I am quite a religious person and was one of the first to 'share' the news with many of my friends through WhatsApp groups. I said my silent prayers and reflected on the life and times of the Kanchi Mutt Peethadhipati HH Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal. I read at length his contribution to society, social and religious upliftment and the educational institutions run under his aegis. I kept my thoughts private.

I have been a big fan of Indian cinema and Bollywood has a huge influence on me - it's no secret that Hindi retro music rules my life (more here). Having said that, I did follow the news of the public outpouring of grief at the death of the diva - Sridevi.

As the Editor of a private weekly newsletter, circulated in a group of over 100 literary club alumni, I get to oversee the publishing of the club's activities and also curate columns from its members. One  article in the last week's edition raised a few eyebrows. A tribute to the heroine by a columnist was not the subject of debate, the inspiring Spiritual Guru not finding a mention in the columns of the Weekly was queried. It's a different matter that a club that debates in a formal forum also settles differences in its informal forums through debate. 

One of the key takeaways from the interactions on the above was when a member in the forum shared an article that was titled: "Why we mourn for celebrity deaths" - It explained the intimacy of the passing of public figures.

There were some pertinent points discussed in the article. It spoke about how we revisit their art -- watch an old song on YouTube, rewatch a favourite film, reread a beloved book. How we wonder why we are grieving about someone we never even met and revisit the memories they gave us. We wonder if our grief ought to be so intense given that we didn't really know them and there is so much else in the world to grieve about. It also answered why is it that we mourn the deaths of celebrities we didn't know personally.

Well, I am not going into that part here. I am actually digressing a bit to understand Why we need to celebrate Life!

That's when I did more reading. I decided to research the internet and ended up finding exactly what I wanted... On why people procrastinate celebrating life to another day. 

Let me share a few interesting pointers I found...

“I can’t wait until retirement. Then I’ll really enjoy life.”

“Once I get this project finished I’ll be able to spend more time enjoying my family.”

“Money issues are putting stress on our relationship” 

“As soon as I lose some weight I’ll get out and enjoy life more.”

“When I get this book project out of the way, I can finally do what I want to do.”

“If only I had more money, I could enjoy life more”

“I can’t wait until the weekend. Then I’ll have a lot more time for me.”

So, why can't we live our everyday lives, with whatever we have now,  as a celebration rather than wait for a future, which is not in our control?

Can we not have fun today? Watch that animation movie with our kids? Attend that fun session with college grads? A chill out evening with your best buddies at the local bar? Go on a Holiday to an exotic location? or more! Exercise, jog, run, eat, sleep, write - do whatever that makes you happy, today!

So where do we start? How about Today? Do an activity now, do another tomorrow, pick one the third day... keep doing things you enjoy...!

I did too... After contemplating for almost a decade, I decided to fight the flab, and yes have been fairly successful in my endeavour - I shed quite some kilos in about 3 months now. 

Then I decided to revive my writing - while I am at this blog, I have also embarked on my D Project - more on this another day!

For now, let's celebrate life - Our Life!

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Pic courtesy: Internet