India: The Metaphor For Life

Hey everyone,

Today’s post is about how this great country of ours that houses so many different cultures within its so called boundaries is an excellent metaphor for life.

No matter where you go in India, you’ll find all manner of people following different religions and beliefs and yet they co-exist peacefully – for the most part. This, I think, is mainly thanks to our heritage.

We have a tradition of accepting seekers from anywhere and integrating their beliefs within ours. We’ve been under the care of glorious ‘Hindu’ dynasties like the Guptas and the Mauryas and we’ve also been ruled by the Muslim Mughals for hundreds of years. Then of course came the ‘Christian’ British Empire that also controlled our country for many years.

I write this to remind you of all the influences we’ve had, which has led India to be the glorious chaos it is today.

And yet, India functions as a singular. The people of this country identify themselves with their country; but also with their state, religion, language and culture. Moreover, if they’ve lived their life in this country, they will be so at peace with this absolute chaos; this chaos that I’m sure would confuse and confound a foreigner, especially from cold and orderly places like the U.S and Western Europe.

I think this ability that we Indians have, to be at peace in the chaos, comes from our heritage, and is a great metaphor for how we should manage life.

Life does not always go the way you want it to. It may take many directions and you may be faced with a lot of bad situations. But, the point is to find your peace in this chaos and the easiest method to do so is to change your reactions to these situations.

Because, truthfully, what else can you control about your life, but how you respond to it?

The good news is that changing the way you respond to situations makes all the difference. That’s because life, I’ve found, is all about perception. Changing the way you look at something, changes the way you act in that situation. And that’s what’s life is, isn’t it; the situations that you face and experiences that you have.

Remember, reacting to situations is reflexive and you give away your power when you react. However, responding is informed and arises from a purpose-driven state. So you keep your power when you respond instead of react.

So my message today is chaos can be glorious too; all you have to do is change the way you look at it, and learn to respond instead of react. Then, when the storms come, you will know how to dance in the rain!

That’s it for now. Until next time folks!!