Love for life is a crucial step for a joyful living. How to love life when pains dominate is the most important aspect of comprehension. Here comes the importance of attitude that determines how we look at us and the things around.
An optimistic person always believes that life is beautiful and to be enjoyed to the hilt. Such an individual likes the green grass, loving pets around, chirpings of the birds, serenity of the temples, innocence of the new faces encountered, and the list goes on. It is a sheer perception: everything around us is beautiful and life is there to enjoy every bit of the splendors around us.
Relevance for elderly:
Life for many elders is nothing but reaching a dead end and all happiness seems to be vanishing. It is in this background that elders need to find the new meaning of life, its beauties and enjoying its bounties.
All elders should be happy seeing smiling faces of grandchildren, participation in marriage functions of grandsons / daughters, meeting rarely old friends and spending some time with them, occasional talking to distant family members. All these should remind us of the sweet memories of past and rekindle “liking for life”. It should remind us as elders that life is beautiful and to be enjoyed fully. Difficulties will come and go and we must believe that “this will also pass” and “the sky will be blue again.”
Strategies to feel happy and enjoy life:
1. Remembering every morning that we have got new day to live and a resolution that it is to be lived happily.
2. Enjoying every bit of what we see & encounter.
3. Doing all those things that bring smile to our face. This will differ across individuals. For some it could be painting, for others it could be spending some time with young children. For some others, it could only be walking aimlessly. But doing such acts that we like to do everyday will bring joy to us.
4. Remembering all sweet memories of the past and associated achievements: it could be when we passed our 12th standard examination, or the time we got our first job or promotion or when we got married or when our first child was born or when we went abroad for the first time. It could be anything that brings back sweet memories of the past.
5. Spending some time every day with “own self” not to do an introspection but to enjoy the company with one’s own self. Spending time with “self” is one of the best ways to undertake self-praise and explore ways to improve one’s own life.
6. Always trying to be non-judgmental of all things happening around us. We would see and enjoy things as they happen without being analytical or critical.
7. Endeavoring to see a positive even in a “negative” is the greatest trait of a positive person who is always happy and in the mood of enjoying life.
8. There are people who always speak negative about everything; they only emanate negative vibes. Evading company of such people will keep you out of deliberate negative thoughts.
9. And finally, be grateful to everybody for their deeds and action. This sense of gratitude is the core of happiness as it creates a true enabling happy environment to move forward.
The question often arises if it is possible to practice all the above or they are purely hypothetical. The answer varies across individuals. Fact of the matter, however, remains that if we have to age happily, we must enjoy life as it is.
Many events are beyond our control and painful too. Clouds are bound to come in the life journey. However, the best way to live life is to move forward and enjoy life as it is extremely beautifully despite the problems and issues. Let us enjoy our journey of life and relish its beauty.
(By Dr A K Sen Gupta, Chief Trustee, My Retired Life Foundation (MRLF). He may be contacted at aksengupta51@gmail.com or 98211 28103)
