Recently, my grandmother came over from Dehradun to spend the winters with us. She’s a happy go lucky, kind and cherubic lady who has an eidetic memory when it comes to all things family. More importantly, she is someone who never shies away from a good chat. During one of our talks, I asked her to give me “good advice.” Instead of going on a preachy soliloquy about “sanskaars,” she rattled off some really witty and practical one liners about how to live a more meaningful and happier life. I share her wisdom with you here;
1.
“Sleeping in” is the bane of our generation. Because nowadays, if someone says that “I’m an early riser,” they usually mean that they get up at 10 in the morning. My grandmother was of the opinion that the only way to avoid this is to get up in one go on the first ring of any alarm that you may have set for yourself. The more you snooze, the more the odds stack up against you.
2.
Most illnesses stem from an improper or excessively heavy diet and a stressed out mind. I mean, you can’t exactly hope to be hale and hearty when your daily diet comprises of 3 large servings of junk food and you keep popping a vein in your forehead at every little thing that pisses you off. Eat well, don’t stress out un-necessarily and stay physically active and you won’t have to see a doctor’s mug for a really long time.
3.
We make faces at food we don’t like. We break off relationships with people on the smallest pretexts. We don’t “sleep well” unless we lay our entitled selves on a big ass mattress. But that’s the thing. When you’re truly hungry, when you’re truly in love and when you’re truly exhausted, none of these things will matter.
4.
We have to deal with a lot of shit in our day to day lives. On top of that, from time to time, we have to deal with the shit that life throws at us as well. But if you have happiness, love and peace in your family, none of these things will truly phase you. Your home will become your sanctuary. Your oasis of tranquillity.
5.
A lot of people get so very engrossed in the act of making money that they forget who or what they started making it for in the first place. What’s the point of having a lot of wealth if you can’t even enjoy it or share it with others?
6.
It’s easy to be a cynic in these dark times. But it is also important to remember that it is impossible for the world to be completely bad or evil. There are a lot of good people out there too. People who not only do good, but encourage others to do good as well.
7.
I think you know what this means. It was my grandmother’s way of saying, “better late than never.” Want to take up a new hobby? Go for it. Want to quit a bad habit? Don’t let anything stop you. It’s never too late to do anything.
8.
It’s fashionable these days to sleep less and spend ridiculously long hours at work. But putting in longer hours is not the same thing as getting more work done. And if you lose sleep, you will under-perform at work and take even longer to do the simplest of tasks. Not exactly good for a review now, is it?
9.
“Daddy ke paise” are like water. It flows quickly and disappears before you even know what exactly you did with it. If you earn that money however, you count every single paisa and keep an account of every single thing you bought or did with that money. Guess which one’s more valuable?
10.
This is a variation on a popular and timeless piece of wisdom. It’s funny when you think about how many arguments and misunderstandings could be avoided if people would just try to see their own mistakes instead of externalising everything and blaming the world for their misfortunes.
11.
If you don’t know where you come from, then you won’t know where you’re going. And respecting your elders is a very good way to both stay in touch with your roots and learn a lot of epic things at the same time.
12.
We’ve all seen this at work in our lives. Take any instance you remember and you’ll find that being polite and considerate to others always got things done faster than being rude or brutish. So be nice and live well.
13.
There are some things in life you just shouldn’t rush. Eating and praying are on the top of that list. Take your time and eat a good meal. Take your time and pray with a calm heart. And if you’re a Julia Roberts fan, you can add love to this list.
14.
‘Nuff said.
