Friday, September 4, 2009

The checklist


Yesterday, after careful deliberation, thought and reasoning, I made this checklist for myself. And, for once, I started feeling more strongly about what I set out to do - far from races and riches.

I'm posting this with a sincere hope that it might be of some help to someone, somewhere! Who knows, even I may want to keep coming back to it once a while to make sure I'm on the right track. Here's how I gave shape to my precious thoughts... :-)
  1. Realize that time just flies and we keep racing against it, all our life, in vain. 
  2. Slow down at least once to think about, and understand, what you've left behind and what you've got ahead. 
  3. Stop for a second and take a deep breath before racing on. 
  4. Organizations come and go, but people who matter to you don't - once lost, they're lost forever. 
  5. You're not indispensable at work, but you're irreplaceable at home. Why not spend some more time with people who love you the most rather than at work, behind a computer! 
  6. Spending time together doesn't necessarily mean spending money together at an upmarket mall, a plush new multiplex or a chic boutique. 
  7. A pleasant evening well-spent at home with your family, or a nice long walk at the nearest park - hand in hand with a loved one - is what togetherness (and bliss) is all about! 
  8. Life is short, so don't be hard (on yourself, or on others). 
  9. How about saying hello to your long-lost friend today? 
  10. There's no time to love, so why spend so much time to hate? 
  11. Hatred makes you mad, and love makes you wild - which is better? 
  12. Haste is waste, so just take a chill pill before the doctor gives you a whopping bill. 
  13. Forgive, forget and move on. 
  14. No argument is worth the time, energy and emotion spent to win it (probably at the cost of a relationship). Sacrifice such victory that pampers your ego, and you can win a heart without any resistance! 
  15. Life is very unpredictable, don't even try to predict the future. Just go along the flow, and live the present moment to the fullest. 
  16. Learn to love everything you do or intend to do... so what if you can't do everything you love! 
  17. Of all the vices, jealousy is the worst - it leads to unnecessary complications and competitions. 
  18. Religion is nothing in comparison to life, so there's no point in being a fanatic. Faith in some kind of supreme force (God?) makes more sense than becoming passionate about some poor physical replicas of religion. 
  19. Never reach a point where you end up regreting the past. When you're breathing your last, your whole life is played in your mind in a rewind mode - all you can do at that point is think about things you could have done/said and didn't do/say while you still had a chance. 
  20. Wealth and riches are never enough. They need to be chased all your life. 
  21. In contrast, you can only eat so much. So feed yourself well instead, and you'll never find yourself wanting. 
  22. If you hate somebody please ignore that part of your mind, but if you love somebody just go tell them at the first chance you get. 
BTW, did I tell you that I love you?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I love you tooo Shanti.. These are the 22 Commandments of life for me from today. I've always tried to remember all these little things you keep telling me, but get back to square one and blame it on you if I forget some cos I've nothing to refer to :) Good job at documenting. I consider this post was written by a mommmmy only for her daughter

Sheeba said...

I love you to Shanit!!! I loved the post! Keep writing such pearls of wisdom!