7305 and 1/4 days old!

Wow!!! I turned 7305 and 1/4 days old on 17/04/2011 B-)

Seems it was just yesterday when

• I cried for that extra bottle of milk, extra shirt, extra bite of the chocolate
• I smiled at the butterflies, played with my puppies
• Wondered at the Sun, Stars and the Moon
• Fought with mum while she was feeding me
• Laughed whole heartedly
• Irritated dad
• Bossed around friends
• Stepped into school
• Drove a cycle for the first time, fell for the first time
• Stepped out of school
• When I got caught for copying
• When we mass bunked
• When I had to separate from friends
• When I had no money
• When we shared food
• When I was in many not so comfortable situations
• When I cried n cried .....

Its all like a dream. I have to move on. This is just the beginning, have a looong way to go!

In the words of Robert Frost...

"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep"

I thank Him for all that I've received and all that I will receive.

This is a prayer of His child requesting for more strength to make us more useful to this wonderful creation of His!

Looking behind the curtains!

The curtains of the K.L.E Society's Law College Fest-2011 rolled down last week. Almost the entire college worked for its success.

When I look behind the curtain, I see moments of joy, sorrow, anger, appreciation, love, disbelief and many more. Someone has rightly said that every moment has to be thoroughly enjoyed. Every moment of joy, sorrow has something hidden for us to grab. Wise are those who seize it.

What about the ones who don't seize it??

They'll get another chance :)

It is just like yesterday that we were inviting Judges for the event and today, we were thanking them for coming. Indeed, time and tide waits for no man! The nostalgia of those 3 days of the Fest is a true journey in understanding things better :)

I've heard people say, "Whatever happens, always happens for the good." I hadn't understood what it 'actually' meant. Recently, I've been experiencing times of joy, sorrow, anger. I wondered why God gave us problems though we were his dear children. I always thought it would have been so much easier if God created us as Mr/Ms. Perfect. Earth would have definitely been a better place if everyone were born without defects.

But, sometime back I understood that life wouldn't be fun if everything was perfect. Life would be monotonous without imperfections of today's world. A man's life would become miserable if he stayed happy all the time. Its nice to be unhappy at times :) (that is when we actually cherish the happy moments) So it is very NATURAL to get angry, to be sad, to lose hope, to fail, to mess up things, to do wrong, etc. But, this is not an excuse to do wrong! It is a mode of stabilising the mind to work better :)

During the Fest, there were moments when I was sad, frustrated, angry. Accepting the emotion (courtesy the Blessing Course) instead of fighting against it, lightened the mind to such an extent that it helped me get out of the situation faster :)

I get displeased when I see people not fulfilling their responsibilities or duties. This was a common sight while working for the Fest. It irritated me a few times. Later, by just accepting that very fact of displeasure relieved me of that burden. The whole system felt lighter. Only with acceptance comes peace. Only with peace can we perform better!

Next time you are up against your mind, don't resist it (however negative the emotion may be). Just accept it the way it is and it will surely become easier to handle the situation better :)

*Feel free and post your questions @ jayanthdevkumar@gmail.com

The Law of Satisfaction!

Every time I pass by a chocolate shop, my mouth waters. Thoughts to eat more and more chocolates storm the brain :P I'm sure this has happened to many. This is an attempt to share an experience of mine which remains very close to me and which I'm sure will make you think, at least for a moment :)

Economics is one of my favourite subjects because of its applicability in our daily life. Economics has many theories, many Laws covering various aspects of human behaviour. One such law is the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility.

Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, in simple terms is, 'The satisfaction we derive after the consumption of a commodity reduces as we continuously consume more of it.'

This is an ongoing process. Awareness to this very fact itself brings a shift in the mind :)

A recent incident made the foundation of this Law stronger in my system.

Me and my friend were called to act as 'Clients' for a 'Client Counselling' event. I was very excited. I've always enjoyed playing around with words and beating around the bush when someone asks me something. And, I knew, this is what was required to be a tough 'Client' to crack :P. The event started. I played around with the first few Counsellors and enjoyed it thoroughly. As I continued, I reached a stage where I was waiting to stop being a 'Client' and leave that place ASAP! I was tired of having fun as a 'Client'. True fun was only with the first few Counsellors. Gradually, the satisfaction I derived from the process reduced.

A similar thing happened with my favourite dish also :P

I just savour any dish with paneer. I was in Thiruvananthapurum for a competition. There, I literally had paneer every day. At one point I stopped enjoying it. Eating paneer became mechanical. I was getting no great satisfaction, but, I still continued to eat.

This is applicable to almost every action of ours- desire to drive, to eat chocolates, ice-creams, to make money, to gain marks and so on. But, awareness to the Law really lightens the mind, makes things easy and more enjoyable :)

Today we compete sooo much that we have no idea where we are heading. We do all sorts of natak in life, but in the end, we can only eat 3 times a day (max 4) that too in limited quantities. Next time you want to get your hands on that extra chocolate, remember the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility. Become aware of the satisfaction derived with every bite instead of just gulping in that extra chocolate :)

I'm not saying don't desire, don't have higher goals, aims etc etc. I'm just saying, drop that feverishness to be satisfied, drop the thought that, 'Only if I get XYZ commodity in ABC quantity I'll be happy.'

Exception to the above mentioned Law:

I started the post saying this Law applies to 'almost' everything. So what is that exception??

Its the 'desire for knowledge'. This urge to gain more knowledge can not be satisfied. It will only push us to desire for more. And its a good sign :)

If you could comprehend it, well and good. If not, its ok. Someday you will :)