Few
days back, a friend of mine from Rishikesh (India) sent me the above image depicting
different phases of life Vis-a -Vis ‘Bottle’. I went in to deep feelings and
thoughts and become conscious about the role of bottle in our being. I kept on wondering how most of us have been
chasing all these years Moonlit nights/ Sunshine/Rainbows and Success goals. Surely
we need to accept the realities of life by
spending time on our life assessments to make changes wherever possible for a
better and gainful present. This post is therefore a reminder that apart from
our ‘SOUL’(our spiritual part that
continues to exist which
is not physical), bottle in a materialistic way is our soul mate(not in a
literal sense). I have therefore in my humble way tried to share my
thoughts/experiences briefly.
Phase One- Breast/ Bottle Feeding
Photo Credit-Happy Speedy
Go back in history to realize that our grandmothers never used to bottle feed their babies instead they would breast feed whenever the baby felt hungry. Those were the days when the women folk were manually working, walked miles together and were well-built. As time passed, feeding bottles came on to the scene. ‘The first feeding bottle, created in 1851 in France, contained a cork nipple and ivory pins at air inlets to regulate flow. In 1896, a simpler, open-ended, boat-shaped bottle was developed in England’. The bottle feeding phase is perhaps the best period when there is no worry of home work except playing. Kids imitate their siblings/parents and learn the initial steps of trying to be independent.
Phase Two –KG/Primary /Water Bottle
It is usually difficult to control kids who are full of life in school / home. They are usually inquisitive and curious to know about everything that comes their way during the day. Life appears green all around with no worries whatsoever. Playing is all that is on the mind. This is the beginning of playing on line games like fortnite, PUBG etc. Some kids have been addicted to playing online games for hours together. The on line games are in addition to other indoor/outdoor games kids frequently play.
Phase Three- Teen Age/Soft Drinks
Photo
by Omid Armin (Unsplash)
Teens are generally obsessed with self-centeredness and have a strong longing to promote themselves. This phase looks captivating because in most cases there is attraction for the opposite sex, abundance of energy stay put. Parents often try to channelize their children’s energies in most cases to career/ sports/extracurricular etc. I recollect during my High school how it was fun to bunk school. There was neither face book nor what’s up; one would make pen friends preferably with opposite sex. I vividly remember the girl’s school next to my school building. Oh! Boy what a great fun it was to peep through the holes in the school’s common boundary wall during the break and watch girls playing basket ball. I would often go red in the face that I guess explains the excitement of teenage phase. Today when I talk to my grandson Aashman (daughter’s son) who stays in US, I happily recollect my lively teen age days spent in Delhi.
Phase Four- Adolescent/Beer
Photo Credit- Karan Kapoor
Phase Five-Adulthood/Alcohol
Photo
Credit-Valerie Elash (Unsplash)
This
phase is branded as prime of life and builds self-confidence, autonomy, and
decision-making with practical approach to life. They learn and experience
multi-tasking, receptive to change and gradually learn to have an open-minded
approach to life issues and concerns. The physical and sensory abilities etc. are at their peak. Adulthood has high
expectations and wants to learn work skills and expects to have immediate
success. This is the phase where many settle down in life by way of career
pursuits, marriage and family, building
assets etc. The aging process characterized by changes in skin, vision, and
reproductive capability etc. gradually sets in.
Phase Six- Old Age/Glucose Bottle
Photo
Credit-www.freepik.com/photos
This
is the closing period of our life span and the life circle in most cases gets
completed. Age sixty is usually considered the dividing line between middle and
old age. However, due to better living conditions, improved health care, most
do not show the physical signs of aging until late sixties/early seventies.
This is a phase which does appear at times dreadful because of loneliness. Usually children are away because of job or
they don’t pull on well with their parents. Poor adjustment with children often
in some cases leads to unhappiness. This is the phase when most individuals
repent having not spent adequate time on them like taking care of their
emotions, mental and physical health and saved finances for economical
independence.
Reactivate Yourself
Photo
Credit-Ideapod.com
“First I was dying to finish my high school and start college. And then I was dying to finish college and start working. Then I was dying to marry and have children. And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough. So I could go back to work. But then I was dying to retire. And now I am dying. And suddenly I realized I forgot to live.” (Ref:Pravstalk.com)
The above lines in nutshell signify essence of our being. Taking a reminder, we have enough time to take a hard look on ourselves, to assess where we are in life today. Plan what all we need to do to accomplish our unfulfilled life goals before we call it a day. What is that which is causing frustration and annoyance and what is that we need to do keeping age and resources in mind? Life’s biggest quest and mission will always remain happiness and most of us feel success and acquiring material comfort is a bridge that connects us with happiness. Well it is debatable because happiness is our state of mind, expedition to inner world, and our attitude to life perspectives. Happiness is in our thinking paradigms and is imprinted in the type of life we live. Happiness is self created and generated and is in optimism and stable emotions. Unfortunately happiness is neither available off the shelf nor it can be purchased or borrowed. Can we look and work on following life concerns?
1 Try to get over ‘living in the past and worrying about future’. I am aware it is not as simple as it is for me to scribble here. Can we seriously initiate steps to try and scan our mind and thoughts?
2 Start using a planner to manage our time.
3 Success and failures are our soul mates. The sooner we get over the regret for some unaccomplished life goals, the better it is for our well being. Think if we had feared to commit mistakes and take up challenges, we would have still been in KG class.
5 Gratitude can do amazing things
for our happiness and purity of thoughts. Can we list out various things we are
grateful for? Start believing in self.
6 Don’t maintain only relationships; instead
try to give life to our relationships.
Bhushan Kachru
Blogger
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