CHANGE YOUR LIFE STYLE: Essay

CHANGE YOUR LIFE STYLE

Refashion your life to get rid of stress. Stress is a disease of modern times. It affects people regardless of their age, walk of life. Stress is present in the lives of the rich and poor, liberate and illiterate, men and women. Stress is more evident in advanced countries and is common among highly qualified people.

Stress is of various kinds—physical, emotional and intellectual and it is characterized by a feeling of being burdened; of being unable to cope. At a physical level modern technology and facilities have actually increased workloads and decreased relaxation Mobile phones and laptops have made it easy to carry the office to the home.

Emotional stress increases when there is disharmony and friction in relationships. Unfortunately, the trend today is to take the easy way out-people prefer to break away from relationships rather than repair them. Philosophical and intellectual tensions also add to the stress factor.

The answer to stress can be found in the very letters to the word, ‘stress’: ‘S’ stands for strength: physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. Physical and emotional weakness leads to irritability. A strong, healthy body developed through proper diet, exercise and pranayama techniques help reduce stress at the physical level. Through satsangh and appropriate learning gained therein, the mind can be strengthened. Love, compassion and friendship are valuable strength-givers mat help us cope with stress.

Rabindranath Tagore, in a poem, prays to the Lord, not to remove all obstacles, but instead, he asks for strength to bear them.

“F stands for traffic control. We need to regulate and control our thoughts. We can cope with stress best if our thoughts are orderly and methodical. Unnecessary accumulation leads to clogging of the mind. The key lies in being able to live one moment at a time. Eat while eating, work while working, leave the home at home and the office in the office. Remember, however long we have to travel we can only take one step at a time. Worrying only reduces efficiency and then even simple tasks cannot be completed correctly and on time.

‘R’ is for redesign. We tend to view life and ourselves through our own philosophy. A readjustment or reorientation in this philosophy increases our capacity to bear heavier loads.

‘E’ stands for erase: the ego, anger, fear and jealousy and negative emotions that reduce efficiency, leading to mental weakness, causing stress. There is a higher power or strength working through us—which we ought to realize.

‘S’ is for sharing: share your wealth, knowledge workload or anything else you have. By and large people do not know how to snare or delegate. Everything happens under your stewardship but you should remain free and at ease.

The last but most important is the ‘S’ which stands for surrender to the Lord. Free your mind from the weight of worries and become an instrument, adopting an attitude of service. This attitude will ensure efficiency, success, and liberty from stress.

Life is very sweet, brother; who would wish to die? Life is a gift of God, do live it to the full.