100 Paths

Winters are usually a big bother for me in terms of health — I’m sneezing, sniffing and wheezing most of the time. No doubt Delhi’s pollution + cold = bad time for asthmatics, but even without the asthma, I am generally down in the dumps all through.

Couple of weeks ago, I was grumbling to hubby that I’m sick of being sick all the time and just want to be able to breathe normally through my nose… was that too much to ask? In response, the March issue of Aurobindo Ashram’s newsletter landed up in my mail with the title, ‘Cure of Illness’. I learnt two important things from The Mother over the next couple of days of repeated reading:

1. Illness exists to call your attention to something. That is fine. But do not have a morbid obsession about your illness for then you only make it worse. Let it be there and do its job. In the meantime, you do yours.

2. Doing your job means following your mission and your passion. At all times, keep your focus on these. If you have to obsess about something, obsess about these, not your illness. The illness will take care of itself, and in most cases, it will become far more bearable or may just even come to an end.

I loved this advice so much, I put it to practice immediately. I have now stopped thinking about my blocked nose and asthma attacks. Instead, I focus on giving my best to my home and family (my missions), books and work (my passions). Whenever I do have a bout of breathlessness, I take it as a cue to sit down and chant Om. And I don’t know if it’s because of the better weather we’ve had in Delhi or my new mission-focused frame of mind, but my health issues are 90% better in just two weeks. (I threw out my nasal spray yesterday.) You MUST try this if you’re suffering from a chronic health issue.

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My daughter gave her last board exam today, which means she’s done with school and is setting off on a new phase of life. I have mixed feelings — on one hand, we wait for our kids to grow up, and when they do, we want them to go back to being kids. Childhood looks simple once you’re done with it.

Tonight both the kids are out at end-of-term parties and I’m feeling the beginning of the empty-nest syndrome already (though there are some years left). But it’s not so bad. I have my man and my books and my dogs and my blog. I’ve made peace with the peace a long time ago. It’s familiar territory.

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A beautiful, breathtaking quote by Sri Ramana Maharshi to sign off tonight:

“That in which all these worlds seem to exist steadily, that of which all these worlds are a possession, that from which all these worlds rise, that for which all these exist, that by which all these worlds come into existence, and that which is indeed all these — that alone is the existing reality. Let us cherish that Self, which is the reality, in the Heart.”