Pranoti Gupta
Auckland, September 2, 2020
Love is deep inner strength, faith and appreciation.
True, Altruistic, Selfless love is rare and sets you free, contrary to the darker side of destruction, anger, pain, lust and jealousy seen in movies, social media and our mundane lives now.
Is love confined to only romantic relationships? How often do we seek love and beauty in humanity, family, Nature or an art form?
Purpose in life
An Indian woman was depressed as she was unable to bear children.
Drowned in sadness, she attempted suicide; however, survived.
This incident shook her world and made her realise that there must be a purpose behind her survival.
Mother Nature is our best healer. She started enjoying her long-forgotten passion for gardening, by raising trees like beautiful children.
Till date, this 109-year-old woman has planted over 300 trees, covering acres of land and still counting.
Jealousy and possessiveness
We, humans become jealous and possessive towards our loved ones, fear of losing them to someone else makes us control or seek attention.
Attachment leads to suffering.
We clench upon and suffocate them with obsession. The birds have a beautiful connection with the trees upon which they build nests. It is adorable to watch the hungry birds carrying grains in their tiny beaks, flying miles to feed their young ones.
What a heart-melting depiction of selfless nursing love!
We, humans, are like birds; however, caged in the walls of religion, race, limited beliefs, anger, jealousy.
In contrast to the baby birds pushed out of their nests to fly; as parents sometimes, we overprotect our children trying to fit them in our moulds.
Challenges change people
With changing times, challenges change too. So how can we prepare our young ones to face the world in the same frame? With love in our hearts, create space to fly and help accelerate their growth rather than hinder the process or tie them up with obsession and fear of falling.
Our job as parents is to teach them the joy of bouncing back from failures and taking their first step towards success, enjoying and accepting the beautiful journeys along with challenges.
In my opinion, love is God’s gift for all of us. So, feel it from within in your darkest moments and spread the joy of being around. Love is light and makes me spread my wings and fly.
It does sound like a fantasy world as in reality, we neither have wings nor can fly. But if we look at the world from the eyes of an innocent child, it is pure, serene, peaceful…full of joy and happiness.
Covid-19, the teacher
With a pandemic like Covid-19, Nature has forced us to take a break and peep into our material world that we seek happiness. We wear false masks to fit into Nature.
Nature is the best teacher if you allow it to be. Ask yourself only one question. What would Nature do? Seek a balance in ‘being’ and ‘doing.’ Drop by at a loved one’s place and do some good deeds as each good deed sets you free, and each kind word makes you strong.
A shocking reminder to all of us to enjoy and cherish life’s little moments and beautiful spirits of people around us amidst the rocky terrain.
Pranoti Gupta was until recently a Refugees’ teacher based in Auckland with more than 23 years of teaching experience in India and New Zealand. A mother of two teenagers, she has faced serious health challenges and adverse circumstances with courage and determination. (Picture from LinkedIn). The above article should be read as general information only and hence should not be considered specific or individual advice of social, medical or legal nature. Please seek professional advice if needed. Pranoti Gupta and Indian Newslink absolve themselves of any liability in this connection.
