Together - The Power Of Two

How many of you agree that no matter how hard we try to be optimistic, some days just suck the hope out of us and try to put us down. We start losing hope and boom! all the negativity seems to drown us in a jiffy. On these days the love of someone special, the time spent with your best friend or a walk with your loving pet makes a huge difference to how we feel.

Together - The Power Of Two

We have all heard that one plus one equals eleven - essentially saying that the strength of two people together is far higher than two individuals.

I'm sure you would remember as a child when you did not do too well on a particular exam; coming back home and talking it over with your mom would just make all the tension go away. Then at times when someone would irritate you too much at work - just spending quality time at home, relaxing over a movie or snuggling with your partner would make the world seem like a much better place. Together two people have the power to chase away each other's fears, worries and troubles.

No matter how bad the situation seems, when you lose hope someone else can fill it up for you. When you think all is going wrong, someone else's hope can shed a little light on your darkness. At work if your boss hands over a complex problem to solve, try and talk it out with a friend or colleague. A lot of times simply talking it out will show you the path you need to take. A lot of times the other person acts like a punching bag and before you know it your troubles seem to disappear into thin air. I remember a lot of times one of my friends at work would call me over to discuss some issue, and the moment he would explain the issue to me, it would all just unravel in-front of him and he would be able to solve it himself. All I had to do was listen. All I did was be there, it was the power of togetherness that worked.

If you face a dilemma in life and things seem to be going nowhere, take the time to talk to someone. Even if you can't tell them all your problems just spend some quality time with them. If nothing else your mind will feel relaxed. And once your mind is relaxed you can think more clearly. This helps you gain your optimism, it helps you see the brighter side of life, and who knows you might just have a solution to your most worrisome problem.

Together we are one

Alone you stand

Together we can run

When life seems low

Hold me close

Alone I live

Together our life glows

Build a place where you can be together with your loved ones with the help of https://housing.com/

*image source http://www.allpilgrims.org/

Book Review: 10 Patients by Wasim Mohideen

Life can seem like a struggle at times, lost love, a critical illness, ungrateful boss; everyone of us can come up with at least one example in our life where we feel that life has treated us unfairly. There may be many of us who actually feel disheartened to such an extent that we simply stop living. Yes we are alive but we forget how to live.

10 Patients by Wasim Mohideen is a compilation of 10 different stories. Wasim Mohideen is a doctor and these 10 stories are real stories, stories of his patients who have shown him that we are greater than the miseries life throws at us. Its a book about 10 glorious lives of people who have faced the worst and yet decided to live their life with full gusto.

Book Review: 10 Patients by Wasim Mohideen

Each story introduces a different patient. Patient names have been changed to maintain confidentiality but the book lets you peek inside 10 lives that are bound to make you sit up and forget your own worries. The stories will make you feel sad and yet show you that your attitude towards life makes all the difference.

Time To #StartANewLife

How many times in life have you felt stuck, stuck in your life path due to fear of change? You are in a banking job but always wanted to be a musician but you can't take the plunge because of fear. You want to buy that new apartment in the adjoining city but you can't because of fear of a new place, fear of losing the things you have become accustomed to in your current surroundings?

Change does not necessarily have to be for the bad but yes accepting change can be a challenge. As a teenager if you've had your heart broken by someone you truly loved, moving on must have been the toughest thing you have ever done because accepting that change is heart wrenching. But life moves on, life has to change because time keeps changing. What life presents you now was not the same as yesterday and won't be the same tomorrow.

I have been challenged by life a lot in terms of change. As a child I had to change a lot of schools because my parents moved across countries due to their job postings. I still remember that feeling of fear each time I had to join a new school. The school was different, the people were different and to top it all even the predominant language in the country was different. Making friends is the toughest thing for me and yet here I was every couple of years trying to start a new life. But as I have learnt from all my experiences, each change in your life teaches you something new. It molds you into the person you are supposed to be. Its your journey on the path of life towards your destiny.

Through the various teaching methods in my different schools I learnt to adapt. I learnt to understand different pronunciations that people had even for the common English language. I learnt a lot of new skills like wood working which I would have never otherwise attempted. And most of all I made friends from different parts of the world. I am still a reserved person by nature but my level of acceptance for different cultures has grown. The entire change each time brought in a new maturity in me as a person.

Till date life keeps throwing its changes my way. At that point I have two options - one is to succumb to the pressure, to the fear and hold back, the other, and the one I choose, is to smile and say "I can do this". Its just an attitude shift which makes the whole difference. Life is to be lived every moment, so forget about tomorrow and make the most of your today, your present!

Consider change as a sign of improvement, a sign of moving forward. Change to  a better you, change for a better life for you and your family. Housing.com aims to change the way we look at housing for ourselves. Check out their video to know more.

So now looking back at the days that were, what is that one change that life threw at you and you accepted it only to realize that it was the best thing that ever happened to you?

*image src: http://quoteimg.com/

Book Review: A Tryst With Money by Samar Vijay

A Tryst With Money: An account of our journey with money to an unknown destiny

Book Review: A Tryst With Money by Samar Vijay

Finance impacts our lives whether we like it or not. We all know 'money' as the undercurrent of all our transactions; whether its paper based money or a swipe of the credit card, money has a place in our lives.

Samar Vijay is a financial expert and his writing exemplifies that. In 'A Tryst with Money' he aims to narrate the journey of money from its inception. The book talks about a lot of facts and is very educative in those terms. The story is woven with fictional events and the author aims to make us aware that we are treading along a path where money has an unknown destiny. 

For me the book was like an encyclopedia on money. With no financial background I liked reading up on how money evolved from the initial barter system to minting of gold and silver and finally copper coins. It talks about the impact that money had on the big power houses of the world or rather how different power houses came into being. Money and its impact on our entire history is chalked out.

The book also reveals and cautions us how money is used by its creators to exploit the common man. It tries to highlight the fallacy that money is the answer to all our problems. Money was always a means of exchange where both parties traded equally but with tables turning towards one side corruption has ensued and weaved its way throughout the world. 

If you want to learn about money, become educated about its history or just want to get a peek into how things evolved, grab a copy today HERE

Look Up - He Is With You Always!

Hope is the basis of all successes. How do we get hope? How do we think with optimism when all around things seem dark and gloomy. I don't have a personal story to tell where hope changed my life because for me each day and every struggle becomes something of the norm because I keep the hope in me alive. A lot of us are scared by situations that life throws at us. We might be faced by a difficult exam, an illness or something as awful as losing a loved one. There are times when one feels like why life has to be this way.

The answer to all our troubles lies in our belief and faith in God, the Almighty. Have you seen a little kid look-up when she prays? There is something very serene in noticing a child pray. She doesn't pray with any fear but complete trust that the one above is listening. This is the faith that gives you hope. 

By nature I'm a very worried soul, whenever a loved one travels I'm constantly inquiring where they have reached. No I'm not possessive just worried, terribly worried that something bad might happen. But slowly I am trying to build up my faith in Him so that whenever I look up I know he is looking down at me, he is with me, and that he is doing the same for all my loved ones.

If you want to live a life of optimism here is a small exercise you can do, whenever you get up in the morning sit up, close your eyes and thank God, thank him for whatever you have. Thank him that you are breathing, thank him for the comfortable bed you slept in, thank him that your loved one is sleeping healthy next to you in bed. Thank him for giving you the day that is about to begin and say that you trust him for all the good that the day has in store for you. After this small exercise smile as you open your eyes. 

At first this may seem a little weird, some may even feel like its a stupid thing to do, but slowly over time you will begin to genuinely appreciate everything that you have in life. You will also begin to see why you don't have what you don't and why it was never essential in the first place. You will be able to face every problem that you face with a deep sense of optimism because you will understand that everything in life has a reason. Each good that happens is to life you up and each bad is a lesson that makes you stronger.

In science we are taught Newton's third law of motion - Every Action Has An Equal And Opposite Reaction - this same principle applies to our life. When we think positive we send out waves of positivity into the Universe. Slowly this positivity starts returning to us from the Universe. You remember Shah Rukh Khan's famous dialog in Om Shanti Om - 'Agar tum dil se kisi ko chaho to poori kayanat bhi tumhe usse milane mein jut jaati hai' - its the same principle he talks about. When you give out love  you get back love. When you thank the Universe for all it has given you, it gives you more.

So next time you feel disheartened, hurt or just sad about something or because of someone - look up - thank the Almighty for everything that is going right, thank him for being there for you, tell him to show you the right path, and in your heart trust that there is something good hidden in all the bad that is happening in your life. After all every night has to end when the sun comes out. Look up with optimism and hope and soon life will look up for you!

(This post is my attempt at spreading positivity - housing.com envisions a world fill with positivity - let's hope one day our world would be a world of goodness in all forms!)