Times of Great Change

The post describes how I want to conduct my life going forward & why !

The Universe - Carl Sagan describes the cosmos as " the only thing that ever was , is and ever will be " Hours of watching the science channel especially programs on the Universe, had a profound influence on my thinking. Fact that everything in the universe has a set pattern of birth, life and death is remarkable -- be it Earth, Sun or the Milky way,, it all has to end one day in the future. The fact that moon is travelling 2.5 inches away from the earth every year and that Earth will cease to exist as a habitable planet in the next 5 billion years. It made me realize that our human existence really has no bearing on the laws of the Universe and infact we are so insignificant in what Carl Sagan calls the " Immensity and Eternity" of the cosmos. Conclusion -- this moment in time will never come again not just in my life, but in the life of the entire Universe
( Gates Mills Place - my home for 9 months)

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You only live once ---- Heavily influenced by the American thought process in the context of trying to live well & live in the now, as we only live once.. compared that to the Indian philosophy of somehow going thru the paces of life , surviving one day at a time. We are going to have just one life in eternity (American philosophy) and compared that to this is just one of the lives I am going to live (Hindu philosophy). It just shakes me everytime to think that this day & life I am living will never come again ever, suddenly you feel a sense of urgency ... a need to make something out of your life,, not for anybody else but for your own sake.. (Penske Office, Beachwood, OH)

Philosophy of Rebirth I dont deny. There could be some sicence of spirits that has not been discovered yet, what I am against is not trying to make the most of this life thinking we can somehow do a better job in the next one

What to invest in ?
Keeping to the same thought I made a consious decision that going forward in addition to my family & career I would spend time, money & energy on the following:

• Fitness, Health & Lifestyle
• Travelling, exploration
• Education / learning

Buying expensive assets that do not address the above would be out of scope

The only thing we carry from birth to death and beyond (if at all) are our experiences, thoughts and feelings.

Importance of a dream - goal -- it is a great feeling to wake up every morning with some dream or goal.. I hate any morning that I wake up and do not know what I would be doing. The goal need not be a grandiose one, may be I want to create my blog today or spend quality time with family could be a goal too, the idea is to have something objective to accomplish, subject ourselves to more accountabality of how we spend time !

Individual Social Responsibility -- so far most of my philanthropic activities were either donating money to charities or temple trusts. Would now get actively involved in not just donating money but commiting my time & energy as well. Would be supporting as many social improvement causes in a year as possible. It helps us appreciate & be thankful for what we have. Also makes me look at life from a different perspective all together.

There is no feeling like being fit ----- I like staying fit, eating healthy . , I believe that a healthy mind can only exist in a healthy body. The change that Baba Ramdev is bringing in that regards is really appreciable that both mind & body are connected . And I have embraced that philosophy completely,, a fit body is essential for a healthy mind...
(Parma Temple - one of the most
Beautiful temples I ever visited, used to spend hours in this tranquil set up)


Nourish my mind ---- keep working hard to convert my mind from a prison to a prism... radiating ideas

Relationships are everything - Invest in them
(Thought Corridor - Penske Office,
spend hours walking up & down this
corridor)
Eat in moderation- Eat till your hunger is satisfied and not till the time your stomach cannot take it anymore. We overeat most of the time,, our right sized lunch, dinners are all excess.

All these are great expectations from myself time will tell if I have the strength or the wherewithal to live upto them. And the idea of putting them down on the blog is to drive myself , make me more accountable.