C A L M N E S S

So much in ones head, so many scattered thoughts, so hard to feel calm! This is all but the life of many moms in the current times with school going kids. If both parents are working, the pressure is even more on the mom in question to juggle the time between work at home and work outside of the home! Then with our own parents ageing, life at times seems to be in a tizzy! So much talks and readings all around talking about the merits of those meditations etc etc. Still the mind does not go into mode CALM. A few pointers which I keep reminding myself time and again.

Prioritise – No matter how great I feel about being a super mom who can juggle enough and more, it’s prudent to prioritise the many things to do. On a given day, everything and more is done to perfection ( ah yes! another not to seek quality when one has kids around as the strive to get to that perfectly orderly stage is quite a tedious one so it’s better left at the maximum effort basis level), yet another day one feels like a waste! So the only way to get past is to do the relevant stuff for that day and feel happy and calm about it.

Small targets -Over ambitious tasks be it clean up drives, doing chores endlessly need to be broken down into small units and self patting on the back ought to be done for achieving those small targets.

Oodles of patience with people, kids and surroundings -This one ought to be there for that sense of calmness to prevail. It comes naturally to some very envious ones in my list but for the many, situations outside ones scope like weather, traffic , inadequacy of resources almost saps the minds capacity to stay calm. Well, since we really don’t have much control over these, nothing much can be done but here I am seriously trying to find a popping pill which gives me calmness instantly in these situations!This brilliant quality called patience sure instills calmness.

Mind not on constant overdrive -If everything is done for a change, and one is actually sitting idle sipping their coffee or tea or doing a crossword, the mind should actually actually feel calm and nice in doing this. At such times, feelings of oh my god, am I really sitting sitting, I should be doing this and that should not hit the mind. A constantly charged mind need not be there and if free time to watch tele or read a book comes along, savouring the time guilt free might set the tone of calmness.Restlessness is all there at times but a constant reminder to self to see the calmness amidst the clatter should be there.

Yes the one big one which seems to work wonders is to take deep breaths, count till 10, inhale the fresh air( as and when available!) and never stop admiring nature and the greens. It’s one big mind leveller and a sure shot winner!