Stay “Happily” at Home

It has almost been one and half months since we were asked to stay at home to be safe from the pandemic. Many of us have been asked to work from home. This is becoming the new ‘normal’ and some companies are looking at this as the way forward.

However, I am sure that this condition is not the same for everyone. There are single people, married and staying at home with spouse, stay at home moms, working dads, working moms, working single mom/dads, working solo moms/dads, etc. Everyone is facing their own struggle. Be it boredom or too much of things to handle. They have their own concerns.

The world economy is going through a hard time which has resulted in pay cuts and certain other actions that have been taken by the companies. Only few industries have been able to survive during the pandemic such as food and essentials. Even the oil industry has fallen as the industrial energy consumption has decreased. These are affecting the day to day lives of almost all the people directly or indirectly.

Some are experiencing issues in relationships when they have got to spend more time together. In the local context, some parents might not understand how “working from home” works and creating chaos.

ICRC is forecasting that the stress level of the people may increase exponentially. The fear for death of loves ones, financial concerns, job insecurity, home schooling and not being able to go outdoors have made people to suffer within more and more.

Psychologists around the globe have been trying to offer help and also have given guidelines on how to stay positive during this difficult time. Here are some of those tips that everyone can practice at home to stay positive and happy during the dark times.

• Set goals for each day, doesn’t matter if they are small tasks

You can think of what kind of things that you’d like to get done within the day. It could be to check and work on all pending emails, or to clean up your room, or de-clutter your wardrobe, to cook your favorite meal, to try out a new recipe, to sew a design that you always wanted to try or may be simply spend some quality time with family. Setting up a goal or a task will give you a sort of purpose and keep you motivated throughout the day.

• Breathe

Take few minutes to just breathe and feel it. A mindfulness practice allows us to have space from our cognition and emotion, so we can see things as they really are. Rather than being anxious, we can see that we’re experiencing anxiousness. There’s a big difference.

• Take time to be grateful for the things that you already have

Gratitude is always a good practice to improve your mental health. In her book, “The Secret”, Rhonda Byrne mentioned that “It is impossible to bring more into your life if you are feeling ungrateful about what you have.” Be grateful for what you have right now. Basic food needs, family around you who are healthy and safe, more time for you than a regular day, more time for self-reflect, and list can go on. If you are a businessman/woman who doesn’t generate any income, be grateful for what you have earned so far and for the fact that you will stay safe and healthy to think on better ways of come back. Be thankful for the free time you got to think about new opportunities. Even with pay cuts, be grateful for the job in hand. You might have got less and less of material things, but find something to be grateful for, and be thankful about those.

• Try some home workouts

You can find a lot of home workout videos online. Even if you don’t want to browse internet for that, do a little bit of stretching exercises, some star jumps, short runs, few abs workouts and you will feel better.

• Prepare a time table for you and kids and get to adhere to this

If you are a parent (even a single or a solo parent) having a kid who needs home schooling, then you must be going through a very hard time balancing daily home chores, juggling work and home schooling altogether. The best way is to prepare a time table, with tasks given for each one for each time slot. You can assign something for the kids which they can do on their own while you are doing office work. You can may be get them engaged in kitchen which will be an added life skill for them as well. Take this opportunity to learn better time and work management and add some skill to everyone’s life.

• Prepare a reward system for kids to help with home chores

This could be a motivation for the kids to help you out as well. You can set the rules and regulations, but the key is not to expect them to be perfect. You might have more of cleaning at the end of the day but what’s important is to get the kids to learn to do things on their own. This is the best opportunity you will get to teach kids on certain skills they will need.

• Make time to connect

It is important to keep social connectivity so that you won’t feel alone. But it would be a good idea to talk about positive things and share laughter than share grievances that increase your level of stress more.
You can also connect with your partners. Express yourselves. Make more time to talk about the family and the relationship between yourselves. Communication helps solve a lot of problems. This could be the best opportunity to renew the bond.
Most importantly, connect with your inner self, think about what you always loved to do, and think about your dreams and make plans to get them into work.

• Learn new things, take an online course, start doing what you always wanted to do

This is the perfect time to try to learn new things. You can refer to an online course, on anything you like. Be it a technological learning, a theory, or something like sewing, gardening, cooking or even art. Start a blog, share your ideas, plan a new business venture, coz you have more time than you ever had and more than you will ever have!


Take time to reflect and think of the most sustainable ways to spend the rest of your life. This is one of the best times to sit back and plan the rest of your life.

• Avoid negativity in social media and learn to use them in a positive way

While we have more time to use and engage in social media, please also bear in mind that your mood will depend on the last 10 posts that you were engaged in, on social media. They can very easily spread hatred, jealousy, irritation, frustration and anxiety. Take time to reflect on these points and try to make a connection. Try to avoid such posts/platforms and try to engage more with posts that boost your positive energy.
Sometimes even the posts that will look like teaching you new things, will also create negative impacts within you such as jealousy and insecurity, so during this time, learn to use social media platforms wisely.
Also remember, that you are average of the five people that you mostly spend your time with. Choose wisely.

• Eat well

Eating well and healthy plays a major part in maintaining physical and mental health. Eat consciously to maintain this.

• Sleep well

Now that you have got more time for yourself, try to sleep more and establish a healthy sleep pattern. You can think about the achievements of the tasks set in the beginning of the day and feel happy about what you have achieved. Practice gratitude and be thankful for the positive vibes around you.

This is a difficult time. Staying at home is difficult for everyone, including kids. Be understanding of this situation and remember that the goal is to stay safe, above everything else. What is mentioned above are just something additional you can think about, to avoid being stressed.

In the essence, be determined to come out as a better version of yourself. With more knowledge, more empathy, more kindness and more love.

By Dinu De Silva

 

Wait, Hope and Pray - The Simple Plan for Life!

"The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change"

This is a common thing that we hear every day. But I question it, is CHANGE a constant thing? Because that is something I cannot agree. Do people change? Yes. But do they change in the same way every day? No. That is exactly what I mean, that change is not constant too, change changes. The way a change happens, changes with time. Hence, nothing is constant in life, nothing is certain.

This is why I believe that people live by three main principles; Wait, Hope and Pray. It digs even into the basics in life. It is a fact that the sun rises from the east, but none of us are not sure if we would be alive to see it happen the next day. We hope that we would be alive, and we pray that nothing would happen to us and we wait. Just like the "desires" in life are never ending, the "wait, hope and pray" are also never ending. We all wait, hope or pray for something in life or another. Only the subject and the reason might change.

Life is uncertain. Not knowing what is to happen tomorrow, we always have wild guesses. Haunted by all the ‘what-if’s in life, we believe in things. Someone has once said, people believe in things that they least know about. What do you believe? Are you sure that they are true? Something makes sense, right? When we don’t want to believe in something, we pray. We keep on praying that it will not come true. And we ‘hope’ our prays are heard and we keep waiting. Isn’t that we all do in our life? Well, at least that is what I do! Also to keep in mind is that, I believe in these principles, may be because I least know about it!

In another way, isn’t is a simple way of living? When you get disappointed in life, when a dream of you doesn’t come true, and when things go wrong, isn’t it better to hope for something better next time, pray for it, and wait? I trust it is a way of letting things go. Instead of worrying or regretting things, we simply can hope for the best, pray for it to happen and wait with that hope until better things happen.

Again, life is uncertain. Things change every time, every day. The biggest truth today, can become the biggest lie tomorrow. The things that work out well today, might destroy everything by tomorrow morning. When you have had the worst day in your life, things might turn out to be great by the next day. Things change; people change; circumstances change. We simply have to cope-up with all the changes that is happening around us. Isn’t it better to live your life with a smile on your face and a hope in your heart, rather with a tear on your eye and a worry in your heart? The plan is simple – to wait, hope and pray!


By D.R. De Silva

The Roller Coaster Ride

I just had some amazing rides at the Luna Park in Coney Island - NY. At a distance, it was an awesome day having to experience some unforgettable rides, but for me, it meant much more.

They say that life is like a roller coaster ride. I can not agree more. When you look at it from a distance, you see the amazing ride that other people take, rounds and rounds, and you laugh looking at the ride, while they scream. You never feel it right, you never feel what those people feel at that very moment, and you think it is a fun and exciting thing to do. Then you want to experience it yourself. Sounds familiar?

You then plan your ride. You think the scream was just for fun, or you think that there is no need to scream coz it is just an easy ride as it seems from a distance. You plan where to scream and where to keep your eyes open or shut. You get in after all these are planned. Then what?

You get ups on your way which keeps you excited and then comes a huge slope which you never expectd to be that scary. It is all unexpected and then you start realising that the screaming of other people was fair enough. You then scream for life.

The Roller Coaster ride and this race of Life - it ends up to be the same. You plan your rides, you plan your entire life, each day; each hour. But as they say, "Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans". It applies to the ride and life both, the same way. You plan something and you end up experiencing something totally different. But there is only one difference, the response you have on the rides. The ones who were ready to experience anything, would finally say "What a ride" while others might say "what a waste of time".

The roller coaster ride tought me one thing; not to keep high expectations on anything in life, coz you might end up in dissappointment. Instead, I learnt to be ready to accept challenges that would come up along our way. There could be ups and downs, heights and slopes, but only thing that we should be able to do it to hang on!


By D.R. De Silva

"…and some people think I have a very exciting life!.."

"…and some people think I have a very exciting life!.."

Above phrase was seen in a blog that I happened to read recently and it took my attention and made me smile, coz I think it is something that I also know about myself, that "they" think I have an exciting life!

I used to respond to this "famous" comment whenever I heard it, with a big sigh followed by all the complaints about all the problems that I have had to face. But the comment didn’t seem to stop coming. So I paused for a while and thought, why do they all say the same thing? Am I really having an exciting life? What is there to be so exciting? What the hell, if they all say that my life is exciting, then it should be! Why should I worry any more? I started believing that I am the luckiest girl on the earth to have everything that surrounds me. Loving family, nice friends, great opportunities and loads of fun time!

“It is impossible to bring more into your life if you are feeling ungrateful about what you have. Why? Because the thoughts and feelings you emit as you feel ungrateful are all negative emotions.” - Rhonda Byrne (The Secret)

If someone comes up and say "You seem to be having a great time", I would definetely say "Totally".

By D.R. De Silva

"Friends are the family we choose for ourselves" - Edna Buchanan

"Friends are the family we choose for ourselves" -Edna Buchanan

After so long, I am a little free in the office today. Going through the posts in FB, I came through a friend's blog where she had shared this saying. It gave me a little time to remind about my friends who have been with me along my way and continues to remain in my heart forever. This small note is a tribute to all those friends who chose to be my side and give me smiles in one or another way.

They say, there should not be any "Thank You" or "Sorry" among friends, but I should give a BIG thank you to my life long friend Sashi and also to Iresha and Anu.

Sashi was with me since I can first remember about myself, and I am picturing us at the Nursery at Christ King College holding our hands together. The very first memory I have about her is, she keeps standing in the class when I didn't have a chair to sit because some chairs were taken out for the concert and mine was gone too. She chose not to sit, but to keep standing with me, just because I didn't have my chair. I love you Sashi, for being there for me since then, up to this very moment. I can not even think how lucky I am to have a friend like you! Iresha & Anuradha - You are the next best. Sharing each and everything in my life, not leaving any space to a secret, and keeping all of them safe, and being together with me for so long - I love you so much!

Then comes Thilini, Ama and Piumie, giving me the nicest time at IEM and until now. Thanks for being there. I cherish the times I spent with you, the secrets shared and all the unforgettable moments =)

Arosha - I love you! Being the very first friend I made at the university, we made it so far, being the best friends. As Nangi said, we could "bracket" well and thank you for being such a great friend, then and now and forever. I still remember how I tried to make you ignore Ranga aiya, and you know that I was only trying to do good for you then :D We have such great memories which I love and cherish each day. Thanks for being such a wonderful friend.

Then comes Chathuri & Sandani - two of the funniest and loveliest friends I have had. Being together at MIT and having all those crazy moments together, I love you two so much and you are such great friends for me. And then, Erangika & Hasanthi - we have countless memories together, and thanks for each and everything you did for me. Chamitha/Akila/Lahiru/Dush/Kalhari/Maduka/Minal/Nilanka/Ruwi Nangi - I had the greatest time in the uni with you. I love you all for that time.


Hansi/Nadee/Chaami and Kum - We met as total strangers and we ended up being the best friends, or to be precise, as sisters. I loved your company always, and so happy to have you as my friends - Love you all!


Along the journey of my life, I then came to an important mile post and that is Brandix. Being one of the very few girls, I didn't have much friends, but with time, I made best friends, in the PINK team. Thank you Dharshan, Dhanushka, Dulari and all for those great times together. I still remember the crazy trip we did during Movex go-live and the hide-n-seek game. The secret lunch outs made the days more crazier. Love you guys! And Lekha - You are the best of all. from Hinaas to Happy Club, we found all the reasons to keep smiling, and thanks for being there with me and bringing me smiles!

The journey continues and there comes another mile post. I had to come to the USA for a year. Only god and myself know how I suffered the first few days in the USA. Without having anyone to talk to, withought any friendly company, I felt myself totally lost in a dessert. Adeesha - the first angel to meet in NYC, I owe you so much for helping me out to get settled here. Bearing with my nerdy stuff, you were always there for me and you were the "sweet company" for me in NYC.

With all the tears and suffering, I then found that I had a little luck, because I could refresh my friendship with two girls, whom I now want to call as "My Guardian Angels".


Chums & Awa - I just can't imagine how I would have lived without you here. You bring me smiles each day. There are loads of things we have got to talk, yet can never finish. You always make my day. You are two cute angels who came to my life to rescue me! I owe you for that and love you loads and loads for that. I love the nights we laughed together and the nights we cried and sighed together. It was such a great time in New York that I spent while you were here. You two made this time bearable and sweet for me...

I know that I am so fortunate to have such great friends in my life. They say, "Books and friends should be few but good.", but for me, it is wrong, I have more than few best friends, to whom I am thankful for each and everything they do.

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
Thanks you all for walking into my life, when there were many who walked out!


By D.R. De Silva

Lessons for Life!

Things happened so fast that I did not even have enough time to sit back and write anything that crossed my mind. A month is already passed since I returned to New York and it was a month full of many events. As usual, I did nerdy things, stupid things but more than that, a lot of fun things. My friends visited NYC, and I had the best week in NY ever. Each and every moment, every incident will be in my mind forever, some being really hard to share though.

Looking back, I feel, that this one week has changed all our lives. Some ended up in ecstasy, some in disappointment. Some in confusion, and some feeling relieved. Some relationships built up, some broke up. We laughed and we cried too. I personally had a bit of all above. It was simply a week of everything. But, now that it is almost a month past this "week", we still see some aftermath of it. Trying to keep up with the built relationships, or to re-build the broken relationships, or acting like "Go to Hell", we all are still "living" in that week.

It was just a matter of a week, but it taught me lessons for a life time! Life is simply amazing. You never know when a storm will come and destroy all what you built, or when an angel comes and fixes everything by the time you wake up in the morning. Things can happen in a flash of a second. And they have the power to haunt for the rest of our lives, whether it is something we will like or not. Everything you do, every word you speak, will take you to a new path of life and you will never know where that path will end up in.

It was just one week, but with all what happened around me in one week, and seeing all the aftermath, I learnt my lesson - I learnt to let go; learnt to keep going; learnt to keep smiling =)


By D.R. De Silva

The Confession

Sometimes, it is good to be lonely. It gives time for you to think of yourself. To breathe the open air, to eat as you like and to zip a cup of hot coffee while watching your favorite movie.

It has given me the time to re-think about me and my desires about life. Like all the other girls, I had the common dream, to have a family of my own, to have babies and lots of love. Within that fancy dream, there was always the self confident woman who wanted to earn money for herself, and not for any other. I wanted to become a business woman; I dreamt to be a diva. I yearned to publish my own book. Somewhere in this life, I have lost that dream. May be I didn't try, but the closest truth was I was risk averse. For all the other things in my life, I took all the risk, but in chasing my own dream, I was scared. When it was the time to choose my path, I took the risk of doing maths, because I saw everyone else failing in that. Then I took the risk of quitting my job without having one in hand, but I was lucky enough to fill my CV with the next job. I took the risk in love. But why didn't I take that risk in making my own dream come true?

Sometimes I was scared of humiliation. I was scared that people would laugh at my writing. I was scared that people will laugh at my failed love, and I was scared that I would make my parents ashamed. I had the fear of losing the money my parents earned, in trying to start my own business. I was scared of debt. But more importantly I was scared of failing.

The biggest mistake I did was that I tried to be in something that someone else was successful at. I once thought of being in interior designing. But how could I be in such a business of which I don’t know anything about? Then I wanted to learn it, but stepped back because the cost was high and I was scared of debt, again! Foolishly I once thought of joining the media, when I had the craze about the SSS campaign. When I wrote all the articles and did interviews about Pradeep, I thought that was my passion, I was wrong. One of my uncles then asked me to start a ‘Rent a Car’ business. It remained in thoughts because of the crazy fear about so called DEBT somewhere in my mind, haunting me over and over again.

What am I doing now? I am stuck in something that I never dreamt of, in something which is not my passion, something that I have no love about. I clearly know that this is not what I deserve. The girl, who passed out from the university four years ago, didn’t deserve this little salary and a second class job. She deserved something extra ordinary, something way better than this. But that girl is lost in this scary and foolish woman who is a total failure.

I am not sure where I went wrong. I am still in the exact same position where I was four years back. The same salary and the same position, and may be even less respect. I know I have failed. I have failed in chasing my own dream; I have failed in my life, in my eyes. May be the only win was my adorable husband, in which I sort of took a big risk.

I still have those fancy dreams in my heart, shivering to come out. I need to make my dreams come true; I have to make them happen. But I am still trying to escape from this fear, and in this loneliness and while fighting to get away with it, I might find my strength, the strength to pursue my life’s dream, each and every one of them.



By D.R. De Silva

The New York Sky

I am by the East River at Manhattan. I have no idea what it is really; I don't know where it comes from or where it flows to; I don't know if it is of any historic importance. But it sure does calm my mind.

It's almost the end of Winter, but the nature still holds the cold weather and the cold breezes. The river seems so deep at this point that I don't see what it holds underneath. I don't know if it is enjoying the light blue sky which looks so beautiful in this warm sunny day. All I see at this point is the smooth waves flowing in the direction of wind. Sometimes I hear the silent weep, and sometimes I hear the loud laughter, of the deep East river.

I started sinking in my own thoughts, which naturally happens when you are by a beautiful river or sea. Our lives are like this - the river. Sometimes you don't see what is inside, and at some points it is so clear that anyone could see what is deep down. All what it does is flow, flow and flow, until you meet your destination. And may be still flow.

There are light posts by the side of the walkway. They must have been standing here for years, through countless winters and summers, might be resembling certain things on our lives, which remains unchanged throughout the generations, like love, tradition or culture. There will be a certain day when they start falling down, but I am sure there will be new light posts - may be even more beautiful, replacing the old ones. Revolutions may happen; there may be a time when the river is blocked its way at this point, but it sure will find another way of flowing into the sea. I smiled to myself.

The sun still looks bright, but it can not hurt me as I am covered by a number of tall buildings. A guy with a cam just passed by, may be he thinks of me as a professional writer - I could guess it as he took a picture of me at a distance. Deceived! There are cute doggies passing by, who are accompanied by their loved masters coming for a walk here. I think it is time for me to take my leave from here.

The New York sky - bright and nice. I have never seen it this clear. May be we all have to come out one day and breathe in open air, to see how nice this life is!

By D.R. De Silva

Loving You

“I love you. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I've ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, everyday we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours."
— Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook)

Love – is the greatest feeling you could ever hold. Everybody loves some other one. And they all think that their love is so special and the greatest of all. But for the rest of the world, it is just another ordinary relationship. So is mine, the love between me any my adorable husband. To the world, we are just another married couple. We didn’t have a long lasting love story; we didn’t have the so called terrible obstacles in our story; we are not coming from famous families to be spoken about. But for me, it is very special. It is the most precious thing in my life.

It is a miraculous feeling, that I think everyone should feel in their lives. They day I realised that I am being loved - I remember the dazzling feeling I had in my mind. It was amazing. When I heard the three words 'I Love You', I was on top of the world. I was not the first to hear those words, I was not the only one to be loved, I was not being loved by the most handsome or the richest guy in the world, but it was the best thing to happen to me - ever. I should admit that it doesn't give me only smiles. It does give me tears, it does make me hurt, but knowing that it's all because of love, I feel more comfortable. There was this friend of mine - Lasandi - who once told me, that the right match for me would not only complete me, but also would complement me. She was absolutely right. I am definetely feeling complete with you, and you being besides me adds more value to this person too, bringing out all the good within me. This is why your love is so special.

Every morning I wake up smiling, turning to see you next to me. You are so kissable and adorable. I look at your sleeping eyes, and smile again, because those eyes belong to me. I feel like cuddling to you again, because your warmth gives me a sense of protection. I play with your hair, and it gives me some kind of a motherly feeling, and it holds the smile in my lips. Then when you take me to your arms, I smile again. I am loved! I must have told you thousand times that I love you, and I will be telling you million more times, yet not enough to finish expressing my self. I want to keep on saying those three little words over and aver again, but they don’t carry the feelings I have for you correctly.

Life will go on. You and me will also grow old. Still, my dream about you will remain the same. It is the ordinary dream every man and woman would have. It's a dream of a perfect day to zip a cup of tea with our grand children around us - to tell them the stories, and still to hold our hands and kiss good night. I need you in my life, at each and every step I take, so that I am not afraid of falling down. I want you to have that smile on your face and tell me you love me every morning, so that my day is gonna be so good. I need you to listen to all the crazy things I talk at least with a hum. With all that, I need you to share your sorrows and grieves with me. I promise to be what you want me to be, every possible time. I promise to be with you and love you; to love you until you feel the last breathe I take.

“In times of grief and sorrow I will hold you and rock you and take your grief and make it my own. When you cry I cry and when you hurt I hurt. And together we will try to hold back the floods to tears and despair and make it through the potholed street of life"
— Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook)

By D.R. De Silva

People in Our Lives...

"People come, people go – they’ll drift in and out of your life, almost like characters in a favorite book. When you finally close the cover, the characters have told their story and you start up again with another book, complete with new characters and adventures. Then you find yourself focusing on the new ones, not the ones from the past."
— Nicholas Sparks (The Rescue)

Yes - People come into our lives. Sometimes they just happen to come in, at some phase in our lives, do some kind of change and they go. We some times ask some people to come into our lives, although thy never intended to. And then when they go, we cry and do all the drama we can, trying to take them back in our lives. We just don't realize that they never had the thought of peeping into our lives, but we. This should be the story of many of us, isn't it?

When such people 'visit' our lives, they just take all the advantage of the 'invitation' we did. They have no idea about our emotions, and even if they did, they would not just care. We don't understand that this is just a visitor on our invitation and we start thinking them as a part of our lives, just because we, in mind, think we want them in our lives so badly. The worse part is that we sometimes tend to think it is "Love"!

But no visitor would stay with us forever. They have their own lives, they have to be with the people they are supposed to be with. So they go back. Then here comes the drama! We keep thinking the times we spent with this visitor. We would think about the similarities we had together and keep wondering why they had to go back to such people who don't share things in common. We sometimes do all the crazy stuff in the world, to get that visitor back in our lives. Just get out of your frame of yourself, and look at some one else doing all these things, and you will realize that is hilarious. Sometimes, there could be some one who is trying to get YOU in their lives, doing all the possible things he/she can - but you know that you are not supposed to be there, and you never want to! But in their minds you are everything for them. Funny - isn't it?

Yes - it is funny, and when you are in the same drama, then it is funny for others too. So stop it! Stop being the drama to the world. Stop inviting people who do not wish to be there in your lives.

Then there is this other kind of people who are supposed to be in your life, waiting for you to open the door for them to step in. Sometimes you keep the door closed after the visitor leaves, that you don't know that there is someone out there waiting to come into your lives. Sometimes you know there is someone, but you just don't care and keep on with your 'drama'.

But do believe - believe that there are people who are supposed to be in your life. They are there for a reason. It is OK to let people visit in, but if they want to go, then just let them go. And just be open and be yourself. Don't be the funny thing to the world.

You might know that different substances have their own boiling point, or freezing points, depending on their internal properties. You too are such a substance. You have your own timing for things to happen. Don't let yourself down if you see someone else has found their "special someone", just wait until the right time for you.

Yes - you just have to keep your mind open. Be brave, be passionate. Believe - that you are supposed to be happier, and do believe that the best is yet to come. (",)

By D.R. De Silva

Notes from New York - September 2010

It was too cold and I was looking for my hubby next to me to be cuddled to him, and it was so disappointing to find him not there beside me. No one was there! Its 12.15 am September 19th and it took some seconds for me to realize that I am thousands of miles away from my family, and my loving hubby. And it reminded me that I am not going to sleep in his warmth for another 6 months. Oh no! I can’t live like this! I want him; I want my family around me. I felt that my cheeks were being wet, but there was no one to wipe those tears off my eyes. I was crying!

That night was long, may be because I had so many things to remind and so many reasons to keep myself awake. I was missing the warming cuddle of my hubby, and I was missing my mom who was always with me throughout. The only thing which kept me busy was counting the days, and weeks until the day I would leave to meet my family again. I have to stay for another 5 and half months; meaning another 22 weeks and that is 154 days! Oh god! It is a long time!!! And then here comes another flow of tears!

New York!!!!
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can’t do



I was tired after a 4-hour flight followed by another 15-hour flight to get to New York – as they say, there is nothing you can’t do in this city. But I doubt if I can get my hubby here this moment. I logged in to internet to check if anyone was online. But my hubby was too busy with work to be online and no one was logged in from home either. I was all alone!

I hardly remember the time I woke up in the morning, but I know that it was only a nap I had that night. I was afraid if anyone next door would have heard me sobbing, but again – no one would mind what you are doing here, any one would just not care!

The song started to haunt my mind again…

These streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
Let's hear it for New York..

Hear what? This hurting noise of vehicles? That is all what I hear now, and it was another reason for not having a good sleep. It took my memories back to my home where I always had a peaceful and quiet sleep, which I will not be having for the whole year ahead. I realized that I am starving without having to eat anything since I stepped into my room and it has been more than 12 hours by then. Thanks to my mom who put a packet of sugar in my bag in the last minute, I could make myself a tea. Is this going to be my next year like? Will I be this alone for the coming whole year? There were so many questions running through my mind, but there was one answer for all of them – YES!

Zipping my tea, I was thinking about what life is all about. Some incidents from my recent past flashed through my mind in that second. My life has always been full of a lot of smiles and some tears. If I had been offered this opportunity an year ago, this moment would have been much more different. But I like my today, because I am proudly married to a person who taught me about responsibilities, who taught me how to stay in limits, and more importantly who taught me how to dream about tomorrow.

I opened the window. It is cold, much colder than I have ever felt. It was the start of Fall, and I know that coming days would be even more colder. I will have to get used to this now. I will have to start try walking on snow too. It’s going to be a very long year for me. I am already missing my love and my family. I know there would be many more nights I will be spending awake like this; there would be many more days I would be managing with only a tea. But, with all what I know about life, I know that this difficult time will sure pass by. It might be slow, but sure will end.

I closed my eyes again. I love you sweetheart; I am going to meet you in my dreams.

By D.R. De Silva

The Letter from Juliet

"WHAT and IF are two words as non-threatening as words can be. But put them together side by side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life.
I don't know how your story ended, but if you felt then was love, then it's never too late. If it was true then, why wouldn't it be true now?
You need only the courage to foll...ow your heart. I don't know what a love like that feels like... a love to leave loved ones for, a love to cross oceans for... but I'd like to believe if I ever felt it. I'd have the courage to seize it"
Quoted from the move, "Letters to Juliet".

The question that has been miming in my mind - "If it was true then, why wouldn't it be true now?". It made me think again, of what I have always been thinking for so many years.

A truth is something which would last forever, something which remains with all the changing myths. It is true, that once a truth is always a truth. That is why we call is as such. Juliet was right. If it was true then, it should be true now too.

Few years back - I mean, since 11 years back - I thought that my love for him was true. I thought it was true enough to make him love me too. Whenever a tear fell down from my eyes, I also had a smile thinking I am crying because of a true love. I had this pride in my head, thinking that I was holding some true love in my heart, that many of others didn't. If it was true then, why shouldn't it be true now? Oh! It's horrible! It isn't true any more....!!!

Then I realise now - may be it was not true then as well. May be it was all fake. May be I was watching too much of movies - that I pretend myself to be some Chandramukhi.

Yes - It was all false. It was just a mistake. Was it? I don't know. But it is not true any more. I do not have any of the feelings for him that I had years ago. I do not have WHAT and IF together anymore, to haunt my mind. I don't have WHAT's any more, neither any IF's.

The truth was that I was to be loved by someone special, and it remains the same. I am to be loved by the special someone - the person who I cherish the most.

Juliet - I have a question for you. What-if the love you had for Romeo was not true? What-if you killed yourself for the wrong person? Give me an answer....


By D.R. De Silva

"Better be late than never"

It's been a very long time. A very long time since I last visited my own blog. I am laughing at myself, looking at all the posts I have ever put up here on my blog, thinking how immature I have always been. But with all those childish things, I know I have been learning things about life and love. Thanks again for Chathuri and Awanthi, through whose blogs I remembered that I had created this blog a long time back, and I am here again, may be to share my thoughts about life, for all those who would stop by here for a minute.

It is always difficult to find and link words, when it comes to write your own story. It is always a question where to start and how to end; should I write all the truth, or shall I hide something? I am going through the same situation right now. With all what has happened to me, there are few things that I would keep for myself, or may be shared only with my parents and husband.

So - yes, I got married. But not to the person I have been talking about throughout this blog since I started writing. I know it is little weird, but it is the truth. To add on, I think it is not a thing to hide since almost all the people I have been knowing, know that I didn't get married to him. But I should definitely mention that I love my husband, and I mean that from all my heart.

Now - I found the start for my story. I was in love with 'him', for a long time, a love that cultivated in my mind, grew up in the same dark corner and happened to die without seeing the light. When Chathuri talked to me about Jacob Black in Twlight, I thought he was the Jacob in my life. But reading in real about the character, I would say, he is not. For some reason I thought I loved him. I tried to get his attention on me through so many stupid things all the time. But I know that, above all, I was his best friend, and he was mine too.

Yes - we were the best of friends, but no one ever knew we were. We knew each and everything happened in our lives, we knew each and every feeling we had in our hearts. I have cried on his shoulder, and he has too. He has shared every little bit of his life with me. But they were all unknown to others, just like my love for him.

Life does not always give us what we ask for. I have heard this;
"Live will say YES and give you what is good for you; It would say NO and give you something better. When life says WAIT, it will be giving you the BEST"

And I always believed that best was yet to happen to me. I kept waiting for; waiting for the best. It was not easy. There were countless nights slept on wet pillows. As it was mentioned in "Turning 30", I tried many haircuts and lost my pretty hair. But throughout every day of my life, there was one thing I tried keep doing - to smile. There were people who fell in love with my smile. But I knew that it was not "The Best" that was to happen to me. As I see the Facebook status of some friends of me, who sound to be going through the same series of incidents, I would say, "hang on and keep smiling" because I know that is how we have to get over, though it is the most difficult thing to do.

I still remember getting up one day, realising something was going to happen to me soon. I sensed it - which I still do not understand how. This is the day my new friend first had a chat with me in Facebook! I wrote a note on Facebook the very same day, because I still sensed that something special was there, ready to be happened to me. I didn't know what it was, but I was waiting for it. I cleaned up my heart so that it would have no trouble getting in. I kept my eyes dry, so that I could easily smile when it arrives. This was "The Secret" I learnt through Rhonda Byrne's book which I still cherish as my book of guide.

And - Here I am today, married to that new amazing friend who came into my life so sudden, bringing loads of love than I ever could imagine. Someone would say it has happened all of a sudden, but I would say no. He and I have been getting ready to love each other for a long time, not knowing who the other one is. You call it luck, you call it destiny... but I call it LIFE. Life as I always believed of. Life which kept me waiting to give me the best.

That sums up my learning about life, about love and about keep smiling =)

If you think you are going through the hardest time in your lives, just remember - "Hard times are difficult to live with, but they surely pass by. So keep smiling, keep you ready to accept the best that life has planned for you"


By D.R. De Silva

In The Verge of a Breakdown....

In The Verge of a Breakdown....
By Ravini De Silva

Many of us go through very stressful times. We may have problems at work, or even lose jobs, have relationship splits, go through times of financial difficulty, and suffer bereavements. It can often be triggered by a distressing event such as a loss of job, financial difficulty, bereavement or relationship crisis. Overwork, stress and bullying are other triggers. Or a breakdown could be a combination of factors. Though they were manageable on their own, combined they can be too much.

At these times, you may keep on thinking too much, lose your appetite for a few days, drink more than usual, and find it hard to stop crying. But there are key differences between this sort of life crisis and a true nervous breakdown. In a breakdown, someone is no longer able to function in the way they were able to. During a stressful time, people have feelings of loss of control over your life, have paranoid thoughts, lose the interest in life for more than a few days, see or hear things, find it difficult to leave home or to talk to people, act very out of character, change in appetite or sleep patterns for more than a few days.

Some people may have a stronger tendency to breakdown. You may be more sensitive, your past can also be a factor. If you had an experience that went badly, you may be less resilient to dealing with a similar experience now. If you were brought up to hide your emotions, you're more likely to reach the point of being overwhelmed because there is no outlet for them. Heavy drinkers or drug users may be at risk, too. People may use these to self-medicate difficult feelings, but they can lead to changes in brain chemistry which will make things worse.

If you are in a stressful time, take steps to prevent a breakdown. Talking to someone, whether that's a friend or a qualified counsellor, can be very helpful. Bring some balance and routine into your life - take days off, make time for relaxation, try to eat regular meals, and get to bed early. Avoid alcohol, caffeine and sugary junk foods, which can exacerbate feelings of depression and anxiety. Exercise is also important. It can help you work out feelings of stress and anxiety.
People take different lengths of time to recover sufficiently to go back to normal life - it can take anything from a few weeks to many months, and you may need to maintain the support of counselling.

There’s a very good chance of recovery from such a breakdown. If a breakdown has a temporary cause, such as bereavement or work stress, it's likely someone will be able to move on and go back to a normal way of life. There can even be a silver lining, when people rebuild their lives afterwards, they frequently report they are happier than they were before. This can be because they made some big changes.

Specially, if you are after a breakdown of a close relationship, best thing to do is try to keep as busy as possible, give yourself goals for the new year. Get fit, join clubs, go out with friends, meet up with family, best to keep active. You will have good days and bad days. Do the things that interest you and put yourself first. Take up new interests or "dust off" old ones. You will go through many emotions, and although the whole experience is absolutely horrible, you can become a stronger person for it.

Also remember to leave the guilt alone. Most of the time we want to wonder what we did to mess up this relationship and push some one away, and the truth is that it had nothing to do with you. Some times a relationship doesn’t work just because, and its no ones fault, so don't be so quick to take on guilt, its no ones fault. Accept that it is over and be ready to move on. What most of us do is build a life around our partner and depend on them for our happiness and security. So unbalanced and unhealthy as well as smothering and way to needy.

Sometimes relationships just end. That has to be accepted. It's not taught in movies or culture but it's a reality. A relationship cannot sustain itself if one party is absent or chooses to get out.

Population Ageing & Geriatric Services in Sri Lanka

Introduction
Population ageing has become one of the leading demographic issues the world has to face. As a developing Asian Country, Sri Lanka is no exception to the global trend of population ageing and the social and economic problems stemming from it as a result.

Sri Lanka ranks top as a country with a rapidly ageing population. Out of a population of 18.9 millions in 2000, around 9% was estimated to be over 60 years of age. In 2025, the ageing population is estimated to increase to 18% and in 2050 up to around 27 %. It is also expected, that by 2050 Sri Lanka would have a population of which 50% would be over 50 years of age. Hence the current situation of the elderly in Sri Lanka and the emerging trends need serious consideration. It is also noted that Sri Lanka is a country with a longer life span. Life expectancy was 43 years in 1946, and it increased up to 69 years in 1998. This demographic transition has resulted in changes in the population structure where there is a considerable increase of the elderly compared to the young people.


1920-22 1946 1953 1962 1967 1971 1981 1991-96 96-2001
Male 32.7 43.9 58.8 61.9 64.8 64.2 67.7 69.5 70.7
Female 30.7 41.6 57.5 61.4 66.9 67.1 72.1 74.2 75.4
Chart I: Expectation of life at birth
Source: Dept of Census & Statistics

Year 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 E 2016 E 2021 E 2026 E 2031 E
Percentage of Elderly (%) 8 9 10 11.4 13.1 15.5 17.7 20 22
Chart II: Number of Percentage of Elders
Source: Dept of Census & Statistics

The rising rates of old age dependency would place a greater pressure on the family, community and the country with regard to providing support for the elderly. With the increase in longevity, there is a need of concern in respect of the increasing number of ageing population as a specific group with their high dependency rates, and geriatric health needs. Geriatric care has assumed to play an important role as a specialized medical care, which is not available adequately at the moment [Geriatrics is the branch of medicine that focuses on health care of the elderly. Its aim is to promote health and to prevent and treat diseases and disabilities in older adults. The term comes from the Greek geron meaning "old man" and iatros meaning "healer"]. The healthcare systems need to be geared to the ageing process and caring for illnesses stemming from the longevity.

Why Geriatrics?
The traditional and cultural background of Sri Lanka would need that older people would be cared for at home by family members, relatives or neighbours. In our society, older people are respected as valuable resources with skills, experience and wisdom. The problem of the elderly was not a major issue in traditional societies with their extended family systems. As a result of the socio-economic changes in modern society, specially moving away from the extended family system to the nuclear family concept, the elderly population is forced to face many different issues. Most of the elderly people have to live alone and face other accompanying problems stemming from inadequate family incomes, high cost of living together with health care problems. Migration of young people has resulted in the emotional stress of older persons. The ethnic crisis in the country has also created feelings of insecurity and uncertainty in the minds of older people. Some families have been displaced due to the ethnic conflict and others have migrated either to safer areas or to other countries leaving the older family members alone at home or in a "home for elderly" with no love, care or support. Elderly patients are at high risk for medication-related problems due to age-related physiological changes, a higher incidence of co-morbid illnesses and greater use of both prescription and over-the-counter medications. There we see an urgent need to find the ways of caring for the elderly by developing community-based systems for the same.



Figure I: Birth rate and death rate in Sri Lanka (Births/Deaths per 1000 of population)
Source: Dept. of Census & Statistics



Figure II: Birth rate and death rate - Worldwide (Births/Deaths per 1000 of population)
Source: Dept. of Census & Statistics


Sri Lanka has developed the health care systems
Sri Lanka has developed considerably in terms of health care and nutrition. The mortality rates (deaths per 1000 live births) have declined. The crude birth rates have increased while the crude death rates have declined. The gap between these values is narrowing resulting in a higher percentage of elderly (natural growth of population). This is common worldwide, but the increasing elder population in Sri Lanka is alarming. It is estimated that for Sri Lanka, the natural growth of population is 1.06% at present. The child nutrition has also improved a lot. With many health care campaigns, we have been able to minimize many wide-spreading diseases such as malaria, filaria, diarrhea, etc. From 2000 to 2005, the number of P.falciparum (malaria) patients has been reduced from 59650 to 130, while the number of P.vivax patients has been reduced from 150389 to 1506. The number of Filaria patients recorded has been reduced to 580 from 2233 during the decade of 1993-2003. Sri Lanka has been continuously being improved in many health aspects. New clinical practices have been introduced, and with many number of private hospitals together with government funding for public hospitals, we have been able to experience the advantages of new technologies in medicine. In addition, there are many examples of numeric improvements in health aspects, such as tuberculosis, smallpox, measles, dengue, epidemic diseases, skin diseases like leprosy, etc. It should be praised that the ministry of health care and nutrition has recently launched many campaigns such as the campaigns for AIDS, Tuberculosis, Diabetes, Cancer and the also the newest anti-smoking advertisement featured by Pradeep Rangana, which is aimed at the longevity of people and result in a healthy population.

The numbers, as mentioned above, look better with regard to the health care systems and the new campaigns which have been launched so far. Comparing the situation before and after 1948, it is apparent that the country has achieved the quantitative goals in health care.

What about qualitative improvement?
However it is questionable if we have still achieved the required quality in health care. The infrastructure has to be improved a lot. The expenditure on health is calculated as 1.57% in 2008 (4.1% of government expenditure). By 2004, there were only 3.1 hospital beds per one person; 2224 persons per one doctor; and only 4.5 nurses per 10,000 persons. Although the medications for many diseases have been improved, majority of the people cannot get those services due to many reasons. Despite of the improvement in the clinical practices and also in diagnosis enhancement through sophisticated equipment, there is a considerable gap between the availability of such services and the ability of the general public to receive them. When there are 6.6% of the population whose income is less than 1 US$ per day and 45.5% of the population whose income is less than 2 US$ per day, it is questionable if they can receive these advanced medication services available at the moment.

There is a group of people who do not get proper health education. The performance of the health care system is still measured in numbers, not in the quality. We do not have enough proportion of doctors per person. Much programmes have been carried out in the health care services in the last 50 years giving much emphasis to mother and child programme with special concern on controlling population. There is few or no concern put on the elderly, other than the increasing number of homes for elderly. According to the latest figures, there are about 167 elders’ homes functioning now and around 10,000 are living in them. It is also found that the homicide and suicides among the elderly has been on the increase while abuse has caused depression and distress among them. Sri Lanka being one of the top countries with highest suicide rates, also reports high suicide rate among elderly due to above mentioned reasons.

There is a clear tendency for suicide rates to increase with age (Figure III). By comparison with a global suicide rate of 26.9 deaths per 100,000 for men in 1998, the rates for specific age groups start at 1.2 (in the age group 5-14 years) and gradually increase up to 55.7 (in the age group over 75 years). The same positive relationship between age and suicide rates is observed in females. This is alarming and this is one aspect that Geriatric care has to look into.



Figure III: Global Suicide Rate Among All Age Groups
Source: World Psychiatric Association

Geriatrics still not identified as a special area to be concerned
Geriatric services are not functioning significantly at present in Sri Lanka. Even the available geriatric services are inadequate to cater the ageing population. In Sri Lanka, we do not have a specialized course for geriatric in any of the medical colleges in the country. If the curriculum of colleges such as Faculty of Medicine – Colombo and Peradeniya are considered, it is apparent that areas such as Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Micro biology, Parasitology, Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Community diseases, Clinical Medicine, Surgery, Obsterics & Gynacology, Paedeatrics and Psychology are given much concern, but not specializing in Geriatrics. May be the reason is that the country as a whole has not identified the need of geriatricians, or at least that more concentrated health care is needed for the aging population. However it is a good initiative that the Asiri Group of Hospitals is going to start with a geriatric care unit with a day care facility for elders.

What are the obstacles elderly have to face?
Since majority of the people live in the rural areas and need to commute to the urban sectors in order to get health services, transportation is a major concern. Poverty, changes in the family structure, and fewer or insufficient medical services make the situation of elders more insecure. Out of all the social security schemes implemented by various agencies in Sri Lanka, Public Service Pension Scheme and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) scheme are the two major schemes providing social security for the Government and the private sector employees in their old age. The poverty levels of elderly may vary according to the living condition and support available. The support of children is given as 46% of number surveyed, 13% from pensions, 10% from casual earning, 8 % from property, and 6% from both Samurdhi and public assistance as per a recent survey. However, this does not adequately cover the expenditure needs of the elderly at their retirement. In addition, the longevity of life implies that the real income available for a retired person's living is going to decline and be inadequate in the future.

The affluent can seek geriatric services from the private sector whereas the others cannot afford such facilities. The geriatric facility in the private sector is still lagging behind the demand for the same. Since it is very expensive, the majority of the elderly would need this service in larger scale, and also a considerable public support. Hence, the introduction of an institutionalised geriatric care system is essential especially for the very old.

Other health aspects should also improve
Apart from above mentioned facilities, it is essential that other sanitation services should also be improved along with. It is only 71.5% in Sri Lanka who can access safe water, while 28% have access to pipe born water. The percentage of under nourished population being around 22% proves that there is a proportion of population who suffers from unavailability of good health care services and also proper education on health. Number of married women per Midwife is 576 while number of pupils per teacher is 22.

Rest of the world has identified the need of geriatrics, why not us?
Although we don’t have a properly functioning geriatric system in Sri Lanka, there are many other countries with even lower elderly population, having many institutes providing this service. They have medication systems, day care centers, exercise schemes for old people, and many more. Those institutes contribute in keeping the elderly people healthy in both aspects, physically and mentally. They have identified some diseases emerging with getting old, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Arthritic conditions, cataract, hyper tension, type 2 diabetes, Cancer, Cardiac ailments and Osteoporosis. Many countries now practice martial arts for elderly, like Tai Chi Qigong, which is a system of movements and positions developed in China. It is similar to Yoga, because it addresses the body and mind as an integral system. It is worldwide practiced for it health benefits. Tai chi is an attractive option for disabled and elderly people because they can practice it anywhere. The most common metabolic bone disorder is Osteoporosis. Couples with medication, there should be a comprehensive approach to exercise and fall prevention. Stretching, strengthening, impact, and balance exercises are effective. Of the balance exercises, Tai Chi has proved to be the most successful in decreasing falls. Tai Chi is specially beneficial in chronic illness and fatigue. These practices are still new to Sri Lanka.

Contrary to this situation in Sri Lanka, many western countries have identified the need of Geriatric care systems. They have separate Geriatric Societies dedicated specially for care of elderly and their diseases. American Geriatric Society, British Geriatric Society and the same for Canada. They actively take initiatives for the care of elderly and geriatric health care. Even India has identified this situation and has launched the Geriatric Society of India. They recently conducted a series of seminars and a forum regarding the geriatric health care. However, despite of increasing the quality of health care systems in the country, Sri Lanka is still lagging behind with regard to this branch of medicine.

Are we ready?
Lack of thorough planning for the growing issue with regard to the lack of geriatric health care systems, lack of state support for the needs of elderly in low income categories, decrease of pensionable jobs with the expansion of the private sector and also dealing with the stigma are the challenges we are going to face in the near future. There has to be proper infrastructure, legal systems (for the elderly), insurance schemes, physical health improvement programmes, regular health checks, and other services for the mental and physical well being of the aged. Therefore it is becoming apparent that we need a proper healthcare staff trained to handle the ageing population as one of many aspects of this problem. Are we ready to accept the challenge?


Dinu De Silva

Send your comments to:
geriatrics.comments@gmail.com

The Reasons for Failure

By D.R. De Silva

Pass Book

Monica married Nick this day. At the end of the wedding party,Monica's mother gave her a newly opened bank saving passbook with Rs.1000 deposit amount.

Mother: 'Monica, take this passbook. Keep it as a record of yourmarriage life. When there's something happy and memorable happenedin your new life, put some money in. Write down what it's about nextto the line. The more memorable the event is, the more money you canput in. I've done the first one for you today. Do the others with Nick. When you look back after years, you can know how muchhappiness you've had.'

Monica shared this with Nick when getting home. They both thought itwas a great idea and were anxious to know when the second deposit canbe made. This was what they did after certain time:* 7 Feb: Rs.100, first birthday celebration for Nick after marriage* 1 Mar: Rs.300, salary raise for Monica* 20 Mar: Rs.200, vacation trip to Bali* 15 Apr: Rs.2000, Monica got pregnant* 1 Jun: Rs.1000, Nick got promoted* ..... and so on...

However, after years, they started fighting and arguing for trivialthings. They didn't talk much. They regretted that they had marriedthe nastiest people in the world.... no more love...Kind of typicalnowadays, huh?
One day Monica talked to her Mother: 'Mom, we can't stand it anymore.We agree to divorce. I can't imagine how I decided to marry this guy!!!"
Mother: 'Sure, girl, that's no big deal. Just do whatever you want ifyou really can't stand it. But before that, do one thing first.Remember the saving passbook I gave you on your wedding day? Take outall money and spend it first. You shouldn't keep any record of such a poor marriage.'

Monica thought it was true. So she went to the bank, waiting at thequeue and planning to cancel the account. While she was waiting, shetook a look at the passbook record. She looked, and looked, andlooked. Then the memory of all the previous joy and happiness justcame up her mind. Her eyes were then filled with tears. She left andwent home.When she was home, she handed the passbook to Nick, asked him tospend the money before getting divorce.

The next day, Nick gave the passbook back to Monica. She found a newdeposit of Rs.5000. And a line next to the record: 'This is the day Inotice how much I've loved you thru out all these years. How muchhappiness you've brought me.'

They hugged and cried, putting the passbook back to the safe. Do you know how much money they had saved when they retired? I did not ask. Ibelieve the money did not matter any more after they had gone thru allthe good years in their life.

"When you fall in any way, don't see the place where you fell instead see the place from where you slipped. Life is about correcting mistakes."

The law of the Garbage truck

I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. He was super (even overly) friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.' He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger and full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes
they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally, just smile, wave, wish
them well and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so.....

Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.

What do you think?

Friends,
Life is too short think much and understand it.
So what do you think?
What is the meaning of life as you understand up to now?