Where does your mind stay?

Walking along a never-ending path, my three friends happened to discuss their lives, their homes, ups and downs and where they stood today vis-à-vis their lives. This is a story about them.

The bubbly Bhavishka, as the name suggests, was all over the conversation. Her mind restless.

Catching her through the corner of his eye was Samay, quietly taking in the scenario.

Meanwhile, Purva huddled herself in a corner with her now famous pout.

Watching them from a distance, I was intrigued to know what was going on in their mind.

Samay

Since Samay was already in a contemplative mood, I approached him and asked casually, ‘What’s up?’

Samay being Samay, did not blink an eye and almost instantaneously responded with his usual wry sense of humor, ‘The sky, the stars, the moon and the sun!”

His responses always make me take a step back and look at the situation differently. Samay is the calm, quiet one amongst us.

Elaborating, he pointed out to the place we were all at and said it was the peaceful environment around that brightened his sense of humor. The ability to objectively assess the situation and stay at peace with oneself is indeed a tough one to cultivate. Samay has successfully managed to master this. How? His mantra – being grateful to what comes his way and accepting things for what they are. I wish I had this ability! There are times when clarity eludes but I guess, gratitude can always overpower lack of clarity.

Purva

But Purva somehow seemed to disagree. Bogged down by recent happenings (which to me are now already in the past!), her brain was hyperactive, and she kept analysing and replaying the event in her head. All of us were unable to get past her. In her company the sadness seemed to spill over. How I wish I could hold on to the infectious joy that Samay brings for, even a gloomy/depressive environment can be contagious. I must admit that it takes a lot of strength and courage to distance myself from this situation.

Bhavishka

My mind wavered towards Bhavishka. Her restlessness seemed to irritate me. I tried to shrug off the feeling, but it persisted. I just could not put my finger on to what it was exactly about her that troubled me. Was it her incessant worrying about what would happen next or was it her default mechanism of always jumping to visualise the worst-case scenario?

Image courtesy: The Minds Journal

 Where do you reside?

We all have Samay (present), Purva (past) and Bhavishka (future) residing within us. We give space to them and allow them to grow. Sometimes, our past clouds our thinking. We spend time wallowing over spilt milk. There is always a sense of regret, guilt and shame. When we make the past our home, we are giving opportunities a miss and we fail to see the gifts that may come our way.

On the other hand, excessively focusing on the future can also be counterproductive. When the fear of the unknown gets its hold on us, we would end up worrying endlessly about what could happen next. The restlessness syndrome can make one overanxious and all the time thinking of ‘what if’ scenarios.

Where should one’s mind really reside then? The best residence is of course the ‘present.’ Wherein one experiences inner peace and lives the moment. This is the toughest state to be in. We get easily swayed by our past overruling our senses and/or the fear of the future dulling them. So much so, that we forget to stay alive and appreciate the beauty that life has in store for us.

In our day-to-day professional lives, this can become too much of a tussle. Our workplace is a cauldron of situations that have the potential to make our mind vacillate. How do we then choose the best residence for our mind?  By being conscious of our current state and thoughts that flow through our mind, we have the ability to switch our residence and move houses. The decisions that we make then will provide us with the solutions as well.

Where does your mind stay? Reflect on it!

The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.

Sarita Bahl

Sarita Bahl is an alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the Swedish Institute of Management Program. An experienced and versatile leader, she comes with nearly four decades of professional experience. She has over the years successfully overseen the communications and public affairs function and led the corporate social responsibility strategy for Bayer South Asia, Pfizer, and Monsanto, among others. Sarita has held multiple roles across diverse industries, the public sector, trade associations, MNCs, and the not-for-profit sector. Her areas of interest include advocacy, stakeholder engagement, sustainability, and communications.

As an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and Senior Practitioner (Mentoring) from the European Council of Mentoring and Coaching (EMCC), Sarita specializes in career transition, inner engineering and life issues. Sarita enjoys writing and is passionate about animals, books, and movies.