Generating Positivity

Nowadays it has become fashionable to talk about positivity. Why is this so? Why do we talk about making a conscious effort to bring positive thoughts to our minds? Why there is a need of cleansing our minds of all sorts of negative thoughts?

Well, I think that first of all we should be aware of the fact that we are bombarded with negative thoughts. Identification is a must. Because we cannot treat the problem unless we know what is causing us trouble. Then only efforts can be made to resolve the complications. Unless and until we see the dirt how can we clean it?

It is but natural that we don't stuff our minds with damaging ideas deliberately. They are part of the thinking process. Many a time such views get stuck forever. Not only do such ideas stay, but they also attract all sorts of other poisonous beliefs too. These result in anxiety and depression and excessive worries and overthinking... The list goes on.
 
We must stop the process and try to break the chain of such unhealthy notions. Just as we make extra efforts to make dirty things tidy similarly we must try hard to remove such damaging thoughts from our minds.  We also need to recognize the fact that most of the time such thoughts are the results of the insecurities of our past. So let's be thoughtful while doing the cleansing thing.

So just as we sweep our abodes we need to cleanse our thoughts and their storehouse too.

Lazy Sunday

 

It is said that God made this world and its beings in six days and on the seventh day He took a rest. He looked at his creations and was happy about them all. The same rule applies to us humans also. Just as we work relentlessly throughout the week i.e. from Monday to Saturday we also need to recharge our batteries for the coming week. Or at least if not a particular Sunday any one day of the week should be taken for rest. 

It should be a rest day, not doing - the other - pending -work - day. One should get up late. Enjoy some late morning tea. Having brunch. Watch a movie. Going out. Have takeaway meals.  In other words, doing whatever refreshes you and you get ready to take the coming week head-on. Some of us do this but most of us have kept Sunday to do the leftover or pending household work. Cleaning. Washing. Buying groceries. Getting a haircut. Being engrossed in all this, we forget the real purpose of the weekly off day: to recharge our over-exhausted batteries. 

If we see all these in a broader perspective we may notice that all these activities are preparing us for the coming workdays. They are in a way preparing us but what I mean is about mental recreation. Where is the time for family, for your own self? If it is not possible to take out the whole day for yourself make it a point to keep a few hours or at least one hour for your own self. Do what you want to do. Groom yourself. Pamper yourself. Laze around. Sleep. Watch something online. There should be time at least once a week where you allow yourself to do the thing that you won't do otherwise. Plan a holiday with friends if possible. If not feasible, then plan to go on a solo trip. Do whatever it is possible for maintaining good mental health. Have a good "Me time".

Staying healthy mentally as well as physically should be our major goal because a healthy body and a sound peaceful mind can help you gain your other aims in life. Think and work out a plan to have a lazy day whenever possible.

 

Indian words in English language

It is said that every language should be adaptive of new words. It should be continuously developing, coining new words, adding more vocabulary to it. Otherwise it would be called a dead language. It is a fact that language keep on evolving over the time. The meanings of the words may change. Many words go out of use and many new words come into being. One of the major reasons behind such alterations is migration. People migrate from from one place to another and interact with people speaking other language. In order to get accepted knowingly or unknowingly new words and expressions become part of  to the language. And English is not an exception. This type of diversification is part of journey of any language. 

The British were here in India for more than three centuries . So it was but natural for the British to adopt words from Indian languages and anglicize them. Most of them are now part of English language dictionaries too. Basically the British were different from Indians as chalk and cheese and so were their languages. Language was a barrier to connecting with Indians . On the other hand Indians were obliged to  learn english as it was official language of British India . Thus it was a middle path for the British to incorporate some Indian words in their spoken language , at least, for better communication. Let's view some of them.

bunglow                  Bengali       bangla used for a big house with garden. 
cot                           Hindi           khat or khatiya
tomtom                    Hindi           horse driven coach
palanquin                Hindi           palki or a single person conveyance, carried by several men
avatar                      Hindi           the descent of a deity from heaven
bandana                  Hindi           bandhana or tying or to tie something
bangle                     Hindi           bangri  or a type of bracelet
blighty                    Hindi            vilayti  used for a foreigner especially from England
cheetah                   Hindi            cheetah
cummerband          Persian          kamarband means waist band
dacoit                      Hindi           daku means bandits or a group of outlaws who commit planned robberies
dungaree                Marathi         trouser worn by labors from dongri area of Mumbai
masala                    Urdu             mixture of herbs and spices
guru                        Hindi            teacher
jodhpurs                                       trousers loose at thighs and tight below knees. It was worn mainly for                                                       horse riding. It is named after the city of jodhpur.
jungle                     Sanskrit          uncultivated land or forest where wild animals live.
khaki                      Urdu               of dusty color   derived from word khak i,e. dust
karma                     Sanskrit          result of one's actions
loot                         Hindi              robbery
maharaja                Hindi             a great king
mantra                   Sanskrit          chant or meditation
pundit                    Hindi              scholar or the learned one
pyjamas                 Urdu              garment to be worn on leg
sepoy                     Persian           sipahi or soldier
shampoo                Hindi              champo i.e.  rubbing oil in hair and then washing them
roti                         Hindi               Indian flat bread made from wheat

Nothing Is Either Good Or Bad, But Thinking Makes it so

This is a Shakespearean quote in the play Hamlet, when Hamlet tells his friends, who have come to spy on him, that Nothing is either good or bad but thinking makes it so. Well it holds true, you know.as  people differ their thinking also differ, just as one action or idea can work for someone but foe  others it can prove to be futile.  it is because there can be things which are right from one person’s point of view and the same can hold wrong from someone else’s perspective. For example staying up late can be wrong for some but some can be on duty at late hours. So how can it be said that staying up late is right it is or wrong.

Right from the beginning we are in a habit of labelling things as good or bad, as right or wrong. Just like that. We have been taught from our young age that certain tasks or notions are good and some  aren’t. This is because of our age-old philosophy of the majority rule which says what is good for the majority of people is good and what isn’t, is considered bad for all. This is why there are many concepts which are considered to be good and bad. this impression can change with the passage of time as thinking of people may change. Just as in earlier days it was not considered good to send girls to school. Can we say that now? No. Why? Because the perceptions have changed. Now it is said that teach a girl and get the whole family educated. So what is good and what is bad  is only a perception and a point of view only.

Let’s take the example of gambling. One may enjoy it and like to spend most of his earnings on it. It may give pleasure to him and to him his gambling is good. But what about his family. They might be suffering. So, the same thing i.e. gambling is bad for that person’s family. Again that question stands, whether gambling is good or bad. We can say so far that unless a person’s habit does not harm his family it may be tolerated but as soon as it starts affecting his family in adverse manner it becomes bad.

There are so many things like these which need our second thoughts before categorizing them into good or bad. they are highly dependent on situation, environment and even person to person. it depends on the individuals how you perceive certain matters and how you react.