A good read especially when I am on my own spiritual search. The author after being devastated by her divorce searches for her inner-self and her identity by trying to connect herself with a bit of fun and a bit of spirituality in Italy, India, and Indonesia. Time and change of place heals all wounds.
Some good quotes from this book were:
I went through this phase when I used to call myself lonely as well as failure, may be to motivate my ownself towards success, but the idea definitely back fired causing me pain and sadness. However, I transformed just by adjusting my thinking to 'I'm lucky and I'm happy'. Just by doing this small adjustment, I am able to find happiness in loneliness and now regard loneliness as an opportunity to learn and do things without wasting the time away.
Obviously, there are infinite things to learn and do and I now see loneliness as an opportunity to learn and live all my childhood fantasies.
In life, we often compare ourselves with others and get ready to trade our life with others who are doing better than us. But, if we are seeking someone's life then we always look at the brighter side of their life and often ignore the flip side denoting the sacrifices the person has to make. Its needless to say that we loose our own identity in doing so and every person has his/her own identity in their own way.
But without comparison one cannot assess if he is progressing or regressing in his career. Therefore, comparison is essential. So there needs to be a change in the elements that are being compared. So, rather than comparing with others, comparing ourselves on a time line would help in assessing the path on which one is traveling.
Comparing one with another is analogous to comparing horses with mules and it only makes the mule sad that it cannot be a horse or it makes the horse proud that its not a mule. A mule would apparently love to trade life with a horse but would just torture itself performing the role of a horse.
Also, comparing a stick with a bigger one would dishearten it whereas comparing a stick with a smaller one would induce pride. Both of them are equally preposterous.
Some good quotes from this book were:
"The Yogic sages say that all the pain of a human life is caused by words, as is all the joy. We get seduced by our own mantras(I’m a failure . . . I’m lonely . . . I’m a failure . . . I’m lonely . . .) and we become monuments to them."
I went through this phase when I used to call myself lonely as well as failure, may be to motivate my ownself towards success, but the idea definitely back fired causing me pain and sadness. However, I transformed just by adjusting my thinking to 'I'm lucky and I'm happy'. Just by doing this small adjustment, I am able to find happiness in loneliness and now regard loneliness as an opportunity to learn and do things without wasting the time away.
Obviously, there are infinite things to learn and do and I now see loneliness as an opportunity to learn and live all my childhood fantasies.
"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection."
In life, we often compare ourselves with others and get ready to trade our life with others who are doing better than us. But, if we are seeking someone's life then we always look at the brighter side of their life and often ignore the flip side denoting the sacrifices the person has to make. Its needless to say that we loose our own identity in doing so and every person has his/her own identity in their own way.
But without comparison one cannot assess if he is progressing or regressing in his career. Therefore, comparison is essential. So there needs to be a change in the elements that are being compared. So, rather than comparing with others, comparing ourselves on a time line would help in assessing the path on which one is traveling.
Comparing one with another is analogous to comparing horses with mules and it only makes the mule sad that it cannot be a horse or it makes the horse proud that its not a mule. A mule would apparently love to trade life with a horse but would just torture itself performing the role of a horse.
Also, comparing a stick with a bigger one would dishearten it whereas comparing a stick with a smaller one would induce pride. Both of them are equally preposterous.
