Swadharma

Now that the school year is back to full speed, many of us find ourselves struggling to make time to get everything done. The typical day for the college student goes something like this: Get up early to go to class, get out of one class and head to a meeting, get something to eat and then head straight to the next class. Also, somewhere in between, we manage to squeeze in some time to hang out with friends, go to the dining hall for dinner and do homework. Before we know it, it is 2 AM. Many times this is inevitable and for the most part, we’re getting better and better every day at balancing multiple tasks and thoughts so that we can get through the day.

However, I’ve noticed that I often forget to appreciate the little things in the day because I’m in such a rush. This may be true for others as well. Not to sound cliche, but what about stopping and smelling the flowers? As we make our way through the day and are running from one place to the other, we often encounter many friends as well as many strangers that subtly help us get through the day in one way or another. With regards to friends, they help us so that we don’t go crazy as we fight to get through the day;  the strangers who help us could be anyone, whether it is the crossing guard that stops the traffic so that we can get to class on time or the stranger that keeps the door open for us when we’re entering a building. At times we’re so engrossed in our own little worlds that we often forget to thank those strangers for their kind and helpful actions. The obvious, but somewhat difficult solution is to take the extra 2 seconds to thank them. A secondary solution would be to go beyond thanking them by paying it forward and helping someone else during their day. That, however, is a topic for another post.

For now, I’d like to thank everyone for helping me get through my days — in one way or another, you have all helped me maintain my sanity.

To my family, my friends, my gurus and my strangers:

Thank you!

Related posts:

1. Thoughts on Evangelism
2. Searching for a solution
3. Appreciating yourself
4. Happy New Year, Swadharma — 2010!
5. Thoughts on Self-Development and Change