The quietest, simplest and the most powerful revolution ever - I LOVE MYSELF

Love; an emotion that nobody can define or put into words; rather we all ended up with a definition of our own and some probably still don’t know as there can never be a universally accepted phenomenon for the same.

Parents of our and previous generations to start with; unfortunately, no one taught them the importance of loving their own self when they probably needed it the most. They have always known to be the ones giving up almost everything that they have and they can, for their children. Why? Is there not a need to put a stop to it? Does that not create a pressure on the child in the later stages of life where they cannot freely choose what they want to do and the first thing that captures their mind is the number of sacrifices or compromises made by their parents? Parents might not ask for anything in return, maybe, but does that not make it all the more worse? Firstly, you see the older generation compromising and later the next generation doing the same! Why?

With changing times and broader mindset; today, I am glad to have known a few of them in person, wherein parents followed their dreams as they were head strong on a fact that they aren’t answerable to anyone but to their own heart. Does moving out of a city for a couple of years to take that dream job make her a bad mother to the five-year-old? Does leaving his job to invest in his start-up and not being able to give his children everything they want makes him a bad father? If yes, then for instance, leaving your parents for your dream job or whatsoever especially when they are old and they need you is not less than a gruesome act and makes you the worst child ever! Held, it isn’t plausible that you don’t love your child when you do anything of that sort; instead, it inspires millions to love themselves too, exactly know what they want from their own lives and how they need to figure out to be able to witness the execution of the same by striking a balance between achieving what they want on one hand and not keeping their child deprived of love on the other. A standing ovation to all those who not only have the courage but grace to love themselves and believe that no matter what “I have a life of my own too and I need to live my life on my own terms.” So, from where do you get this courage and determination – Love of oneself!

As we grow up and move out of the protective shell given to us by our parents, we interact more with the outer world, meet different people, make new friends and easily fall in love. It’s easy to fall in love but the truth prevails that no one ever taught us how to move on with it; only time. I do not know anyone in person who never really fell in love or rather didn’t ever get a feel of it. In today’s ever-changing world, before a person thinks about love, the perplexed mind takes them on a roller coaster ride with a bundle of questions, the answers to which are never known, unless time told us otherwise. Do they love me too? What if it doesn’t work? What if they left me? What if they change with time? Do they mean everything that they say? What if I end up hurting myself? The list goes on!

One gives what one has! So, till you discover love for your own self, you can’t really love anyone else either. Some find love too soon and are always happy. Some find it in the later stages of life and remain equally happy. For those who had a tough time overcoming an unsuccessful marriage or a serious relationship tend to be reluctant and hold them back. Some move on with time, some have a tough time trying to hold on to it and some are stuck somewhere as it remains inconclusive for them. It is rather very simple, if you don't find them valuing you as much as you value them, you should know it’s time to move on. Despite having a tough time trying to put up with complicated relations and having compromised over our self respect too, we fail to understand that the simplest form of love is the love of oneself.

Love that lasts the longest is the love that is never returned; is that really so? I would rather say, if you can’t see them reciprocate, you need to just take a step back because loving someone and not getting anything in return is love that becomes synonymous to pain and you may end up hurting yourself to an extent wherein you are not even able to do the basic daily routine activities of life; so what’s the point? Do you really want your life to revolve around someone because of whom you get nothing but pain? Life is too short to sulk, regret, over think and destroy your inner peace for any possible thing or a situation. You need to laugh your heart out, pamper yourself with things that you love, value yourself and if they couldn't realise your worth, it may not be their fault because one cannot force the other to love; but trust me, it’s their loss! Yes, it is. If only education taught us the importance of self-love, this would probably have had made sense to all.

You are beautiful, yes YOU; not for the way you look, but for the way you love, because when you love, it’s pure, its unconditional and most importantly it’s real. You leave no stone unturned in nurturing it. You give all what you have and you are ready to give up everything for it. Learn from your mistakes but never let the bad experiences or anyone else change the way you love because at the end all that matters is how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. A shout out to all those who suffered, witnessed setbacks in life and think they have lost a part of them in the process of trying to make something work, irrespective of the fact whether someone gave up on you or you gave up on someone; for that matter, “Give up everything that weighs you down; give up on the relationship, do not give up on love.” Everything is temporary but love. Love outlives us all. Love as much as you can, feel it, live it, let it become a significant part of your identity but never stop loving yourself in the process of loving others; never lose yourself because on a tight rope, we all walk alone! You need YOU more than you need them!

You haven’t loved enough if you haven’t loved yourself as much as you think you have loved or can love any other.

One Life, Rise & Shine!

Stuti Tulshyan

The (Un) Censored Sky

Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally. - David Frost.

We often measure success with marks, credit, position, promotion etc. but the real success lies in confidently doing what you want to do and giving your best efforts in it. People often tend to have dreams in their eyes but they land up wearing spectacles framed by others. Same was the story of a successful doctor Aditya, who killed a photographer! He killed a photographer inside him. Had he raised his voice, had he given himself a chance, he would have been living his dreams, his own way! Alas! He did not. He continued doing what he never wanted to, the reason be any! Was he really successful? Would you like to identify yourself as a killer few years down the line, if today, you do not choose to be what you want to be?

Varun Agarwal- 26 year old, BE in telecommunication hated the four torturous years of his engineering life. He had to join engineering college because his parents did not allow him to go to film school. Having failed once in engineering and completing his graduation thereafter he went to work for Phat Phish Productions. He is a film maker and a co-founder of a million dollar company and also makes merchandise for students of schools and colleges. He is also an author of “How I braved Anu aunty and co-founded a million dollar company.” He believes in “not thinking” and “only doing”. Find out more at www.varunagarwal.in

Akash Gautam- He wanted to join the Indian Air Force but got rejected in the medical part of the NDA - NA exam because of some vision deficiency.  Further, he went on to do PG in Fashion from NIFT, New Delhi and turned out to be a bad student there. He was thrown out of his first two jobs. Today he is the most famous motivator, trainer and success coach. Never in his wildest of dreams he must have imagined he would reach this far. The real success lies in getting up each time you fall! We tend to give up when we are unable to accomplish what we want to, but we never know what we can achieve if we just hold onto. His official website-www.akashgautam.com

For a web begun, God sends thread!

Sudha gave her first stage performance when she was 8. By the time she turned 17, she had given more than 75 stage performances.  She lost her right leg in an accident. Yes! This is about the very famous, dancer and actor, Sudha Chandran. She left her disability far behind in comparison to her will power and sheer determination. She relived her passion by using an artificial leg. Even the biggest shock of her life was not enough to stop her from re-living her dreams. What is more important is the ability to overcome the setbacks in life. Let difficulties know, you are more difficult! That is what she did and today she is an inspiration for millions.

When love is akin to breathing! 88% of people do what they do not want to and 92% of them have relationship issues who fight almost every day with themselves without giving anybody a hint of what they have been going through.  Repercussions of the past, they come time and again to remind you of all those smiles, all those tears, those pent up agonies and those fears. They never tend to leave you alone. There are certain things in life, one cannot explain but life has to go on and this is what life is, Alas! Not always fair but the challenge is to put your troubles right beneath your feet and use it as a platform in order to walk towards your goal. It must have happened to almost every one as it comes naturally. So if it has happened to you, it should not be an excuse to escapism!

When despite trying hard and harder every time you fail, you feel dejected and disheartened. Comparison with others makes it worse. When all dreams are shattered, all desires are burnt; the only thing that remains is the ability to identify a ray of hope. A hope to see everything comes alive again, to push yourself once again towards your dream.

What can stop you from reaching the heights? Your disability? Failure? Poverty? Or you are not too passionate, your strengths are overshadowed by your weaknesses, you are being forced to do something else, your destiny had something else in store for you or lastly a broken heart? Can all this really stop you, if you really want to? When you find yourself struggling, all the way, you must know you are growing your roots. When you find yourself in pain, be assured God wants you to win similarly like a horse that is being thrashed by his master, runs to win the race. The idea is to keep that spark alive, COME WHAT MAY so that when you look back you can say yourself “No regrets, absolutely!”

Who does not want to touch the sky, some want to go beyond that, to explore to exploit, to know how it feels to be there. Despite dreaming, desiring, trying to accomplish we often are not satisfied with the height that we reach, we often are not content with what we get after putting in best efforts. Success can never be measured, it can only be felt. It is different for different people. We fail to understand that we are not here to please or prove anybody else. Abide to your own expectations first. Almost each one of us wears a mask almost every day behind which lies our real self. Identifying that real self is what is important!

Life is much like the crossroads, where you need to stop, think and decide and act because your decision can change somebody’s life; and most probably yours! Each one of us must be having some questions which remain unanswered. Whenever something wrong happens we end up cursing God and mostly question "Why me?" We are always guided in a way better than we know ourselves. So instead, say "Try me!" Keep walking till the way falls short! Wake up, get up, and get going!

Not all dreams turn into desires, not all desires are fulfilled but one who cannot dare to dream can never accomplish. Dare to dream a dream that has never been dreamt of!

#OneLife