Pratima Shah

We all keep on thinking about the past and planning for the future. But can we see our future ? Why can't we stop looking at our past ? The fact is nothing exists except the present neither the past  nor the future. How many of us live in the present? We all are slaves of our mind that keeps on thinking either about the past or about the future. Happy  and lucky is the person who is is able to live in the present. Such a person is a young mind that is neither childish nor old.    Actually speaking we human beings never pass through youthfulness. It is because we directly move from childhood to old age. This is because of the pressures of education system, the burden of our studies, the expectations of all around us and many other factors that deprive us of our youthfulness. We are fitted in a system that is rigid and competitive. We are not able to break away from the shackles of these demons in the form of our education system and competition. We ran a race and we expect our

   In any relation be it mother - child, brother - sister, husband - wife or among friends one of the other parties always feels a lacking. Whatever one does is never enough. Due to this there are many issues that happen. Sometimes this leads to a rift in the relationship or one of the other person is dejected and feel that there is nothing left in the relationship. Say for example a wife that performs the duties that are required of the family but one mistake  from her side makes the husband feel that that he is not getting enough. Due to this the wife is always under tremendous pressure and they may be lot of fights and arguments between the husband and wife. This applies to any relationship because whenever one of the party feels that what what he or she is doing is ultimate and weighs the behaviour of the other without considering the troubles and pain the other person undergoes in fulfilling the duties; there is a huge toll on that relation.    It is our human tendency to alw

   The weekend before today made me feel very depressed and low. It was the 50th Golden Jubilee Celebration at my school and a reunion for all batches. How I longed to be at the event; but things turned out in a way that I could not be present there. Like all my other batch mates who could not make it to the reunion; I too was going through the phase of FOMO, (Fear of Missing Out). I felt nostalgic through the phase of these 3 days and memories kept on haunting me. Tears of joy and sorrow kept visiting my eyes many times. I felt as if I missed out something which I would never ever witness. I was highly elated to see all my friends enjoying the event from all the pictures and videos which they shared. But the pang of not making it to the event will linger forever within me.    This FOMO is such a strange phenomenon. Actually it is for those internet users who have a fear of missing things on the social media and keeping abreast of everything that happens. According to Wikipedia so

  With whom do we communicate at a deeper level? What kind of people do we like to meet / interact / be friends with? Ever wondered why we find some persons relatable and why do we reject others? The reason is our yearning for sameness. We try to find similarities with which we can relate. Man's hunt for this sameness has led him / her dramatically to some thing or the other. The most transformative among these were the findings and exposing of shared experiences which we literally know as the "Me too" movement.    This is the decade where DAE - 'Does Anybody Else' reached a new level of indulgence by people who were in the pursuit of relatables / sameness. Under DAE, posts like - DAE escape to the washrooms to get rid of people during gatherings? DAE love to watch movies back to back? DAE avoid bathing in the winters? DAE get nervous and anxious during presentations? DAE feel annoyed at unwanted surprise guests? This decade witnesses many DAE and memes that

   Some persons are 'perpetual waiters' who spend the time of their life in waiting. They are habituated with waiting; either small scale waiting like waiting at the station, waiting in line at the mall / traffic jams. Some wait for the right time to do what they want to do, some for the next holiday, some for the children to grow up - all these are examples of large scale waiting. People spend their life waiting for the right time to live a life of their desires.    This waiting is the state of mind of a person and is a signal that you are just stressed and worried about your future and thus you end up wasting your present. This stresses you because you get so busy in reaching your future destination that one reduces the present to merely a means to get there. When one wants to be in the future rather than living in the present; one is crushed in a split that is lacerating you deep inside. This way you are being instrumental in accelerating the aging process in your body

    During an argument or a disagreement with someone, most of us operate from pride almost at all times . Whenever there is a difference of opinion between two persons what hurts the most is the pride not the difference. If someone is asked to submit a report to another colleague to maintain transparency and ensure smooth functioning; why should that person feel bitter about it? This bitterness is nothing but pride and is not at all related in anyway to sending the report. We humans are capable enough to turn simple things into complicated issues. There are many who have the tag of being a "complicated mind". The pride within the person narrows down to one's wants  / likes/ feelings. If there is compassion instead of pride the person would be living life on a huge canvas with a bigger perception.     When differences arise do not get into your toxic circle of what you want; instead try to look at the situation with a wider perspective. Watch your mind, is it giving

   Every child around me; be it from primary / secondary / graduate school is full of anxiety. The anxiety to be first in everything he / she does. The anxiety to leave all behind and be ahead of all. All the children are running a race; thanks to our education system. The system and its functioning is the reason why the parents and teachers have created a competition in the classroom. Based on this competition every child feels that if she / he is first in everything he / she will be respected and rewarded by parents and teachers. If anyone fails he / she will be humiliated and belittled by all. Many of the children succumb to this pressure and anxiety and we find them lifeless going around in the journey of life.    From a very tender age this race begins in the education system. The children are brainwashed to stop living a life and be first. The result is that the child forgets everything and is on the run to put others aside to be first. I witness children crying, begging and