Staying Alive
Bee Gees gave this amazing song to all of us. One of my favourites. I love the peppy beat. I didn’t know it was a boy band until I saw their music video. This article is in no way related to the band or the song though. I just wanted to share my thoughts on the literal meaning of the title, “Staying Alive.”
It all started with a trip to Essel World amusement park. Less adventurous, but still very good. Very much secured and safe. But you would feel your heartbeat in a few of the activities. Three to four trips and my fascination for adventure sports found their roots in me. I became an adventure junkie. I tried rappelling in every way possible. First was facing the rocks head up, then once it became an easy task I did the face down, where I was looking down the hill while climbing down. Then, I tried rappelling in a waterfall. Followed it up with Zipline where you zip through between two ropes from one hilltop to another, a leap of faith from 50–60 ft high to catch a trapeze, walked barefoot on broken glass, then fire walked, graduated from there to rafting and kayaking. I wish I had the video or at least a photograph of me taking the 40ft jump from the top of a rocky mountain into that chilling water of river Ganga near Rishikesh. No hard copy, only the soft copy remained in my mind as a beautiful memory. Sky diving, skiing, spending a night on a machaan in a jungle are the few ones that are still left on my bucket list.
These events happened sporadically in a span of 20–25 yrs. During the same time, life was also moving on at its own pace. I was intrigued by the concept of meditation and living in the moment. I had heard a lot of things, mostly cliches, about living in the moment and forgetting the rest.
Meditation seemed to be the only way to experience that. And I was failing miserably at it. That was just not my cup of tea. Sitting idle and being in the present was just not possible for me since I loved to be active. The moment I would sit and think that “I should not have any thoughts”, all kinds of thoughts would start flowing in. To an extent that each thought would try to overpower the other. After a lot of failed attempts, I concluded that maybe I am not made for this. Even though I stopped trying, it always remained at the back of my mind, to taste that gift of being in the present and to experience it first hand.
My search ended when I came across this book by Osho called ‘Awareness: The key to living in balance’. In the book, he shared a story of a young boy who wanted to become a monk. He reached the famous monastery to meet the Zen Master. He came across a monk who was cutting wood. To his amazement, the monk cutting the wood turned out to be The Zen Master. Curiosity got the better of him and he blurted out his next question, so what were you doing when you joined in as a student?
To that, he replied, “I was cutting wood.” Looking at the confused face, the Zen Master continued, “The difference is that, now when I cut wood, I only cut wood.” I had to read this story a few times to understand its meaning.
Then came the eureka moment. I realized that he was talking about being absolutely present in the activity. That realization made me feel butterflies in my stomach. I got goosebumps realising that meditation can be done in so many ways and I have already experienced that through adventure sports. I had to be fully present and aware to do that activity. I cannot get distracted by anything or anyone. Otherwise getting hurt or death is not far away. That was the activity where I was not in the past nor the future. That realization was such a big relief. The tension and stress of not being able to meditate just vanished. That was the turning point. From then on, I became more aware of the activities that gave me the gift of living in the present. And I found mine in:
- Playing badminton or for that matter any game.
- Listening to the melody of the waves and enjoying the pleasant wind
- Long drive.
- Sitting on the beach and looking at the beautiful horizon or sunset
- Sitting on top of the mountain and getting lost in nature.
- Dancing
- Yoga
These are the activities other than adventure sports that makes me feel alive. I feel my breath, hear my heartbeat, where I extend my awareness breaking through my physical body to include the whole universe. It’s that feeling of being in love, where you are floating, light and alive. Smile and happiness is a by-product. You feel blissful!!
Now I understand all those adventure junkies risking their lives by travelling above a running electric train, doing risky stunts, riding the bike at breakneck speed or against the traffic. I just wish they would find something less risky but experience the same level of liveliness.
That activity could be anything. It could be cooking, being with your kid, your job, gardening, swimming, fishing, painting, singing or something else. Whatever that is, find that out. Try to fit that into your daily routine and start living daily.
Start experiencing the gift of being in the present. You will feel alive. Just like in the movie, ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’. I understand what each person feels after finishing their activity. Someone goes silent, someone is ecstatic and someone breaks down and cries. I hope that you too, like those characters, find your moment of living and feel blissfully happy.
Wishing you all a lively rocking life.
Rajesh Rajan.
Your Happiness Coach
PS: I am enjoying meditation now. Some days it is for a minute and some days even an hour goes by like a minute.
Thank you for taking out time to read. Please do write back with your views and experiences. I would love to hear your feedback. 😊
