Though I don't know much about Sunanda Tharoor nor am I a fan or follower, the news of her sudden, untimely death as well as the death of some others celebrities like Jiah Khan, Parveen Babi, Divya Bharti, Silk Smitha, Viveka Babajee, Kuljeet Randhawa, Nafisa Joseph etc. really shake me up. (I'm not assuming yet Sunanda Tharoor took her own life, like Jiah Khan or Parveen Babi etc. but just reacting to the fact that she was going through a difficult time.)
1. One reason why I am shaken up is being blessed as an Art of Living Teacher, and having seen the impact some basic breathing can have on your life, mind and thinking process, I feel - "There's one more person we could have saved, wish they had done the course or had someone to guide them and share their internal battle then things would have been different."
2. The other thing which horrifies me, is that these are people who are supposed to have glamorous lives, have the world at their feet, but yet there is a harsh unyielding emptiness and loneliness which engulfs them. Makes me realise that irrespective of what your profession is, the skill of managing the mind is the most essential.
These people are supposed to be role models, have dream lives and then there is such a dark side to their lives, which we can only imagine. In fact it is FAME that magnifies all the highs and lows in a persons life, making them so much more difficult to deal with for the person.
Fame is such a strong drug, and has taken so many lives. I think if not for their fame, many of these people would have probably dealt with the situation better, sought help, spoken to someone or just gotten over that tough time in anonymity. They would have surely emerged stronger, as we all do, after tough times and had a chance to start life afresh, wiser and happier.
Its bad enough to go through an emotional or financial crisis but to have the whole world watching and talking about it makes it seem much more traumatic. Sometimes its probably better to guard your privacy fiercely at the cost of hurting a few nosy people rather than hurting yourself much more in the long run. Also being in the spotlight probably makes it more difficult to accept that YOU are going through a rough patch, or even if you accept it, makes it difficult for you to speak to others about it openly or seek help, knowing that you are being watched all the time.
Gurudev (Sri Sri) says "Suicide is like throwing off your jacket when you are feeling really really cold." It is the body which is your instrument to express your feelings or solve your problems. If you throw off the body the soul is even more lost and has no means of expressing itself or the trauma it is going through.
We all usually want to live up to the image we have created for ourselves and we unmistakeably wear all the appropriate masks to live up to it. This is much more pronounced when you are in the spotlight.
A thought I carry forward from my earlier 'smartphone detox' post, lets take out time to have some heart to heart chats with close friends, with our guards down, and not hide behind empty meaningless and cool conversations alone. Lets drop these masks, be authentic, be ourselves, even if it means we might feel a little vulnerable. At least it will ensure that the people who are still with us knowing our insecurities truly deserve a special place in our lives.
And honestly if we dig a little deeper, we realise that each and every person has mostly the same insecurities in different forms and they are trying their best to cover them, just like you. I know this as a result of many heart-to-heart conversations with friends.
There's something nice I had read in Hindi - Agar dil khola hota doston ke saath, aaj nahi kholna padta auzaro ke saath...(Had we opened up our hearts to our friends, we wouldn't need to open it with a doctors instruments today).
Its bad enough to go through an emotional or financial crisis but to have the whole world watching and talking about it makes it seem much more traumatic. Sometimes its probably better to guard your privacy fiercely at the cost of hurting a few nosy people rather than hurting yourself much more in the long run. Also being in the spotlight probably makes it more difficult to accept that YOU are going through a rough patch, or even if you accept it, makes it difficult for you to speak to others about it openly or seek help, knowing that you are being watched all the time.
Gurudev (Sri Sri) says "Suicide is like throwing off your jacket when you are feeling really really cold." It is the body which is your instrument to express your feelings or solve your problems. If you throw off the body the soul is even more lost and has no means of expressing itself or the trauma it is going through.
We all usually want to live up to the image we have created for ourselves and we unmistakeably wear all the appropriate masks to live up to it. This is much more pronounced when you are in the spotlight.
A thought I carry forward from my earlier 'smartphone detox' post, lets take out time to have some heart to heart chats with close friends, with our guards down, and not hide behind empty meaningless and cool conversations alone. Lets drop these masks, be authentic, be ourselves, even if it means we might feel a little vulnerable. At least it will ensure that the people who are still with us knowing our insecurities truly deserve a special place in our lives.
And honestly if we dig a little deeper, we realise that each and every person has mostly the same insecurities in different forms and they are trying their best to cover them, just like you. I know this as a result of many heart-to-heart conversations with friends.
There's something nice I had read in Hindi - Agar dil khola hota doston ke saath, aaj nahi kholna padta auzaro ke saath...(Had we opened up our hearts to our friends, we wouldn't need to open it with a doctors instruments today).
Cheers to more real conversations and a more real world for each of us. All types of people will always exist in the world, lets just try and make OUR world a little more real.
Love
Alpa
Beautiful piece Alpa. Love you writing :)
ReplyDeletethanks so much swati :):)
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