LIFE IS A BEACH

Balance and address your emotions to polish yourself and love your life. To get started you may watch Dear Zindagi, take some Bach Flower Remedies and sniff on some fragrant oils.

This weekend I met a friend after many years. Despite staying in the same city due to work and other life commitments we had not been able to meet and hence knew little of the challenges we were going through – alone. After the initial pleasantries, very casually he put in, “Oh by the way, I am seeing a therapist…,” heaved a sigh of relief and continued, “There, I have said it now. And after Dear Zindagi, I don’t really feel awkward admitting it.”

I returned home that evening happy and filled with a lot of appreciation for life. Realisations were also many: (a) Caught up in my own life, I had not given attention to people who matter a lot but I had taken for granted; (b) In spite of being close confidants, friends find it difficult to admit or open up about the fact that they need help to manage emotions; (c) We may not even know that we need that help; (d) Despite its superficial treatment of subject and many flaws, Dear Zindagi, has addressed the elephant in the room. We may find many faults with the film, but I am happy even if it inspired one person to seek help and open up about issues of mental health.

Let’s look at my friend’s dilemma once again. He didn’t feel pressurised to tell me that, “Hey, I am suffering from asthma and I am seeing a doctor for it,”? However, he found it a task of sorts to tell me that “I feel I am stagnating in life, I can’t express myself, I feel choked and therefore I am seeing a therapist.” The problem is we are fine to accept that we are physically unwell, but we have trained our minds to never admit that we are “emotionally fragile”.  Now, let’s look at his physical and emotional issues. What does an asthma attack feel like? You can’t breathe, you feel stuck, you can’t speak, you feel choked. Aren’t these the feelings that he had been experiencing, which had led him to the therapist? Agree?

If you do admit to that, then it will be easy to understand the point that I was driving to – our physical health is a manifestation of our emotional health. When we address our emotions our life becomes fulfilling and beautiful. So how do we address our emotions and take life into our control? Here are some suggestions:

(1)   Introspect, recognise and own your emotions. It is absolutely fine to admit to yourself that you feel resentment, jealousy, anger, irritation, scared, restless… it is okay to be “emotionally fragile”. Note that I am putting these two words in quotes because two years back I was constantly told by my boss that I am “emotionally fragile” and it took me great many months to own that yes I am but now what?

(2)   When you accept yourself as you are you gradually learn to respect and love yourself for who you are. This self acceptance helps you appreciate others for who they are. That in turn, leads you to respect and treasure life. And when that happens you are able to live every moment joyfully.

(3)   It is also important to understand that who you are today, is a result of the actions you took in the past and how you chose to feel about it. So what you are today is a reality created by you. Hence, what’s important is what you do now to shape your future. I know it’s not easy, but that is the way.

(4)    Now having accepted who you are and what you feel, the next step is to deal with it. Motivational books, quotes, films and so on can be the starting point. However, for complete victory you need to seek help of a counselor who can be a medical practitioner, a Bach Flower Therapist, a life coach, healer in alternative therapies and so on.

(5)   I have been addressing my health and emotional issues with the help of aromatic essential oils and Bach Flower Remedies. These gentle therapies help you treat yourself inside out. The best part is that when you use them long enough, you are able to recognise and heal your own issues to a large extent. You don’t need to always depend on an external source.

To book a Bach Flower Therapy and aromatherapy consultation with me call at 011-46061760 or mail at [email protected].