Give me more...

We are in an era where we have everything in excess. We have more food than we need in our homes, we have more clothes than we require, our children have more toys, more furniture in our homes, more TV’s than necessary, more Gadgets, more cosmetics, more lotions, don’t we? 

If we look into the life of our parents and grandparents, we will be able to realize that they were less anxious, less stressful and happier when compared to us. The reason is that they were not constantly working on adding more things in their life. They invested more in spiritual aspects and things that bought contentment to them. In other words, things that instilled calm and mattered most to them.

But with changing times, our vision of a happy life took an altogether different picture. Our homes, work environment, the job timings, education structure and the ways we connected to each other, everything completely changed and we got engrossed into more and more materialistic things.

We wanted the best of everything, the best home, best car, best school, latest phone and whatnot. And we started associating our happiness quotient with these factors. And definitely, we increased the stress levels to maintain all these things and ended up giving less and less time to ourselves, our families and our loved ones. Was all this really worth it?

And the irony is now everyone is looking for destressing themselves and discovering how to be happy! Is happiness really associated with the latest mobile you have, even if you have no one in the contact list to talk about your problems? Is happiness really linked with your luxurious car, even when you don’t have time for taking out your family in it? Does owning that beautiful, furnished home really make you feel lucky when most of the time you spend in your home is with TV and mobile?

Take a moment and ask yourself these questions and figure out your priorities. Are we really happy with what we have or we can be happier if we have less than this?

If you agree with me, I feel we need to take some steps to reduce this overwhelming feeling and implement things which will help us calm down a little and stay more connected with ourselves and people around us.

1) The foremost thing is about purchasing anything mindlessly. Before picking up any stuff to buy, ask yourself if you really need it.

2) You can revisit the furniture you have at home and remove the ones which are redundant.

3) You can also review other things in your home which are just filling up space but no longer holds any utility to you or family.

Step 2 and 3 will help you clear any blocked energy in your home.

4) Try to light a lamp or incense, whichever appeals to you, in morning and evening to bring that sense of calm, peace and balance.

5) Stop purchasing clothes on every trip to the mall. Let yourself cherish the old era where clothes were purchased when you had that one big festival of the year coming up and on your birthday. Implement the same with your Children and this will teach them the value of the things they have and will multiply the joy when you buy them occasionally.

6) Revisit the pair of footwear you and your children need, and see if you can manage with some x amount than the ever-increasing number!

7) Stop buying toys for children throughout the year and try limiting purchase to events like festival and birthdays. Encourage them to build their own toys.

8) Teach your children that Food, Cloth and Shelter are something not everybody is blessed with. And we should always be grateful for them. Help them stay connected to this gratitude feeling by asking them the things they were really thankful for at the end of their day.

9) You can start by praying to God at night before you sleep. And teach your children the same. You can teach them Mantras which you know and have a powerful impact. You can also teach them any hymn (stotra) you are aware of.

This will give them an anchor if they face some storms. Faith has a lot of power. And the strength we derive from it is beyond words. In stressful times, it will teach your children to not get lost in darkness and keep patience and hope until they can see light.

10) “A little prayer before we eat our food is a good habit to keep.”
It helps us thank God for our food and ask his blessings to nourish our mind, body and spirit. And a positive thought when you pick that glass of water will help you heal your body. Focus on the nutrient value of your food and not the luxurious appeal of it.

Even If you are able to stick to some steps, I believe it will definitely bring a good change in you and your family. Don’t get anxious figuring out what you don’t need. You are the best person to answer “How much is too much?” Take your time and go with the flow.

Focusing less on getting new things and more on what we already have will help you pay attention to those areas where your true happiness lies.

Sometimes what we have is good enough to survive than constantly looking for more!