The roots are there. They will be there till you exist.
To look after them, all you need is to remember and acknowledge. Spare a few moments now and then. Try to think of pleasant and positive stories from your past. See if you can use them to manage your day to day problems.
My father used to tell me a story.
The story of the king who killed his loyal eagle in a fit of rage and thirst as the eagle would not let him drink poisonous water dripping from a dead snake hanging from a tree branch.
As a child, it was only an interesting story lulling me into a pleasant sleep. Now when I remember that story, it strikes me as a reminder of the importance of loyalty in life. The loyal eagle did not abandon trying to save his master even in the face of his imminent death. It will definitely help me be loyal in life and any attempts at deviations will be highlighted as required.
I remember how angry my dad was with me the day he found out I had hurt my older sister, the day he found out I had resorted to a lie to gain some petty advantage. The force with which he told me never to hurt my sisters nor to tell a lie, I cannot yet forget. Not that this has made me a saint who never ever will tell a lie but it definitely works as a strong mooring stopping my boat from going astray.
Everyone can remember things that happened which have had their part, small or big, in moulding them into who they are today.
I am a doctor practising as a GP and when a family comes into my room for consultation I often see the child occupying the single chair leaving their mum or dad standing. This leaves me deeply hurt. The parents are not bothered at all, though.
I am aware that this feeling of hurt comes from my own cultural background because I can see that the parents are completely happy with this situation. It is a case of perspective, social, familial and cultural. It would be worse if I started to judge people based upon only my own set of beliefs.
When I was coming to England on a British Airways flight for the first time, the routine inflight announcement said, as it always does, that one should first apply the oxygen mask oneself in case of cabin pressure loss, before attending to others. This was a rude shock to me. How can one be so selfish? My roots told me you should help others before you look after yourself. However, on a little thought, it was easy to see that I could be of any use for anybody else only as long as I was fit and well myself.
Every tribe, every society and every nation has its own mythology. This is the story we have woven over millennia to convey our shared values and beliefs in ways most can understand. The intended message is not always passed on unfortunately because much depends on the soil where the seed falls.
Aesop’s fables and The Panchtantra are examples of pithy folk tales meant to convey useful lessons for managing tricky situations in life. But at the same time, we should be ruthless with unpleasant and unhelpful advice that hinder our well being, whatever their source. That is like deadheading the useless and dried up parts of the tree we are.
‘आ नो भद्रा: क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वत:’ goes a well known verse from the Rigveda. ‘Let noble thoughts come to us from every side’ And as a corollary shun what is not noble, wherever they may be coming from.
We should keep our eyes open to all that is good without any prejudice and try to flourish like a tree, as best as we can.
As I said on a separate blog, our roots are important for our stems and flowers and fruits to be beautiful and this is my take on how one should look after one’s roots and keep growing.
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