Skip to main content

PEACE OF MIND

 


 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

12/XII/2024

 

In today’s times, our minds are restless, wavering, and uncertain, sometimes ambiguous. Mind is not thinking but over thinking and constantly conjecturing, sometimes agitated, restless and nervous. Most of the time it gets disturbed and disconcerted. Reasons, most of us know but refuse to accept.

 

The way to find peace of mind for oneself was discovered by me recently. The struggle was on to somehow understand the nuances of this fluctuating mind. Why does it get worked up at things which are beyond one’s control? Why do I have to react, if there is something which I can do nothing about?

 

Money is one big factor. No one knows how much he needs or what amount will suffice. ‘More’ is what we desire. How to earn it? By hook or by crook, fair means or otherwise, by investing, or working for it beyond your own limits and limitations, the list is never ending. Contentment was the key.

 

Health is another peace buster. We do not have a healthy lifestyle. We don’t listen to doctors advice and prescriptions, let's admit this too. We become ‘self medication’ experts, thanks to the information freely available on the net. Bad health means metal stress & fatigue.

 

The only one at peace is the ‘dhotiwala’. He has your and my money to play with. He can twist and turn things and can manipulate the system to his convenience and create rifts. We the people become their puppets after electing them. We lose our peace of mind.

 

Media is the biggest ‘peace destroyer’. They can run a story repeatedly, depending on who owns that channel. They can frustrate you with bombardment of toxic ideas, which they need to germinate in your peace-loving mind. Blood pressure rises on listening to all false propaganda. Just watch one debate on any channel and you will understand.

 

Social media is another thing which can shatter your peace. One video or message can suck you into a fight which never existed. There is an industry dedicated to doing so and we fall prey. Irony is that well read intellectuals get enmeshed in spreading canards which are then fed to vitiate the system. The ultimate sufferer is our mind.

 

Every other country, including India is embroiled with internal and external conflicts. Wars are on, directly, indirectly, by proxies, through terrorist organisations etc all over the world. World peace is at stake. We the people of the world are at stake. Who is responsible and how will all this culminate till peace prevails all over, is killing the peace of mind. Imagine those who are suffering the wrath of such conflicts.

 

Now that one has listed out a few, one needs to find solutions to be at peace.

 

First thing I did was to stop reading newspapers. They only carry advertisements. News gets sidelined and we land up collecting ‘raddi’. The second thing was to exit from all social media groups which were turning toxic. Best friends started hurting and abusing each other. Their point of view was the only view. It was time to exit such a company. Mind you, one has missed nothing but only gained peace of mind.

 

When religion takes over friendships, it means, it is the end of peaceful coexistence. The final destination is to be ‘dust’, then there is no need to pick up a verbal duel, which is the only thing left today. Saffron, green or white doesn’t matter but the wheel of progress does, needs to be understood.

 

It happened that since the second week of November. We were involved in functions and weddings. One thing which went silent was the TV. There was no time to watch the idiot box which was only dishing out noise and no news. I missed live sports though.

 

We went out of station for a week and there the TV didn’t work. A forced and welcome separation from nonsense. On return our TV went kaput. Good that it took fifteen days to get repaired. It was only yesterday that I came to know that Maharashtra had elections. Who won or lost makes no difference to me?

 

By the way, even in family get togethers today, bonhomie is lacking. Relatives and friends are discussed in a derogatory manner and shown in poor light. In family discussion we are doing ‘teen ki tehra’ or slagging, rather mudslinging, which I detest and refuse to be part of anymore. Very unfortunate but true.

 

I find peace in music, silence, gardening, writing my blogs, engaging with people with open minds and above all staying away from all kinds of negativity, especially people.

 

My peace is in my control and what is not in my control should not bother me. Do you agree? I wonder!!!!!!!

 

🇮🇳 JAI HIND 🇮🇳

©® NOEL ELLIS

 

Comments

  1. Superb thinking towards a healthy life style👌👌

    ReplyDelete
  2. Noel , you hit the nail on the head. One agrees 100% with every word that you have penned. Very well written

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes ,👍 I agree

    ReplyDelete
  4. Absolutely true ,sir

    ReplyDelete
  5. True to a tee!! Get a pet dog also, sir. Great stress buster!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, I know, we could keep a pet, but we have enough at hands as of now, cheers

      Delete
  6. Superb thinking Noel. If one is able to block out unwanted communication, one could lead a very healthy life style. Thanks for insightful thoughts....

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FINGER ON YOUR LIPS

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   29/IV/2025   What has happened to Pakistan? While India is doing Fauji Exercises, Pakistan has mobilised for what! I agree that the people of India want revenge. But, from whom? Our PM has only said that “we will not leave the terrorists and their supporters till the end of the Earth”. He has never said he will sort out Pakistan, or has he?   It has been hilarious watching discussions on Paki social media channels. They seem to have already given up. Our RM meets the PM and Pakistan starts shitting bricks. They talk about jazba and gazwa, and start telling us about their nuclear arsenal. 160 I suppose. By the way we will send across one equivalent to your 160 if need be.   There is a saying, ‘Chor ki Dari main tinka” literal meaning is, a straw in a thief’s beard. However, the deep meaning is that a guilty person reveals his guilt through his behaviour, even unintentionally. Clearly, “a guilty conscious needs no accuser”...

IF THERE IS A WAR…...

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   28/IV/2025   I remember the 1971 war as a small child. We were in Kapurthala Punjab, very close to the Pakistan border. It was an evening in December, I do not remember the exact date. While returning from a friends house, the declaration of war was done as I skipped along the ‘Thandi Sarak’ of Kapurthala.   The gist was that a vehicle with loud speakers was telling people to head home as an "emergency" had been declared and war had started. I ran as fast as I could, shivering with fear and my heart beating unusually fast. Though I was a lap baby when the 1965 war had taken place, it appeared serious business now.   Overnight, Dad and other Uncles started digging trenches infront of our homes. Carbon paper was no dearth in a teachers house, so mom got into an overdrive to stick them to the glass windows. Though the glass had been painted during the 1965 war, some broken panes had been replaced. Mom told ...

A PERFECT GARDENER

    Most of us are parents and grandparents now. All of us have brought up our children and now are looking after Gen Z. We gave our children and their children the best of best.   With that as an opening remark, let me shift focus to gardening. I am no expert on parenting or gardening. We went with the tide of highs and lows. The churns and turmoil. Even if we consider ourselves as perfect parents, can we be perfect gardeners?   The answer in both cases would be a big NO. When you look back, there is something more which could have been done. Things could have been done differently. There is no perfect template which can fit all.   One saw the kid take baby steps, then their growth stage and then they matured and ready to bear their own children. What is in store in the future? No one knows.   Having said that, let me return to the topic of Gardening. This would interest gardening enthusiasts. Are you a perfect gardener?   My p...

TAKE A PAUSE

  One thing I have realized that spending time with nature brings so much of mental peace. A small bird can just cheer you up. Her tweet can lift your mood. The sheer joy one derives from watching then come and play in your garden, feed, and bathe is just elevating. All those who do it know what I say and a request to those who haven’t must try it.   Morning time is the most hectic for the birds. They all know that their feed will be there. Their tweets and chirps are indicators of the happiness they enjoy. I am sure in between their tweets they chirp to thank us too.   Evenings are another kind of high. These days their feeders go empty by evening. The water bowls too are nearly at bottom levels, not because of their thirst but now they bathe in the bowl more often. The water sprinkled while they shake their bodies flies off emptying the bowl.   In the evening, when I go to the rooftop there is a different kind of hustle. A few sparrows, a pair of dove...

A BREAK FROM BLOGGING

    Christmas week is a busy week and spills over to the New Year. Friends and family get together, rejoice, make merry and strengthen bonds. It is cold and wintry, the reason to indulge in relishing plum and rum cakes and pakwans, dry fruits and puddings and be at peace.   However, too much rest to my ‘finger tips’ was catching with me both with the laptop keys and the ‘click button’ of the camera. Sometimes, it is good to take a break or if one can call it a ‘fast’ of a different sort. It is a good time to sit down, chill, run down and reflect on things which are now memories in the year coming to an end. How time flies!   We had a dinner planned for my chaddi-buddies and their families last evening. We were looking forward to having fun and lots of laughter. However, in all this milieu, some little things had to be done like feeding the fish on the roof, lest I miss out.   As I opened the roof door, my eyes lit up when I saw a white breasted k...

RUNNING TO TOWN

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   24/IV/2024   As they say, “Jab geedar ki ‘maut’ ati hai woh Shahar ki taraf bhagta hai”. (When a jackal wants to die, it runs towards the town). It simply implies that when someone is in ‘deep trouble’, he takes certain wrong steps and gets into agony himself. It also means that if correct actions are not taken timely, then chances are things go wrong.   Another implication of this idiom is that when someone wants to ‘avoid trouble’, he choses a wrong path or when one faces difficult times, he goes looking for advice and solutions from wrong people and places, jeopardising his own existence.   Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this straight away applies to our troublesome neighbour Pakistan and specifically to the thought process and mindset of their Army Chief General Asim Munir, who revealed it in the lecture he gave to the overseas Pakistanis recently.   I say this in the context of the ‘massacre’ and ‘savagery’ these dastards did in Pahal...

TALE OF A CERTIFICATE

It was way back in 1979 that I became a ‘matriculate’ with a ‘first division’. One required 60% marks for it and I got 60.14%, one mark over the threshold. This I came to realize only yesterday when I had to produce that certificate after almost 46 years.   Those days, first division meant you were the cream. No one talked about percentages or marks. All that mattered was I, II or III Div.   The first time I realised that how important this certificate was when as a young Captain in the Indian Army with three years service, I got a notice from the Army Headquarters to “show cause” why my services should not be terminated as they did not find my matric certificate attached with the mandatory documents required to be submitted to UPSC.   Earth moved under my feet. I was from a Sainik School where all documentation was sent by the school administration. How could they have missed out? Why me, was the question?   Panic and fear struck together as I had ...

A SPEECH

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   19/IV/2025   Imagine when your “sir ka jhoomar becomes gale ki haddi”, then what happens. That was one Jumla I picked up from the Pak Army Chief’s speech which he delivered in Islamabad to Overseas Pakistanis. They are dual citizenship holders. Their ticket it appears had been paid by the state of Pakistan, I reckon.   An Army Chief addressing a gathering of people who at the very first instance decided to “Pakistan se Zinda Bhag” is uncalled for. If I read correctly between the lines, it was not to impress his countrymen but somehow convince the audience to remit dollars to ensure he and his ilk get their salaries, a plot of land on retirement and an assured pension. Rest of the countrymen can scavenge for all he cares.   Above all, the PM of Pakistan and his cabinet were in attendance. The Chief’s political ambitions were clear and his speech was a subtle message to them that the Army is ‘THE Mai Baap’, as he flexed the ...

MYSTERY OF THE MISSING FISH

  Stray cats are on the prowl in our lane. Residents feed them a variety of food. From Roti to bread and milk is their diet. The way they are bloating is an indicator of their health.   They have been also feeding on the roti we spread for the birds. They eat roti only in case of an emergency. It is birds the cats are after. We haven’t seen them catching one but knowing cat behaviour, they would not miss a chance.   What I do not appreciate is that they jump into the grain bowl. It is a shallow earthen pot hung with wires on a protrusion of a dried branch. Even if there are ten birds feeding on the feeder, it doesn’t shake. Imagine, when a big chubby cat jumps onto it. They have dropped that pot several times and broken it.   We do not mind cats basking on our veranda chairs, but how does one tell the cats not to leave the birds alone. Like the birds are looking for a meal, so are the cats. Nothing like a juicy sparrow or a bulbul or a fat dove.   These cats wer...

ARMY CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR

ARMY CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   16/I/2026   I was watching the excerpts of the ‘Army Day Parade’ held in Jaipur. The show put up by the Army was exemplary. It reminded me of the Chinese Military parade, ours was far better. I wish I could have witnessed it in person.   What impressed me was the showcasing of the ‘Bhairav troops’ in their ‘combat regalia’. Especially the Sikh troops. Camo painted faces, Khaki pagris and the call of Bole-so-Nihal could shake up the enemy in his grave.   What caught my attention was their boots. Keeping their tasks and deployment in mind in various sectors, those boots would be wind proof, water proof, light weight, comfortable, flexible, durable with enhanced grip and ankle support.   The contingent was not in ‘Tez chal’ but ‘daur ke kadam taal mode’. Which implies, they do not walk but are always on the run to annihilate the enemy. Their boots had to support their operational requirem...