What did life teach you? :)

I haven’t written a word in such a long time, I almost feel guilty about it. But what I have been going through in the last couple of days is what is so infamously known as the “writer’s block”. And yes, I consider myself a writer, a good one or a bad one is for you to decide. I usually write about things that I feel from my heart and it saddens me that nothing has crossed my heart in the last few days. It wasn’t that my life wasn’t happening. A year of probation was successfully completed; a birthday I spent among family as well as friends – in Hyderabad as well as Mumbai – my two homes; it was all in all a time to celebrate as far as my work and personal life go… I should have written words and words about it and yet, I find myself lacking the flow of words from me. This is the first time that such a thing has happened to me – making me realize how traumatizing writer’s block is.

And then, just a few hours ago, I saw the speech by Dr. Shah Rukh Khan at the University of Edinburgh about Life Lessons. The speech was very beautifully crafted and it inspired me into thinking what I have learnt along the path that life took me so far. And, some of them resonated with what Dr. Khan had to say and some, not in the list exactly but are on the borders of what he said. Here’s a few that came to my mind when I thought about it. Life has a beautiful way of teaching you by experience. Life is the best teacher...I learnt a few here and there too..

1. Never let Fear win – no matter what. Fear has a unique quality of winning majority of the times. We let it grow inside us, feed on us and then give it the power to rule our lives. It’s time for us to face these fears. Be it of spiders or dogs, failing or being rejected, love or commitment, public speaking or singing – I don’t know – anything and everything can be conquered by moving forward; take a deep breath and keep moving one step ahead at once – and after a while without much effort, you would have triumphed over your fear. The beauty of fear is this – once you have conquered it, you have conquered it forever; it won’t dare to come back. 

2. Love, get your heart broken, love again because this time you’ll love yourself first. Nothing is more important than loving yourself. Embrace your idiosyncrasies, work on your weaknesses and realize you may not be perfect but that’s the best part about being human. Love others too; don’t ever judge a person by what you can perceive on the outside – you haven’t walked a day in their shoes. Forgive easily – heartbreaks happen; move on. Learn that nothing lasts forever, and that’s the beauty of it all.

3. Follow your passion – You should never give up on your dreams, no matter how unconventional they might be. The world’s most supreme discoveries were made when someone thought outside the box. Nothing gives you a greater satisfaction than realizing your dream, your hopes, and your goals. Ticking them off your list gives you immense contentment, trust me on this. And if anything stops you coz you are scared of what the society might say, remember this: kuch tho log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna..People will judge even when you are doing what they approve of and they’ll judge you even when you are not. Don’t base your decisions on their approval; you’ll regret it later. Do what the heart says…that’s how grand artists are born.

Play with fate; make your life larger, love, laugh, cry, make friends, travel, see the world, learn a new language, sing, dance, read, write, ask him/her out, confess your love, do everything that makes you happy; live for this moment..live like there is no tomorrow..

Love,

Sravya