Back to Basics

September 10, 2007 by Broadland | No Comments

It is the greatest fully explained puzzle of modern society, that the more affluent you are the more likely you will be longing for the basics. Relishing life is not just surrounding yourself with material possessions. Pick up any newspaper, travel brochure, or description of a remote place and you will often find words to entice you to share the luxury of “nature”. The advertisement for a lovely home is not complete without the pictures of the view you get from the property. Yet take this aspect of relishing life a bit further and you will see that you are very willing to fork out substantial amount of money to abandon this million dollar home and trade it for a week or two in a small cottage in wilderness, where you can have long walks (abandoning your luxury car), climb hills and mountains (no vehicles or horses to take you up there). There is danger but also excitement. You are relishing life.

For the poor, there is the beautiful park in the city filled with plants, flowers and fountains, all cared for and paid for from the taxes paid by the affluent in the neighbourhood, who by and large refuse to go to these parks and prefer the nature “getaway”. Yet these poor folks are really rich because they are relishing life.

As I said at the start, it is no puzzle. We all know the calming effect of nature and nature’s beauty on the mind and know that it relieves stress. The question we have to ask ourselves is “How often do we take advantage of this knowledge?” How often are we really relishing life?

Whether you are a Dutchman coming home with a bunch of tulips or an Indian bringing a garland of flowers home with you, the feeling of contentment and peace is the same. In our thinking, diamonds and flowers stand equal contenders in romance. A wet tumultuous ride in a canoe give the same contentment as a peaceful cruise in a 5 star “Love Boat”. You are relishing life!
Look at the sunset or look at a mountain, but what you are admiring is God’s creation. Some people want to drown themselves in a lot of exotic food or think that drinking vintage wine is relishing life. But equal chance at relishing life comes out drinking the pure waters of a mountain stream and eating the fruit from a nearby tree.

The internal feeling peace and tranquility is far superior to joy of material possessions.

You are truly relishing life when you go to a garden that gives you the opportunity to surround yourself in nature. If you live in a large city, you can explore a quiet park or take a trip to a nearby lake or forest to relish life.

To make relishing life from these simple back to nature efforts, you need very little clothing and other paraphernalia. A bit of loose clothing appropriate for weather conditions and a good pair of shoes and you are in the business of relishing life.. The ultimate pleasure, the ultimate way of relishing life is to surround yourself with nature and meditate.

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Posted in General, Happiness, Meditation, Stress Management