The Sanity Equation

I guess in this day and age almost all of us are in some existential crisis of some sort. Some more so than others. Some oblivious to their personal plights, and some, in utter denial. But, I am certain that there are a lucky few who are at peace. The ones who surrender. And in the process, become one with the universe.

Here’s a bit of my deal; a few unanswered prayers, a few disappointments and I immediately gravitate to Allama Iqbal’s ‘Shikwa’ like mode. A few days of solitude and potatoes, and I’m back to my usual self. But how painful and gloomy are those few days! Not to mention the extra 50,000 calories consumed. Those few days of pessimism; wasting the beautiful sunrises and the beautiful sunsets. Missing making memories, and, missing the moments that matter.

This time around though, I said no to the potatoes and used the few days to see if there is perhaps a sustainable strategy to combat the lows every time the universe takes an unexpected course.

The first day was Netflix, the second catching up on a HUM TV drama I’ve just started. But day 3, I rummaged through my books and I came across this beautiful one by Osho. The book says that in an ordinary state, we are all insane. In fact, there is not much difference between one who is normal and the one seemingly ‘mad’. The difference only is in degrees. For instance, sometimes in anger, one does things but later profusely repents. Osho beautifully articulates that we are in fact all ‘mad’, it is only our flexibility to come back to the ‘normal’ state that determines who lives in a house vs who lives in assisted care.

That example was so powerful and so scary at the same time. With everything in life, all the resources that we have access to, there certainly must be a course that moves us closer to the elevated scale of sanity…?

Day 4, the thinking began. Imitating Cumberbatch’s expressions from Sherlock, I tried to access all those Buzzfeed, LinkedIn, Forbes, Huffington etc etc articles that I have read in recent times. Day 4.5, I decided to go for a walk and get back to routine. Day 4.75 and I didn’t feel that bad. In fact, I was already sorting my weekly planner.

So, what exactly changed? The situation certainly didn’t. Perhaps a bit of me did. I therefore decided to put something together for the next time life comes up with a sneaky surprise.

Inspired by the Trust Equation taught to me by my Mentor - I decided to pen down my take on a Sanity Equation- neither scientific nor rocket science.

And here it is:

Sanity = Health Hygiene + Simplicity + Gratitude / Expectations*

· Health Hygiene has three key elements — Nutrition (eating clean vs glutting our body with junk), Sleep (7+ hours of continuous sleep at night) and Exercise (30 minutes of physical activity ideally every day)

· Simplicity — removing physical and mental clutters. Unloading resentments and eliminating all things (including people) negative. More living in the present and less on Snapchat/ Instagram etc

· Gratitude — appreciating what we have and being grateful. Enjoying what we have been blessed with and sharing where possible

· Expectations — anticipating that things will be a certain eay. Feelings of entitlement. Rigidity and inflexibility towards alternatives

Life can be unpredictable, but it truly is precious. I guess the moment we learn to surrender is the moment we empower ourselves to experiencing life and not just thinking it. And giving it a try is the only way to find out!:)