Every death creates short term turmoil. Eventually all is settled. But young death creates many problems. We do not live with freedom to die. Though it is a paradox but this very lack of this freedom often hastens death. In life, in commitments of marriage and family, we often create obligations, which upon disruption by death, rattles many lives. It is more true when wife is non-working. The best course appears to be: ‘Do not die young‘. But what to do to avoid the paradox, pointed out above.
In one sentence: ‘Change your lifestyle’. The truth is that mere change may be inadequate. A revolution would be better.
It was over twelve years ago when a class fellow fell pry to brain stroke. and about three years ago when another friend succumbed to stroke. Now a young friend is in hospital struggling with stroke. His younger brother died of same disease, two years ago. Things have been more complicated by diabetes. What is going on? What is wrong? Sudden strokes and sudden deaths?

Sadness is stupidity. It is a time for serious introspection. To look very closely into the problem. After all it is our problem first and medical problem later. There are two questions:

1.   How seriously we look after our body and limbs?
2.   Do we understand that mind itself is an organ which also needs rest?

There has been enough written about lifestyle and it’s problems but ‘mind’ does requires serious attention and resting. So how does the mind rests? Rather how we rest the mind?
Sleep ‘may’ take some burden off the mind but it is never fully at rest. That is the difference between being alive normally and in coma. When we sleep and body rests, mind is still at work, maintaining vital organs, healing tissues, keeping vigil to wake up if required and processing all the data that we threw at it during the day.
It is obvious that to rest the mind is to reduce its burden. The only way that is possible is to reduce the ‘processing’. If there is less to process, mind can work slowly and partially, taking some rest.
What the mind has to process? Answer to this question is complicated. A simple answer is: ‘Everything’. That includes every move we made during the day. Even if we do not know or remember, mind remembers everything. It needs to process, as to what to store as long-term memory and what not, record what we experienced because we failed to notice ‘experience’ due to our inattentiveness. It often replays these memories several times and we see it as dreams or repetitive dreams.
Our entertainment like Television for a few hours and a party with hundred guests is enough to keep it busy for several nights. Though, in this example, it is being put in a simple way but it is far more complicated. Best would be to be very attentive throughout the day. Observe the quality of sleep. Mind does lays out warnings like sleep or insomnia, memory loss indicating that there is backlog of data processing.
The only way out is to keep life simple. Less or little TV. Use of body and limbs in any activity is relaxing. Just like …..x. But do not keep it limited to that.
Work less, talk even lessor. Do not plan and do not worry for anything. Start living and to stop acting or becoming.

• It is not easy to investigate but why it is not easy?
• Why it is important to chase the ghosts called dreams and ambition?
• Are we living or acting/pretending to be living to chase dome dream or ambition?
• Is the mind always involved in analyzing. planning, criticizing etc.

Find your answers and questions. It is important not to die young. Get old and decrepit and die but not now and not in hospitals. Die at leisure in your own bed.
The state of mind reminds me of a verse by Nida Fazli which roughly means: ‘what we get is sand and what we fail to get or lost is gold.’

More can be read under lifestyle here and about mind here.

© Sandeep Bhalla