For years , I have been having a common set of resolutions year after year with one or two new additions.
Has it helped? Yes, it has.
I no longer need to have "exercise daily" as a resolution as now it has become a compulsive habit. I know I will do it no matter what!! .
"Eating healthy/Dieting" - I now know, no matter what, resolve or not, I will eat :) Nothing can stop me from grabbing that gulab jamun sitting pretty in front of me. So, no point in that resolution.
"Lose weight": C'mon.. who am I kidding? That's not happening, so I have grown to a point to taking pride in what I am and you know what, am happy now :)
So now that those heavy weights have gone off my list, what am I left with? Here goes the story behind my this year's resolution:
I had visited the Amritsar golden temple ,a Gurudwara where they had given the melt in mouth prasad, wheat flour halwa about 15 years ago. But the taste has stuck with me all these years and have never got an opportunity to go to a Gurudwara again or have the prasad.
So, during my recent trip to Vizag, I couldn't resist the temptation of visiting a Gurudwara very close to my place. I had no idea how to pray there,nor the name of the God.. absolutely nothing. I went in there, awkwardly sat there and chanted totally unrelated 2/3 shlokas I knew. There was one babaji who was praying and had not even bothered about my existence there. I found the Prasad dabba there, and I assumed I could just go and take as much as I wanted. (conveniently so!) I took a handful of prasad and with shameless glee , devoured it and was happily walking out having the mission accomplished. (It was real Yum. ) Then from nowhere , someone called out to me and asked me to have langar.
I couldn't say No and I went to the langar hall and sat down. I took one roti, very lil rice, dal and sabzi.
I started feeling guilty and awkward. I wasn't prepared for this, I came with a very selfish motive of only having the prasad , not for praying and here I was sitting and eating Langar which could've easily been a poor man's lunch.
I tried to finish as much as I could but there was still some food left in the plate which was beyond me. I was uncertain if I could to give the plate to someone for washing or I was supposed to wash it on my own. I took the plate and walked towards the wash area where another elderly person took my plate and admonished me for wasting the food. He said " Yeh langar hai , langar. Nahin khana tha tho nahin lena tha"
I never felt so bad before for wasting food. I was there for all wrong reasons, I wasted precious food and I stood there not even able to see eye to eye to the elderly person. I felt really small.
I will never, never ever waste food again. I will serve food to atleast one poor and needy person each month this year and years to come.
Has it helped? Yes, it has.
I no longer need to have "exercise daily" as a resolution as now it has become a compulsive habit. I know I will do it no matter what!! .
"Eating healthy/Dieting" - I now know, no matter what, resolve or not, I will eat :) Nothing can stop me from grabbing that gulab jamun sitting pretty in front of me. So, no point in that resolution.
"Lose weight": C'mon.. who am I kidding? That's not happening, so I have grown to a point to taking pride in what I am and you know what, am happy now :)
So now that those heavy weights have gone off my list, what am I left with? Here goes the story behind my this year's resolution:
I had visited the Amritsar golden temple ,a Gurudwara where they had given the melt in mouth prasad, wheat flour halwa about 15 years ago. But the taste has stuck with me all these years and have never got an opportunity to go to a Gurudwara again or have the prasad.
So, during my recent trip to Vizag, I couldn't resist the temptation of visiting a Gurudwara very close to my place. I had no idea how to pray there,nor the name of the God.. absolutely nothing. I went in there, awkwardly sat there and chanted totally unrelated 2/3 shlokas I knew. There was one babaji who was praying and had not even bothered about my existence there. I found the Prasad dabba there, and I assumed I could just go and take as much as I wanted. (conveniently so!) I took a handful of prasad and with shameless glee , devoured it and was happily walking out having the mission accomplished. (It was real Yum. ) Then from nowhere , someone called out to me and asked me to have langar.
I couldn't say No and I went to the langar hall and sat down. I took one roti, very lil rice, dal and sabzi.
I started feeling guilty and awkward. I wasn't prepared for this, I came with a very selfish motive of only having the prasad , not for praying and here I was sitting and eating Langar which could've easily been a poor man's lunch.
I tried to finish as much as I could but there was still some food left in the plate which was beyond me. I was uncertain if I could to give the plate to someone for washing or I was supposed to wash it on my own. I took the plate and walked towards the wash area where another elderly person took my plate and admonished me for wasting the food. He said " Yeh langar hai , langar. Nahin khana tha tho nahin lena tha"
I never felt so bad before for wasting food. I was there for all wrong reasons, I wasted precious food and I stood there not even able to see eye to eye to the elderly person. I felt really small.
I will never, never ever waste food again. I will serve food to atleast one poor and needy person each month this year and years to come.
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