Snoring & ill behaviour

Snoring is the noise created while breathing through the nose or the mouth, while we are sleeping. Most of us are unaware of the sounds we emit, while we snore. I have been told right from my childhood that at times,I snore when I am tired and sleep to rest.

It is interesting that people who snore are generally not aware of the sounds they emit and how it disturbs people around them. I was in denial till a family member recorded my snoring on video and showed it to me. I was quite surprised.

Today I was sleeping next to my daughter for an afternoon siesta. I could not sleep while she was snoring. Then, I realised how much I could be disturbing others while I do the same.

Snoring is generally involuntary and not in control of the person and the people who snore do not do it intentionally. But the impact snoring has on others ,is also not realised by the person since he/she is not aware of this phenomenon, when it actually happens.

Today I realised that there is a lot of similarity between snoring and ill behaviour. Just as people who snore are not aware of the noise they create as well as the impact on others around them, similarly the people who are ill behaved are not fully aware of the impact their bad behaviour has on others.

While snoring is involuntary, ill behaviour is not out of control, of the individual concerned. However just like individuals who snore are not aware , similarly sometimes people who behave badly are not aware of the impact they have on others.

Today I realised the impact of snoring on others when I experienced the noise and how it impacted my sleep. Similarly, if someone is able to show the mirror to the people, who are ill behaved through specific examples of their ill behaviour and the adverse impact it has on people around them, they may change their behaviour.

I can confess that I do snore even today occasionally ,especially when I am tired but I am fully aware of how I disturb others around me. Similarly I was quite short tempered during the early phase of my career and life. I learnt to gain patience from my father and also the feedback I got from my seniors at work and even my own family members. This made me realise that just like my snoring, my ill temper impacts people around me adversely.

While it may be difficult to control my snoring, it is possible to control my temper and improve my behaviour. Today I can say I am quite patient and lose my temper rarely. This has been possible mainly because of the mirror shown to me by own family members at home and colleagues at work.

It may be worthwhile to realise that what is involuntary like snoring, may be difficult to control but what is in our control , like our temper, is in our hands to regulate. We need to be aware of the impact our behaviour has on others and then be open to feedback. It is possible to change and control the same.

Let us begin today to control what we can like our temper and be aware of what we cannot like our snoring.

 

S Ramesh Shankar

13th Jan 2022

Every day is a new beginning

I was bored with my routine life at home with all my daily rituals of walk, yoga, coaching, writing and household chores. So I decided to take a break , as the hills beckoned me.

I had a beautiful drive through the plains, hills and valleys and reached my destination which was about 500 kms in 8 hours. As I settled down in my room and opened the curtains to take a view of the picturesque valley ,I realised that every side presented a new view of nature.

This made me realise that every day is a new beginning in life. If we are willing to bury our past and not worry about our future, the present day can be beautiful. We can discover every day as a new beginning in life.

While it may be easy for me to write, it may be very difficult to practise. But I think, it is worth a try. Every day when I get up in the morning the colour of the sky is different and the rays of the sun ,reach us through the clouds differently.

Life is no different. This is more useful ,when we are in a crisis. We get bogged down by what has happened to us, over a period of time. We lose faith in ourselves and in others and start thinking that tomorrow is not going to be different from today.

This may not be true if we learn from nature. Every hill has a different shade of green or blue. Every tree has different coloured leaves and even the sky gives us a multitude of colours to admire. We sometimes cannot believe the designs of nature all around us.

I realise today ,that it is a good idea to take a break and come to the hills or visit the beaches or forests to rekindle our connect with nature. Nature has endless lessons to teach us every day. I realise that I have learnt so many lessons and yet discover a new one every time I get close to nature.

Today I believe that every day can indeed be a new beginning. It may be difficult to bury the past but worth a try. It may be a challenge not to worry about the future but worth attempting. Live in today and believe that today is the best day of your life.

Even when we are going through a good path, it may be worthwhile to believe that tomorrow is going to be different and we need to ready for it. It may be better than today or may not be. But there is always a tomorrow after today.

Every day gives us hope. Every day can be a new beginning of another chapter in our life. We can erase the bad memories of the past and have an opportunity to create a new life for the future. A storm or a tsunami does not end life in nature. It is just the beginning of a new life all over again.

We can delete the bad memories of the past and create a future of our choice. Let us believe that every day is going to be a new beginning of our life all over again.

Let us make a new beginning today

S Ramesh Shankar

8th Jan 2022

Learning every day

 

I have always believed that learning and education need not go together. I have met people in life who have never gone to a formal school but know the world. On the other hand, the best of professionals from the world’s best educational institutions ,do not sometimes inspire us, with their knowledge or skills.

I was reflecting on this subject on “what inspires you to learn from whom ?”. I thought about the people I meet every day and got my insight.

I meet people who have worked in multinational corporations in very senior positions but their every day behaviour puts me off. Then I have met graduates from the best educational institutions in the country, whose arrogance repels you from them.

On the other hand ,I meet a housekeeping staff in my community, who inspires me every single day. Starting from her genuine “Good morning” wish to her enchanting smile, everything about her makes me a good learner.

I meet her everyday and learn in every meeting of mine. Her work ethic is unparalleled. She comes to our community at 630 am so that she can earn a little more by taking additional responsibilities beyond her work hours which commences at 8:30 am.

She is meticulous in her work and does not need any supervision for her quality of output. Her smile is endearing and I have never seen her in a tiff with any of her colleagues. She is ever willing to take up additional work and support her colleagues at work.

She volunteers to make tea for all of her colleagues and is the first to come to work and almost the last to leave. I have never seen her complain about anyone or about work to me or any other office bearers of the community.

She is ever helpful to her colleagues and to everyone who seeks her support. She goes out of the way to get support staff for our residents whenever they need one. I had recently wanted a temporary housekeeping staff since my regular help was down with typhoid.

She recommended a young widow to work for us. This girl came and did her duties in the absence of our regular staff. I assumed she was her relative or friend. But my respect for her went up when I came to know that she did not even know her but wanted to help her since she came to know that she is a young widow with two children and was in the look out for a job.

So, my insight from all these experiences is that you need a great attitude and willingness to share ,to learn from others. This lady is the best in whatever she does and her attitude is worth a million. She is always smiling and willing to share. I am not even sure if she has any formal education. But that does not matter ,for you to be the best in whatever you do and also share your smile with others.

I wish I could be as simple, grounded and caring as my colleague in the community is.

May be worth trying.

S Ramesh Shankar

8th Jan 2022