Most of us would have somewhere heard this
famous parable of two brothers, which goes something like this. A father had
two sons. The elder son was a drunkard and a notorious person. In the contrary
the younger son was a very disciplined man, and a teetotaler. People were
surprised how there could be two different types of children for the same
father and out of curiosity, one person went and asked the elder son, “why are
you into the habit of regular drinking?”, for which the elders son replied; “my
father was a drunkard and so am I”. The
person who questioned, then went to the younger brother and asked, “how is that
inspite of your father being a drunkard, you are such a nice person?”, The younger
son replied, “Because my father was a drunkard, I have seen all the troubles my
mother and my family has faced and that made me decide that I will not drink”.
The incident is the same, but the outcome of the incident differs from person
to person, based on his perception of life.
Anything we do in life, needs a lot of emotional
conviction. With mental conviction we may be able to do something for sometime,
but only with emotional conviction we can do something all the time.
Let me draw an example, from my own life. I go
for my morning walk regularly. I do my yoga exercises, regularly. As much as
possible I try not to skip this routine exercise schedule. For people from
outside it may look like, I am just
fanatic about my exercise schedule, but to me the reason for this type
of conviction is a lot different. I am
in fact gripped by a fear, which motivates me. Sometimes fear serves as a
better motivation than appreciation.
My father is a diabetic and he takes regular
insulin. It is painful to see the daily injections he has to prick on himself.
Doctors say, walking is a good antidote to diabetes.
I have seen my mother suffer as a bed ridden
person for four years, before she died, due to her lower spine problem. Yoga,
is a good antidote for stiff back, because these exercises helps in improving
the flexibility.
Today, doctors claim that most of our diseases
are genetic. Given this perspective, it is better to practice the philosophy of
“prevention is better than cure”. In some cases we may not be able to avoid,
but we may be able to postpone. There are so many things that happen beyond our
control, but it is also true that we can to a great level, have influence on our health, by developing health
eating habits, getting into a exercise schedule.
I caught the first spark of intelligence, on “prevention
is better than cure” from one of my staff, many years ago. When we used to
order for coffee, he used to say without sugar, all the time. This gave me a
impression that he was a diabetic. On questioning, he replied, ”I am not a
diabetic; but my father is. I am just trying to postpone my diabetic
inclination, as far as I can”. His words had a lasting impact on me.
There are days I feel a bit lazy and try to
avoid, waking up early in the morning, but the thought of future pain and
suffering, makes me rise and go. And
once I am on, I enjoy my morning walk, more than anything else. I enjoy the
gentle breeze, the soft rays of sunlight, my personal time with nature, and
breathing in loads of fresh oxygen from the trees, that energizes me.
Not just about health, my friends. Anything we
do in life, we need the emotional conviction, in order to keep going. The
stronger the conviction, the easier it gets.
Happy Reading,
D. Senthil Kannan
Article dated Nov'08
