Learning Challenge: A "To-Do" List for Taking Yourself Less Seriously

"Be Happy," video by Monica Sheehan

Some of my favorite bits of advice in this video are so simple yet they are speaking into my soul about how significant the small stuff really is. Things I could really start doing more of like showing up, not isolating myself like the hermit I am always prone to being. Also, pamper myself, face my fears (this would entail silencing my secret demons and phobias), and limiting television are all very practical advice for me. Sometimes I find myself glued to time-wasters like games and shows that serve me in no genuine way. Others which I have more of a proclivity toward and just need to practice more frequently include setting up a realistic schedule, live in the moment (rather than the past or some possible future), accept that life has its ups and downs, and remind myself to not focus on the negative aspects of situations. Some other honorable mentions include “have a sense of wonder,” “do things you’re good at,” “be open to new ideas,” “let people know how special they are,” “money doesn’t buy happiness,” and “want what you have.” A "to-do" list like this is an important arsenal of wisdom when so often in this tense world of pressure and expectations we tend to take ourselves and others too seriously. Something tells me the people who spend more time on achieving these mental and physical health-related goals have more happiness than those who waste these god-given gifts in the pursuit of shallow pleasures like or money or fame, often at the expense of the wellbeing of themselves or worse, others. The song accompanying the short video, “New Soul, by Yael Naim, is an appropriate soundtrack to a slideshow of suggestions for being happy. We are all young souls in a sense, experiencing all the highs and lows of life and learning lessons along the way as we age: “finding [ourselves] making every possible mistake.” What a good message from this activity. Sometimes even just simply taking a break from the daily grind of doing assignments to “achieve” arbitrary academic grades like watching a video like this is just as enlightening for the mind. I truly think that we would all be better off with a daily dose of happy little tips like Monica Sheehan has provided here.

(Image Source: Pixabay Stock Photos)

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Famous Last Words: Taking the Good With the Bad

I feel like my life has been set on the spin cycle with the safety lock on. By this I mean I can relate all too well with my poor iPhone that, unfortunately, found itself stuck with my sheets and pillowcases in the washing machine. This event that ended my week really sums up how I have been feeling as of late, so I was the least bit surprised by my slight error that caused my cell phone to be swimming in suds on Saturday. On top of mid-semester exams, barely scraping by with enough money to make rent, and the shadow of stress from a serious financial burden from only weeks ago still on my shoulders, it’s been a shaky start to this spooky month to say the least. I know I have racked up plenty of extra points for a cushion in this class which is making my missed due dates a little less daunting, but I’m ready to start fresh for Week 8.

As the sun sets on this week, I'm trying to remain positive and resilient. Having just completed the last section of the Mahabharata, I feel even more confident that closing this chapter will help me regain focus and feel less compelled to dwell on this past week where I wasn’t ahead of the curve. Instead of being concerned about making up academic losses, I’m going to try and pat myself on the back for prudently putting in the effort of extra credit assignments in the past for such a time as this. I really liked the Mahabharata and I’m ready to now spend my time picking it apart with additional resources as an aid. I have started by coming through on my personal promise to return to Mahabharata related videos in the MLLL YouTube playlist to see how they can enhance my understanding of the epic. “Mahabharata Meets Game of Thrones” is one that caught my attention since the craze for that series swelled just recently with its final season. The way this video likens the characters to their GOT counterparts is so clever and adds a new dimension to how I understand them. I can really see how this relation between stories came about since they concern themes of family versus foe, good versus evil, peace versus war, and so on which I touched on in my last reading notes post. Up next “The Mahabharata(“Abracadabra” by the Steve Miller Band),” which tries to hit some of the main points of the epic to the tune of this song from the 80s!

(Image Source: Pixabay Stock Photos)

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Extra Credit: Reading Notes- Mahabharata (Part D)

This section featured some battle scenes that were very heavy on the heart. Since my Storybook focuses on brotherhood, the significance of kinsmen slaying flesh and blood relatives really blurs the line between family and foeman. I was especially baffled that Duryodhana and Karna refused to put their pride and hate aside even as Bhishma pleaded with them to prevent unnecessary bloodshed. This begs the question of what makes certain ties so unbreakable? Some parent/child and husband/wife relationships seem inlaid with a particular loyalty that some siblings and cousins seem to lack. There was such sorrow in one scene of the war’s aftermath where grieving widows who couldn’t bear the burden of losing their loved ones decided to descend into the afterlife with them after a brief moment of being reunited. It is in this episode, chapter 77, “all strife had ended between kinsmen and old-time rivals; in death, there was peace and sweet companionship… the past was suddenly forgotten in the rapture of beholding those who had died.” This whole scene, along with Yudhisthira’s final test in episode 80 had such a melancholic tone that drives home the humanity of these characters in these otherwise mystical and embellished mythical epics. Life and death, family and foe, war and peace, love and hate—in the grand scheme of things these represent our ultimate moral test as mortals. As the PDE version of the Mahabharata concludes the story of war and justice, “So many mortals rise to eternal bliss, casting off their mortal bodies and entering by the shining door of the celestial city, by doing kindly deeds, by uttering gentle words, and by enduring all suffering with patience.” What a turn this took. This story reminds me of so many other things that have had similar themes of morality, justice, and peace. It is so reminiscent of this concept of “no light without the dark,” which is a very “yin-yang” sort of perspective on life. The common theme of complementary contrasts seems quite apparent in this story more than the last. Yudhishthira, who has suffered greatly and would even suffer more to assuage the pain of those he loves the most even if it meant being denied his most deserved place in the heavenly afterlife proves his virtue all the more. Yudhishthira is a favorite character I didn’t anticipate having, but he is such a humble character that isn’t without his share of fatal flaws that makes him remarkably relatable.

Bibliography:
Author: Various
Title: Mahabharata
Source: PDE Mahabharata, web

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

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Reading Notes: Mahabharata (Part C)

I’m realizing by this part of the Mahabharata that it’s very much the classic story of good versus evil. While some seem to represent virtue, others represent it’s antithesis, vice. The reading in Part C very much got this ball rolling with the event in which Yudhishthira gambled away everything, almost even Draupadi. This starts the cycle of vengeance that we see in Part C. Reading with this mindset of trying to read between the lines for the moral message beneath has helped highlight for me ways in which to reinforce the same in my own Storybook. As the characters deal with the consequences of their choices, I think that certain characters have sort of been acting as moral compasses which can either be taken or left. I especially noticed the ethical choice that Karna had with Indra’s celestial weapon which can only be wielded in perilous circumstances lest it rebound on him as a result of its misuse. The principle behind this is brilliant. Something told me that this could be a bit of foreshadowing. His whole energy seems a little cold and sinister, I want to say it has something to do with his being bitter about being abandoned at birth. Unless I read this wrong and he is actually just hurt and conflicted, but sometimes with such huge news it can be a bit of both. Krishna, who was the one to tell him of his origins, puts a lot of pressure on him. However, this seems to be purely out of care and concern for him. For Karna to “choose loyalty,” in this case to go to battle against his brothers because of his commitment to his service for the sake of Duryodhana, seems backward since his enemies are his blood relations. He did say he wouldn’t slay them particularly, but still this tugs at the heartstrings since they are family. Since my Storybook has to do with brotherhood in it’s closest form, I’m anxious to see what awaits in Part D.

Bibliography:
Author: Various
Title: Mahabharata
Source: PDE Mahabharata, web

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

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