<p>Two weeks ago, on a temple tour, we travelled to Thirunallar. Post which, we proceeded towards the picturesque Kodaikanal, as part of a pleasure jaunt. We were at the foot of the hill, around 5:45pm, <br>and the weather was formidable – it was flipping cold.</p>.<p>As we began the uphill journey, the entire surroundings was shrouded in stygian darkness with sepulchral silence, except for some screeching sounds of wild insects. People driving ahead, perhaps being in the same predicament as ours, were making precarious moves (amid poor visibility and rains persistently pounding down) to prevent any precipitous downward fall. The challenging drive had converted our minds into cauldrons, churning out creepy thoughts, thereby clouding them from thinking clearly.</p>.Parenting lessons from the next generation.<p>Mercifully, within moments, we discerned, “The more we let our muddled mind get murkier with menacing thoughts, the more it made it a mammoth task for us to move ahead.” Slowly, we summoned all our spirits, swiftly marshalled all our spunk, and tried driving along snaky paths, with singular calmness.</p>.<p>Later, having reached the hill resort safely, we realised this reality – what helps in challenging times is a calm, composed mind and not the chronic angst! This sublime sagacity got strongly reinforced the next day as we sauntered around the spectacular place, suffused by swarms of sightseers. The congested roads were chock-a-block filled with moving cabs, like caravans, while countless shops on either side stood cheek-by-jowl, crammed with customers, feeling all cock-a-hoop after buying a sizeable collection of sundry collectibles.</p>.<p>Now, in such highly higgledy-piggledy traffic settings, often we saw many an errant cab driver, hurtling himself on the way of his fellow drivers. Or, careless jaywalkers coming in the way of zooming vehicles. But, unlike horrendous traffic scenes here, in Bengaluru, there were no hurling of expletives, hideous hand gestures, or high-voltage road rages. It was stupefying to see all the folks seized by some sort of surrealistic serenity.</p>.<p>Seeing all these, I felt, be it in any ambience, adopting and adhering to the attitude of ample calmness can surely aid anyone in astutely navigating anything in life. As agitations can only aggravate an angst-laden atmosphere, making it more alarming.</p>
<p>Two weeks ago, on a temple tour, we travelled to Thirunallar. Post which, we proceeded towards the picturesque Kodaikanal, as part of a pleasure jaunt. We were at the foot of the hill, around 5:45pm, <br>and the weather was formidable – it was flipping cold.</p>.<p>As we began the uphill journey, the entire surroundings was shrouded in stygian darkness with sepulchral silence, except for some screeching sounds of wild insects. People driving ahead, perhaps being in the same predicament as ours, were making precarious moves (amid poor visibility and rains persistently pounding down) to prevent any precipitous downward fall. The challenging drive had converted our minds into cauldrons, churning out creepy thoughts, thereby clouding them from thinking clearly.</p>.Parenting lessons from the next generation.<p>Mercifully, within moments, we discerned, “The more we let our muddled mind get murkier with menacing thoughts, the more it made it a mammoth task for us to move ahead.” Slowly, we summoned all our spirits, swiftly marshalled all our spunk, and tried driving along snaky paths, with singular calmness.</p>.<p>Later, having reached the hill resort safely, we realised this reality – what helps in challenging times is a calm, composed mind and not the chronic angst! This sublime sagacity got strongly reinforced the next day as we sauntered around the spectacular place, suffused by swarms of sightseers. The congested roads were chock-a-block filled with moving cabs, like caravans, while countless shops on either side stood cheek-by-jowl, crammed with customers, feeling all cock-a-hoop after buying a sizeable collection of sundry collectibles.</p>.<p>Now, in such highly higgledy-piggledy traffic settings, often we saw many an errant cab driver, hurtling himself on the way of his fellow drivers. Or, careless jaywalkers coming in the way of zooming vehicles. But, unlike horrendous traffic scenes here, in Bengaluru, there were no hurling of expletives, hideous hand gestures, or high-voltage road rages. It was stupefying to see all the folks seized by some sort of surrealistic serenity.</p>.<p>Seeing all these, I felt, be it in any ambience, adopting and adhering to the attitude of ample calmness can surely aid anyone in astutely navigating anything in life. As agitations can only aggravate an angst-laden atmosphere, making it more alarming.</p>
