<p>As we constantly reach out to self-help and lifestyle advice and find them a bit disappointing or simply not viable, what does one do? If being or existing is a unique experience, what keeps it going also has to be worked out by oneself.</p>.<p>Every experience, positive or otherwise, comes with some insights. Leveraging these insights or resources is certainly an option. Even as no experience repeats itself, the idea that there are resources that can be drawn upon creates a positive feeling. It stimulates curiosity and the willingness to experiment with an idea. This contributes most to surviving both setbacks and good times. Overcoming the fear that setbacks will never end and the feeling that good times are too good to be true is what resilience is all about. What makes a person resilient is, again, a very personal response to a challenge, and each person deals with it with a different imagination. The self-help generalisations may be of little value.</p>.<p>While all these point to a unique, customised approach, the exciting anticipation is that one never knows what quarter help or solace can come from. Cultivated support systems and networks may fail, but something unexpected may emerge. This is often the theme of fairy tales and folklore.</p>.Call of the Maha Kumbh.<p>While altruism from an unexpected source is uplifting, caution is important. Protecting oneself from toxic relationships, situations, and environments is of paramount importance. These situations have no general definitions. They are deeply personal experiences and must be attended to as such. Hurting or causing harm to others is harmful to oneself; putting up with what feels toxic is worse. Tranquillity comes as much from severing such attachments as it does from mindfulness. </p>.<p>It may all be in the mind, but the body-mind interconnectedness is not only real but really important. Listening to the body enables the body to listen to us. If the body says no, just stop. Giving and sharing are important feel-good factors. Thoughtful giving is more difficult than mere spending. It calls for sensitivity and some sacrifice. Sacrificing time can result in being compassionate. The ultimate in compassion is when the feeling encompasses the environment. It is perhaps the best possible self-help one can indulge in.</p>
<p>As we constantly reach out to self-help and lifestyle advice and find them a bit disappointing or simply not viable, what does one do? If being or existing is a unique experience, what keeps it going also has to be worked out by oneself.</p>.<p>Every experience, positive or otherwise, comes with some insights. Leveraging these insights or resources is certainly an option. Even as no experience repeats itself, the idea that there are resources that can be drawn upon creates a positive feeling. It stimulates curiosity and the willingness to experiment with an idea. This contributes most to surviving both setbacks and good times. Overcoming the fear that setbacks will never end and the feeling that good times are too good to be true is what resilience is all about. What makes a person resilient is, again, a very personal response to a challenge, and each person deals with it with a different imagination. The self-help generalisations may be of little value.</p>.<p>While all these point to a unique, customised approach, the exciting anticipation is that one never knows what quarter help or solace can come from. Cultivated support systems and networks may fail, but something unexpected may emerge. This is often the theme of fairy tales and folklore.</p>.Call of the Maha Kumbh.<p>While altruism from an unexpected source is uplifting, caution is important. Protecting oneself from toxic relationships, situations, and environments is of paramount importance. These situations have no general definitions. They are deeply personal experiences and must be attended to as such. Hurting or causing harm to others is harmful to oneself; putting up with what feels toxic is worse. Tranquillity comes as much from severing such attachments as it does from mindfulness. </p>.<p>It may all be in the mind, but the body-mind interconnectedness is not only real but really important. Listening to the body enables the body to listen to us. If the body says no, just stop. Giving and sharing are important feel-good factors. Thoughtful giving is more difficult than mere spending. It calls for sensitivity and some sacrifice. Sacrificing time can result in being compassionate. The ultimate in compassion is when the feeling encompasses the environment. It is perhaps the best possible self-help one can indulge in.</p>
