How your mind plays games.....

Mind is the greatest invention of God we say.... the only thing that differentiates us from the rest of the living clan.

So in simple context, it is supposed to be a boon or rather we are supposed to be very lucky that we have been blessed with this gift!

But... I often wonder, and I am sure most of us do, is it really that much of a blessing? 

People say, that brains are the most developed today in comparison to how they were decades ago. Simple reason, we exercise it too much. 

But as brains developed the complexity in life increased too. You worry about everything and anything. Unimportant things like missing the train/ bus, time to fill water tanks in houses, payment of bills, keeping the track of the maid's timetable, etc. have gained unnecessary importance in life. To give you an example, there have been times, in fact many times, when my mom wouldn't get ready to go out for evening stroll with us because she might lose the track of time and end up missing the society water schedule. Wow... Mom, with our strict working schedules we get time to go out just once a week and at that time you prefer filling WATER? (Notice - no time to take a evening walk.... such are our work schedules!!)

Lets not go to our grandfathers ages. Take the time of a decade ago. When I was in school. I knew people around me had to work. But i never saw them so much involved in work. They had time for families, for them selves, for everything including work.

Health Clubs, Gyms, Health food restaurants have suddenly come to fame. People have made their lives so unhealthy that the rest of the things (which were not so important earlier - mostly adhered to by the senior citizens) have suddenly become important. 

Who is the culprit behind this? A brain (mind). Ofcourse not all minds started the revolution, it was one, who did exceptionally well, thus probing others to do better. At the end of the day, we are all in the rat race (as it is famously termed) trying to outrun the others. 

Advantages -

• Standard of living better
• Kids are born intelligent :)
• The world has developed - so has our economy
• You are closer to the world (Emails, SMS, BLOGS!!!)
• Better options to keep healthy

Disadvantages - 

• Standard of life - degraded
• Kids have lost their childhood
• You are closer to an unknown person somewhere in the globe than your next door neighbor (stereotyped statement i know!! But still true)
• Healthy means of living seem to have disappeared. 
• Family and friends have gone apart.

This is one part of the story.... This was what your mind does to your external life... lets look at how it affects the internal life...

This part of the story has been more or less the same since........ may be forever!

How small things effect your mind - 

• Your boss yelled, you crib over it all day!
• The love of your life doesn't love you... you don't have a life (exaggerated statement i know!)
• Your husband/ wife/ girlfriend/ boyfriend said something and your mind is sure to make a big deal out of it. 
• Your exams are up, tension occupies more space than the actual syllabus
• It is necessary to know what you want to do with your life before you finish school or the rest of the world will bury you with the pressure of their ambitions.
• Your child doesn't score well (by well i mean anything below 85%), you can't digest your food
• A small change in budget gives you shivers (since when did politics become an important part of life!!!!)

I know all of this is too much on the pessimestic side, but I find all of this as a bargain which is not worth the price that we pay for it. Besides, it is hard to believe that life was not comfortable a few decades ago. Have you ever heard any senior, be it grandparents or parents say that life is better now with so many facilities. Infact, I am sure most of them are nostalgic about their earlier days. When life was simple for them.... and around them... when stories used to come from grandma and grandpa (not biography of Bill Gates, Abdul Kalam, Barak Obama), inspiration and ideals came from fathers and mothers (not from Mr. Bachan, Mr. Khan, Mr. Steve Jobs)

I guess all of you would have come across a message or a mail that says, that the happiest people in the world  is either a lunatic or a baby. Because their minds have not developed. 

We consider ourselves to be happy with and between so much tension, unnecessary pressure, unwanted thoughts and confused priorities... is all of this really giving happiness... or as usual,

Is our mind playing games with us???