Midlife Euphoria Day 14

Midlife Euphoria Day 14

We moved from Jaipur to Delhi a couple of years back. We had bought a flat in a condominium and wanted to shift into our own accommodation. After residing in company houses in various places where my husband was posted for 30 years we were excited. It was a great high to live in our own apartment and to stay in a multistory housing complex was the first for us. So far we had lived in large bungalows/ cottages, with ample storage spaces, garages, sprawling well manicured lawns and out-houses for servants.

Our excitement grew into apprehension when we saw our stuff getting packed for moving into our new abode. Three truck loads barely managed to squeeze all our belongings.(This after disposing off a considerable amount of stuff). Over the years one tends to collect an assortment of bits and pieces from numerous places as souvenirs, which are chosen with great care and become an almost indispensable part of our lives.

 The first problem was to move all our stuff on to the 11^th floor where our apartment was and once that was accomplished, to fit it all into the new, much reduced space.

It was an ordeal. For months the servant’s room was full till the top with stuff that we could not fit into the living areas. After six odd months, using barely half the stuff we had, made us realize that we can live without the rest.

First lesson in learning was to live in minimalist furnishings and the second important one was to dispense with the extra. I will be truthful to state that it was not easy to dole out our cherished belongings, but once we were through, I assure you we were better-off and much relieved. Besides cleaning and dusting which became much easier, a lot of clutter was removed not only physically but from our minds too.

Instead of missing the lawns one was ecstatic with the view from the 11^th floor balcony and ticked to have more relaxation time, as garden tending was a persistent activity. Instead one bought a few selected potted plants to add greenery and colour to the home. Not only was this an easier option on maintenance point of view but the effect it brought was definitely pleasing to the eye.

Another problem that was taken care off was the power back up facility that is provided in condominiums. Now we could operate all our electric/electronic equipment with no break in service and without the worry of maintaining a generator and stocking up diesel to run it.

The other very agreeable factor was that every time we wanted to go traveling we did not have to be concerned about security. The apartments have their own guards and safety systems in place. All you need to do is lock the main doors securely, put your bags in the car and drive off without a care.

I took to multistory living like fish takes to water.

As one is living in an apartment one tends to bump into neighbours in the elevator, while parking or just walking about in the evenings. These chance meetings also occur in the club, gymnasium or swimming pool meant for the residents. During one of these casual encounters, I volunteered to be part of a spiritual group who met once a week to sing devotional songs and chant religious mantras.  Promptly the next week I got an invitation to attend a satsang in a neighbour’s house.

I am not overtly godly but since I am in my midlife maybe I was expected to confine to the conventional rules of getting older and wiser which is synonymous with becoming spiritual. What ever the reason be, the first time I went was, out of sheer curiosity.

The setting was much sanctified. There was the fragrance of fresh flowers and an elaborate elevated platform adorned with idols of various gods and the delicate scent of incense. We were all handed out a prayer book and precisely on time the bhajans started.

I was struggling to read/sing the words following the rhythm and tempo created by the gathering. I looked up to see the other participants and was amazed to see that most of them had their eyes shut and were singing verbatim without glancing at the book. It was a lot of songs and a lot of Sanskrit shalokas. I was bewildered.

Only the other day a group of us in our fifties were discussing ways to ward off old age and related symptoms like, lack of memory, absentmindedness and clumsiness. The various solutions provided to mentally stimulate ourselves were, Solving Puzzles, Crosswords, Soduku and memorizing long passages word for word.

Now what I was witnessing at the satsang meeting was an actual implementation of one of the ways out. These amazing women in their sacred pursuit were also stimulating their brain cells. The accomplishment of a scientifically proven remedy for old age related issues was being conducted in a very pleasurable manner in a group with an added achievement of attaining spirituality.

After the session someone read a passage from the Holy Scripture Gita and the text was explained in simple words. Since I was naïve in many ways there were a lot of queries that I had, and surprisingly they were explained to me quite convincingly. The whole experience was brilliant and I was astonished at how much I enjoyed it.

Since then I have made it a point to attend as many sessions as I can, and mind you I feel regretful when I cannot make it due to work pressure or otherwise. This group activity energizes you. I have got to know a couple of these women who I can call friends. There is always some interesting discussion that we get into, we also share our joys and worries and there is also a little tea party that follows which we all look forward to.

Nevertheless to say even I can recite a lot from the book without looking into it.

Great mental stimulation for my ageing grey cells!