“But what happens to humans then?” As usual she was persistent. Dad replied, “If they don’t age gracefully, they too fade away in solitary.”

Growing old v/s ageing

While stress is the main contributor to ageing, it is also the reason for weight gain and overthinking. Stress affects health and the way we look. Urban life is stressful, for all. So how to people age gracefully versus start looking old and stressed out.

The secret lies in taking care of the stress. Individual stress factors have to be taken out of your life. Because stress is the main reason that will present you to live a life beyond 40.

Stress will not take care by itself, you have to take the bull by the horns to gain control.

Stress contributes to an early death.

You have no choice other than being happy

With age comes wisdom and the serene smile of Buddha whenever confronted with a situation. Growing old is the ability to see through a problem much better than the younger members of the family. The head of the family is always the eldest, not necessarily as a stereotype but because of the wisdom angle.

So what happens if an elderly person takes over the responsibilities without the abilities. That’s where you see large families fall apart.

There is only one body and that is the vessel

We Indians love to eat. Literally every social, cultural or religious event is centered around food. Then we also get surprised on how we add inches to our waist line. Food abuse is most common because there is no taboo attached to it. Doctors and medicine makers assure us that there is a pill for all our health problems. Eating brings in metabolic syndrome which leads to lifestyle diseases like high BP, high cholesterol, high sugar and weight gain.

But eating is not just the only problem. Medical experts advise daily physical exercise. Walking, running, gym, yoga, meditation, all of these have the potential to keep your body fit and drive the stress away. Any physical exercise works. A nature walk or hike once a week will help rejuvenate your body.

Epilogos

The word epilogue comes from Greek word epilogos which was used by Greek writers and poets as a final speech of a literature work.

“So do I need to take a lot of care of my body!” Her dad could sense the end of conversation coming near. “Not just that, you need to keep an eye on all changes happening as you grow.”

Growing old gracefully is all about determination and staying with a plan. That’s where the smile comes from.

The post How do you want to age gracefully! appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

What is a love affair?

Here are some definitions…

As per Google

A romantic or sexual relationship between two people who are not married to each other.

Google also says on the first page.

‘intense enthusiasm or liking for something’

Merriam-Webster

Romantic attachment or episode between lovers.

A lively enthusiasm.

Cambridge Dictionary

Romantic and sexual relationship between two people who are not married to each other.

Strong liking for a particular activity or a place.

Collins Dictionary

Romantic and usually sexual relationship between two people who love each other but who are not married or living together.

To like something and be enthusiastic about it.

What does a love affair mean?

Online definitions are usually a reflection of what the society thinks and wants. This has been the norm even with the old offline dictionaries. The society stands on some foundations and institutions. Marriage is an important pillar in every society. Defiance to any such norm will be met with reprisals.

All definitions necessitate that both the people involved in an affair have to be married but not to each other. Is it then acceptable if one or both are unmarried?

The second definition is more interesting because it suggests that one person can be enthusiastic about the other.

Almost everyone insists that the relationship has to be romantic and sexual in nature for it to be deemed as a love affair.

Two things are pretty clear, first, society does not want the definition of love affair to be an interpretation. Second, as long as society exist, an affair will be looked down upon.

A love affair is a …

It is a form of protest against the rules set by the society. For the ones indulging in breaking rules, this one forms at the top of the list.

It is the statement by the people who believe that happiness is theirs for the taking. It is not for those who take what comes their way. Marriage is a form of compromise but it is still the best way to lead a happy life. The only problem with a marriage is that it is a gamble. Both love marriages as well as arrange marriages are a gamble.

It is a connection between two people. It need not be romantic or sexual in nature. But why has society branded it as such. Because there is this apprehension of the elders that any such connection between married people might lead to a love affair. But if two people are already in a relationship such as marriage, is it going to be threatened by another relationship.

It is a feeling of enthusiasm and excitement towards another person. We are now entering into the realm of a relationship totally non sexual in nature. This kind of relationship opens up large number of possibilities because this relationship never enters the boring territory.

It is a finite episode. Hard to believe, but if the definitions are right, then you have to consider the possibility that a love affair is limited time. Make the most of it.

Where love affairs tend to go wrong

Either one of the partner involved wants to keep it short term. In that case the other one is cheating or faking it. Even if there would be love involved, it finally ends up in a heartbreak.

People do not consider the consequences with families involved.

One of the person involved starts re-loving his or her spouse. Try to gauge the interest levels to decide how to respond. This is the most important possibility you need to consider.

If it were just an attraction or a fling, then a love affair will definitely result in disastrous consequences. There is one exception though, if the attraction is genuine and the spark was always there.

Conclusion

Society will cling onto things which help it not to fall apart. In case of attraction and liking, there is no match for an intimate connection. All great relationships begin with a great conversation. Love in that case happens to the saffron that sweetens the whole thing.

The post How much love is there in a love affair? appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

Vastu Shastra originated in India somewhere around 6th century CE. It is part of the larger Vastu Vidya which is a collection of ideas and design principles of architecture. The most visible form of Vastu Shastra is all those temples which have withstood the test of time.

Jyotisha is as old as the vedas. It talks about planets postions and creating a calendar for various rituals and predicting eclipses and moon phases. More recent times it is also known as Indian Astrology or Vedic Astrology.

A list of workable tips

How to improve the financial condition in your home?
Place an image of the God you believe in on the front wall which faces the door of the house as you enter. This will bring in financial prosperity for all family members.

How to improve the flow of positive energy in the house?
Make use of mirrors, sea salt, incense sticks and wind chimes. There should be no mirrors in the kitchen and the front wall facing the door.

I am facing a series of bad lucks. What do I do?
Remove any broken items lying around in the house like damaged clocks or broken mirrors. In addition remove broken pots, old shoes, cracked utensils and vessels from the house.

Is there a simple remedy to remove obstacles in your life?
Chanting “Om Gam Ganpataye Namaha” removes obstacles since Lord Ganesha is Vighnaharta who has the power to remove obstacles.

If there is one ornament which can be worn as a remedy for multiple problems, what can it be?
Wearing a Rudraksha mala has a positive effect on the mind, body and soul. Rudraksha represents the tears of Lord Shiva and is considered to tap the cosmic energy. Besides acting as a protective shield it also bring peace and harmony to the people around you.

Will paintings make any effect on the house?
Do not have any paintings of sorrow or grief in the house. Also dark coloured and themed photos should be avoided. Instead use picture of bright colours with scenes like sunrise or scenery. If using a portrait it can be with bright colour clothes and background.

What are the benefits of camphor crystals?
Camphor crystals remove negative energy from the house. They are also beneficial for breathing and lungs. Camphor induce positive vibrations all around the house.

Why do people place a horse shoe at the entrance?
A horseshoe with the open end facing upwards helps in showering positive energy on anyone entering the house.

Which is the best plant to keep in the house?
A tulsi plant is the best option to keep both inside as well as outside the house.

Is meditation any good?
Along with meditation you can chant Gayatri Mantra and Maha Mritunjay Mantra to build a successful career.

The post Workable and practical remedies for your home appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

Bad boys, whatcha want
Watcha want, whatcha gonna do?
When sheriff John Brown come for you
Tell me whatcha wanna do, whatcha gonna do?

While the good guys are taken for granted, it is the bad guys who get all the attention. Living upto expectations of others, good guys are expected to follow rules and take responsibilities. But the same yardstick does not apply to bad boys. Most of their mistakes are excused or even admired being on the wild side. Is there any reward factor for the good guys from the society?

Good guys always in a minority

Good guys are always in a minority everywhere. Reaching places in time, finishing assignments, getting things done, making less demands and so on. If everyone around is ignoring you, means you are THE good guy. Rest of the guys are allowed to get away with mistakes and remain the centre of attention. While the mommies gang is constantly fretting over such kids and seemingly enjoying it too, you will just get a pat on the back and will be expected to move on.

This sorry story continues through school, when you continue to work hard and slog it out for good grades while the other variety manage to get away with passing grades. The entire teaching fraternity go overdrive helping them to study harder and better their grades. But despite all the effort, nothing seem to work.

College time is supposed to be all about fun and companionship. But not for the good guys, because they will be preparing most of the time for their job and career. Time to get ready to take on more responsibilities.

No reward system for the good guys – both professionally as well as personally

There is a whole eco system out there having the sympathy factor for the bad guys. The strange but familiar system of bad guys always in the mode of wanting to get a fresh start. Society does not keep a count as to how many opportunities have been wasted on them. They are in the process of finding and providing new opportunities to the losers.

The good guy on the other hand will work quietly in the background, without any fanfare or limelight. Good guys somehow manage to keep the family together and provide for them despite all odds and any economy induced market conditions. That is because they are risk takers and do not keep much for themselves. They are the providers in the family and bread earners. This is the part where gender neutrality is widely seen. So many families where the woman in the house is the primary earning member.

At the workplace the good guys manage to keep things afloat. They put in the extra effort and bring in business while the bad boys either do not have any permanent job or career or seem to keep trying without reaching anywhere.

When good guys enter into a relationship, they get the first glimpse of this skewed reward system. Having a loser spouse or partner is the generally accepted norm in society. Otherwise how is it possible that everything else is checked in an arranged match except for the fact that will they keep each other happy. How much of the wealth is earned rather than inherited and so on.

Will the situation change?

Good guys are kind of “fill it, shut it & forget it” types.

Bad boys are always in need of money so the people around them are always in a state of providing for them.

Which comes to the main question. Will this change? No, my friend. This is the order of the world.

If you have spend your entire childhood and teenage period realising that the good guys never get rewarded, then that is probably going to continue for life.

The main reason for this is society fails to keep losers in check. Hard work and effort is not recognised and rewarded. They will be cosmetic events such as prize distributions and some words of praise in family. But at the end of the day, it will be the losers who will get more than their due. A loser’s effort will never be questioned. He or she will always get the support wanted. But as a good guys your intentions will always be questioned, no matter how noble they are or how well they have been planned. How often have you seen fraudsters duping people of money where the fraudster is always a stranger, but still manages to con people. If only it would have been easy to trust a winner.

The bad guys will keep getting help in terms of money and affection. They will be the first to get payments and gifts. In a property dispute or distribution they will get the lion share because they tried and failed. As a companion, the good guys will be tagged as boring. So if you are feeling a bias against good guys in society, it is the harsh truth.

The post Good guys finish last – the reward system for bad boys appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

The difficulty of being God

With almost all of us asking God for happiness, what choices does God.

Option 1 – Make everyone happy and get it done with.

Option 2 – Like Jim Carrey in the movie “Bruce Almighty”, key in granted to all wishes of all people.

Option 3 – Be a God and do the right thing for humans.

Nature decides to balance

We roughly get 50% of everything. Equal happiness and sorrow in the same day. Half of good times and half of bad times in one year.

So should we start our day with happiness. Consider this. You are awake in the morning, fresh and alive. Take on you most difficult and challenging tasks head on. But the time the day is half way though, the universe conspires to make your remaining day happy.

Hence a word of caution, do not seek happiness all day long or in the beginning of the day.

Are we children of God?

Yes. But if we ask happiness from God, what do we get as an answer for our prayers and wishes.

What happens to so many people who put in hours of daily prayers. So many people going for pilgrimage to holy places.

If not all our prayers are answered, what exactly is given to us by God.

Distribution of opportunities

You are reading it right. God gives opportunities, equal opportunities to all. Do we miss opportunities, yes. Do we allow an opportunity to pass by, possibly. Do successful people grab all opportunities coming their way, absolutely yes.

Life is an album of wasted opportunities

We waste so much time pursuing wrong things. Sometimes it is hope. Other times it is habit. But it is always time to take stock and do a course correction.

Remedies

• Set your goals and start working on achieving them
• There is no such thing as happiness, try achievement instead
• Compete with yourself
• Begin your day taking on challenges
• Read this article once again and accept realities of life

The post What is happiness and how to find it appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

One of the things that cannot be faked. His fascination for you is total and will be life long. It might get to the extent that anything you do will excite him. He might write paragraphs praising what you have done.

Seek attention

Impressing you will always find top place on his agenda. It is a way to seek your attention.

Listening

He will listen to whatever you say. Allow you to speak first and finish last. A lot of this listening comes without any judgement. You can even get away discussing other boys with him. Or anyone else whom you have feelings for.

Let you win arguments

In any case whatever you say will always be right. That does not mean there wont be arguments and fights. But you will win, effortless.

Will be nervous and flustered

He will lose confidence in front of you. Make grammatical mistakes. Cannot decide whether to think about you or speak to you.

Jealousy factor goes on and on

There is no end to he getting jealous. It will carry on and on till the end. At times jealousy will assume ridiculous proportions. He will be jealous of your friends, ex-boyfriends, relatives, best friends, etc.

He is the one who will do all the waiting

Humans are born impatient. So is true for boys too. So there is someone who is hurrying in love. But there is only one who will like to wait.

The post How to verify he is in love – the girl guide appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

Europeans began exploring

In 1496, the King of England send explorers to discover new lands and treasures. The Spanish and Dutch were already at it long time back. British in the meanwhile, started attacking the trading posts and colonies of other European countries. For the next 300 years Englishmen kept conquering new territories by force or deceit. Between 1814 to 1914 they had complete dominance, right until the outbreak of World War I. One of the main reasons that led to the war is that too many colonies were under British control. But it is France who unwillingly helped Britain achieve this dominance.

British were routed by France

France and Britain were fighting with each other for hundreds of years. While they were busy with each other, there was no time to look elsewhere.

On 10 July 1690, France defeated England in a comprehensive naval victory. In that battle England and allies lost 15 ships. Earlier on 1 July 1690 the French Army under Marshal Luxembourg decimated half of the British force of 38,000 soldiers! These two defeats send shockwaves through England. There was general panic in the government circles.

Humiliated by defeat, the King of England, William III decided to rebuild the navy. He had big plans but no money to put it into action. Such money usually comes from the “king’s treasury” or the “govt treasury”, both of which were depleted due to the ongoing wars with France.

A brilliant economic idea

In 1694, Charles Montagu reshaped a plan to create the Bank of England to loan money to the govt for building the ships. An act of Parliament passed on 27 July 1694, called the Tonnage Act, Bank of England came into being with exclusive banking privileges which included issue of govt bonds and currency notes. Bank of England became the Government banker and Joint-Stock bank also at the same time.

The first activity was to sell govt bonds to the general public as well as sell shares to stock holders. It raised 1.2 Million Pounds in just 12 days, half of which was used to fund the Royal Navy. Like regular public limited companies, the share holders get a share of the profit earned by the bank.

Rebuilding of the navy began in earnest. This gave a boost to the economy as well as other allied fields like industry and agriculture. Govt contracts flooded the country and it was an economic revival. That was the brilliance of the economist who create the Bank of England.

Britain becomes a super power

With no problem of funding coming from the bank, the Royal Navy grew and with it the country too. By 1707, the navy was fully functional. The next 100 years helped Britain achieve dominance over the seas. That is how between the period 1814 to 1914, the sun never set on the British Empire and there was hardly any nation to challenge it except for United States of America which got freedom in 1776.

Before the outbreak of World War II, Britain had around 1500 war ships as well has thousands of other merchant vessels sailing all over the world. The world war decimated the Royal navy and reduced it to a third. Today it has 75 operational warships. As compared to that Indian Navy has 150 ships while US Navy has around 500.

But for the Bank of England it has been a different story. Today it is central bank holding gold reserves of approx 5,600 tons. That is almost 3% of the total gold mined in human history. It has played a major role in shaping the history of Great Britain.

The post The real reason how British ruled the world appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

While browsing the social media if we find something interesting, our first urge is to share. Our brain conspires to keep us happy. At that moment we want to share happiness with either the someone special or a small group of friends or to the world.

Depending on a large number of factors, you either want to share it and leave it or want a response in return. If it is that special one, you would wait for a response because you want to share that moment of happiness you just experienced.

We care about a few special people in our life and want to see them happy. Sharing a thought, good experience or a picture are ways of sharing happiness.

We respond to happiness because of our brain and the ability to find happiness. Your brain will respond to only those with whom you had a prior moment of happiness.

It is this happiness effect that the social media and even messengers are cashing on.

You can now proceed to read the longer version.

History of stories

In 2013, Snapchat introduced the feature of stories for the first time which had a series of pictures which disappeared after 24 hours. At that time, Snapchat was mostly used by the young people. Stories drew its popularity even further. Twitter was the first one to copy it two years later in 2015.

In 2016, Instagram copied it and soon Facebook and WhatsApp also followed. Finally it appeared on YouTube too.

Curious case of Instagram

For the first time Instagram in a blog update explained how they rank Feed & Stories, Explore section and Reels. Take a look at the screen grab below.

Originally Instagram assumed that people were only interested in seeing original stories shared by people. Also Instagram was initially not ranking anything from stories shared. However soon Instagram realised that people were sharing anything and everything in their stories and soon enough they had to change the algorithm.

The happiness factor – exploited

Happiness is believed to be the most dominant human emotion. So our brain is working overtime to keep us happy. All the day we have our happy moments. Instinctively we reach out to share. In the old days, with no digital communications we used to wait till the end of the day for a family time for talking and sharing. Today we are connected 24×7 and each happy moment we reach out for our smartphone.

For those lucky ones, be rest assured that you will get a constant stream of updates from that one special person which will actually make you more happier. While sharing this person is actually waiting for your response.

For those unlucky ones, who do not have that someone special, there is a group of close friends. Stories is the place where status updates are posted and the response goes to DM.

For those cursed ones who do not have friends share their stories to the world with their public account.

With most of the behaviour data available with the social media, they have seen the rise of story sharing. They are exploiting the happiness factor.

Story sharing for different scenarios

For personal accounts sharing for friends or for entertainment purpose is what most of us do. Instagram and Facebook measures the metrics just for data mining about behaviour. If you share sensitive information, you will land up in trouble with a ban.

For public accounts and small creators, Instagram goes all the way to give them space to grow and reach more audience. Originality and consistence is the key to get more visibility.

Brand owners can use stories to promote content and allow it to reach a wider audience. The first action which most people do as soon as they open the app is to check stories. It is basic human tendency to check what someone else is doing first. To get to that, you have to first have a target list of people whom you have to follow. Here is the suggest list of whom to.

• Other accounts of similar products which you sell
• Your suppliers and whole-sellers
• Other accounts connected to your brand
• Your prior customers/clients
• Potential target audience

The post Why do we like to share – the science and stats appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

These particles are all pollution related and they happen due to the following reasons.

Vehicular Pollution

The large number of vehicles on the road including public transport and the movement of trucks from outside Delhi is a major cause of air pollution.

Stubble Burning

After the crops are harvested, the remaining part of the plant is called stubble which is useless to the farmer. The most economical and fast option for the farmer is to burn it. Smog in winter begins in Delhi as soon as the crop burning starts.

Industrial activity

All along the borders of Delhi there are industries and power plants which run on coal and add to the air pollution.

Overcrowding

Increase in population increases activity and gives rise to pollution.

Other factors

Several factors give rise to pollution like burning of waste and leaves, brooming of roads and public places and so on.

Effects of pollution

Breathing problems and breathing related illnesses are not very common among children as well as elders. Those who already have problems or medical conditions, their situation worsens.

Low visibility leads to delay of trains and cancellation of flights.

The Air Quality Index reaches severe levels where it is not even fit to live.

Measures taken by Government

Lot of efforts are being made to convince farmers to use alternate means to remove crop stubble. Due to these, many farmers have adopted measures to avoid burning their crops.

Any type of burning activity is banned in Delhi.

Innovative measures like Odd Even rule and carpooling is encouraged though awareness.

Thermal plants and such factories have been asked to shift outside Delhi or use alternate means of energy.

People are encouraged not to celebrate festivals like Diwali by burning crackers.  

The post Understanding smog – Delhi’s recurring winter problem appeared first on Start Blog Writing.

You will find everyone around you professing terms like self love, feeling blessed and so on amplified multifold on social media. The best example we can think of is the ‘papa ki pari’ slogan pasted on bio of young women. Which dad does not fall love at first sight with his daughter and that is for life. But to announce it on social media as if it is something special and unique is a bit far fetched.

Life itself is a blessing, you don’t need to ask anything beyond it. Stop counting your blessings

Our day as humans is full of beautiful moments. Morning rising sun, lung full of fresh air, that blessed mug of coffee, travel to work and partying hard at the end of work. We are told that these are small gifts of life. What if we are entitled to it, just like anyone else. What if these are normal things. Yes we do have a tendency to find beauty in everything. So stop wasting time in beautifying normal. Yes, you can do that as a part of relaxation. But doing it daily is a waste.

Another problem with this behavior is that when the real deal comes your way, it will get lost in the haze of daily beautiful moments which you are appreciating.

A special person becomes special after a special achievement

Let’s take the case of an Olympic 100m sprint runner. 1996 Atlanta Olympics saw the maximum number of male athletes competing for a slot in the final race. 104 men from 75 nations. There was just one gold medalist at the end. There was once this college going kid who used to write a diary. Once his father saw it and asked him what are your achievements that you are noting down. The boy grew up to be one of the greatest general of World War 2, but he never wrote his autobiography.

The real problem begins when you start believing that you are special. This leads you to believe that you have already achieved something. It makes you feel that you have already achieved everything. It hinders the process of from making you set aims and achieve them. Being normal helps you set daily targets and focus on your final aim.

Discover who you really are and start working upwards

Being normal sucks but it also helps you to unravel your true self. This is needed to find out what is your baseline. Achievers begin small but they are completely in the know of their own capabilities and shortcomings. They spend their lives working on their aims and working to improve their weakness and converting them to strengths. They peak at the right time and from there on they refuse to fade away.

Once you are set on a goal, there is no need to bother about the tiny things happening around you daily. They blur away slowly till just your aims come into focus.

Summarise

• Convince yourself that you are simple person with goals.
• Stop announcing that you are about to achieve something or already done.
• Normalise all the special things happening around you.
• Eat good and exercise to keep your body fit.

The post Embrace who you are and stop feeling special about it appeared first on Start Blog Writing.