A Tribute to Shadow - My German shepherd

My Dear Shadow

The silence in the house hits you hard. The welcome bark of my dear Shadow will never be heard again. There is nobody asking for his share of biscuits when I wake up in the morning to have my first cup of tea.I saw him take the first breath eleven and half years ago and 5 days back I saw him take his last breath. The moment of separation cannot be expresses in words, it somewhere numbs your senses, it tears a chord within you.

Looking back there is a lot to learn from him. His resilience, enthusiasm, an unshakeable faith on the people he knew and loved, all teach me to look at the positives in life and take life as it comes.I still remember the first time when Shadow was around three and half months old and had just learnt his toilet manners. It was the month of January and we were in Gulmarg, Kashmir.We were sitting inside our room which was quite warm, outside the temperature was below zero degrees and it was all snow clad. Shyamal was sitting and wearing a T shirt and track pants, I at least had a sweater on. Shadow wanted to go for a toilet break. he indicated the same, looking at us, his eyes conveying that if you want you can come along and he opened the door with his snout and walked out. We also hurried behind him and had to bear the temperature outside.

The Two Brothers

By the time he was fully grown up his standing height was same as mine!!. Even when I went out for five minutes, on my return he would greet me with his paws on my shoulders. The day  we came to know that I had conceived, Shyamal and I came back home discussing on our way back that we needed to tame Shadow a bit specially the way he greeted me when I came back from outside. However there was no such need. From that day, as if he knew it all, he stopped climbing on my shoulders to greet me. nature is great and so is this breed of German Shepherds and so is my Shadow whom I shall always miss for the rest of our lives.

He was a big brother to my son Antariksh, who always addressed him as 'Bhai'. It was amazing to see the manner in which Shadow was protective about Antariksh. Gypsy, Shadow's mother passed away only a few days before Antariksh was to be born therefore Shadow automatically took it on him that he is responsible for Antariksh's welfare. Antariksh too will have to cope up with the tremendous loss.

                                                   
                                                              Antariksh and Shadow

He was my baby and I do not know how will I manage without him. Every corner of the house and specially the sofa in the drawing room looks and feels so empty. The vacuum created cannot be filled. I will miss him on my walks and and in every aspect of my life. I pray that his soul may rest in peace and god may send him back to me whenever the appropriate time comes for the same.

How to always stay inspired and motivated

With increasing stress levels in our lives, more and more people are finding that it is difficult to remain inspired and motivated all the time.The problems are many and the solutions are often not found easily. In such a situation to remain enthusiastic all the time is not an easy task.However a life without enthusiasm , without any motivation creates a vacuum . Our lives loses its vitality.We need to ask ourselves are we living a life without any purpose or are do we have enough zeal and enthusiasm to stay inspired and motivated in all our activities as well as help others associated with us to do remain so .In this post we look at some of the tips  which if we try and follow and inculcate in our lives will help us to feel and stay inspired and motivated in our day to day lives.

One needs to make the time to connect with ones more playful side, the child within our selves.To energise ourselves it is beneficial to take time to study the positive qualities of children and model their ability to stay energised, imaginative and completely in the moment no matter what may be going around them. The child in us remains alive throughout our lives but as we grow, we bury that child deep within ourselves and stop reacting to our natural instinct which is very much like a small child awed at the beauty of the life that the almighty has bestowed on us.Reconnecting with this part of our own selves enables us to be completely clued to the present and also is a beautiful way to stay inspired and motivated in all our activities just like the way we used to be when we ourselves were children.

Inspiration and motivation can also be got from looking at the lives of ordinary people living extra ordinary lives. Adversity does not dither them.They look at them as opportunity waiting to be unleashed and explored to unearth the true purpose of their lives. The other day I was watching a program on the television which was an award ceremony organised by the Times group in which the ordinary citizens of India were being awarded for their exemplary performance in their own respective fields. Each of those individuals, each of those stories were inspirational. They were all ordinary people like all of us from different backgrounds but each of them were living extra ordinary lives. Challenges do not stop them in fact they see them as opportunities and get motivated to resolve them with renewed vigour.If there is a lack of motivation and inspiration in our own lives it helps if we connect with such motivated people as they help us in rediscovering our own selves and live a life full of enthusiasm.

To regain ones enthusiasm and to remain inspired and motivated all the time it is important for us to be connected with our own purpose.If one is aware of what one wants it is easier to stay motivated and inspired.It is also important to put challenges in front of us on a daily basis and be our own judge, this helps us in realising our mistakes , look at our lives from different perspectives and helps us in improving our own selves for a better future.

A smile is a marvellous expression. We need to get in to the habit of putting up a smile.Whatever be the situation in our lives, it always helps to put up a smile. This somewhere connects with our subconscious mind and tells it that we can handle it all and we will continue to remain optimistic in every given situation.It spreads energy and enthusiasm and keeps us inspired and motivated helping us to fulfil and realise our dreams.We should learn to look at the positives in our lives. Initially it takes time, but later it becomes a habit.

To be inspired and motivated it is of paramount importance to stay healthy. Only a person who is both physically and mentally healthy can remain enthusiastic and motivated to do things he wants to do. Eating properly and proper sleep is essential for us to maintain semblance in our lives. It keeps us focussed and helps us in  channelising our energies in the proper direction.If one is finding it difficult to make the most out of their day to day lives there is an amazing guide created by none other than one of the most reputed blogger of our times, Steve Aitchison wherein he shows us steps to become an Advanced Early riser. The Guide further shows us how to maximise our time to work on our passions, our goals in life and teaches us how to get a great nights sleep. We can all use a little extra times in our lives, with this guide one can easily gain 7-28 extra hours per week. Click here

To top it all one needs to have faith, faith in our selves and faith in life as such."As human beings our tendency is to tell life to listen to what we want. But life doesn't work that way.It gives us what we need what is best for us, what is in our highest interest.Your life will work much better once you begin to listen to life. Let it lead you rather than trying to push it"-Robin Sharma