Wisdom on the bus or...

It is friday so here I am to spread the hope and positive vibes through this blog.

Last week something happened which can change/improve not only my life but yes also yours, after reading this post. I travel by public transport for college and as we all know that life is so busy that we usually dont get ample time to do various things we want to during a span of a day so I usually read a course book or any other book during the journey.. only if I am lucky to get a vacant seat =P which mostly I do.

As usual I was reading my book, while doing that an uncle came and asked me to hold his diary as he was standing. Soon he got a seat behind me. He thanked me for holding his belongings and asked me, "Are you still studying?" I asked in affirmation. It is very odd for people in my country i.e. Pakistan to read books in a bus.. they feel it is very nerdy, again if there is 40% literacy rate which is obviously an overrated figure then you can't expect anything else but his words had a certain different tone to it. Following it he said this, "Do you want me to give you an advice for getting clever fast?" I said, "Hmm." as I don't like to talk to people/strangers in bus.

This was his reply, "Just sit with the people which are older than you and you will become clever very fast. I just did that mistake. (period)" I first found it very stupid but as soon as I gave it a second thought, I got exactly what he wanted to say but I did think and I still do that this statement requires an explanation or say deep interpretation. My stop came just in few minutes and before my departure the old man wished me good luck and I smiled back to him.

The thing is that age brings experience with it and if our social circle has people who are elder than us than not only we can learn from their experiences and prepare ourselves better for the world and its challenges but also it helps us to make good choices and contacts. I guess being in the circle of intellectuals and please not nerdy but the people with enlightening opinions and perspective is always an advantage whether they are younger or older than you because it opens your mindset about certain issues and you get familiar with so many new idea. When we talk about same age conversations there are two sides of it. It helps us in dealing with ourselves in the present time because we might feel same at that age or have same responsibilites et cetera but the other side to it is that it can be a great wastage of time because of all the fun and gossip factor so it is really important to be wise in choosing your company in order to be wise.

So the bottom line is that your observation and listening skills do help you in getting wisdom; and people can learn so much from a good company and experiences.

I GOT THIS IN AN EMAIL.. AN ADVICE WITH A GREAT PERSPECITVE. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GREAT IF I SHARE THIS WITH YOU :)

Dear Raheel,

A friend was telling me the other day about how she was talking to her mother on the cell phone as she was driving on her way home from work, when suddenly her mother said, "You know, you never call me except when you're driving around. It's as if you're squeezing me in and don't want to take the time to call me properly when you're at home."

Well, needless to say, my friend was taken aback. She never thought of it that way before. Have you had an experience like that, Raheel? It seems as if we often don't give our full attention to people when we communicate with them.

I know, for myself, I often find myself doing some other task, like watering the plants or washing dishes, as I talk on the phone to someone. Maybe it's because we tend to get caught up in the idea of "multi-tasking," and we feel we just don't have the luxury of doing one thing at a time. (And wouldn't you know it -- nine times out of ten, when you split your attention as you multi-task, all of those tasks you're trying to squeeze in aren't done as well as if you had simply devoted your full attention to one and got it out of the way, and then proceeded to the next.)

But no matter what, our communications with others deserve our full attention. After all, it's how we connect to others, develop relationships, and share information and a part of ourselves. As the author Herman Melville has said, "We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects."

As for me, I'm rethinking how I communicate. How about you?

Fit for body, heart, mind and soul

Being fit is a very important thing because it not only helps you in your worldly tasks but it helps you in feeling good for yourself which increases your self-esteem and helps you also in mental activites and spiritual duties. Exercise, Meditation and Soul-searching is very important for emotional health. In addition, if you are fat then you gotta lose those pounds. I know it is not easy but if I can do it then I am sure you can too.. AFTER WHICH MY LIFE WAS NEVER THE SAME!! So I am here to guide you because you all mean alot to me and above all to your family.

Let me tell ya that if you are looking for a miracle in this post, you will be highly disappointed. There is no shortcut of losing weight. First of all, let me clearify this myth that vibrators or gels do wonders in weight loss, they just don't. On the contrary, they can be extremely dangerous for skin and organs. All of this either requires hardwork and will power to set out your priorities right. Nothing comes easy in life!!

Start with a plain soup diet for a week and then follow my point guide. These are some points which will help you in losing weight soon and then maintaining it too. One more thing, its a continuous daily routine process.. its a lifestyle basically.

• Drink a glass of warm water before breakfast. (I don't do it but it helps for sure)
• Cut down your intake of oil. One tbspoon of oil contains more than 160 calories. Only use vegetable oil such as oil of corn, sunflower, olive or canola. Avoid Butter!! This also means avoiding junk food, all of them have hydrogenated oil which doesn't convert into energy that easily and gets stored in your body.
• This is hard but you've to do it for sure. SAY NO TO CHIPS AND BISCUITS. Also avoid snacks which have hydrogenated vegetable oil. If you want something as a snack or dessert, try apples, citrus fruits or carrots. These keep you full and help you in losing weight, specially apples.
• Eat more whole grain foods like chapatis and limited amount of rice(this means rice not more than twice in a week). Avoid bread, tandoors and naans. More Vegetables, lentils and some Chicken, all these are good for you. Avoid Mutton and Beef. You can surely enjoy potatoes no harm in it until and unless they are in small propotions and not fried.
• This is very important. Drink a glass of water before eating your meal. DONOT DRINK A SINGLE DROP OF WATER AFTER THE MEAL FOR 20-30 MINS because it hinders your digestion process.
• Eat all three meals but in small portions and propotions, again eat fruits in between as snacks. Don't hurry, enjoy your meal. If apples, cabbage or any food helps in losing weight, it doesn't mean you can eat bowls and bowls of it. Take a light dinner so it can digest easily and fat doesn't store in your body.
• Reward yourself with a oily snack/chocolate or sweet dessert once in a week. Donot cross this limit.
• Exercise if you can and be active.

Summary: Avoid(it means tata bye cya) to anything which has oil. Chicken, Eggs and milk will provide you good amount fat so no need of eating things which are filled with oil. Every extra 500 calories that you eat will increase your weight by one pound - equivalent to 3.5 tb.spoons of oil. Eat well, don't lessen your intake by leaps and bounds but make good choices.

You will get temptations but believe me if you set your priorities right then it wont get over you. Health and eating to live than living to eat is more important. If you follow this correctly, you will see the results and you will start enjoying it, today I like apples more than samosas/burgers. I am trying this from three months and by now I have already lost 20 pounds. My waist is now 4" down. *Grins*

Any related questions will be appreciated and I will try to answer all of them. Leave as comments or mail me at mail2raheel@yahoo.com