Laughter, as Danish comedian Victor Borge said, is the shortest distance between two people. That means nothing works as well as laughter to bring people together and be one of a sort so that we have a beautiful and an enviable society to live in.

A few moments of laughing sensitises you to the beautiful things around you and you start appreciating life. This in turn leads you to explore all the positive aspects of life. And hence your life becomes richer and more meaningful.

From the balcony of my house, I see groups of people gathering daily early in the morning in the nearby park to begin their day with a hearty “group laughter”. It is the roar of their laughter that wakes me up and makes me think right at the beginning of the day how to make life simpler and happier with a hearty laugh. It does not take much time; only that one has to sink in mind the point that keeping a smile and a laugh or two a day makes your day. Charlie Chaplin’s favourite quote must be always kept in mind, “A day without laughter is a day wasted.”

Laughter is the outburst of truth from your soul. Just as speaking the truth makes you stronger and positive, laughing too enriches your mind and soul towards creating a better world to live in. It has the ability to act as a therapist for most of your physical and mental ailments.

Comedian Bob Hope expresses somewhat similar sentiments when he says, “I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.”

And, those who are familiar with social media, have this beautiful word ‘LOL’ (laughing out loud) popping up without fail. What is it meant for? Not only to keep yourself in good humour but to let others too be in good humour. It is here that when you have nothing to say, just dash out an LOL. One of my followers on Facebook gets no chain of mind until I respond to her postings religiously. That shows how one can act as an instrument of change with very little effort or means. If one remembers that the world changes only if you change, then the stage is for you to play on!

When we become a victim of abuse, most of us are hurt and most of us try to hit back. As a result, there is complete disorder in one’s behavior; and peace of mind and happiness is shattered. And one’s family and people around too are affected.

Given this, isn’t it better to ignore others’ abuses and carry on, unmindful of the abuses showered on you? Why can’t we understand that one who abuses us has a problem and it is in our interest not to “accept” the problem and maintain our peace of mind and equilibrium?

An abuser has a mind full of evil thoughts and mindless desire to shower them on others. His inability to control his abusive language is a reflection of the total chaos and disturbance that rules his mind and behaviour.

That is why Flora Jessop, American social activist and author, has said, “To those who abuse: the sin is yours, the crime is yours, and the shame is yours.”

Let these words be a part of your consciousness and you will see the difference of being liberated from abusive words. If you take them and let them be a part of your consciousness, you are to be blamed for this. By not “accepting” the abuses, you are not only liberating yourself but also trying to reform the abuser. The abuser, in due course of time, may come around and be a good friend. He will not understand your ‘shout-back’ of abuses but he will definitely understand your rejection of his abuses and will take it positively, though slowly.

The tool to kill ‘abuse’ is, therefore, ‘ignore’, come what may. By ignoring abusive words, you are sending them back to the abuser. And, similarly, if you abuse someone, make no mistake, it comes back to you and you are disturbed all the more.

The great Roman historian, Pubilius Tacitus, perhaps had this in mind when he remarked, “To show resentment at a reproach is to acknowledge that one may have deserved it.”

How true! Let’s alert ourselves henceforth and be immune to abuses so that our peace of mind and happiness stay with us forever.

A recent development in Australia, in which scientists developed the embryos of the extinct gastric brooding frog, has yet again become a hot topic.

The question raised is if you recreate extinct animals today, what bars you from recreating human beings tomorrow?

In 2003, a team of Spanish and French scientists had recreated the Pyrenean ibex which had gone extinct three years earlier.

True, the resurrection, a clone of the last living Pyrenean ibex, was short-lived as the animal could not adjust itself for long to its surroundings.

But the fact that “resurrection” could be done shows that nothing could be impossible now in the area of recreation of the dead — human beings or animals.

A day may come, sooner than later, when there will be attempts to bring alive long-dead ancestors. How is it possible? Very simple: By keeping the living cells of the dead frozen for a future “resurrection”!

The issue whether scientists should bring alive our departed dear and near ones may cease to be a debating topic soon.

Now all that remains is: When will we see a human being gone long ago resurrected and be once again among us alive and walking and talking.

Though one finds this kind of scenario quite fascinating, the consequences of the “act” can be both positive as well as negative.

Time magazine recently featured the pros and cons of such a future scenario. It said, “Although there are undeniable benefits in reviving a species in theory, there is no way of knowing whether, say, a passenger pigeon would be able to resume its old ecological niche or if it might even crowd out the extinct species. And environmentalists rightly worry that a reliance on de-extinction might erode support for the hard work of traditional conservation. Why worry about preserving wildlife habitat or fighting poaching if we know scientists can just reverse our mistakes?”

But that does not answer the issue of ethicality of the “act”. In fact, no argument for or against the case can give a reasonable and convincing stand.

All one can say is, “Be ready to see your great-grandmom in the near future, for good or bad!”

Make a difference and you shine out and succeed while others are left out doing the routine. The happiest people are those who try to make a difference in life and try to deal with things that are, apparently, challenging and difficult.

‘The Happiest People Pursue the Most Difficult Problems’ by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, deals with the issue of making a difference to remain happy, productive and ‘hungry for more’.

The writer identifies three ‘Ms’ that can lead one to ‘initiate’ and get going for doing an act that makes a difference: Mastery, Membership and Meaning. Mastery means knowing the art of tackling difficult issues; Membership means complete involvement and participation; and Meaning means purpose of doing a task for a common purpose that benefits mankind at large.

There is another M (motivation): Money. This may or may not act as a motivation for all as it “did not get people up-and-at them for their daily work, nor did it help people go home every day with a feeling of fulfilment.”

There is a lovely story about how Daimler- Benz in South Africa came alive once again after the apartheid era. The plant’s general manager went in for a way to kick-start the workers whose morale was down but not out. He inspired the workers to do something they would love to do: A car for their beloved leader —Nelson Mandela— who had just been released from prison

The workers went in for an unusual initiative and they produced the car in a record time and absolutely defect-free. Their pride of giving their beloved leader a Mercedes gave them the high feeling of achievement of a priceless car helped the workers maintain a new level of performance thereafter. It was with this point of view in mind that American music journalist Marilyn Manson had remarked: “I never said to be like me, I say be yourself and make a difference.”

To keep in mind that you will live, and live well, with a purpose by being different and useful are the key words that can steer one through.

We quite often quote very fondly Gandhi on love, “Where there is love, there is life.” How true! Love is the foremost requisite for good living and spreading the ways and means to create good living for others too on this planet beautiful. You need to have the heart and the mind to see and feel that we are all same and one. This feeling of oneness comes only if one cultivates the art of loving as the main driving force of the art of living.

Love is sharing and giving without any expectation. Once you develop this basic quality of good living art, you are already half way through the art of good living as it makes you feel optimistic and courageous to take on the many difficulties of life. It makes one realise that life is a battle to be won through fair means of compassion and understanding others’ needs. Only then one reaches a stage when one feels that life in indeed great and beautiful!

Perhaps, Lao Tzu had this in mind when he said, “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” One has to extend this message to the rest of the world and see the magical rewards of true love. One has to keep in mind all the time that only loving and sharing can get one love and hope to fare better in life.

Love is the spring of real knowledge to happiness: it makes one understand the purpose and values of life. Completing one’s journey on this planet without seeing the wonders that love can help us do is a sheer wastage of life. How truly C S Levis had said that affection is responsible for nine-tenths of happiness there is in our lives!

One can contest it, but I find no contradiction in this. The argument is quite simple: If you are a millionaire and have the heart and the mind to be a spiritualist, you can do much better service in society with your millions. And not that only: A millionaire who gives away his millions gets back by way of “returns” in multiples!

Nothing goes waste and the millions a millionaire will give away in charity or for useful cause is like a seed that sprouts and gives back “in plenty”. So, the argument runs, the more you give away, the more you get back.

One Pat Mesiti in Melbourne, who became a spiritualist the “millions way”, enlists four steps to adopt on how to be a millionaire-spiritualist. The first and the foremost step is that such a person should remove attachment to money out of his heart. With that done, one should get “educated” how money works for spiritual purposes.

Secondly, one should get around the right kind of people as “their association in life will equal their assimilations in life”. In other words, you are known by the society you keep.

Thirdly, you must be looking around all the time for advice from people who are already in this noble work. That helps you pave the way the easy way.

And lastly, one should introspect and work on one’s self. Your attitude and belief system should get attuned to the goal you are working for. That makes your task easier and one can get immense satisfaction too. That itself is greater than being a millionaire.

And, one must have this question all the time on one’s mind,” After all, what is money for? If giving is investment for multiple returns, can there be a better option?”

What is it like to be a senior citizen? If one goes by the adage that life begins at 60, then it becomes an occasion to celebrate life.

Yes, in a way, one can say life begins at 60 because one becomes “free” of most of the life’s mundane responsibilities and gets into a stage of “freedom” to retrospect and lead a more meaningful and pious life that goes well with the final journey of life.

And, there is a belief among traditional societies all over the world that 60 marks a ‘critical’period in one’s life. It is like crossing a very dangerous pass that lets only the lucky go ahead in life. Those who are lucky enough to cross this critical stage get a new lease of life.

But the point is that life, whatever the stage, is for celebration. If one gets beyond 60, then it calls for greater celebration.

To celebrate the achievements and the celebrations of life for 60 years is good enough reason to cheer up and look for a brave, new world.

According to Joydeep Chakraborty, managing director of WhenAt60.com, an organisationthat looks after the problems of the aged; India has 100 million people past 60 and “growing very fast”.

He regrets that the aged all over the world are left to their fate and they are not looked after the way we look after our children with great care and affection. Old people are, in many ways, as childish and vulnerable as children and hence they need the care and love kids get.

They need to feel cared and loved the way we felt when we were in their loving care. Now is the time to repay; and no sacrifice for them is great enough. To be a loving and caring person, remind yourself time and again every day that you are what you are solely because of them.

Like you needed when you were a child, elders too need ways to share, rejoice, feel good, secure and wanted and loved.

If you fulfil these obligations, you too will be “repaid” by your children when you are in the sunset days of your life. And this could be done by creating, what Chakraborty says, “a new age ecosystems” for the old.

At times, one feels at the depth of one’s low; but that is quite normal. Everyone has to go through such periods. What makes the difference is that some realise that it is just a phase and one can always rise again; but those who can’t have this realisation fails in their mission.

Similarly, there are times when one simply gets awed and scared because of the magnitude and the perceived difficulties one will have to face while carrying out a task. In such cases too, one has to remember one simple fact – there is nothing that is impossible; and that given the right attitude and method, there is a way to tackle it. Maybe, one takes a longer time to achieve it.

There is a beautiful story in this regard in Paramhansa Yogananda’s An Autobiography of a Yogi. He describes a vision he had of standing in a dusty and dirty market place, hugely crowded with dogs barking and running around and people haggling over goods. People would go past him and look back at him (he thought) as if it was a “must see”. And then a look of inexpressible yearning would come over that person’s face before he would exclaim, Oh, this is too high for me. Soon after, Yogananda too looked back and saw a huge but beautiful mountain with a lovely garden nearby, an absolute contrast to the village they lived in. His first thought was, “It is too high” but he soon realised that he could at least put one foot in front of the other to begin with. That would take him surely a step closer to the top.

The point here is to remind one of the fact that nothing in life is too high or too big to be scared of. If one fails to have a quick solution, one can always believe in the trusted and tested way of taking “baby steps”. This will help one reach one’s goal steadily but surely. Do what you can at ease at a time and repeat the process; a time will come when you would get a surprise at your amazing feat!

Our brain, being the master controller of everything that we do, keeps our morale and mood high or low depending on the circumstances we are placed into. But there are always ways on how to keep it in good humour during stressful times.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have found that serious literature catches the readers’ attention and triggers moments of self-reflection that could have huge impact in keeping one in good humour. Shakespeare and Wordsworth find special mention as “tools of therapy” in moral boosting and keeping one’s hopes alive.

What the researches did was that they monitored the brain activities of those put to read serious literature both in their original form as well as in easier and modern translation. The result: The more challenging original books “set the brain into more electrical activity than the pedestrian versions”. And more electrical activity meant greater uplift of the readers’ mood.

Exposure to English classic works meant that the readers were able to shift their brains to a higher gear and they showed greater interest for more, very cheerfully. That means that reading habits, of good books, should be cultivated in order to keep a cheerful attitude even through challenging times. Such books build up one’s positive attitude towards life— much needed for a happy and contented life.

Perhaps it was in this context that poet Sherman Alexie said, “If one reads enough books, one has a fighting chance. Or better, one’s chance of survival increases with each book one reads.”

And, who said it, never trust a man who does not read books!

The Wheel of Life, in Buddhism, is a diagram that represents all the environments of Samsara and all the beings that inhabit them. It highlights the nature of Samsara and the paths that take us and keep us bound there. One who meditates on the Wheel of Life understands the need to come out of it and be liberated from the unending cycle of life and death.

According to Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, in his ‘Joyful Path of Good Fortune’, one who meditates on the Wheel of Life gets the inspiration of the Buddha and the ripening of the good Karmic potentialities.

The Wheel of Life has three animals— a pig, a pigeon and a snake in the centre. In some diagrams, the pigeon is shown coming out of the mouth of the pig, and the snake coming out of the mouth of the pigeon and joining the pig at its tail.

The three animals represent the three mental shortcomings — the pig standing for ignorance, the pigeon for desirous attachments and the snake symbolises hatred. They are shown in a circle to make one understand that they are interdependent.

The innermost circle is surrounded by another circle that is half white and half black— one representing the virtuous path and the second representing the non-virtuous path that leads to the lower realms.

There are other symbolic figures representing beings going ‘up’ or ‘down’ on the basis of their ‘Karmic record’.

And, there are other “worlds” too showing various aspects of life: Ignorance shown by a blind woman, consciousness represented by a monkey scampering restlessly up and down a tree. Existence is shown by a pregnant woman about to give birth, aging and death represented by a man carrying a corpse, plus many other aspects of life.

The ‘wheel’ is firmly held in the clutches of Yama, the Lord of Death, which reminds us that life is impermanent and the only way to seek peace and permanence is to get rid of the cycle.

At one side of the wheel, one sees the Buddha standing and pointing towards a moon. The Buddha outside the wheel means he has attained liberation and the moon symbolises true cessation of the worldly cycle.

The point is that most of us need convincing reasons to see reason and be on the path of liberation. The Wheel of Life could be one such instrument to be used for self-realisation.