Lessons in living
June 2010 Travelling light; Author:Suma Varughese; Published by: Life Positive publications; Pages: 170; Rs. 195
(Editors’s note: This is an unsolicited review sent by a reader. It is therefore objective and honest. Since we have not carried a review of Travelling Light , we thought we would feature this.)
Within my office, once the book came in, it got lost! On enquiry, it was found that the young man sitting at the Communications Desk had got hold of it and begun to read it himself! Finally, having read the book without once putting it down, I tried to read it like a Psalm. I opened to any page and read the chapter. Over and over again, each day, there was a message for me in it! Suma Varughese’s book, Travelling Light, is a compilation of her columns in Life Positive magazine over the last few years, precisely, 2001 onwards. Pearls of wisdom interlace with trials and tribulations of daily life, the challenges of body and mind and the inevitable journey to self-realisation, which may start in this life but may take several lives to complete. Or it might have started many lives before and may just about end in this one, with a satori. How else do you describe the author’s journey from editor of one of mainstream’s most coveted magazines, to India’s first spiritual mainstream magazine, which was then just a start-up? Sixteen years of depression and one strong moment of Truth was all that was required to see Suma in her new avatar – then Bureau Chief of Life Positive Mmagazine, Mumbai. Today, she is the editor of the same magazine. Mixed generously with subtle humour at life's absurdities, the book provides a recipe to overcome and rise above petty but meaningful occurrences in our daily lives, to embrace the larger picture there is in that experience. “Life, when you come to think of it, is really an unmixed blessing. Everything, everything, has something to teach us. Nothing goes waste, nothing is bad, and everything works out for our ultimate good. A crow defecating on your brand-new dupatta is here to teach you tolerance and acceptance – how kind of the crow! A traffic jam gives you an excellent opportunity to experience your frustration and overcome it. How kind of those who engineered it! A manipulative colleague is here to teach you to overcome anger and a sense of victimisation. It is good indeed of the colleague to take on such bad karma in order to help you grow.” (– pg 62, An Unmixed Blessing) The message is clear – the present is the opportunity provided for our growth. Divided into three sections, Self, Reflections and Society, a lesson waits for everyone. You will find your message for the day, every day, in Travelling Light.
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