I Was Consciously Changing My Life Style, I Just Did Not Know This Had A Name

I watch a series of tiny houses on YouTube when I do not have pressing assignments, coaching or pending client orders. Click living big in tiny houses to know what I am talking about. My personal favorite being Ella's 82 sf flat in Tokyo. 

I write about alternate life styles in this blog though our Foundation primarily creates awareness on Dementia. I should be filling blog space here talking about Dementia.

How are the two related?

One can write about Dementia, what the patient goes through, what the care giver goes through once, twice, thrice. Then we are done. 

We can give our readers alarming statistics, therapies, talk about painful stories of lost memories. It is not quite enough today, to just consider post dementia measures as most of us know this is progressive in nature. 

Instead, we chose to talk about how not to ever reach that state, how to be proactive about prioritizing well being, healthy living, making the right lifestyle choices, getting out of that trap of ever growing consumerism

We opted to highlight pre-dementia scope - Quality life as the content agenda to serve that purpose.

1] Read - Keep brain active

2] Lifestyle choices
3] Yoga/ Meditate/ Walk
4] Consciously move to stress free life

The importance is exactly in the same order as listed here. Let me explain how these are interconnected:

1] If you are not reading enough, you really will not know what you are missing due to your 24/7 commitment to your one dimensional job or business; 

2] When you are unaware about what you are missing - the greater pleasures, you are so happy to be content with consumerism and materialism. No wonder you make no effort to change your lifestyle choices.

3] As you are preoccupied with materialistic achievements (Living standards), you are in that constant chase without realizing your daily compromises on basics (Life) - Health, relationships, time that is gone. Most average minded person kind of suffers an identity crisis socially without certain gadgets, assets and sense of belonging. 

The need of the hour is to pause, not run - rest your mind and feed it with seeds, not weeds. How can you realize this need if  you are in the whirlwind of habitual thought pattern - doing the same things day after day mindlessly - How can Yoga (Physical well being) or meditation (Spiritual well being) even begin?

4] If you are not conscious about what you are losing will you try to change it, move to an alternative life style?

Early retirement:

I retired from corporate life at forty two to travel, soul search, alternate life style, unlearning age old habits and this - create awareness on Dementia.

Frankly when I quit, the idea was just to take a break - nothing more fancy or ambitious. Just life. When I began to contemplate on alternative living options without returning to corporate  it made perfect sense to conclude - Being competitive is a thing of the past; Being collaborative is the new norm. More on this later. 

Here are a few life style choices I made in the past few years.

Living large in a tiny house:

In January this year, I moved from my Bangalore flat 

Image Credit: Personal (Bangalore Flat and Balcony View)

To my one bed room flat in Kolkata which is one fourth the size of my Bangalore apartment

Image Credit: Personal (Kolkata Flat and Layout)

I have a very cute balcony the size of a refrigerator in this tiny flat. I will click a photograph soon and upload here. That is my study/ meditation space/ nature time. It was open for the last 11 years. Just a month back I gave shape to it.

Transport

Last year, in July I had sold my car because I cannot use it in Kolkata. A friend asked me if I will buy one here, now that I have decided to settle in Kolkata.

The seat covers are still on, after 10 years
Chauffeur driven only 5200 kms. 

The caption of my car picture says it all. I cannot drive. I am quite happy to travel in public transport and rental cars. A friend of mine is developing a website which will be kind of a hub for drivers. When that is operational, I might just reconsider- till then, Hail Ola, Hail Rentals, Hail Uber, Hail Public Transport.

Frankly as I cater to my clients and students from home, I only need to travel through technology - SKYPE!!

Shopping 

If I picked seven dresses for an occasion, say Durga Puja this year (which I did) I made sure seven old ones were out of my wardrobe first. Those are gone and done with.

Learning with purpose

If I chose to do something new - be a retreat or tour leader or spa therapist, I do a plan that collaborates, instead of being competitive with existing players. Collaborative to the extent of allowing jobs for many others.

Hobby - Close to nature

If I chose to buy a farm land 12 years back, because I love growing my own veggies (Some day I will learn that end to end) - the thought was the same - Impact on environment and community.

Anekal, Bangalore

If I booked another plot in Kolkata last November, that is because I still hope to grow vegetables, teach English in the rural areas and enable youth to be global work force - Same thoughts: More than me. Beyond Me. 

Panpur, Kolkata

Coaching - Giving back 

If I chose to write a booklet, it was more to give access to people regarding online opportunities to impact their lives - financially and otherwise. Coaching which is an integral part of the book is two times learning, which keeps my brain cells active and lets many be part of this wonderful process of giving back what you learn in more ways than one.

Evening Walks

Apparently it looks like a casual walk that the body needs to be in shape. However that is actually my brain storming time. The most critical storyboards for my client's business or my student's learning map takes shape there.

Travel - Rejuvenate and Know

My travels and dine-outs, that is budgeted and well planned. I see no reason to spend a considerable sum to make that 1% rich who is already doing well - Let me not name them - The star hotel owners. So I prefer to spend my money on those who are trying to build something of their own - With the kind of salesmanship I have, I kind of coax my fellow travelers to do just the same.

I can let them pose in front of the ship as if they own it to glam up in social media channels - as long as they let me serve my purpose of travel - explore while we empower small businesses on the way.

It is only recently that I learnt this is called the Minimalist life style. I am not exactly there yet because I still have load of books and CDs stacked but I am getting there.

Less is more now. So much more that I want to use the loudspeaker to tell the world how relieving it is just to walk without a phone, travel without a laptop, switch off the TV and talk to people, letting go off baggage - physical and emotional, associating with friends that add to your bandwidth and not take away your bandwidth with unnecessary ego hassles.

Less space, More Warmth
Less friends, More acquaintances
Less activities, More time
Less worries, More peace
Less work, More money (multiple incomes, multiple careers with what you like to do so it never feels like work)
Less living, More life
Less technology, More Nature
Less Media, More Real time
Less Food, More Health
Less Watching, More Reading

If you know the causes of health anxiety and consequent impact, you will know exactly what I am trying to drive - Lifestyle choices and quality of life.

Write to ramosara.foundation@gmail.com if  you have had major change in your lifestyle choices in the recent past that may inspire others to do some course correction and live better, healthier life.