Life etc.

I turned 45 this year.

I am now a middle-aged man, but my mind refuses to accept this fact, even with the lingering reminders from my graying hair and wrinkling skin.

When did this little boy, I wonder, trudging the potholed Chennai roads to school with an over-burdened backpack, become a man? What happened to that college kid who wrote so many passionate poems for his first love, and threw them all into the trash bin because he didn't have the guts to talk to her? When did the two tiny beings that toddled into my life grow up and become high schoolers ready to fly the nest?

Middle age is turning out a time of reckoning for me. I am slowly coming to terms with the realization that I cannot do all the things that I dreamed of doing when I was young. I am learning to accept my fleetingness, that I am straddling a generation before technology and another inextricably interwoven into it. Change is happening, and I am becoming more aware and accepting of it. This is what middle age is doing for me.

Amidst this sea of change, I am seeking out constants. My constant has been thinking and writing. I have been happiest when I have spent a quiet morning reflecting on life and putting them in words. Whether the words find their audience or not is a different story. But it makes me happy. It makes me feel purposeful.

I just finished my eighth book, The Road to Kedarnath, which captures the best of my thoughts and my writing. But I know there is a lot more reflection that comes knocking at my mind in the early hours of dawn. These are reflections, that I have found over and again, orient me to my inner compass that is harmony, balance and peace.

So, I have decided to make a blog- to create a space for journeys and reflections- and share it with the world. At this time, my blog has no agenda except to bring a little more joy to the reader- a little reminder of the omnipresent light and love inside each of us- and thoughts on how to access them.

Hopefully, should you choose to read my blog, you will find ideas and inspiration in the right way at the right time. Perhaps you too will be inspired to share your wisdom here, so we can all learn together.

Stay tuned!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Immanual Joseph, Ph.D., CPC., formerly a cancer scientist, teaches organizational compassion and the author of the book The Fifth Revolution: Reinventing Workplace Happiness, Health, And Engagement Through Compassion. He is a co-founder of Metamindfulness Multiversity and founder of Compassionleaders. Immanual has authored five fiction and one non-fiction book in two languages, and several scientific publications. Immanual has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Tulane School of Medicine, New Orleans. The 9-Pillars of Workplace Compassion training covered in this book has been praised by experts and used and used by global organizations.