What do we mean by quality of life? Is it a penthouse at an upscale address, a BMW parked in the driveway or vacations to the French Riviera every year? Many people seem to think so. However, many people blessed with these trappings do not necessarily look happy. Sometimes just having a bowl of hot steaming soup by the side of a roaring river might be more fun than having an expensive steak at a swanky restaurant.
The irony is that people without the trappings of success appear equally miserable.
So what do we exactly mean by quality of life and how do we enhance it?
Three fundamental things to consider:
- Be in the moment – Being alert and aware to each moment is the first step in creating or rather discovering our quality of life. The present moment is always alive with possibility and capable of giving a positive spin to the most dreary of situations.
- Remain in Gratitude – At any given point in time, the numbers of blessings we have always outweigh our perceived problems. However, because our minds are conditioned to work by comparisons, we often miss the forest for the trees. A daily journal or a gratitude diary is a good start to becoming more mindful of our blessings.
- Operate from your highest self – ‘Be, don’t try to become’, this quote by Osho brings alive the thought that we always have the choice to operate from our highest selves in every situation. For example, a child never plans to start walking; he simply gets up one day and walks. Similarly, if you want to be a good painter, simply operate from that belief whenever you sit down to paint. Alternatively, in the middle of an argument stop to consider if you are operating from your highest self and then choose your response.
Ultimately for me a good quality of life means having an innate trust in existence to wholeheartedly explore whatever it brings forth, and to find meaning and a sense of gratitude for every experience it showers us with. To conclude, the quality of life by itself is nothing but a reflection of our own interpretation of experiences that we subscribe to.