Ledgers of Life : Cousin Crew

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared." - Buddah

Today, I want to reflect on some important things that I have been thinking about for sometime. I want to dedicate this blog to my Relationships and how I account for them in the Ledger of my Life. I will be writing a series of Blogs under the Ledger of Life to share my closest experiences that have helped me shape my personality.

For this week, I want to write about my Cousin Crew. It consists of different personalities, but is just like a rainbow. Different colors but shines as one. I remember when I still believed Santa existed. To some extent, I knew that it was too good to be true, but the gifts under my pillow every Christmas morning always made me jump out of my bed and look for him. And just to find out my elder cousins were the Elf's. I knew that Lord Hanuman existed at a very young age because he had left his Vanar Sena at our house who would have each others back and celebrate the festivities together. Now that we’ve grown up, they’re still there to guide and support me in my life. Far, but near.

Cousins are people that are ready-made friends, you have laughs with them and remember good times from a young age, you have fights with them but you always know you love each other. I realize that there are so many lessons that I learned. Hence, I want to share them with all of you.

• Sharing is Caring -When you live together, all the things that are 'yours', are now everyone's. From the Ice Cream in the Fridge to the T-shirt you wear. I remember an incident from Rakhi when our cousin sisters would share the money with the younger ones and buy us chocolates instead of expecting anything from us. I remember my brothers bringing in food with the PS2 console for SmackDown nights. We need to learn to share so we can make and keep friends, learn cooperatively, take turns, negotiate and cope with disappointment. Sharing teaches us about compromise and fairness. We learn that if we give a little to others, we can get some of what we want too.

• Setting an Example - Younger sibling will copy everything you do, even on a subconscious level. From the way we speak, to the books we read. To have grown among different personalities, I was able to choose the path that I wanted to be on in my life. I learnt teamwork from them. We would celebrate festivals at home by decorating the house and our eldest cousin would choreograph our performances. I still remember my Brothers dancing on the Kaza-Ra-Re song and us laughing about it or the time when we did a group performance to dedicate it to our parents.

• Be a Leader - You are the first one into the dark, the one who the other siblings expect to come up with the plan, with the activities for the night. Eventually, you figure out that, as a leader, things do not always go according to plan, and you learn how to figure things out on the fly. You learn to delegate. You begin to practice the essential skills that any good leader must have.

Extraordinary things are always hiding in places people never think to look. In the same way, the best experiences lie in the moments that we choose to forget. I have grown up to be the man I am today because of how my childhood shaped me. My relationships and experiences are the major contributors.

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. I hope this helps many in reflecting upon their relationships and finding the positives out of them.

Stay Happy!

Stay Gallant!