What is a sustainable life? “Sustainable” is a popular word in organizations these days. When applied to the lives of salaried workers, does a “sustainable life” really exist? Let’s continue the conversation to the issues that everyone has to face, but find it difficult to find a place to talk about them, or they become taboo. What are they? Find the answers from our two guest speakers, Ms. Thanyaporn Kritthitayawut, Director of the Global Compact Network Thailand and Board Member of the Volunteer Association of Thailand, and Ms. Wanna Charusomboon from Peaceful Death.
How to live well in order to go well
In this article, I would like to invite you to talk about something that is close to us and is a part of everyone’s life, but is difficult to talk about or has become a taboo subject. Yes, we are inviting you to talk about “death”, not to make us lose hope, but to increase “life force” for each other on a tiring day. Because often, if we talk with understanding, every time we talk about this topic, it will increase the “power” of every life in the conversation greatly. At least, it shows us how valuable our breath is today. Even if we don’t sit around and talk, I hope that this article will help increase that power for everyone who reads it.
Because there is no sustainable life, we must do our best today.
When talking about the day we must die, it may seem scary, but it is a reality that everyone must experience. Because the word “sustainability”, which is a popular word in organizations today, may not apply to our “life.” Ms. Pui or Ms. Thanyaporn Kritthitayawut, Director of the Global Compact Network Thailand and Board of Directors of the Volunteer Association of Thailand, helped to explain that if we look at it in terms of life, we will find that “sustainability does not really exist”. Because in reality, what we can do is just to “lengthen” or extend the time, which also helps to improve our minds. Or simply, extend the time of happiness. Why? Because life is uncertain. Therefore, when we are not yet dead, we should have the opportunity to prepare before we die and take care of our lives so that every day is a good life.
Live well today, have a chance to do well tomorrow.
Before we get sick or reach the end of our lives, everyone should have the opportunity to prepare or plan their lives to be good every day because having a good life also gives us the opportunity to die well. This is part of the explanation from Khun Sui or Khun Wanna Charusomboon from Peaceful Death or the Compassionate Community for a Good Death who works to campaign for people in society to be aware of life and death because she thinks it would be great if everyone prepared, planned or did something before the separation comes so that they do not have to owe anything to anyone and when they have to die, they will leave well.
One of them is to come back and take care of and be kind to our current life, and realize that before that time comes, the time left today is very valuable, and if we must part, let’s part with peace of mind. Preparing for death will also make us appreciate and show more kindness to those close to us, our family, those we love, and things than ever before.
Seeing the “good” in ourselves is the starting point for increasing life energy.
When you start thinking about taking good care of your life, start by taking care of your physical foundation to be strong first, along with taking care of your mind to be better and happier. The first thing you can do is to accept yourself first. How can you make yourself proud even if you have little capital? Even if you don’t have it or aren’t as good as others? Know that it’s not important. If we see the “good” in ourselves, it’s like building “faith” in ourselves, which is an important starting point. Then try to pair “faith” with “wisdom” to create balance.
Another important pair is “perseverance” and “concentration.” Practice concentration in order to apply it to the work, to create focus. You should know that if you want to be successful or get better results, you must have perseverance. And finally, the middleman that ties everything together is “mindfulness.” All of these are the five powers, which are power from within ourselves. They arise within us on their own. They are the potential of each individual that can be trained. And this is our life force.
Take action on what you want to do today.
A good life can begin with reviewing your life, what are your goals, where are you on the path, and what will you do if something happens along the way. For example, if you were to become ill today, how prepared would you be? This review will make you realize that life is not always as you hoped. Nothing is certain in life. Moreover, some people may encounter unexpected limitations when they become seriously ill.
Next is to focus on what you should do in your life right now. You might ask yourself, if you were to die in the near future, what would you choose to spend your time on? Many people find that they want to be with their family. In the past, even though they gave it importance, they never spent time together as much as they should. And since no one knows when the day of departure will come, spending more time with family is something that should be done today.
Plan your departure day like it’s a long journey.
If we are to think further ahead, let’s compare it to going on a trip abroad, which requires a lot of planning. However, when we have to accept death, we may never plan ahead at all. For example, if we become seriously ill, how do we want those close to us to take care of us? Or have we prepared or arranged anything in advance for others? Or if that day really comes, how will we let the health care team take care of us? Will we prolong our life? Or even what will our funeral be like?
The more I think about it, the more I see that this is a very personal matter because life is uncertain. Preparing for the worst-case scenario today will help us plan far into the future, until the last day. At the very least, it will be easier to accept and better able to cope when that day comes, both for those who stay and those who go.
Life, work and happiness are one and the same.
Ms. Tayaporn and Ms. Wanna shared that these days the term “work-life balance” has become obsolete because people are beginning to place more importance on the fact that if they want to find happiness, they should not have to look for it outside of work or beyond work. This is the origin of the newer term, “work-life integration,” which means that life, work, and happiness are one and the same thing.
Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, we all know our own needs better. Some people have discovered that they can work from home. Some people are looking for more diverse jobs to earn more income and be happier than before. Many people are in the sandwich generation who have to balance work with taking care of their families. If organizations create opportunities for employees to talk about their lives, share their sorrows, share their sympathies, and perhaps provide skills or tools to take care of their parents or the people in their lives, it will make the workplace a happy workplace, a place where people can take care of each other and make life, work, and happiness one and the same, without having to look for it anywhere else.
Be aware of the present to care for yourself and others.
Today, we are still breathing, still being with the people we love. Even though we live our lives the way we want sometimes and not the way we want sometimes, we can still call it living. If you quarrel or have a conflict with someone, try to think about how you will feel if you have to leave tomorrow. We may hold each other accountable less and forgive each other more easily.
Since no one knows the future, there is only “the present” that is the only time we can choose. Being aware of the present is the most important thing. Tell yourself often that you should love and respect yourself, take care of your body and mind, because taking care of yourself is the same as taking care of others. And most importantly, this is the starting point of preparing to “go” well on the day we have to travel far.
#Happiness is growing #ThaiHealth #LifeTalk #HappyGrowth #Decoding the happiness of working people
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