Some of the adages that we have grown up listening to from our elders are no longer gospel truths. Changed lifestyles, exposure to the worldwide happenings (thanks to the media and internet) and change in values have rendered these old adages merely of academic interest.
One of the oldest and most popular saying that we have all been exposed to is ” An apple a day, keeps doctor away”. Today it’s no longer humble apple that’s panacea for good health. The new wonder stuff are blue berries, black berries, avocados, aloe Vera, kiwis etc. Apple is poor man’s fruit , full of pesticides with hardly any nutritional value.
We were all told that “After lunch rest a while, after dinner walk a mile”. Lunch is at office and there’s need to resume work immediately after lunch, so the rest is ruled out. Walk a mile was relevant when the dinner used to be the main meal! Today people prefer very light dinner of salad and soup or skip dinner altogether so where’s the question of walking a mile? For good health people would rather walk on treadmill in a gym rather than walk on the road after dinner!
Another popular folklore is “better late than never”, which has become irrelevant in today’s milieu. Today everyone is in hurry to reach to the top in no time. By the time one is 35 years old, he is deemed to be successful if he already is a senior executive in blue chip company with 6 figures salary, having BMW, children going to top international school and a well appointed flat in upmarket locale. Unless you are CEO before you turn 50, it’s too late and better to attain nirvana! The aforesaid adage was relevant for the patient lot that was used to the grind of attaining success with lots of hard work and efforts.
There are a few more that I shall endeavour to cover in future blogs.
Arvind Arya blog 