Why are you living in a city?

Perhaps you were born there, like I was. Or you ended up there with your job.

For as long as I can remember, my heart has longed to escape from a world where there was no life of basic human dignity, not even for millionaire families.

Do you remember going on a holiday and having left your heart there? Is there a place that beckons you?

Buy pristine land there. And not just a few hundred square meters. Think in terms of acres, your own piece of paradise. Even if you have to live in the city, slaving away, you can build a relationship with the land and grow together with it as you age.

Think long term: five years, ten years, fifty years.

Think what kind of world you would like your children to experience growing up. Think what kind of world you would like them to be able to retreat to, as life bogs them down.

Think what kind of life experiences you would like to have every day, starting from today. Clean air, to start with?

You will always find love, sanity, calmness and healing in nature. You will discover yourself! Many hidden aspects of what you can do will emerge. Habits will change. You will automatically become healthier. Negative behaviours or compulsions will wash away. New ideas will come.

Whole new dimensions of life will open up to you.

If you have school age children, (and you insist on sending them to school), you could consider moving close to a school that aligns with the greater purpose of human existence - something greater than their ability to learn a living.

One of my friends has moved to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry.

The other - and the best - option is to home-school your children.

The first time I saw a child being homeschooled was when we visited the Rainforest Retreat in the Western Ghats, about six hours from Bangalore. Check out the pictures and imagine what kind of childhood the child would have had…

What you need is financial security, long-term thinking and decision-making skills.

I see people in my mother’s circle still stuck (and literally hiding) in their apartments in Delhi, even with all the choices that their money and ‘education’ could have given them.

I believe making a wrong decision is better than making no decision at all.

A wrong decision can be rectified.

With no decision, you will have to limit your existence - you will just manage to survive. You will not realise your human potential.