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Connections: The Roots of Happiness | Shveitta Sethi Sharma | TEDxLingnanUniversity


thank you
so who those would be them now this
before yeah trees anybody these are the
redwoods it found in California in the
Sequoia region do you know what’s so
special about them they go to a height
of about 300 feet they’ve been around
for over 2,000 years
so the oldest tree is about 400 feet and
3,000 years old
so yeah magnificent they’re beautiful
and they’re really tightly packed
together but what’s so special about
them these are so tall how deep do you
think the roots must go how deep are the
roots of these things so generally
something is very tall it should go down
very deep right
I had twice twice the height so 400 800
feet right come on guys and then fate
hands up for 700 feet 200 300 fine okay
well we’ve got good people here
so the roots go down only six to eight
feet yes they go down only six to eight
feet
the reason they go out only six to eight
feet is because this one I’m going down
they go outwards hundred feet that way
and what happens is they hold and
support each other beyond this little
time you can’t even tell which would
belong to which tree they are so
intertwined together and what happens
then when one group is one T of getting
sick the other would strengthen their
fold and they hold it upright and this
is what humanity needs to know we we
when somebody’s going down we push them
further we don’t bring them up and that
is what is the need of the hour so the
how one business review reports
2017 report says the biggest epidemic to
hit the modern world is loneliness and
how many of us are aiding lonely life
you’re all connected online the people
hundreds of miles away thousands of one
you’re constantly looking at our
smartphones but we are very disconnected
with people in an immediate surrounding
our families and most even words and
sadly we are very disconnected with our
own self we don’t even know who we are
what we stand for and that is what
causes the biggest problem is lonely so
if we are we to address loneliness what
should we do and what does the world
tell us to do the world tells us go buy
a fancy car then you’ll have a beautiful
partner go get a nice shoe get a nice
job get a nice handbag right what
doesn’t want to tell you this is that
you are incomplete you are not good
enough till you get enough you’re never
good enough till you get enough
my personally not good enough story
started when I was about seven so I know
it gets a little sensitive so my father
was in the army and he got posted to a
place called 18f ad which is 18 feet
ammunition depot and had one tiny little
train station and one train was to come
only once a day and it would that was a
bit early that okay so the Train the
Train we come every time those officers
are being posted in or posted out and
this plane will be beautifully decorated
and flowers so when I posted in cannot
wait to get back to Delhi to see to
citizens will be trained and look here
one week before my ninth birthday my
father passed away so instead of way and
a beautiful train decorated with flowers
we went back with a lot of cream a lot
of tears and a lot of
sadness so when I reached Delhi
my mother was 31 years old my daughter’s
all four and we moved in with my
grandparents my grandparents were very
strict we were not allowed to do
anything we were not allowed to watch TV
there was no radio and unfortunately
they love and affection without
Sebastian everything was very tight very
tight so I grew up surrounded by not
enough and I remember this one incident
which is very very vivid in my memory
those are wedding I had to go to and I
bought a nice outfit but when I came
doing the shoes I had no shoes to go
with that outfit so I’m only about 10 11
years old at that time
so I borrow my name is that my
neighbours shoes and I wear this shoes
and you know nice we dressed up I before
the wedding but by the time I come back
those shoes were actually one and a half
and two sizes too small for me by the
time I took my shoes off my feet were
absolutely blue but I was in so much
pain and I just realized I said my life
changed 180 degree when my father was
alive I was the daughter of the deputy
commanding officer I had not even walked
to school nice to be carried on the
shoulder and my lunches to be delivered
hot to school we can imagine the
difference from there to there so this
is the problem with all of us we we
threw up so insecure so unfulfilled
because the world makes us feel that
you’re not good enough because we don’t
have a and I was absolutely no different
and unfortunately in some way or the
other I transferred that insecurity in
my daughter too you know it’s a push up
up come on I used to push her to do the
God because I grew up with the feeling
if I if I don’t have enough I won’t be
enough so when I mean she doesn’t do
well she won’t have enough and that’s
the modern day first we always find to
outsmart ourselves out of by ourselves
we will beyond our means right who do
so what is the solution what is the
connection so the the what we need today
in this model day is connections more
than material accoutrement
we need people we need to have real
connection with people who are around us
and that is the pain to happiness but
let me tell you the story how I went on
this journey so 1999 my mother passed
away too and then she passed away I ran
into a really tough doctor I became very
angry with the world and became angry
with God and became angry with the
people around me I became angry with
everything that was around us it is not
fair right I just fell it’s not fair my
mom’s gone my dad’s gone there’s nobody
around what do I do
so I’m but I wasn’t afraid our place I
mean I wanted people I needed connection
and help came from everywhere and that
is what actually saved me so one day I
was in the plane and guess what
something like next to me this is a
night back from Sydney I was coming back
for me to come home and my co-passenger
is the famous month for natural retard
he is the happiest man in the world and
he was my co passenger can you imagine
what I did to him eight hours I chilled
his brain after the Matthew please help
me I’m in a very very dark place
tell me how do I become hot here this is
the number one key make the people
around you happy I said if I am so
miserable how can I make hundred people
happy
it is try it so that was and then he
sent
start living in the present forget the
past what happened it happened you can’t
change it come back to the present
moment every time something happens pull
yourself back in the present learn to
forgive the people who hurt you and make
the people around you happy we know the
three things we told you and intro
Stingley I had an opportunity to test
this so I was in India and I was
cleaning up one of the bookshelves and I
find my mother-in-law’s diary that’s my
mother-in-law and she and I had a
typical daughter-in-law mother in our
relationship there was no massive love
or hatred nothing but so I I go up
through the room and I see this diary
and as a dutiful daughter in law I
opened with that and I started reading
it bad idea so it was actually a lot of
pain a lot of frustration and lot of
sadness in my diary but when it came to
the chapter on me it was pure fiction
stuff it was like and as I was reading
the diary my mind the temperature in my
face and my body kept going up and I got
water and weather so angry I was like
single with anger and pain and I go down
so I go down to and I said what is this
what is this and you upsetting it
where did you find it when did you find
it it doesn’t matter that I found it
what is this she says well well after
and literally I immediately remembered
when macular told me he says forgive the
people who hurt you and make the people
who are around you happy so immediately
I put the diary away I gave her the
tightest hand I could and I said I’m so
sorry that I caused you so much pain
because obviously I must have caused her
pain to have little on that stuff
but for me to acknowledge that it took a
lot on them and the best part was my
mother-in-law was the most amazing woman
on this planet
she and I cried for two hours and they
clicking on that she became my best
friend and he would have a glass of wine
and to weigh in it would be ripping and
bitching about my husband and she used
to tell me about her stories with her
house
but then she became my best friend and
from then on my relationship and my
family with my extended family became so
amazing it was quick it was so instant
so what I did was that I accepted her
she accepted me we we supported each
other like the rental that’s all it took
that is all it took and this is what I
try and tell the whole world we all
think that if I get something if I go
somewhere I’m to come happier if I have
a better car you know fix your
relationships fix who you are find out
who you are
figure out what you really want figure
out what matters trust me
later on in life all the outside stuff
does not matter what matters is what is
happening within you and looking in look
in the mirror every day and appreciate
yourself what you want from other people
find it within yourself be clean be
loving be compassionate to your son
before you can bring this to others so
you cannot give to someone what you
don’t have the venue let me ask you what
happens when you squeeze an orange what
happens when you squeeze an orange
orange juice sweet an apple and if I am
squeezing you what’s coming out don’t
tell me blood and bones and stuff what
is coming out when you get squeezed what
is inside of you so if you have a lot of
pain got a frustration a lot of anger
that is what’s gonna come out and if you
have joy compassion and something that’s
what’s going to come out so when my
mother-in-law was right in the diary I
could see that she was insane because
that’s what was coming out and when I
was went through my personal crisis and
I was being a horrible me you know that
is what was coming on because that was
all that was inside of me I had to fix
myself you have to pick yourself before
you can fix anybody else
number one what do you need to do
forgive yourself for everything that you
may have done maybe
one thing to do even if you have bad
feeling that time or you’re angry or you
feel frustrated just forgive yourself
you’re human these are lotion these are
things that will keep coming – from time
to time they don’t have a little bit
remember what not be said make the
people around you happy and more
happiness is directly proportional to B
happiness for people around you that’s
the key people shall I do a guided
quick-sighted meditation is that okay to
do that
we have time yeah but if you don’t mind
just sit straight everybody it’s a
straight so guys take two deep breaths
but make sure that the outgoing breath
is longer than the incoming breath now
think of those beautiful red would think
of yourself as a redwood tree going very
very very tone into the time you’re 400
feet tall we’ve been around for
very strong now think of a person in
love it could be your partner
your parent your child your siblings
even your pet anyone in love see them
even as the amazing redwood now sing
your roots boy outwards and connecting
with the roots of the person we love you
don’t know where your roots end and
their roots begin you’re completely
connected now see these wood spreading
even further there are more men woods
and there we are coming and connecting
to your needs
this is your family we are all connected
to each other they’re all very tall very
sturdy such as are all connected now
seed is worth spreading over to Hong
Kong there might be people you don’t
necessarily like it might be people that
will disagree with and they’re all a
part of humanity and they’re all
nowadays with spreading even bigger the
so many people on this planet there’s so
many beings on this planet there’s so
many fish in the water
everything and everyone is connected to
everything begins from you and ends with
how do you feel refreshed
do you feel connected can you actually
feel that we are all connected
not yet but do you think in your mind
you imagine that we are all connected we
are is there do I say that this is my
air you cannot breathe my air do I ever
say that can I say that No so when
breathing the same air that is coming
out of me it’s going into is coming out
of you coming into me
how are you so disconnected and why are
they so disconnected if we’ve never been
told what is of value even everything
taught what is really important you go
out and Hong Kong you see all these
boarding they’re all flashing the union
lights are flashing signs about the next
generation iPhone the next generation
card but nobody tells you what is very
important too hot it is humanity and
nowadays the AI is taking over you know
before we know it artificial
intelligence is going to probably super
save human intelligence probably but
what we have at AI will never have is
humanity the empathy the compassion the
ability to connect artificial artificial
intelligence will not have they will
have networks they will have blockchain
FinTech everything but humanity is the
domain of the human and we are the
redwoods of this planet we will be there
forever
our roots may keep continue to spread
out and spread with each other so you go
up higher but go this way
stay connected keep everyone together
so go out thinking of the Redwoods today
imagine yourself to be very strong
sturdy and connected be a redwood thank you
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