AVIS Viswanathan > Quotes

“They say the most powerful prayer is simply saying “Thank You”. And the best way to say “Thank You” is to serve others, to help make our broken world a better place! Inspire everyone at home to pitch in. Remember, the family that serves together is happy – and stays together!!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“The essence of intelligent living is to do what you can and must do while thriving with the unknown, with uncertainty. So, don’t wish the darkness away, don’t wait for the clouds to clear, embrace your current reality and do whatever you can best do in the circumstances. You will be amazed with how happy you can really be with what is.”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“When the cost of clinging on is higher than the cost of letting go, that’s when we will act, that’s when we often take decisive steps to change our Life.”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“No matter what you are going through, spend a few minutes each day to be grateful for who you still have, and for what you still have, in your Life.”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Every once in a while, sit down and make a list of people who have touched your Life and made a difference to you. Quietly, thank them…deeply…from the bottom of your heart. Watch yourself breaking down and crying like a baby. This is the surest way to humble yourself. And to realize just how much you owe the Universe in return for who you are, what you are and where you are today!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“The key to Happiness lies in learning to still the mind, learning to let go and learning to just keep walking, to just keep flowing with Life.”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“COVID-19's forcing the whole world to transition - from 'becoming to being'!
Isn’t it amazing? Don’t you see what’s happening? The whole world has surrendered; it has been forced, in fact, to capitulate – to jump off the becoming treadmill, to being home, just being!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“I have often seen this about Life…that when a door closes on you, when people reject you, when what you desperately want does not come to you despite your best efforts and prayers…all this happens only because you are meant to be walking through a different door, you are meant to be meeting other people and only because it is ordained that you receive something else, which you have not even imagined…that which is truly meant for you. So, don’t grieve when you don’t get what you want; what you want is immaterial…What Life believes you need is what you eventually, always, get!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“You are bound to lose any game if you play only for fame – and money. This includes the game of Life. Whatever you do, do it for love, out of love. Play following your bliss, enjoying the process, celebrating your spiritual talent, and you will always feel content and happy. Your Happiness is your true reward. It is priceless! Employ your Happiness to get better and better at the game you play, to be among the best in your field. Success and money – and often fame too – will then flow to you!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Everything and everyone will be taken away from you. You will go away from everything and everyone. This is the process of Life. Trust the process.”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Surrendering to Life does not mean inaction. It means trusting Life’s cyclical process and going with the flow. It means making your best efforts every single day and remaining non-frustrated even when you don’t get the results that you expect.”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“When facing a Life-changing crisis, don’t expect your situation to turn around instantaneously. It won’t. So, prepare for the long haul. Nourish yourself. Meditate. Pray. Eat your meals on time and please eat healthy stuff. Exercise. Go for long walks. Goof off once in a while. Your being morose, or your worrying stiff, is not going to solve your problems. The situation will resolve only when the time arrives. Until that happens, you have to last, you have to survive. So, take care of yourself. Every moment. Every day.”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“It is Life’s nature to, at some point, hang you at the edge of a precipice. You will find the darkness suffocating and the pain unbearable. What do you do, when you don’t know what to do? Well, in such times, think deeply about two aspects that you don’t normally consider: 1. Your Life is a gift that has been given to you without your even asking for it. 2. There are many who don’t have what you always take for granted. So, don’t complain. Be grateful. And watch how gratitude soaks your Life in abundance!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“If it is meant for you, it will come to you. It will find you and reach you. So, don’t despair when, despite your best intention and effort, something does not happen the way you envisioned it and planned it. Take it easy. Of course, you have every right to have an intention, put forth a plan and execute it, but you have no right to insist that just because you did all that you must get what you want. The outcomes are never in your hand. The idea that you deserve something is what you have grown within you. So, drop that idea. Just do your bit, and do it well, in any situation. And leave the results, the outcomes, to Life. If you must get it, you will. When you do, be grateful for Life’s compassion. When you don’t, be accepting of Life’s verdict.”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Don't imagine you are in a worse place than you actually are. Things could have been far worse. So, seize the day, count your blessings and move on. You can survive a crisis only by dealing it with one day at a time. Don't add up all your problems in your mind and think you are finished. Compartmentalize your problems; put them in different buckets and project-manage them separately. This is how you live through uncertain times – making decisions when there are few or no options to choose from. You never see it this way when you are going through a crisis. But, unfailingly, every crisis leaves you stronger, wiser – and happy!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“We have been conditioned to believe that prayer is all about asking a God for some thing. But what if you have nothing to ask for? What if you treat prayer as a way of being thankful to Life, for the gift of this human form, of this lifetime? What if, in prayer, you offer yourself up to divinity, as a humble, willing instrument, for Life to work through you? Try praying this way – you will find it healing, magical, beautiful and transformational!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“A crisis is a great teacher. So, learn to love your crisis. Going through it with acceptance, and a seeking spirit, you will emerge stronger, wiser and happy!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Things never quite get so bad as we imagine them to be. Fear of the unknown makes us delay decisions. But if we turn around and face our fears they make way for acceptance and decision-making. Courage is not the absence of fear. It is what fear delivers unto us when we face our fears. Life is never easy at this point, but it becomes a lot simpler to navigate through the maze of our problems; the pain is intense, but we don’t suffer.”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“There are no constraints in Life when you learn to flow with it. Flowing is an important quality to be embraced. It is an art. You can and must learn it. When you are flowing with Life, you are not resisting it; therefore, there is no conflict. Whatever is, you are accepting it and are going with the flow of Life. This does not mean you must not work towards changing what you don’t like about your Life. It means that while you are working on changing your current reality, you are willing to be led by the process of Life. This is a beautiful state to be in – contentment, inner peace and Happiness are guaranteed!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Life happens at its own pace and in its own time. It has a mind of its own. Your rushing through it only increases your stress levels and makes you anxious. You can do nothing to Life. At all times, in all contexts, you are never in control – Life is! And all you can and must do is to learn to live fully with what is. This does not mean inaction – trusting the process of Life is a lot of action; of keeping the faith and being patient. So, sit quietly doing whatever you can in a given context. And whatever must happen alone will happen; whatever is due to you alone will flow to you…on its own. When you are calm, you are non-worrying, non-frustrated and non-suffering and only when you are in this state will you see how perfect your Life really is!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“It is only one Life that you have; just this one lifetime! So, please don’t postpone Happiness, don’t postpone living. Of course, you can’t avoid the lows, the crises, the tragedies. But you can learn to be happy despite the circumstances. You do that by accepting whatever comes your way and by letting go of debilitating emotions. Remember: only when you let go of something can you receive another…clinging on never helps…so, to receive grace and abundance…let go, let go, let go…of all that makes you unhappy and…simply flow with Life!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Your tendency to seek approval from others, to compare yourself with others and to judge yourself basis external parameters stems from a deep-rooted social conditioning. Society wants you to fit into certain frameworks, it wants you to check certain boxes so that you can be categorized, classified and made to conform to how it wants you to be. Don’t let this conditioned view of who you are get to you. Let society keep slotting you. But you just be who you are. Yearning for approval from others, for you to feel good about yourself, is futile. As long as you are causing no harm to the people or environment around you, go on, be yourself. The truth is while you can’t avoid society’s norms entirely, you can choose not to let them affect your self-worth. Who you are is seriously none of anyone’s business; and, for the same reason, what others think of you, is none of your business too!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Only when you let go of all that you are clinging on to, will you receive whatever you need. It is in your unclinging, and opening the palms of your empty hands in surrender, that you invoke grace and abundance into your Life. That’s how Life works – no logic, all magic!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Without doubt, maintaining a distance from some people is the only way to maintaining your equanimity – and, of course, to avoid catching COVID-19!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Equanimity is the state when you are unmoved. When all states seem the same: Joy and sorrow, victory and defeat, success and failure, gain and loss; neither a high, nor a low – none of these states can then affect your equilibrium. There will surely be a momentary blip when any event occurs that causes an emotional response. Metaphorically, it is like what happens when you throw a stone into a placid lake. There will be ripples, a few waves may be generated, but the lake’s water will soon go back to being calm and peaceful. This unmoved state, equanimity, can be attained only through training your mind. You can and must train your mind, just as you train your body. When your mind is in your control, you are unmoved. Only when you are unmoved do you really experience true Happiness.”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Everyone has a reason for saying or doing what they do. So, don’t judge people without knowing their story. You don’t have to agree with them at all, but don’t judge them, don’t label them. Let them just be. If they interfere in your Life, draw a line and tell them to step back. But, again, don’t black list them just because they differ with you. When we judge people we agonize more than them – because we are cooking in our views of them. They continue to be who they are – because they believe what they are saying or doing is right, that it is justified. So, why invite suffering in your Life by giving them so much importance? You stay focused on your inner peace. Don’t let anyone disturb it – not even your views of others!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“What we think is breaking us, is actually making us…yes, it is breaking the stranglehold of debilitating emotions that are pinning us down and holding us hostage…and through learning to deal with these emotions, we emerge resilient, content and anchored. Which is why it is important to learn to live fully with what is – to learn to be non-worrying, non-frustrated and non-suffering, to be happy despite your circumstances.”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Let others think, say or do as they please. If you obsess over others, or over what they think of or say about you, remember, you may have no time to live your Life. And, of course, you will be terribly, terribly unhappy!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“You wake up from your stupor, from taking your Life for granted, only when you understand its transient nature. When you realize that it is a limited-period offer, that it is literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity…that’s when you really start living!”
― AVIS Viswanathan

“Slowly, very slowly, that is how you learn to cope with trauma, grief and pain. It always seems to be a never-ending process. The coping doesn’t quite cease; it always appears to be in the present continuous. Then, over time, when you begin to accept the pain and see the pointlessness of grieving endlessly, you slowly learn to move on. Your Life will never be the way it once was. But you will slowly learn to co-live with the pain while setting down the grief. You will slowly, eventually, learn to be happy despite what happened and despite the circumstances.”
― AVIS Viswanathan