After eight years, getting to go back to Jankeshwar felt like a breath of fresh air. The strong winds seemed to sweep away old thoughts, making room for new ones. This weekend, while out with my family and listening to Rajen uncle’s talks about the Mahabharat, I experienced one of those surreal moments when answers just come out of nowhere. Suddenly, things I had been wondering about started to become clear.

Every force has an equal and opposite reaction. Almost everyone who has taken physics knows this, but not many know its origin. I always thought this was one of Newton’s three laws, and it is, but more than that, it is one of the main laws of life. Our life is like a huge pendulum that takes a lifetime to swing from birth to death. Within that pendulum are hundreds, if not thousands, of smaller pendulums, the most common being happy to sad or like to dislike. The pendulum is always swinging from left to right and right to left.

Despite taking physics for three years, I never really understood how the pendulum swung until now. I thought the pendulum, for example, from happy to sad, would transition at the bottom, but that’s not the case. The pendulum changes direction at the ends when the velocity is zero. That is the turning point, and even though we might still be in the phase of happiness, we are on our way to sadness.

One example Rajen uncle gave this weekend was that if we are on a hike, excited to reach the top for the view, but suddenly a boulder blocks our path, we transition from excitement to irritation. The boulder was not the cause of the change in direction; it was simply the means of identifying that the pendulum is now on the other side of emotions.

As humans, our end goal in life is to rise in consciousness, and the way to achieve that is to stop or minimize our reactions. Rajen uncle said the key is to visualize the other side and accept it with open arms before the event occurs. Everything in life has an opposite force or emotion. So even when making a friend, I often look forward to spending time with them. However, I must accept that each of us has the same dual qualities and are going through the same swings of life just at different points in time.

Understanding that each force has an opposite force is important. Rajen uncle mentioned the famous saying, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” Accepting that the pendulum will swing from one side to the other is only part of it. Not letting yourself get carried away on the positive side is much more challenging. As hard as you laugh, there is something waiting on the other side; we just don’t know when, where, or how it will manifest. This balance can only be achieved with a conscious pause.  Most of the time, I am just in the moment with someone, laughing, cracking jokes, and sometimes getting carried away. Often, when we are in such situations, we might end up having fun at the cost of someone else. It is crucial that in each moment, we work to increase our state of consciousness.

This weekend has taught me that the simple, five-letter word “pause” holds a depth of complexity beyond my current understanding. Pausing allows for reflection, balance, and a conscious approach to life’s swings. As I finish this summer and enter a new chapter, my goal is to master the art of pausing, ensuring that I navigate college with mindfulness and equilibrium.