Live Like a Tortoise...

 In Indian mythology ,literature and religion tortoise is used as a symbol of stability, longetivity, body and mind control.
Its ability to withdraw into to its shell at the sign of any danger has been mentioned and quoted in various places.
In fact the stress and the reference given to a tortoise is so strong that  Vishnu himself is said to have taken the Kurma Avatar.

I'm surprised that it was not chosen as the National animal despite it's amplified inspirational importance in our lives .
Today when we are faced with a  pandemic of the same proportions as it has attacked in every century for time immemorial... This is the time to to take a lesson from the creature which has the ability to survive the longest, which has the ability to stand all dangers, which has the ability to control its body and mind...
Let us be like a tortoise, slow and steady with breath ,mind and body control... Let us stay within our shells  ...
Latest stay within our means without adventuring too much till the  danger is over and we can emerge to live again...

OF YOU AND ME...

 Few Observations and lessons
The human mind and the body must never remain idle.
Last week I underwent what could be called as a culmination of a long delayed medical condition into a surgery.
Though it was what the doctors call a minor surgery but since it involved anesthesia it actually can have some serious connotations.
As soon as I knew about it before going to the hospital I made a few preparations and also during my stay in the hospital I realised some very important points that I would like to share with you. These points have nothing to do really with your financial independence or medical insurance as you may think, but they are definitely a big part of it.

First thing that I realised is that, during such times however your family may be whatever be the size and however well placed the relatives maybe only people who come helpful are your immediate friends near your house and your neighbours. Whether you are a Mariner or not, it is very important to develop good healthy circle and tolerate your neighbours even if they are not so kind in normal Times.
Having a good social circle and regular touch with friends is your blessing.
Next is the fact that do not hesitate to ask for help from your friends or neighbours.

Secondly what ever be your financial position, however big be your investment portfolio, however fantastic maybe your insurance plans, they mean nothing  if you have not familiarised your family with the procedures to be followed for getting that money.
Even if you have made the best arrangements your post survival but all that information is in your laptop or the cloud it means nothing. Ensure that all the login passwords for email accounts apps net banking are written down in a small diary and kept safely with the person who will look after you in case of an emergency.
Ensure that however young you may be  write out a will and have it attested by two witnesses who are known to your family . (As suggested by a friend of mine one of these witnesses should be a doctor.)
A simple hand written will in simple language without any ambiguity ,clearly mentioning the person or persons as your legal heir is sufficient, there is no need for it to be written on a stamp paper or be registered even though doing so it's desirable.
Thirdly ,I felt that one should make out one's survival kit having the necessary medication ,toothbrush ,spectacles, undergarments ,a spare charger, for such emergencies.a small amount of cash can also be kept with this emergency kit.
Fourthly, the diary that I mentioned above can be kept in this emergency survival kit and the first pages must have the entire information about yourself.
Fifthly: if you your spouse or family member is a diabetic ,or allergic to anything then this fact must be displayed in a small card and kept in the wallet or displayed on the emergency kit. you can have a small card printed out and laminated and stuck to the survival kit for the entire family if it helps.
Apart from these few things
you can add to this list which includes the card for cashless hospitalization or numbers that need to be informed in case the person is admitted in a different city.

Apart from this I realised the fact that I had been ignoring the medical insurance that we seek and take for ourselves is actually very minuscule.
Earlier I used to suggest super top up policies but having utilised my time in the hospital to search for better products I feel that the high sum insured products should be considered as they do not really  hike the premium.
I will wait for your feedback to update this article.

Journal 21st March 2020

This weekend presents itself with a unique opportunity!

Two days  of complete introspection;  two days when you can actually and officially cut yourself off from everyone around the world and dwell into your self.

You can check what and how things in your life are actually beyond your control.

You can also check your Financial preparedness and the effect that past 1 month has had on your reserves. When the market or any event is in action one is not able to think objectively.

Not able to plan for future.

The Friday that was yesterday was starkly different from the previous Friday the 13th.

If you like to make any inferences out of it and draw lessons out of it, it would be hugely rewarding in future.

Point 1 : when you see the market going up you normally only check the broad-based sensex or Nifty and declare when the market is up.

 However for broad based and an all encompassing rally or rise in the market you must check the other indices also like the mid Cap and small cap indices; Nifty 100, Nifty 200 and of course the Nifty 500.

If you will check yesterday's induce, all across the board there was a 5% + increment. This is actually very heartening. Because it shows that even in the face of such adversity there was an all round interest in the market.

 

Point 2: These incidents in the past month or even the past week give you an opportunity to to check the beta of your portfolio against the  market conditions. Beta means that  that for one unit of rise in the market how much did our portfolio rise or fall.

Point 3:

This is also the time to check the individual funds that you hold as to how the rise and fall on daily basis against the benchmark index that they follow. Mutual funds houses may adopt a benchmark which is more suitable to their results but from your point of view you have to see where you are getting better returns or are losing more money than others.

If you will check the various funds and how they gained yesterday you will find that index funds and the index ETFs did better than most of the funds.

Finally of course if you wish to interact with me  and other members of the group then this weekend is a better time to do it.

We can even hold video conferencing on WhatsApp for upto 4 people at a time.

Have a happy weekend and productive isolation.

A JOURNEY INTO LOSING MYSELF

My journey into losing myself

Yesterday was 16th November.

As I woke up I was staring at the ceiling... I remembered something and smiled to myself.

Slowly I made my way to the  drawer and took out the dusty folder and gingerly opened my CDC.

The Last entry declared 16th November 2014...5 years...

5 years is a long time in any human beings life and certainly in the life of a sailor who loses all relevance to the life that he has known for over three decades.

The journey started in a quest to lose myself and my ego .

It was certainly not any easy decision for a person who loves the sea as such and certainly admires the ship and its life on board.

It was certainly not an easy decision since people always heard me saying that I would sail till I can and then till I can't. 

Today , as I sit completely relaxed in my massage chair pretending to be 10 years older than I am...

I find these five years  to be an equally enchanting journey into completely different kind of self discovery.

There have not been many moments in these 5 years that I worried about earning anything or endeavouring  to earn money in any way.

Most of the days and hours were spent in working for people who are not related to me or my family.

I discovered the enormous and insightful world of of charity and living for others.

I can't claim that I ever dreamt or missed the life on ship or the bridge or the machinery of engine room.

I have forgotten the insides of the purifier and the crankcase but learnt more about the insides of human souls.

I have learnt more about human greed and selfishness and what it makes people do in their lives.

I have learnt and realised how difficult it was for my wife to spend those 24 years alone. I realised that she worked no less, rather much more, at home with my daughter and parents then I did on board.

I celebrated my silver wedding anniversary almost as if we were getting married and I renewed my vows with her and promised to be at her side finally...

... though this post is meant for my friends and colleagues on the financial groups of seafarers I must tell them that it is not about money alone...

It is certainly necessary that they gain financial independence as soon as possible but it is even more important  to gain understanding with their families. It is necessary that they develop understanding of life and develop hobbies and pastimes and passions which would keep them working past those golden years.

It will not matter when you will give up this enchanting ,charming and wholesome life at sea but it will matter how you will like yourself to be seen in those years.