Writing for me is therapeutic: Sarita Mathur

Saurabh Tankha

South Africa-based author and poet Sarita Mathur in her inspiring book, Once Again Love: Reconnecting With The Heart, introduces readers to the joy of a life filled with love. Through its unique combination of poetry and prose, the book launches readers to the metaphysical aspects of life through instances of both science and spirituality. Excerpts from a chat www.lifeandmore.in had with the author-poet…

When did you decide to pen Once Again Love and how did you go about it?
I wrote Once Again Love in 2006. I had a simple back operation which went horribly wrong. I woke up from it feeling suicidal. A combination of drugs and anaesthesia had led to an imbalance in my brain and I was deeply depressed. I had to write. Words spilled out of me and I took pen to paper. I felt as if I am being compelled to write my story and journal it. I would get up at four am to write. It was as if a higher source had forced me to pen my and that I channelled the work. This journaling helped me to go from deep depression into anger, resentment, guilt and finally to Love. This took a few years and out of it was born, Once Again Love, with the subtitle being, Reconnecting with the Heart. Writing for me is therapeutic. Journaling your thoughts is essential. Pent up emotions are released and there is clarity of thought.
When I am happy, I write. The same is true when I am unhappy. Writing becomes essential as it is a way of conveying your thoughts and feelings. Negative emotions are released when pen is put to paper. I then burn these pieces of paper and the ash is put into Mother Earth to be transmuted into Love and Light. Try it. Start writing your thoughts and a short story or novel will emerge.

What is spirituality and how does one experience it?
Spirituality is about letting go of ego and about trying to make a difference in your own life and that of others. It is knowing who you are and accepting the fact that we all make mistakes. By being true to yourself and learning from your mistakes, you can grow as a person. Learning to say sorry is a big yes. At the same time, one must be authentic. If you are always trying to please people, you will realise that they will not respect you.

What is life and what is death?
Birth and death are both determined by a higher power. Life is largely determined by us. We can be poor yet happy or rich and sad. Life is a gift. We have to love Life and reach our potential as human beings. Our soul has come into this world with a purpose. We are here to learn and grow. Life will throw us challenges and we must overcome them with grace. When we die, the soul moves on into another realm.
According to Hindu mythology, it will come back to earth again to learn additional lessons or relearn what we didn’t in our previous birth.

What is me and what is not me?
This is such an important question. We are all individuals trying to achieve. This makes us realize that in everything we do, the other person also has the same aspirations. We all want to achieve success. By being true to ourselves, we must keep growing .At the same time while embracing ourselves and our personality ,we must realize that the “other”, also has feelings.
I am myself and must try to grow mentally and spiritually while allowing the other to grow as well. We have to accept ourselves as complete human beings. Another way of answering this question is looking at the Ego. As a human being ,we have a peaceful soul yet what is not us is the ego. We must not let the ego take over.

How do you win life?
Accept life. Life is an inverted V. Like waves in an ocean there will be ups and downs. However, you know you can always be on top of your emotions. At the end of the day there is night. Moreover, the sun will definitely rise again. So, never feel despondent. There will be challenges but human beings have the ability to rise above them.

How do you change the path of life?
If what you are doing is not working ,try something else. Be open to opportunities. Do not let naysayers and pessimism get you down. Life is an adventure. Live it, Love it It’s beautiful to be alive. Be realistic but be careful of your friends. Do not surround yourself with negative people.

Is there a successful formula to lead a happy and healthy life?
Physical and mental fitness plus a healthy dose of spirituality. Nature too is therapeutic. Look inwards and journal. Understand why you feel a particular way and embrace positivity.

Why is there so much discontentment, sorrow and jealousy around?
When you are happy with who you are and love yourself, you will not be affected by other people’s success. You will feel happy for them. You will want to grow as a person and help others to rise as well. It is only when you are insecure within yourself that you will grudge people their happiness. Be authentic and believe in yourself. It will make you a better person and if everyone follows this advice, the world will be full of people who are happy and joyful.

What’s today and what’s tomorrow?
Today is the present moment – the Now. Live it and be fully present and the hereafter will be full of promises fulfilled. Tomorrow is unknown but full of potential. Your present makes your future-your tomorrow.

Who has been the most inspirational person in your life and why?
My mother is an extremely inspirational person. Growing up, she always taught me to believe in myself. I have a brother, but she never compared us to each other. That way, we could be the person we wanted to be without unhealthy competition. She is very well read and has a practical and positive attitude towards life. She keeps extremely good relationships with family and has friends and hobbies.

How different are you from other authors?
I love to express myself in totality. That means that I do not only try to project myself as a happy, positive person. I speak openly about topics like depression. A simple back operation in 2006 led to severe depression. Drugs and anaesthesia reacted and caused the serotonin levels in my brain to fall leading to suicidal tendencies. I had to be treated and find myself again. I was an energy healer (Reiki) and a motivational teacher and this helped me. My life is based on the inverted V. You can always go back to being happy and contented even after having setbacks in life. Life is like an ocean. There are waves which may push you down but at the end of it you can always rise. Life as an inverted V says that you can always be on top even though life may take you on a roller coaster ride.
“Take charge of your life and never be a victim”. I write about Nature and the soul but have not published fiction as yet.

Is writing energising or exhausting?
Writing is energising and therapeutic. All negative emotions are released while writing and the mind becomes calm and centred.

I write because I am,
Who I am.
It is therapeutic and pure,
To express,
Pen on paper.
Or directly onto a computer.
Then I come to know myself better.
I am a human being,
Trying to understand,
Love, Life and relationships
With Nature, Soul, Myself
And other Human Being.
I write because this process makes me
Better and Better.
I write
Because,
I Am.

Tell us something about your family…
My husband Vivek and myself live in Durban, South Africa. With its rolling hills and beautiful beaches ,South Africa is the perfect place to be. Vivek is a businessman and supplies high quality textiles to designers and stores. We have two sons, Arjun and Kartik who are both in the business. Vivek and I play, Bridge, which is a mentally stimulating card game. We love going for walks on the beachfront and are absolute Nature-lovers.