Leading a Double Life

Leading a double life would seem to be the exclusive domain of professional spies, fictional secret agents and undercover operatives with foreign accents.

• Ordinary men and women sometimes hide extraordinary secrets from their families, friends and co-workers. A well-respected chief executive who embezzles funds from his company. The man with two wives and two sets of children who know nothing of one another's existence. Leading a double life is not as uncommon or abnormal as it may sound. In the most shocking scenarios, these dual lives lead to criminal acts, violence and, even murder.
• Thousands of men and women are living in two worlds, caught in a web of lies, risks and shame that ultimately force them into secret behavior that is far different from their everyday existence.
• Almost 70% of males and 50% of females have an extramarital affair at some point over the course of their marriage. What this says is that most people lead double lives, at some time in their life.
• When that duality spins out of control, ruins careers, shatters families and, sometimes ends up in a prison sentence. This destructive duality can stem from an individual's inability to integrate two conflicting, opposite sides of a personality.
• People who are not able to do this can end up splitting off the different aspects of their personality. Lying becomes their way of life.
• Duality exists in most peoples' lives. At one end of the spectrum are daydreams -- harmless fantasies that exist in the mind and are generally not acted upon. Daydreams are often private and secret, but they're not dangerous. Everybody has daydreams at one time or another, and usually they're playful, happy and forward-looking. 
• It is common for most people to have a public self and a private self, but some people cross the line when exploring the darker side of their nature, creating a situation that is dangerous and destructive. This behavior is sometimes obsessional, extreme and irrational, and without much regard for the consequences.
• The double life unravels when the person is caught and the secret revealed. Some actions may be an unconscious cry for help, but there are ways to put a stop to the behavior before disaster.
• It's important to recognize what's happening before the situation spins out of control. If you notice yourself engaging in continuous high-risk behavior (carrying on multiple affairs, gambling away your paycheck), and that behavior has an obsessive element that makes it dangerous and unpleasant, it's time to change. One strategy is to break the pattern of secrecy and to get some external input. Telling a trusted friend, a priest, a psychologist can be very helpful. It is crucial to seek psychological counseling. 
• Although the secret life appears to be beyond your control, it's really a self-determined course of action that can be altered. To get to that point force yourself to examine the consequences of your actions.

Read the source article

Indirect taxes are unjust

• Indirect taxes are regressive since they fall equally on the rich and poor and therefore are unjust. As a matter of principle, the rich & prosperous should contribute a higher share in taxes than the poor.
• Taxes should be imposed based on the individual’s capacity to pay. Indirect taxes negate this principle of ability to pay and burdens poor more than rich. These taxes are unjust to the poor.
• Income is not necessarily a sign of prosperity. Prosperity is not just a measure of their income in a given year. An individual’s spending behavior is related to their prosperity rather their income. One’s consumption should be attributed to their prosperity and, by a law of transitivity, one’s consumption should be attributed to their capacity to pay taxes.
• The prosperous, who naturally consume or indulge more, must end up paying more indirect taxes.
• Indirect taxes feed inflationary forces and are fed through higher prices, higher costs, higher wages and higher prices again.
• The administrative costs of collecting these indirect taxes from large number of persons is huge and breeds corruption apart from tendency of the traders charge higher than the tax they pay.
• The revenue estimates suffer uncertainty since higher prices results in lower demand.
• The demand for necessaries is inelastic and demand for non-necessaries is highly elastic. Poor people use necessaries and cannot reduce their consumption even if there is a rise in the prices of necessaries due to imposition of indirect taxes. Rich people can reduce the consumption of non-necessaries (luxuries) when there is a rise in prices. Indirect taxes affect the poor more.
• Indirect taxes collected through dealers and traders in small amounts and consumers may not feel its burden and tax payers become indifferent towards their responsibility and consciousness vis-a-vis government.
• Direct taxes are unfair since the poor, the rich (they evade taxes by clandestine means), and the agriculturists do not pay any taxes. The onus of income tax falls squarely on the salaried middle class.
• Indirect taxes raises the commodities prices which in turn rises wages and higher wages increase commodities prices. Wage-price spiral starts. The cost of production of commodities rises which in turn leads to rise in prices of commodities. This leads to general rise in prices of commodities i.e. inflation.
• Indirect taxes raise the prices of commodities. The consumption of lower income groups is bound to fall because of rise in prices of commodities. Fall in the consumption of essential commodities worsens health and efficiency of the masses.
• Indirect taxes can never substitute direct taxes. We can only have indirect taxes to the extent that the country stays competitive relative to the other countries.

Since GST, an indirect tax, is paid by rich and poor alike, care must be taken to make sure that all goods and services consumed by poor are taxed at rates very low or nominal while remaining items consumed by rich could be taxed at higher rates. Since the tax has to be collected from large number of dealers compliance procedures must be simple and easy to comply with and less burdensome for especially small traders. Petty traders must be exempted. 

Eminent vs Prominent

Eminent and prominent are both adjectives, and they can both be used to talk about people who are very well-known and successful in their profession. Eminent means highly qualified, successful and respected. Prominent means well-known, noticeable and important. 

• Eminent is a stronger word than ‘famous’. Eminent comes from the Latin ‘eminentem’ meaning ‘to stand out’. An eminent person, therefore, is someone who stands apart from others. He is an outstanding and distinguished member of his profession. 
• Eminent contains the idea of respected. He is respected by both the public and the members from his own profession.
• Prominent has the idea of being well-known and important. For example, Bill Gates is a prominent figure in the world of computers.
• It's possible to be a prominent person without being eminent, since eminence depends on respect which is earned through skill, education, public recognition. A pop star might be prominent but they probably wouldn't be described as eminent.
• Prominent has other meanings as well. It can mean 'easy to see or notice' like a prominent scar on hand due to an injury.

It is better to be an eminent person than to be a prominent person.

Benefits of morning walk

Morning walk is one of the most satisfying and beneficial physical activities that you could ever do! It makes you feel fresh and rejuvenated, and gets you ready for entire day. A 30-minute morning walk can change your life! Especially if you suffer from a host of lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, etc. The morning hours have the least amount of pollution in the air. Fresh air has oxygen in abundance. Chances of you suffering from various diseases diminishes. The morning air is rich in negative ions and oxygen is negatively charged and help you have a pleasant state of mind. Make it a habit of walking in the morning and inhaling as much good air as possible. Motivate yourself every morning to get up from the bed and take a soothing morning walk. Here are 25 reasons that will get you going. 

1. Lowers the risk of diabetes
   A 30-minute morning walk can help improve blood sugar control as well as aid the management of insulin in Type II diabetes. It allows the cells in the muscles to use up more glucose, helps burn body fats that are not needed, and also aids in improving the Body Mass Index (BMI). This benefits diabetics immensely.
2. Strengthens the heart
   It might not be a good idea to run. Brisk walking can help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Walking every morning for about 30 minutes can help lower blood pressure. Morning walks can also lower triacylglycerol levels and prevent hypertension.
3. Aids weight loss
   Obesity is one of the major causes of many deaths and diseases. And the main reason for being obese is the sedentary lifestyle. Walking will be easy on your heart. There is nothing like a brisk walk for 30 to 40 minutes daily. It helps elevate the heart rate and burn calories that are essential for weight loss. You can lose weight healthily without changing your diet by walking every day, along with other exercises. Walking can aid weight loss by reducing overall body fat and improving flexibility and muscle strength.
4. Prevents arthritis and osteoporosis
   Leading an inactive life has many negative effects on the body, including stiff joints that can further lead to arthritis. Physical activity, such as walking for five days or more in a week, can help relieve arthritis pain and stiffness and give you more energy. Women are prone to losing bone density and developing osteoporosis. Walking gently exercises the joints and strengthens them along with improving bone density.
5. Prevents strokes
   Brisk morning walk for half an hour five times a week helps in keeping the heart strong and lowers the risk of strokes. People who maintain a regular fitness regimen that includes brisk morning walks reduce their chances of suffering from a stroke by 40% than people who are not physically active. A brisk walk around the neighborhood is all you need to stay fit and keep strokes at bay!
6. Controls cholesterol
   There is a greater risk of heart problems when there is an excessive amount of  LDL cholesterol and low amounts of HDL cholesterol. Following an active lifestyle and including activities like walking is an excellent way to make sure the levels of cholesterol in your body are regulated.
7. Protects against atherosclerosis
   Atherosclerosis is a condition that is caused by arteries that are blocked due to plaque or LDL cholesterol depositions on the inner walls of arteries in the brain, kidneys, heart, and legs. Circulation of blood does not occur properly. Regular morning walks can protect you from this condition.
8. Relieves depression
   One in ten people suffer from depression that gives rise to many other disorders and even leads to deaths.That’s because when you walk, the natural pain-killing endorphins flow properly throughout the body. Patients who suffer from depression found that walking fast every day for 35 to 60 minutes had a significant improvement in their condition. 200 minutes of walking per week can make you feel more energetic and positive.
9. Fights and protects from cancer
   Many people develop cancer due to dull or hectic lifestyles. Morning walk give you the exercise that you need, better immunity, and a breath of fresh air as well. Walking helps prevent ovarian, breast, kidney, and cervical cancers. Walking can also improve sleep in cancer patients. To make sure that you are safe from cancer, go for a morning walk every day and keep your body and mind healthy.
10. Enhances brain function
    Morning walks do more than just rejuvenating the body. It can help protect memory, improve thinking skills and has positive effect on the mind. When you walk, the oxygen and blood supply to the brain are accelerated, and this leads to an enhancement in mental alertness, brain function, and memory. Walking helps increase the brain volume and improves brain function in aged individuals. Take a regular walk every morning to keep your brain functioning properly at all times.
11. Tones the body
    A brisk morning walk can help in restoring muscle tone. You can tone your legs, tummy, and other parts of your body. Walking daily can also define the muscles in your calves, buttocks, and quads. Make morning walks your way to get a perfectly toned body.
12. Lowers risk of miscarriages
    Expectant mothers can hugely benefit from indulging in exercises like swimming and regular morning walk. Walking can moderate erratic hormone levels that cause changes in the body. Walking also helps prevent gestational diabetes that is quite common among pregnant women. Walking also provides protection against uterine contractions, which often result in spontaneous abortion, an occurrence that is caused by hormonal changes in the body.
13. Boosts the immune system
    Walking improves blood circulation and the supply of oxygen in the body. Walking for 30 minutes a day strengthens the immune system and keeps you protected from various illnesses and serious diseases.
14. Reduces fatigue
    A brisk morning walk can make you feel rejuvenated, refreshed and alleviate fatigue & boost your energy levels. Moreover, walking can also reduce fatigue experienced by cancer patients.
15. Fights dementia and alzheimer’s
    Walking on a regular basis can help in the prevention of alzheimer’s and dementia can reduce the risk of this condition by up to 54%. This is a common problem among the elderly, and it is best to prevent it early. So make morning walks a part of your daily routine.
16. Improves lung capacity
    The oxidation reaction quotient in the cells of your body can be increased significantly with a walk. However, these reactions cause a high demand for oxygen supply that makes the lungs pump extra oxygen. This, in turn, helps the lungs improve their capacity. To keep your lungs working properly and to ensure their health, start going for brisk walks for 30 minutes every morning .
17. Keeps stress away
    Morning walks keep stress away. Stress can have an adverse effect on your body, making you fall sick more easily and causing depression, anxiety, etc. Walking improves blood circulation to the brain and helps uplift the mood. A brisk morning walk can make you feel more relaxed and calm.
18. Makes skin glow
    Any exercise that improves blood circulation gives your skin a healthy glow and there is no better exercise than walking. It helps in delaying the onset of the signs of aging such as fine lines and wrinkles. Proper blood circulation also prevents pimples, acne, and other skin problems. With morning walks, you can achieve naturally radiant skin.
19. Energizes the body
    Walking every morning gives your body the energy that it needs to get through the day. It helps increase the circulation of blood and the supply of oxygen and keeps you active and alert all day.
20. Promotes healthy hair
    Being active has an important role to play in good hair health. Walking helps in keeping the hormones in your body well-balanced. It improves blood circulation, which promotes healthy hair growth and prevents hair loss as well. To get beautiful, lustrous hair, make it a point to go for a walk every morning.
21. Lowers the risk of diseases
    Morning walks keep deadly diseases away. Blood circulation in your body is increased, which helps in keeping cardiovascular and other life-threatening diseases at bay. Walking also improves metabolism in muscles and helps the body function normally. So, this low-intensity exercise can take care of all your health problems.
22. Promotes restful sleep
    The daily stress can cause insomnia. The best way to fight this is to take a walk every day. Morning walk help calm your mind, and you can get a good night’s sleep and feel well-rested when you wake up. If your lifestyle is not that active and you find it difficult to fall asleep, then you must walk in the mornings.
23. Prevents cognitive degeneration
    Women over the age of 65, who walk on a regular basis, are less prone to memory degeneration that is age-related when compared to those who do not walk or walk less. Walking is a great way to keep age-related mental illnesses away. The risk of chronic ailments like vascular dementia can be brought down to 70% with regular walking and staying active.
24. Slows down aging
    As you age, the tails of the chromosomes (telomeres) start to get shorter. And since chromosome is nothing but DNA, shorter DNA would mean lesser protein.This ultimately leads to loss of function and aging. Walking is a low-intensity physical activity that helps keep all your cell functions active and your heart healthy and improves brain function and blood circulation. Since your body remains active, the shortening of the ends of the telomeres slows down. This means, your aging process slows down.
25. Improves overall health
    There is nothing like a morning walk every day to improve your health. Every part of your body benefits from this exercise. A brisk 30-minute walk can extend your lifespan by about a year.

Helpful tips for walking 

1. Always keep your posture straight while walking. 
2. Early morning walks are the best and body absorbs vitamin D from the sun’s first rays.
3. A brisk morning walk every day, is what you need to lose a extra pounds. When you walk fast, you burn more calories.
4. Avoid going for a walk after eating as exercising after a meal affects the flow of digestive juices, which prevents the proper breaking down of food.
5. It is best not to drink too much water while taking brisk walks as it may cause harm to the respiratory system. Keep your body hydrated before you start your walk or 5 minutes after you are done.
6. If you are just starting out on making walks a regular exercise, start at a pace that you are comfortable with and slowly build it up as the days go by. 

Read the source article

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.

Do not walk in a place surrounded by trees at dawn because then the entire area is over concentrated with carbon dioxide. Walking barefoot is strictly prohibited for a diabetic patient as it may cause hookworm infection and other problems. Brisk walking all along is not good. One third of your total walking hour should be brisk walking. It should be preceded by an equal period of warm-up, followed by an equal duration of cooling-down. Once you start enjoying & benefiting walking, you will repent for having ignored such a good habit for several years left behind. The best time for morning walk is 7:30 am because oxygen and antioxident level is very good and sunlight gives vitamin d. And the best place is park where air is very fresh and full of oxygen. Any amount is good, but best if you can walk 30 to 60 minutes or more at a stretch.

Functions of money

Anything which is declared by the state as money is money. Anything which is generally accepted in payment for the goods and services or the repayment of debts is money. Money is often defined in terms of the three functions or services that it provides. Money serves as a medium of exchange, as a store of value, and as a unit of account.

Medium of exchange:

Money's most important function is as a medium of exchange to facilitate transactions. Money effectively eliminates the double coincidence of wants problem by serving as a medium of exchange that is accepted in all transactions, by all parties, regardless of whether they desire each others' goods and services.

Store of value:

In order to be a medium of exchange, money must hold its value over time; that is, it must be a store of value. As a store of value, money is not unique; many other stores of value exist, such as land, works of art, and stamps. Money may not even be the best store of value because it depreciates with inflation. However, money is more liquid than most other stores of value because as a medium of exchange, it is readily accepted everywhere. Money is an easily transported store of value that is available in a number of convenient denominations.

Unit of account: 

Money also functions as a unit of account, providing a common measure of the value of goods and services being exchanged. Knowing the value or price of a good, in terms of money, enables both the supplier and the purchaser of the good to make decisions about how much of the good to supply and how much of the good to purchase.

An ideal market economy is one where all goods and services are voluntarily exchanged for money at market prices. Such a system squeezes the maximum benefits out a society’s available resources without government intervention. 

Dissent in a democracy

From being called as a largest democracy to improbable democracy, democracy in India has in general received a positive note. No freedom can be absolute, for frequently freedom of one limits freedom of another. Dissent is the most essential ingredient of a democratic society and right to disobey is a legitimate form of dissent.

• In liberal democracies citizens have not only got the right to express their views but also the right to protest and express dissent against prevailing procedure and laws, so long as they do not rely on violence or coercion.
• Despite India’s failure to promote rapid economic development and abolish abject poverty, the country can be justifiably proud of having sustained a democratic order. 
• Resistance is a very old form of political action - much older than democracy itself. Resistance is a form of collective civil disobedience. It involves physical presence and solidarity; it appeals to moral law or human rights; it is usually illegal but non-violent; it is locally and communally based; its activists are angry citizens and lower-level officials. 
• We should promote it and celebrate it - and recognize at the same time that it is only half a politics. Resistance is a defensive politics, but we also need a politics of offense - a politics aimed at winning elections and seizing power.
• The protest movement is generally directed against political system or class or segment of the society or an organization considered harmful to the interest of those who have been activated in launching such protest.
• The only movement which has been clear about its ideology is Naxalite movement.
• Mahatma Gandhi gave a more strident expression when he called upon the people to listen to their conscience and refuse to accept what is unjust and morally unacceptable. He asked those joining him in non-cooperation and civil disobedience to resist unjust laws, but be willing to suffer the consequence of their actions. It is morally required that one must be willing to accept punishment for breaking the law because rule of law deserves respect.
• It is one’s duty to infuse the legal with morally just. If self-critique and change could be ushered in through reasoned argument, then all forms of action outside the domain of constitutionally mandated institutions would be unnecessary. 
• When reason fails to deliver and the quest for power and interests comes to dominate, maintaining the stability of a just constitution may require stronger action, including protests against institutionalized authority.
• It is with the help of protests that democracy grew and grew to give us this splendid shade under which most of us sit. It took decades of activism before women got the right to vote and before blacks became legally equal to the rest in America.
• Most of the protest movements in India have raised pertinent questions on the implementation of the directive principles of the constitution. The establishment’s general response to movements and their demonstrations is negative one. It treats movements and demonstrations as a law and order problem, instead of inquiring into their causes and seeking a solution through negotiations, and dispatches the police to suppress them. Adventures on the part of political establishment in India is its intolerant attitude towards protest and dissent.

Indian polity to remain as democratic needs greater maturity in accommodating dissent rather than rejecting every action as anarchic, and anti-constitutional. Every protest and dissent would not always necessarily be anarchic. Anarchy is dangerous but protest which is in the framework of democracy always revitalizes democracy.

One person’s anarchist could well be another person’s activist.

Money vs Wealth conundrum

Everyone seems to be running after money and still not being able to be satisfied with what one has got. Money is defined as the cash flow you need to maintain the lifestyle you have. Wealth is defined as the money accumulated over time or the money that will last a lifetime. Therefore, we must focus on wealth creation and not running after money. Remember, money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There are 4 kinds of people with respect to their attributes on money and time. 

1. People having lot of money, but no time.
   We see rich businessman, company's CEO's and other top notch officials who are arriving in chauffeur driven cars and are always busy in meetings and events. They seem to have a lot of money in their pockets but no time to enjoy it.
2. People having lots of time, but no money.
   We come across a lot of people who just laze around or just enjoying their hookah, with no work to do and no money to have.
3. People having no money and no time.
   Most of the salaried class and businessman lie in this class (over 97% of the world's population is here). Everyone seems to be working their day and night for money to be used to pay bills and EMI's. Growing in the corporate ladder will only take you from the quadrant 3 to quadrant 1. The corporate mindset is aligned towards attaining a level wherein you reside in the first quadrant.
4. People having both money and time.
   This is where one must aim for and attain a mindset for so that one has the time to earn and spend on himself/herself. Less than 1% of the world's population lies here.

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants ... Epictetus

Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant ...  P.T. Barnum

Too many people spend money they earned, to buy things they don't want and, 

to impress people that they don't like ... Will Rogers