The story of a girl who never looked back

This post is dedicated to sharing the true story of a young woman, who through her continued efforts, and her “never give up” attitude, is an absolute inspiration and testimony of the insurmountable power of human will. Part of what makes this story so special is because it hits so close to home and the other part because it proves how life teaches us to do extraordinary things even in the face of the worst of adversities and mishaps.

We have all heard of the inspiring stories of great personalities like Hellen Keller, Marlee Matlin, Christopher Reeve, Franklin Roosevelt and other such famous personalities, this however is a story of an ordinary person who continues to achieve extraordinary achievements in face of some trying difficulties.

I can never forget the night I first met Shivani Gupta. Shivani was my sister’s classmate and they had just turned twenty two and recently completed their Bachelor degree in Hotel Management. Shivani had thrown a party at her house, and was over at ours, to pick my sister for the party. It was the first time I was meeting Shivani, and I was instantly enamored by her, not just because she is an absolutely lovely girl, but because she has such a larger than life personality. She was the cheeriest person I met, and the moment she walked in, she met us all as if we were old friends. I believe such is her charm, because Shivani meets everyone with so much vigor and joy, it’s as though she is telling the world, and “Here I am!”

That night the car that my sister and Shivani were traveling in (on way to the party) met with an accident and Shivani was dislodged out of the car and thrown onto the road outside. She was immediately taken to a hospital and received emergency care. The next morning the doctors declared the accident had rendered Shivani a paraplegic from the neck downward.

It is unfathomable how a single night can change life forever. From a young girl, ready to take the world in her stride, she had to learn to gain her mobility and freedom back. Through all the physical pain and mental anguish, somehow Shivani pulled the strength to not only follow her dreams but she continues to amaze her friends and family by taking her dreams further every day. Life again threw her a curve ball when years later she met with another motor accident and lost the love of her life – her husband. However it is through her strong spirit and iron-will that she persevered and decided to write the story of her life in a very positive and inspirational book called “No Looking back”.

Since the accident Shivani has been a strong proponent for improving accessibility for handicaps in India she is the recipient of several awards such as Helen Keller Award (2008), CavinKare Ability Master Award (2008), National Role Model Award (2004), Neerja Bhanot Award (2004), Red and White Bravery Award (1999) and Sulabh International Woman of the Year Award (1996). She has also co-authored several books published by the Government on the issue of accessibility for the differently abled, which is a book used by architects and designers.

Shivani is also the founder for AccessAbility; a consultancy firm for promoting physical accessibility in India. While Shivani continues to work at spreading awareness for promoting equal opportunities for the disabled in India, she continues to be open to writing, and would like to write a PhD thesis in the near future. In a recent interview, when asked what the driving force was for her towards becoming the leading accessibility consultants in India, Shivani responded,

“Life is not easy for anybody but it has been more challenging for me. The most important thing that drove me to not give up was my desire to be independent and self-reliant. It is only after becoming disabled that I realized the value and importance of independence in my life. It may seem just like a regular aspect of life to most people but as a disabled person, I have struggled each day to maintain it. Being self-reliant became a second nature to me. After my second accident, I had no other option except to continue being so. Sitting back broken in spirit was just not an option.”

There is a lot more to Shivani’s story that cannot be shared in this small post, my hope is simply that we may all learn and be inspired by the truly great people amongst us. Life deals us all with a hand of cards, to which we have no control, but in the end the winners are people who don’t waste time regretting the cards they were dealt with, but go out and make the best of everything they got. If you are interested in learning more about Shivani, feel free to check her book, “No Turning Back” now on amazon.

It’s a wine thing!

Not too long ago I visited Malibu Wines which is a beautiful winery that offers wine tasting options along with a sunny outdoor locale. The best part about this place is the setting which offers an amazing view to the valley (very picturesque). They welcome you to pack yourself a picnic and order wine from here, it makes for an excellent time. Enjoy the pictures!

20140817_122129 — This is not an empty wine bottle. Its how they serve water. 🙂

Inspired by Weekly Photo Challenge

Lamposts

Courtesy: http://jeffreyhing.deviantart.com/art/LACMA-lamp-posts-298380841

My mind swims with thoughts of sweet escape;
as days fuse into seasons and seasons glow like
lampposts of life. Each year these lampposts get closer,
glowing with an eerie halo of winter mist. Spring and summer
have waltzed out and fall creeps behind the curtain with tired feet.

I have stopped reading the world in rolled up newspapers,
or counting time with a cuckoo’s tick-tock, tick-tock. Even this bitter
coffee can’t do enough to wake me out my reveries. My heart is like
bees that would forever hang on to the morning, sucking the nectar of youth.
Aah youth that has escaped, like a cloud of hot steam hovering over the whining kettle.

Fray

Here is a glimpse of Goa in Monsoons. Thanks to the rains, nature has OD’d (overdosed) on colors. These pictures were shared to me by my sister who recently visited Goa. I thought these pictures suited perfectly for this week’s Photo Challenge.

Photos courtesy Viraj Thakur

India Trip 515 — A beautiful view of palm trees

India Trip 681 — Fisherman’s boat parked on the shore

India Trip 523 — Blue insect against the backdrop of green moss

Point Dume

You would have to know the hills
well enough to spot this dirt path
that meanders for miles across the
hills, like a dog aimlessly chasing sea
gulls in mid flight.

Even the cool breeze is drunk on sea
salt, and wears the guise of a flower
girl today who runs with her arms
stretched wide trying to catch life
with both her hands.

These hills that stand tall and erudite, these
too have known to heel obediently like the
tired, thirsty dog that heels and then leaps into
the water for a swim; they too bow down and
taper into this rocky path that meets the deep
blue.

Here everything is forever Zen. The golden
shore studded with piles of rocks like a
crowned queen languishing in her reprieve
while the waves adorn her feet with green
anklets of sea weed.

Overhead fly a poem of birds in practiced
symphony, offering a silent praise to this
prairie of priceless perfection.

Time for another collection

M-R shared some ridiculously cute pictures. I think these little guys will make your day. Enjoy!

Texture of Sunny LA

20140810_124026 — A local Artist performing on 3rd Street Promenade

20140810_133649 — Local Artist performing a solo

20140810_121413 — LUSH – one of my favorite stores. I love the colors and the smells of their products!

Weekly Photo Challenges

Praise

Inside the sitting room of my memory

play the retired ghosts of past years.

School’s out. The summer heat shimmers

so bright, even coolers and fans cannot

bring down the day’s fever. In the garden

a chameleon changes colors faster than a

thirteen year old changes her mind.

The trees weary of the heat droop

over; dropping gold coins that curl up

when dry, flocking into heaps of fallen pride

waiting to be swept away the next morning.

In the sitting room my father irons a week’s

worth of his white collar job into perfectly

creased shirts and pants. I lean over into the

floor painting carnivals of landscapes, rich pastels

bleeding into the white marble floor.

Inside the kitchen my mother tosses red chilies

into pots of simmering curry hot as day. And my sister

straightens her curls with dreamy fingers, musing up her

life in teenage novels.

How sad that we should never offer praise to the simpler moments

of life, at least not until decades later when the sitting room with its

resident memories has gone up in gold and silver smoke

billowing into the cool, black night…

Inspired by DailyPost

Life is…

empty when full
and full when empty.
Like the chaotic symphony
of the colorless cocoon
(no larger than a thimble)
unwinding into a mile long
silken yarn.

Waiting to be woven & inked
with jacquard pots of red & gold
into a scarf that bears artistic witness
to snowy wastelands of icicled mulberry trees.
Underneath which sits a fair maiden shy of her
own reflection in the bubbling brook, spinning delicate
sighs for her lover. And around her Chinese letters
rise up in air like prayer.

Later the same scarf tied around my neck
will get caught in the brooch of your breast
pocket and endure a tiny tear
as you pull away from
my embrace.

Leaving me to wonder how many miles
of unwinding, weaving and dyeing do I have to do,
before my life is fully empty of you?

How to create a Master piece

I wanted to paint life in its rich palette of pastels;
corn yellow, caterpillar green, pomegranate red,
a blessed hue of honeycomb gold, aster blue and
random dabs of rainbow.

Determined to create a masterpiece of sorts. I drew up
a country hut with a chimney blowing smoke, a cockatoo cooing
good morning, cattle grazing and birds chirping; hello, hello.
The scenery was idyllic but the passers-by gave it one look and
said it was “too contrived“.

So I drew up farmers and carts, children skittering in the yard,
a garden and a well used windy path. But the Farmers and the children
in the painting looked at me quixotically and said, “Where are we all to live?
In this tiny, little hut?“

So I turned the hut into a mansion, and drew up courtyard fountains,
Rose gardens, stately lounging chairs and a path of white marble.
But they thought it was “too flamboyant, peasants don’t live in mansions!“

So I drew up Skyscrapers, Westminster bridge, Trafalgar square,
Charing Cross station, hawkers selling hot dogs, bus stands buzzing traffic,
and lots of people rushing in and out like blood flowing through an artery. But the busy city people gave it a dull look and said it was “too unromantic, too common place“.

So I drew my final painting; an endless expanse of arched blue skies
and flowing green fields punctuated only with wild flowers. Soon birds and butterflies flew in, followed by rabbits and deer’s for company.

I then stepped inside my own painting and with a sigh of resolve decided to seal my peace. At the threshold of the painting I drew a thick red brick wall and sealed the world out.

Later I heard from the birds and the bees they hung my red brick wall next to Cezanne and Pissarro. Staring at it for hours, they say, “So Impressionistic …So Monet!”

Falling in love

Maybe one day I shall become a poet,
and write a book. Each page will be
enjambed with my tongue.
I shall publish it on recycled paper
and leave plenty of space in the margin
for your notes.

When you chose to relax
with a glass of wine, open my
book & like a dolphin dive in.
Leaving splashes of my words on
your couch.

Do not swim just sink into my poem
and let the music fill the pores of your soul.
For here my reader, my lover you will be
safe forever…

Road to Discovery

I wanted to feel the thrill of the wild zinging through my teeth, so I pulled up fragments of survival into a backpack, enough to keep Sequoia hospitable for a week. And set off backpacking with a group of four, towards the Alpine zone. The deeper we receded into the woods the harder it got staying on the trail. The storms the week before had done a nasty job of hiding the trails.

I must have failed to keep pace with the rest of the pack, for I found myself farther and farther away until the distant heads vanished into the thickness of foliage. Before long instead of following a team of four, I found myself breaking trail through un-trampled greens. The map no longer fit the terrain, the trails were completely disguised with the havoc the storm had caused and there were fallen trees everywhere. As the sun dimmed its intensity, my hurried footsteps got more and more confused. One wrong turn led to another, and before I knew it, I was lost.

Night in the woods descends like a mighty eagle with its wings outstretched. Darkness is sudden and complete. There is no comforting light peering through embroidered curtains, or a mechanical buzz from the kitchen fridge, a sprinkler sputtering off at night, friendly chatter of the TV in the background, or the familiar clatter of silver ware and plates at dinner time. Instead there is the loud rhythmic thump of your heart beating against your ear drums. There are other disturbing noises intensified by the silence of the night. Like the rustling of leaves nearby, a sudden cry that resembles a baby shrieking except it is not, a howl, a hoot and an unnerving pair of yellow eyes watching from the distance…

A small shaking flashlight in hand and a poor job of a tent later I find myself strangely secure. It occurs to me that a human’s most fetal need is the need for security no matter how frail the promise of security may be. Thankfully, the fatigue from the day wraps its sleep laden hands around my neck and drowns me into deep slumber. For two days I hike senselessly around the green corridors of tall trees losing my way constantly. Until several miles, an abandoned baby stroller, broken shards of beer bottles, disbanded backpacks, and several cairns later I am convinced that I am well on the road to discovery.

The search team must have been thick on its trail, for it isn’t long before I hear myself scream, hands flailing like turbines in the wind. As two distant flashes of light glimmer like twin candles in the thick of the night swiftly growing in size.

“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

– Calvin Coolidge

Relic

Here are some pictures of the famous St Xavier Church of Goa. The relics of St. Xavier are kept at this church in a silver casket and brought down for public viewing once every 10 years. The next exposition is planned for 2014.

Ubecute believes and respects the sanctity of all faiths and is not affiliated to any one religion. http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/relic/

The wealthiest Man

A breezy autumn afternoon, and a long drive back home. We were returning from a long trip with our extended family; aunts, uncles, cousins and all. In those days there were miles and miles of farmland even on the outskirts of Delhi which is now a pockmarked cement jungle. We were all exhausted from our long journey, so we decided to stop and stretch a while at one of the sugarcane farms on our way back home.

The village had a lazy aura to it. It felt as though the environment was drunk on the sweetness of the cane fields. The yellow-green rows of cane plantation reminded you of long siestas under the balmy sun that promise never to end. A bullock-cart passed by carrying a farmer and his family Tok, Tok, Tok. A vendor on a wooden cart squeezed a tall glass of green sugar cane juice adding a dash of fresh ginger, salt, lemon and ice upon request.

An old thin farmer in a white dhoti and a shawl wrapped around him, squatted on the side walk with a bunch of other villagers. His was not the face of a youthful, carefree man who has yet to experience the toils of life. Instead, his face was the color of dark caramel etched with wrinkles. He had the intelligence of experience and a carefree resignation that comes from knowing, “it will all turn out okay in the end.” After a hard day’s work at the farm, I doubt he ever had to spend his nights tossing and turning trying to sleep. A good night’s sleep is often the understated reward of occupations that require handwork and sweat.

I was probably nine or ten at the time and most of my cousins were even younger than me. We were all very tired and needed a break. My parents asked the farmer if we could stop for a while at his field. He welcomed us enthusiastically, and showed us the way to a cool spot under a tree and offered us water. Then he took the shawl off his back and spread it on the ground for us to sit. And without a warning ran off into his field to pick us some of his ripest produce. Meanwhile, the kids started to create a hullaballoo playing tag and doing what kids do best; creating a racket! Nobody sat down, children were running everywhere and soon enough the poor farmer’s shawl was stamped with tiny boot marks. Thankfully, my aunt chided the kids, picked up the farmer’s shawl and folded it into a neat bundle. By the time the farmer came back, we were hungrily devouring the lunch we had brought with us. We offered the old man to join us, but he refused. It was probably one of the best meals I ever enjoyed. The inviting breeze on our faces and the incessant gossip of the country birds; what five star hotel could beat this ambience? For dessert we enjoyed a sampling of freshly picked sugarcane the farmer had brought us. I know our parents thanked the farmer heartily for his hospitality and insisted he accept money as a small gift, but he refused outright.

Children are so impressionable. It’s been decades since that day and yet it is still fresh in my memory. As far as I am concerned this farmer who took off his shawl and placed it on the ground for us to sit, was the richest man I have ever had the fortune of meeting. Wealth is not measured by a bank balance or the number of houses and cars one owns, it is simply a state of being. To be truly wealthy means to be so sufficient that you are happy to share your riches without the worry of losing them. And who could be wealthier than this old farmer who would share the shawl off his back with absolute strangers? As you will agree, even though the world is full of rich people there are few who are truly wealthy. Such people live on a different plane from the rest of us. Each experience etching an indelible wrinkle of serenity in their hearts, deepening their belief that, “it will all work out ok in the end”. So that when it’s time to go to bed, it’s simply ‘lights out’.

On Chosing a Profession

I suppose I could be
A lawyer, Car salesman, Politician,
Then again I could just be a poet,
Lying glibly like a water through a spout.

Opening the morning newspaper,
Predetorially eyeing for bushels of words,
greedily borrowing from obituaries,
scandals and star sightings.

Rolling alphabets into a poignant poem
like a ball of barbed wire.
Watch Out!
It cuts.

I would take a pregnant walk,
around graffiti stained neighborhoods
and conjure up the Garden of Eden,
Resurrect the Empire State building
our of random rubble,
Dream up kingly processions
out of burial coaches,
Fathom the Battle of Waterloo out of
a mere domestic brawl,
Or manifest the riches of Tutenkhamen
into your upscale New York Apartment.

For it would all be permissible,
with a little poetic license.
Funny what a pen can do?
Who needs truth when lies
give you wings!

But then again don’t politicians
make more money lying?

The great Arizona Outback

There are counted few moments in everyone’s life when you feel like you are in the midst of something so grandiose and majestic that it’s almost surreal. If you have visited the Red Rock Mountains or the world-famous Grand Canyon in Arizona then you probably know what I am talking about?

Recently we drove to Arizona, on an arduously long drive (8 hour-long drive to be exact). By the time we reached Sedona we were thoroughly beat, and the rear end of our anatomy was crying out loud in pain. However the moment we entered Sedona we started seeing the picturesque Red Rock hills that assured us that our long odyssey was indeed worth all the pain.

The Schnebly Hill formation which is a major component of the Red Rocks of Sedona are sedimentary rock formations that were created 300 million years ago, in part by the erosion caused by sea and in part shaped by the sand blown in from coastal area beaches. The color of the rocks ranges a varied hue of white, tan, orange and bold red. Furthermore, erosion from flowing waters have created famous hills that have been named after their unique shapes such as Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, Kissing Rock, Big Bear, Coffee Pot Rock and so on. It sounds like almost everyone who looked at these Rocks had their own interpretation of the shape and coined a name for them.

Here are some pictures to quench your appetite for this insanely beautiful Red Rock country. Feel free to play “I spy” and identify the rocks by their names if you can. But beware pictures just don’t do justice to this natural marvel.

The pink Jeep tours in Sedona are an absolute must and the experienced drivers will show you some spots that are extremely hard and dangerous to reach by hiking. The Jeep tour is a little adventure in itself, because it tours through some really rough and hilly terrain. There were a few moments when the jeep was angled perpendicular to the earth nose-diving straight down or straight up so that I must admit my heart missed a few beats. But rest assured it is perfectly safe and guaranteed fun. One of my favorite hills was what they called the “chicken point” so named because the faint of heart would offer to get off the jeep before reaching it. The view from the Rock is insanely beautiful and it feels cool and refreshingly breezy in comparison to the other spots. As far as I am concerned any vortex could not be more peaceful and serene than this place is.

So what is a vortex? Vortexes are places that create positive, negative or neutral releases of the Earth’s energy and evoke balance. I believe, places like people have an aural energy and invoke emotions that are unique and personal to everyone; especially historic places such as Sedona.

Although this hasn’t really been proven, Sedona is considered to be pregnant with “hot spots” or vortexes that are supposed to have a great healing, relaxation and rejuvenation properties.

Looking at how dry and arid this place is, it is almost impossible to believe that this land used to be under water. The best time to visit Sedona is in spring or fall and is way too hot in June (as we can testify first hand). Most of the hiking is best done in the wee hours of the morning. I thought even as early as 10 AM the heat was already too oppressive to warrant any real hiking. The best thing to do by noon is to find a pool and relax with a glass of wine or visit the open market.

Sedona has rows of art galleries, exquisite art shops, restaurants, resorts and of course the historic Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts village. Unfortunately the village was already closed when we reached and there was private party going on at the time, so we could not really enjoy it, but from the looks of it, it is a delightful hang out.

On our way back to Los Angeles, we visited the Grand Canyon. The Canyon is the very definition of grandiose. This 277 miles long and 1 mile deep canyon reminds you of a gigantic monster sleeping with its mouth gaping open. The canyon is so wide that you can’t even take a picture that would cover the entire width of the canyon (unless you have the advantage of shooting from a helicopter). A look at this “wonder of the world” makes you see yourself in a different perspective; a mere speck in the grand scheme of life. It makes you mindful not only of the fragility of human life but the shallowness and insignificance of humanly worries and troubles.

Millions of people visit the Grand Canyon every year. It is a Mecca for the brave of heart who backpack their way to the Phantom Ranch inside the womb of the Canyon. This hike is certainly not for the faint of heart and numerous books have been written accounting the accidents that have taken place in the Canyon. However those who dare, will certainly be rewarded with an unforgettable experience and superb photography opportunities. Sadly, I am not one of them. I enjoyed the overwhelming beauty of the Canyon from the comforting safety of the South rim which is what 90% of travelers do.

Arizona has left such an indelible mark on me, that I am sure this won’t be my last visit. Who knows next time I will be one of the back packers trekking my way down the winding, path into the belly of this giant monster called the Grand Canyon or hiking my way to the top of the Devil’s Bridge. Here’s to Arizona! Ditat Deus!

Photo Challenge

Arizona 2014 160 Arizona 2014 117 Arizona 2014 115 Arizona 2014 106 Arizona 2014 105 Arizona 2014 092 Arizona 2014 034 Arizona 2014 088

Weekly Photo Challenge: Contrast

Beautiful pictures and words by blogger “Grit & Satin”.

Grit & Satin

I see the light in your eyes, showing through in psychedelic hues, and the rest of the world fades into nothing.

View original post

Weekly Photo Challenge: In Between

‘In Between’ …
Is the difference between the ‘living’ and the truly ‘alive’,
It’s the boundless expanse of human emotions stretching between the two ears,
It’s the time spent sowing a seed to the reaping of corn coyly veiled in silken hair,
It’s the seconds passed between a glance to the sudden recollection of days gone by like an old love song,
It’s the fortitude in waiting for the downpour of rain nuzzling the sharp bark of an angry summer,
It’s the victorious heartbeats hoisting a white flag after a long battle in purple skies,
It’s the black & white words on a love letter and the long sigh that escapes a pair of Fuchsia lips,
It’s children screaming and dancing wildly celebrating the end of school after a grueling semester,
It’s the distant view of the marines on the flickering TV screen aiming their guns ready for battle,
to the newspapers celebrating their safe return home.
It’s the loud argument two people have punctuated by their silent agreement to part,
It’s the orange ball of sun leaking its color on the Red Rock country in Sedona,
to half a dozen American Haiku’s penned in memory,
It’s the lessons learned from a thousand mistakes highlighted and circled in mind,
It’s the angle of the arc drawn by a pendulum as it ticks from left to right and the tiny world it orbits within that arc. ‘In Between’ is the space above an open palm that holds everything and nothing.

Inspired by Weekly Photo Challenge: Containers

Picture of woman holding the sun courtesy of

Blind Trust

It was a humid, sultry night. Smell of spices and burning charcoal filled the streets. The hawkers gathered their wares closing in on their busy days as the sun set on the old, pious town in Karauli, Rajasthan, twenty years ago.

A little girl holding her mama’s hand, gets off the train and boards a bus full of strangers. The long day sits heavy on her eyelids but she is trying to stay awake as she knows she must. The smell of incense wafts the air like a prayer. A thin old man is singing a country folklore. His milky eyes glazed over, rolled up as if in prayer and his voice is like the soft murmur of water flowing downhill on a shallow pebbled, river bed. In his hands he carries a wooden box of incense. A small black cloth pouch hangs off his right hand to collect money. He stops briefly at every seat, giving the passengers a chance to buy his incense. Lightly touching the seats as he passes for sense of direction and balance.
Mama does not need incense but she buys some anyways and dutifully drops something in his pouch, making a tiny jingle. The old man nods and moves on.

When he is done he goes to the front of the bus and stands next to the driver to finish his song. Some of the passengers have joined him in his chant, others clap in tune. The bus draws to a halt at the next stop and the old man intuitively gets down and leaves.

The little girl tugs her mama’s hand and asks if the blind man will find his way. Her mother nods, “Yes,he will. I have seen him selling incense, since I was as old as you. He always find his way”. The girl smiles back wanly, wide awake now. The bus drives to a rest house and the two of them get out.

“But what if someone cheats him mama?” she continues clearly concerned. “What if someone steals his incense and does not pay him? He can’t see, won’t it be easy to cheat him?” Mama shakes her head and says, “No, they won’t my darling. Trust is blind…”

It’s been twenty years since that day, I never had a chance to visit that town again. Yet, I remember the day as if it happened yesterday. Memory is like a strange box, that can preserve random incidents forever, while the most lucid, current experiences escape it like air. I don’t know what happened to that old incense seller. I trust he lived a long and peaceful life.

A lot changes in twenty years. Today, trust and faith are commodities hard to come by. Yet I do believe that sometimes it is better to trust and be cheated than lead a life with the doors and windows of your heart closed. When I find myself helpless and in doubt, I remind myself of my mama’s words; trust is blind and faith fills our hearts like incense.

Abstract Expressionism: Bubble Gum Alley

Bubble gum alley is a local tourist attraction in San Luis Obispo. A 70 foot long alley covered with bubble gums left by passers-by. Gross? Maybe… The tradition of sticking bubble gums in this alley started soon after WWII, by high school students and has continued to this day.

This wall is testimony to the fact that sometimes small, random acts performed unwittingly by a few people can take the form of bigger traditions over time.

Extra, Extra

my pictures 057 Photo Challenge: Extra, Extra

A Shadow

Ever since birth this dark billowy figure
follows me. Shape shifting; thick and stout,
or narrow and long, depending upon where the sun
rests on the celestial compass. Reticent yet resolute;
watching my every move. Like the spy that
never gives up even after the war is waged
or like the shepherd who never stops
cooing its sheep with the ‘broken leg’.

This dark side that we all must endure,
like a cross forever on our backs. Watchful,
of its hungry power that like a predator waits to
pounce. A single remiss moment and the darkness
overtakes. Climbing around, entrenching its wily hands
within, like an ivy on a splintering wall. Taking over what
it sees, until what is seen is no longer what was.
This burden I must carry, like Eve’s promise
to never eat the forbidden fruit. Melancholy I endure,
like the shadow that lurks behind my back.

The Power of SMALL

Success involves making a series of small incremental efforts over a long period. I am always wary of people who offer a secret mantra as a permanent solution to all problems. The truth of the matter is that there is no one magic bullet that will cure all evils, solve all your problems, and change your life around permanently. If you want to dream big, then learn the power of “small”.

Small efforts bring big results: If you want to write the next great American novel, then you will have to write it one page at a time. Your first draft may look nothing like the novel you will end up writing eventually, but making small improvements will add up in the end. Breaking a big task into smaller tasks makes your goals attainable.

If you want to change a bad habit then change it slowly. A lot of people try to break a bad habit overnight. It took you years to grow that habit and make it a part of your life, how can you expect to break it overnight?

If you are trying to lose weight for instance, will you consider losing all the weight in a day by crash dieting and exercising all day at the gym? If you did that, chances are over-exercising will cause you to injure your muscles or worse still break a bone and throw you out of track for weeks.

If for instance you are trying to improve your vocabulary, then reading the entire Webster dictionary in a weekend is not going to yield positive results in the long run. If you cannot fully capture and understand the meaning of the words you are learning you are sure to forget them eventually. Instead of planning to read the whole dictionary in a matter of weeks, try to make a more reasonable plan and then stick with it. Even if you learn nothing more than one word a day, by the end of the year you would have learned 365 new words, which is at least 365 words better than nothing!

To share a personal story, for years I have tried to tap into my creative juices by waking up at 5:00AM and writing. Unfortunately try as I will, until recently, I never succeeded at waking up at 5AM or if I did, I would go through my day tired and groggy. The next day, I would fall back into my regular schedule of waking up at 6:00AM instead. I could not change my pattern until my mother advised me to try making a small change to my schedule rather than a big sudden change. Instead of waking up at 5:00AM, she suggested, I try to wake up at 5:45AM (just 15 minutes before my usual time), which is much more doable for me. I know 15 minutes is not much, but it is still fifteen extra minutes that allow me to focus on whatever it is I want to do that day. When utilized properly, just fifteen extra minutes a day over a period can make all the difference between mediocrity and excellence and quantifies the power of “SMALL.”

People who are rich will often tell you that the secret to making it big is not only about making more money, but saving the money that you already make, and then making intelligent investments. If you cannot save too much, then just start it small. If for instance, you can only save $100/= every month, then by the end of the year you are $1200/= richer than before. Investing even that small amount wisely will bear dividends over a long period. Often the difference between successful and unsuccessful people is simply, that successful people realize the value of small improvements.

Sustainability is key: Remember the story of the turtle and the hare? The turtle was a lot slower than the hare, and yet it was the turtle, not the hare that eventually won the race. It wasn’t the speed, but the consistency that helped the turtle win the race. Remember, people who achieve success do so by making consistent efforts over time. Self improvement is not a weekly or monthly goal; it is a lifelong pursuit. If you want to get good at playing the clarinet for instance, then you will have to make a commitment to spending the time honing your skill every day.

Dangers of the Faustus syndrome: Remember Doctor Faustus from Christopher Marlowe’s famous play “The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus,” who sold his soul to the devil to gain instant ultimate knowledge?Doctor Faustus’s fault was not his desire for knowledge, but his avarice to pay any price for it. In truth, we all have a bit of Doctor Faustus in us, in that we wish to achieve our dreams overnight. Beware of Doctor Faustus syndrome; it does not bring happy endings in fiction or in real life.

Conquer your Donut: Are you one of those perfectionists who believe that whatever you do should be top-notch, or why do it? There is nothing wrong with aspiring for the skies, as long as you realize that to fly high; you will still need to take off from the ground.If you are learning to cook for instance, don’t expect to put Rachel Ray to shame with your very first concoction.

Have you ever gone on a healthy diet, only to find yourself getting tempted by a donut? And since you indulged in that one donut you felt so disheartened you completely gave in to your cravings and decided to start your diet another day? Donuts are evil. Don’t let a donut ruin your resolve. “All or nothing” attitudes are counterproductive and take us away from our goals. If you gave in to your indulgence, so what you still have the rest of the day to make up for it. Get back on track to achieving your goals. Conquer your donut!

Don’t aim to do it right the first time: I know that sounds so counter intuitive let me explain. In a self development course I took long ago, we were trained to “do it right the first time.” The concept being that the cost of fixing a mistake is a lot higher than doing it right the first time. While the concept is absolutely correct in theory, how many of us are born with skills that will allow us to do it right the first time, every time? How many of us are born with golfing skills, for instance, that allow us to win a “hole in one”? Sure getting the hole in one, will save a lot of time and effort, but is that always feasible? And should one never attempt to do a task for the fear of getting it wrong? There may be a handful of geniuses coupled with a few lucky strokes out there that will get a hole in one, but for the majority of us, our “hole in one” may require hundreds of shots.

I am not sure why the power of small eludes us? A child first learns to kick its feet before it learns to crawl. The child will then learn to grab on to things to try to stand up before it learns to walk and eventually run. Yet as grownups, we forget life’s elemental lessons and wish to run before learning to kick. Knowledge and skill grow at a gradual pace; these are not lotteries one can win at Vegas. Start it small, take it slow and continue making your efforts consistently. Sooner or later it is these small efforts that will bring BIG results.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Room

Here are some pictures of some of the opulent rooms at Hearst Castle, decorated with tapestries and painted ceilings and impressive paintings. I love these pictures because they are both elegant and gothic at the same time. I am a big fan of “goth” may I add?

Art of reading a Poem

Above Picture Courtesy of : http://www.azavea.com/blogs/labs/2013/03/geotrellis-0-8-has-arrived/the_lost_city_of-_atlantis/

Art of reading a Poem

A good poem is like the glistening hollow,
of a sea shell inviting you with its “whoosh whoosh”.
But be warned and tread with caution.
Reading a poem is not for everyone.
If you are ready, sit with a glass of wine
under the yellow spell of your lamp and open
your book of poems. Like a ballerina plunge,
leaving behind splashes of words, on the couch.

Sink,
never swim, letting the music fill the pores
of your lungs. Never once coming out
to catch a breath. Not until you have reached
the ocean bed. For here within the eddying depths
beyond the grasp of structure and style
lies the lost city of Atlantis.

Weekly Photo Challenge: (Split-second story)

Alcatraz

Split Second Story

Homelessness: A sad truth

Homelessness

East or West Home is the best! No matter where we are; be it in the comforts of a friend’s home or a luxurious guest house, at the end of the day when we are tired from our long sojourns we all crave the comforts of our own home. The joy and reassurance that comes from being under the safe confines of one’s home are incomparable to anything else in the world.

But imagine a life, where you did not have a “home” to go back to? Imagine having to face the forces of nature as well as the scorn of other humans by having to sleep the nights curled up in back alleyways, tunnels and subways. Imagine having to scour other people’s trash for fulfilling one’s basic needs.

I know it is not a pleasant thought, and I apologize about asking you to imagine it. Unfortunately for a lot of people this is not an imagination, it is an unfortunate reality. Homelessness is more rampant that we care to admit. And although we see a lot more homeless men, the truth is that women, children as well as entire families are often caught into the throes of homelessness.

Here is a picture of a homeless woman crossing a major intersection that caught my attention this morning. It seemed to me that the bags in her hand that she was so passionately pulling across the street possibly constituted her sole possession in life.

Unlike popular belief, homeless people are not homeless because of choice or by birth. More and more people join the homeless numbers every year, due to some unfortunate events.

According to the Homeaid.org website there are many causes for homelessness. Homelessness can be caused by “tragic life occurrences like the loss of loved ones, job loss, domestic violence, divorce and family disputes. Other impairments such as depression, untreated mental illness, post traumatic stress disorder, and physical disabilities are also responsible for a large portion of homeless.” (http://www.homeaid.org/homeaid-stories/69/top-causes-of-homelessness).

Needless to say, homelessness and poverty go hand in hand. People who live from hand to mouth can easily be pushed into homelessness by job loss, sudden sickness, accident etc. I wonder if the high rate of inflation, high cost of living and an equally high unemployment rate as well as continuous decline in manufacturing jobs are factors that further push people closer to the poverty line. Because a large number of manufacturing jobs keep moving overseas, the low income wage earner finds it harder to stay employed. Is it my imagination that the middle class is shrinking in numbers? The poor get poorer and the rich get richer, meanwhile the middle class is corroding and possibly joining the ranks of the poor, as salaries and jobs fail to rise in comparison to the high cost of living.

The reasons for homelessness are many. But the million dollar question is, “What can we do about it?”

This is a mighty problem we face. Before we jump in to suggesting solutions, it is important to remember; that “Homelessness” is not merely about a condition in which one is homeless, but more importantly it is about self insufficiency or the inability to provide for oneself due to any number of causes. Although the individual and the state jointly own the lion share of providing its people with affordable housing and subsidy programs, all of us as fellow citizens and neighbors have a responsibility to fulfill as well.

Help people help themselves. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life. If you can, carve some time out of your busy life and donate your time to charities, schools, local institutions to help people in need. Teach children and young adults a new trade. Donate your time to help others, teach them whatever you are good at.

Donate goods, food and time to charities. Most of us are good about saving our well used items and donating them. I do not support donating dollar bills to homeless people as I worry it may promote rather than hinder poverty, however any act done out of kindness is better than nothing.

Be kind. Above all treat people with respect and kindness, the same respect that you would like to receive. Sometimes a simple word of kindness goes a long way in warming a distressed heart. I feel no words can explain it better than these simple words from the Bible, “Do to others as you would have them do to you”.

Give people a second chance. A lot of times people make mistakes and get into trouble. Being involved in Bankruptcy, foreclosure, lawsuit and or having a criminal record can mar a person’s chances for employment for years. But isn’t America supposed to be the land of opportunities? If a person made a mistake once, but has paid his/ her dues and taken steps to work on improving one’s situation then they should be offered a second chance. Employers should consider people with a less than glowing background a chance at improving their lives. Not giving them a second chance will only cause them to go further into the dark dungeon they just came out of.

None of these acts alone, may be enough to end homelessness but we cannot shun responsibility entirely simply because a perfect solution may not yet be in sight. We can continue to work with charities to see how we can further prevent more people from falling below the poverty line and into the throes of homelessness.

Remember that the homeless man or woman you see on the streets could well have been you or me, with a simple twist of fate. Let’s do our best today and every day to help others around us. Even small drops of kindness can fill an ocean of love. Do you have a story to share on this subject? Do you have an idea how we can play our part in helping homelessness and ameliorating poverty in our neighborhood? If so, I look forward to hearing from you.

Picture Courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness

Finders, Keepers!

I love this picture which was a really lucky find that I and my Dad stumbled upon one day visiting a temple in Goa. It was an old beat up building of what looked like an old hospital or pharmacy to me. My Dad who has a great eye for all picturesque things asked me to take a photo of it, while I kept objecting, saying it was too mundane. So here is to Dad who always has it right!

Inspired By: Daily Prompt

Void

Your pearly skin shimmered under the dim
lights of your parlor when I last saw you.
The world heavy with the weight of your beauty
and the foggy twilight stretching lazily over the city.
Your laughter shaking out a rabble of butterflies
folded like a prayer on their colorful blossoms.
Your long hair braided like a thousand moonless
nights twisted together endlessly into a dream less sleep.
Your rosy shoulders yet untouched by the weight of the world and
responsibilities. And above all the mole on your neck
dark red with the blood of your lovers and mine. You my
heartless tormentor, you danced, talked and sang and above
all you stole. Then ever so casually with the lightness of air
you walked away leaving behind a void the size of a giant valley in my heart.

Inspired by Weekly Photo challenge

Frozen

Mouth full of air waiting to blow
a candle. Lips curled up into an “o” as if to whistle
a soft tune. Foot on the gas pedal waiting to ignite
the Chevy truck into motion. Boeing 747 hovering inches
above the ground ready to land. A Pianist about to hit the piano keys
for his first concerto. The wind about to blow off a flurry of leaves hanging
to their trees. Universe paused around us as if frozen in motion waiting for you to utter, “Yes I will”.

Limerick a day keeps the Doctor away

Limerick a day keeps the Doctor away, how about four?

i. Clickety clock
Someone’s at the door; knock, knock
Who’s there?
Lovely Ms Montclair
He opened the door, suited booted and missing a sock

ii. There once was an old Man
Descendant of a royal clan
Poor as a pauper
Wise as a priest
Lived in a mini van and ate out of a tin can

iii. There was a young man named Moe
Bought a house and grew a Mustachio
In order to woo his lady love,
She flew away; a rich man’s dove
Now he waits for his bungalow to pass escrow

iv. Hocus Pocus
Lovely red lotus
Flower of the Wild
Face of a child
Sacred offering in temples and pagodas

Work of Art

Happiness

Just before the celestial change of guard
the sun and moon fleetingly share
a bed in the clandestine skies,
I walk alone on the beach.

A pair of dolphins burst out from the sea
doing cart wheels like two happy six year old’s
and swim parallel to the shore
their big clown smiles drawn permanently on their faces.

I too cannot help but slip out of my adult proprieties
and find myself running and somersaulting in the sand
While the waves wash the shore and my inhibitions along.
Happiness is at once so intuitive and unassuming.

0

This is a great booklet by a fellow blogger and his first attempt at publishing his work. I downloaded it and loved the poems, pictures and the emotions behind it. Feel free to reach the author AB who publishes “Perspectives on life, universe and everything”

Perspectives on Life, the Universe and Everything

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/01/31/photo-challenge-object/

View original post

Happy Mother-ly Day!

“My mother… she is beautiful, softened at the edges and tempered with a spine of steel. I want to grow old and be like her.” ― By Jodi Picoult

Mother’s day is perhaps the most important day of the year, as it celebrates and honors the one person without whom life as we know it would be impossible. While the other holidays celebrate God, Country and traditions, this is the one day that celebrates a person’s very existence and origin; one’s Mother!

While both Mother and Father selflessly spend a lifetime providing their offspring the best in terms of time, guidance, resources, and most importantly love, this is the one day that gives the offspring an overt opportunity to thank the people who made everything possible. So allow me to take this opportunity to offer my heartiest thanks to my mom and dad, “Thank you Mom and Dad, we are so blessed to have you in our lives.”

Over the years, my relationship with my mom, metamorphosed from a mother and daughter into that of a friend, mentor, confidante and buddy. Needless to say like everybody else in the world, I too have the highest regard for my mother. I cannot even imagine a day without her selfless love, wisdom and inspiration that has always prodded me to work hard and do my best no matter how difficult times got for me.

But the one aspect that I truly respect above all, about my mother is the fact, that while she wishes me and my sister all the joy and happiness in the world, she truly wishes the same for everyone else she meets. I always found my mother to be this ocean of love that’s brimming to the top with kindness and affection for everyone. Since my childhood, I remember whenever my friends visited my home they were bowled by how sweet and caring my mother was. It’s a humanly need to see one’s offspring’s do well, but to rise above that need and wish the same for everyone is truly divine. Which is why I feel, that Mother’s day is not just about celebrating a Mother, but it is about celebrating the “Mother-ly” in everyone.

It is about celebrating all kind and loving people in our lives who have been a source of love and inspiration like a true Mother figure. It is also about thanking Fathers, older siblings, relatives, coaches, teachers and any other “Motherly” figures who in some way have nurtured us. Such is the “Mother-ly” that I wish to honor today, when I wish my mom and dad and everyone who reads this post, “A very Happy Mother-ly Day.”

Time passed, love Lost

Memories haunt the troubled mind,
like Shamans performing a witch dance,
Or northern lights orchestrating their macabre dance;
in shades of red, yellow and green.

Siphoning a melody out of a wordless song lost in time,
Years later, words still hanging on the tip of the tongue unconsummated,
Email still sitting on the keyboard unsent,
So many rights easily undone by one misgiving.

Flights of fancy grapple with sensibilities,
Memory perfected to provide instant gratification,
Yet browsing a photo album of time passed,
Always turns a smile upside down,

Wasteful waking hours followed by
bursts of circadian rhythm offering a surreal vision
of reality in dreams or dream like reality,
What’s real and what’s absurd?

Memories rooted in the past,
Unearthed and replanted they perish fast,
Where language fails, eyes speak volumes,
Where the brain surrenders, heart reconciles.

Richness of color, intensity of experience
A matter of personal preference
Hunt for the perfect Bloody Mary, or blessed Virgin Mary,
a matter of intrinsic spirituality.

A love once lost, Paradise never regained
All that’s left are worn out tatters of
Scattered memories pulled together
Into this unfinished rhyme.

Stay a while with me

When I am dead my dearest,
Stay a while with me,
Dress me up as a bride,
Break open a champagne,
Throw a Big farewell party,
For I lived a long and fine life.

When I am dead my dearest,
Stay a while with me,
I will watch over you from the moon,
Where all the other angel brides be,
I will be the wind in the woods and whistle you a fine tune,
You can smell me in the Jasmine,
Or the wet moss beneath your feet,
You will find me humming in the rose buds with the golden bees,
Or giddily swimming with the fish in the pond near the cherry tree.

When I am dead my dearest,
Stay a while with me,
Plant a kiss on my lips,
Cradle me softly with your love, before you put me back to sleep,
Dim the lights my darling and sing me a soft lullaby,
When I am dead my dearest,
Do stay a while with me.

Won’t you stay a while with me?

To Err is Genius!

We live in a success worshipping world. We are constantly inundated with the overnight “rags to riches” stories that give us an impression that success is driven by innate talent and good luck. We applaud the brilliance of Van Gogh, but fail to credit the failures he encountered all through his life, or the many failed attempts that Wright brothers went through before they got the plane “Wright”! In truth, behind every “rags to riches” story is an even more impressive story of years of persistent hard work and failures.

Yet we fear failure more than anything? I am not recommending making mistakes deliberately, but becoming completely averse to making mistakes, is not only unreasonable it can be counterproductive.

The only solution that can guarantee a 100% success, 100% of the time is a formula. And there is no genius in following a formula. Jobs that resemble formulaic assembly lines will always pay meager wages. Genius happens when we think “out of the box”, which involves stepping out of one’s comfort zone. Creativity cannot flow in a restrained environment where making mistakes are unacceptable.

Big successes often follow big mistakes: Simply put, sometimes the best ideas come from the biggest mistakes. Did you know that the invention of Penicillin, Potato chips, Pacemaker, Post It Notes, Microwave ovens, X-Rays amongst many others were a mistake, or came out of an experiment that went wrong?

Failures impart life’s biggest lessons: If you learned skiing pretty late in life (like me) than you will understand that learning to ski is more about being prepared to fall first. Likewise learning to be successful is more about being open to failures. We all know of Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Stephen King, Steve Jobs to name a counted few who failed many times before they eventually succeeded. In truth they succeeded precisely, because they persisted unapologetically despite their many failures. As long as you learn something from every failure, you are one fall closer to rising to those zenith heights you dreamed of.

The desire to be “correct” all the time is “wrong”: The bottom line is that nobody knows everything. We are all humans and learn from each other. The desire to be “right” or “correct” all the time can actually hurt more than help. Keeping one’s heart and mind open and ego small is the quickest way to learn and grow. Life teaches us important lessons that come camouflaged as mistakes. If you make one, be gracious enough to accept and create a plan to fix it. No matter what, never shrug responsibility for your own mistakes.

Being open to making mistakes is surprisingly liberating: A few years ago, I joined Toastmasters in order to overcome my fear of public speaking. I had practiced my debut speech a great deal but was very nervous that I would forget and stumble on the words. I overcompensated for my nervousness by putting up a false façade of confidence, so much so that I almost came across arrogant & rehearsed. Nobody knew that inside, I was shaking like a leaf. Fortunately, thanks to the constructive criticism that the other members of the club offered to me, I endeavored to do things differently the next time. I first embraced the idea of “letting go” and openly making a mistake. Being open to making mistakes actually allowed me to relax and just be myself. The moment I let go off my fear, I started to connect with my audience. I made eye to eye contact and talked not orated my speech. Needless to say, the response I got was far more warm and heartfelt, and to be honest it felt so damn good!

Taking Risks is a lot less daunting than we think: In order to grow you have to be open to taking risks. In all honesty we take far more risks in doing mundane everyday chores than we give ourselves credit for. Taking a shower involves the risk of slipping and falling, driving to work involves the risk of getting into an accident and so forth. Risks are everywhere, and a life completely averse to risks would probably require staying locked up inside a cupboard. On the other hand, taking risks does not necessarily mean going bungee jumping or jumping into a pool of water snakes. It simply means stepping out of one’s comfort zone, and devising new ways of doing things rather than the “tried and tested” tasks, it involves making educated decisions with the awareness that all your efforts could come to naught.

Failure only makes success taste sweeter: Nobody appreciates the value of success more that he who has tried and failed. In the words of Emily Dickinson:

“Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne’er succeed.”
…And may I humbly add “Until they do!” Because as long as we persist, we will achieve success. So be open to thinking out of the box, taking risks and making plenty of mistakes. We are not meant to be invincible, hard-charging embodiments of perfection. We are all fallible humans and that’s what makes us special. We try, we fail, we persist and in doing so we become better versions of ourselves every day.

Inventions that were a mistake (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.businessinsider.com/these-10-inventions-were-made-by-mistake-2010-11?op=1

Successful People who suffered obstacles (2013). Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/25/successful-people-obstacles_n_3964459.html

Spring

For years have I have been jailed,
Inside these walls of decorum & propriety,
Like an obedient wife,
Caught in the duality of desires & duties
Until the transgressing thoughts flew through,
The keyhole of these iron gates,
Breaking the darkness with their brilliant colors of the rainbow,
I jumped on the backs of one of these thoughts,
And flew out of my captivity,
Disrobing my cocoon like a butterfly,
Flying out into the eternal Spring of Creativity.

Weekly Photo challenge

Weekly Photos: Orange

Fun with Letters

Inspired by Weekly Pictures Challenge

Happiness for sale

Whoever said “Happiness is in between the ears” was right on. Happiness and misery are states of mind. Yet we continue to believe that material goods will bring us joy. TV, newspapers, radio abound with commercials that promise us lasting happiness if only we buy their specific goods. With the best intention parents will often promise a child his/her favorite toy if the child agrees to adhere to the rules laid out by a well meaning parent; “When the child adheres to these rules he /she gets rewarded with a toy. Since our infancy we are trained to believe that hard work and perseverance lead to achievement of material goods that ultimately bring fulfillment and happiness.The only thing wrong with this picture is that the promise of fulfillment is a facade and a temporary one at that. The toy only provides temporary joy and is soon discarded for new shinier one. As we grow older the toy takes on different forms, it may take the form of a better job(s), a house(s), car(s), wife, children the list goes on. The toy not only changes forms it even multiplies. Yet, the joy and fulfillment we seek is not to be found?

This is because we never looked for it in the right place, in fact we have only been trained to look for it in all the wrong places. Happiness cannot be found “outside.” This is an important concept to understand. “Outside” here represents people, places and things all of which give us temporary happiness. Happiness and misery are right here within us; inside our mind.

I am not suggesting that one must not Endeavour to improve one’s economic status by getting a better job, or seeking a happy married life. The problem is not with the material goods, the people or places that we seek, but the belief that their attainment alone will lead to happiness. All too often despite having it all we are still not happy. And when we are not happy we tend to blame the world for our unhappiness.

Let’s pause here, and discuss what happiness is, before we dwell further into this. Happiness means different things to different people. Some people equate happiness with visiting certain places, others will confuse it with an acutely euphoric state of mind rendered by drugs, alcohol, material goods, while yet others feel they are happiest in the company of their loved ones. I am not here to tell them they are right or wrong. In one way, they are all right in another they are all wrong. The quest for happiness or the lack thereof is a very personal journey and it is what makes the world go round. However one thing is certain, lasting happiness cannot be found “outside” in any one person, place or thing.

So then how can we guarantee lasting happiness? Unfortunately, the simple truth is: we cannot.

The workings of a human mind are far too complicated to fathom. An ordinary person cannot be happy or unhappy all the time. We feel love, joy, jealousy, disgust, desire, happiness and a sleuth of emotions all in the span of a single day. The goal is never to remove the negative emotions completely and permanently because that is just not humanly possible.

The goal is to lengthen the enjoyment of the positive emotions, without becoming a slave to them and without the crutch of abusive substances, things or ever the people we love. Emotions such as happiness and pain by nature are transitory and thankfully so.

The state of mind that is most desirable is not happiness; it is equanimity. Equanimity is the intelligence to neither get completely carried away in a moment of joy nor get shattered in misery or pain. Equanimity dwells on the concept of awareness. All too often we live in the past or in the future, never fully cherishing the moment we are in. Equanimity in a nutshell is the negation of its ego and the complete awareness of the present moment without forming a bias or getting attached to anything. Clearly it is a loaded concept to understand, however, it is one that promises lasting peace of mind.

To become an equanimous person, one must let go of one’s ego which is the root cause of pain and misery. Needless to say, we live in a very individualistic world and see every opportunity with the lens of “What’s in it for me?” But if the answer to that question were to be “lasting peace and a greater appreciation of every moment,” would we not find it worthwhile to inculcate?

The problem is that the concept of equanimity preaches to lose the very baggage we have so passionately carried with ourselves through our life; our ego. Imagine a child that started rolling a ball of snow through a snow covered mountain, and as he rolls it, the ball collects more snow and grows bigger in size. By the time he reaches the foot of the hill, his tiny ball of snow has become a gigantic boulder of snow, which will eventually roll him over. This ball of snow is our ego, and it is not easily let go off.

I would like to clarify at this point, that I certainly do not claim to be equanimous myself. I am easily moved by sorrow, pain and jump for joy at the slightest indication of happiness. As humans, we can only endeavor and persist to continuously improve ourselves. When we stumble and fall, what do we do? We instinctively get up and move on. Thus also during difficult and trying moments it is only too human to lose one’s mind, but the important thing is to persevere. Losing one’s ego and becoming equanimous is not something we will achieve overnight, but realization is always the first step to change.

Realize that happiness cannot be bought with money, and the very ego that we are so protective of is the very source of our unhappiness. Realize that constantly living in the past or in the future is another source of unhappiness as it causes us to lose the only thing we are guaranteed in life: the present.

Unfortunately, happiness is not for sale here. Lasting peace of mind and equanimity is, however, available in your own mind. Let us now begin our journey to seek for the right goal in the right place; “within.”

A Sumptuous Breakfast

I fry the setting sun in a saucepan,
Constantly waddling the edges,
So it won’t burn,
Then let it slip gracefully onto my plate,
And fork the gooey center,
Until it bursts;
The Brilliant sun melting into the blue Horizon,
Forever gone.

Until Tomorrow.

Picture Imperfect

(Picture courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-J_Day_in_Times_Square)

If you look closer, you can see the shadows
In these pictures, reveal the tell-tale clues,
Of the darkness slowly lurking, into their then sunny lives,
Years before they finally waived goodbye,
At London’s Charing Cross Station.

This picture shot on a sunnier day
On the Hungerford bridge,
Of the happy couple framed in marble,
Lips forever sealed with a kiss.

And soon after, this long angle view
Outside the New England Chapel,
Rendering the newly wedded
A misleading sense of power and size.

Unlike the lies feigned
In the world of Romantic poetry,
Unhappiness, not love makes the world go round,
For human brain is not wired to stay happy for long,
And short term memory is infamously short.

Here is the blow-up taken atop the Tuscan Bell tower,
An interesting view of the ancient city
And their lives below,
The lofty dreams, plans and promises
Soon to become diminutive,
Under the deafening wheels of time.

A copyrighted property of UBeCute

Short lives of Wives

The illusionist packs two tricks,
Carefully placing the ‘i’ before ‘e’, except after ‘c’,
Countless rhymes estranged from its poem,
Encoding a simple meaning into warped confusion.

Crafting a wide angle shot of a marble temple,
Where the fates of the six wives of Henry VIII,
Turned into ornate statues,
Stand on guard outside the grand palace.

The insolence of the high power blades of time,
that make and break human spirit at a cellular level,
Pay a callous homage to these brilliant shadows,
Nicknamed by history; divorced, beheaded, died, divorced,
beheaded, survived.

Share the love with the Liebster Award

Firstly, a big “thank you” to merakigeek who nominated Ubecute for the Liebster award, visit her post at (http://merakigeek.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/a-to-z-l-is-for-liebster-award). “Liebe” in German means “love” and Liebster means a “loved one”.

Agreed, getting the Liebster award is not the same as being Freshly Pressed (or close). It is a however, a creative attempt at creating a strong blogger-bond and sharing love and appreciation from one blogger to another.

What is the Liebster Award?

The Liebster Award is an award for newish blogs with less than 200-1000 followers given by newish bloggers. It’s a way to recognize other newish blogs in the community and, in turn, keep spreading the love.

Rules for the Liebster Award:

Thank the blogger who nominated you.
Answer the 5 – 10 questions given to you.
Nominate 5-11 other blogs with less than 200-1000 followers.
Post 5-10 questions for your nominees to answer.
Tag your nominees & post a comment on their blog to let them know you nominated them.

About the blog that nominated Ubecute:

Meraki Geek is a very uplifting blog full of creative posts. An admitted left-brainiac the author shares her thoughts on her myriad interests through her fun and bubbly posts. “Meraki” as defined by Meraki Geek stands for “the essence of yourself that is put into your work”. Feel free to visit her blog at http://merakigeek.wordpress.com

The Blogs I am excited to nominate:

Dear bloggers I am excited to be nominating you for the Liebster award since you continue to inspire me with the level of quality work you produce consistently. I am taking this as an opportunity to show you that you are appreciated for it. With that said, I fully respect your entitlement not to accept the award, (if you chose not). If you don’t wish to accept, for any reason, simply do so by ignoring, I will not take it personally in any way. If you do accept just follow the rules above and share the love :).

Also please know that if your name is not here, (and you would have liked to be nominated) then it does not mean I don’t appreciate your blog, it simply means I am committed to making humanly oversights. In short, My Bad! Continue your good work and press-on to pursuing your creative interests!

Since this is all about getting to know each other better, here are some questions I am presenting to you, along with my own answers.

What is your favorite smell?

I love the smell of freshly cut fruits like mangos, oranges and grapefruits. But I also love the smell of the “oh-so-delicious” deep fried foods such as “pakoras” (deep fried fritters), baked foods (cakes, cookies, pizzas) as well as freshly brewed coffee and masala chai (spiced tea). I pretty much love all vegetarian food and the cornucopia of flavors and smells it offers.

Name one word to describe you.

Child-like. Henceforth the name UBeCute and the tag line “follow the child…” Get it? J

What song is stuck in your head right now (or what was the last song that was stuck in your head)?

“Strawberry Fields forever” by Beatles (I know it’s an ancient classic but that’s what I am into right now)

When was the last time you were nervous? Why?

I guess I feel nervous almost every time I press the “publish” button. I have always been a very private person and to share my own deepest thoughts as well as poetry on the World Wide Web has been a daunting but rewarding exercise. Poems are very personal, and it is a scary thought, revealing your emotions to the world, leaving it open to interpretation and worse “apathetic abandon”. Fortunately, I found that wordpress has a very positive and constructive community of bloggers. High five everyone!

What top 3 characteristics would your ideal boss have?

Ideally, I would love to be my own boss. But I must admit I have been very fortunate to have worked with great bosses and colleagues. Cheers to them all!

What’s something you hate doing? Why?

I hate waking up early on my weekends. Actually, I hate waking up early on almost any day. Because I am lazy like that.

Which store would you choose for a shopping spree?

I rarely go shopping and do most of mine online. The selection is so much better and it beats having to drive in traffic and finding a parking.

If you had to change your username/url to something completely not yourself, what would it be?

Livingyourdream.com

How do you know when something/someone is totally right for you?

Follow your intuition, it is never wrong.

10. If you had superpowers what would you want them to be?

I would love to visit the minds of artists, I love and admire, such as Williams Wordsworth, W. B. Yeats, Emily Dickinson, Emily Bronte, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky especially when they were thinking about writing their famous works. What a great experience it would be visiting the creative minds of such artistic geniuses, if admittedly an overwhelming one!

Waiting for the Verdict

“Waiting for the Verdict” was painted by Abraham Solomon in 1857 and instantly gained popularity in the Victorian era. A close look at the painting should explain why. The painting is a poignant portrayal of human pain and anguish where a common man awaits the verdict of his trial with his family. The future of his family depends upon his acquittal. The painting is so beautiful and genuine in its portrayal of this close knit family that eagerly awaits the “not guilty” sentence for the anguished man. When I first saw this painting, unfortunately I had little idea how famous it was. But the painting was so well received in its own day that the painter was forced to paint replicas of it.

I made a very faint attempt at capturing the scene heavy with human anguish with a poem of my own. I hope you like it and that Abraham Solomon will forgive me for my gauche attempt.

i. The Man
Outside the courtroom hangs a life,
Tied loosely to a mortal tongue,
The Judge’s “Guilty” verdict cuts the tether by knife,
“Not Guilty” sets him free with children and wife.

ii. Wife
Brows furrowed, gaze askance,
Five mouths to feed, a husband to lose
Face; the ashy color of worry, immobile in a deep trance,
So many lives hang by this man, whose life hangs to a mortal tongue

iii. Mother
A heart painted with contrasting colors,
Besotted love for the grand children, pain for the son,
Smile askew on her sunken pallor,
Heart tied to the son, whose life hangs to a mortal tongue

iv. Sister
A worried sister waits for the Messenger,
Who will bring the final Verdict,
Out to the family in the antechamber,
Sister prays silently for a brother, whose life hangs to a mortal tongue

v. Antechamber
The chamber colored in shades of brown,
Dark with human distress and self-berating,
The Chamber’s ceiling window painted like a church’s pulpit,
Under which sits the wretched man frozen in oil paint, forever waiting…

Top of LA

Monuments or Monumental?

Here are some monuments of Hampi India. I am clearly infatuated with the stoic ancient splendor of Hampi. The architecture and the level of details is par excellence. These monuments are a heritage not just for India but the World and in that regard they are Monumental. The last picture is a random shot of a local market outside one of these temples which I could not resist sharing because of its vibrant colors which I think is quintessentially India. Enjoy!

Weekly Photo Challenge

“Some pictures need no words”

I wanted to share this lovely post that I believe will warm your hearts and put a smile on your face, better than any words can…Enjoy. Feel free to visit the original post here : http://margaretrosestringer.com/2014/04/16/some-pictures-need-no-words/