Awareness

I was wondering what would happen if I went near the nest of the house sparrow hanging on the cable wire in our veranda and start whispering to the baby birds(in the absence of their parents of course), “You can’t fly”. Think. I will whisper this many times in a day and for several days. Nothing will happen. They will still fly when their wings develop. We have this lovely cat at our home that spends time with us every day but we have a deal where she is not bound and freely roams exploring the neighbourhood. She has delivered a dozen kittens in the past two years at regular intervals. What would happen if I whisper to the kittens everyday numerous times that they can’t jump off the balcony wall. Nothing. The kittens will eventually learn to jump when its time. I have neither seen their mother rejoice when they attempt their first jump nor have I seen her disappointed if they trip. They observe and follow. Even if one of the kittens dies in the early adventures of crossing the road, this does not deter the other kittens from embarking on further. They are unaffected by any externalities. Why? My personal hypothesis is that they have an inbuilt awareness of their capabilities. More importantly this awareness is unaffected by any influence. A sparrow will certainly never start swimming no matter how often I whisper that “you can swim”. We humans, each one of us have an infinite capability that is why we lack that inbuilt awareness. Unfortunately, we depend on others to tell us our capabilities. A soft continuous whisper that you can’t do it succeeds in limiting us from undertaking a task which we wanted or even believed we could do. The pool of power within us goes waste and we allow others to shape our lives and mend our destiny the way they want. We let ourselves be driven by the beliefs of those who possibly themselves spent their own lives under the weight of that soft whisper. The only realisation worth is the awareness of an infinite potential. If any of us had limited capability, we would have been aware of it. If all the other creatures could be then why couldn’t we. The secret is “you can do everything that you can conceive, provided the purpose isn’t led by negative intention”. The only whisper that should ever influence us should be our will power.

The survivor of an assault

How do I feel everyday
In the little garden
In the front of our home
Each day is lovely
As if life is an
Unceasing melody
The first band of the birds
And night a concert of wolves
Still too young,
A little lamb
My name is Maria
I love the morning breeze
And the starlit sky
When I began to grow
Out in the fields
I was playing with mates
Every passerby
Passed a gaze
As if an advance mourning
Of an upcoming calamity
Their eyes seemed to communicate
Beware of the hawk!
Soon they started whispering
As I advanced farther
Into limitless fields
One day while I was chasing a butterfly
I heard the flapping of a giant pair of wings; some distance away
Then I heard a shrill
After a moment
My eyes witnessed the deadliest horror,
Clasped in the feet of the hawk
I saw my bunny friend Eva
I cried out her name
And everything else came to a halt
The sound and the picture of what I saw
Painted upon my memory
Scroll down in vivid detail
Whenever I close or open my eyes
They say the hawk lives far away
But once in a while, when he is hungry
Flies down
To claim his prey,
What I never tell them is
I see the sky replete with hawks
Sometimes all I see are hawks
In the dead silence of dawn
I everyday hear the sound of flapping wings
Then one day when the picture and sound fainted
The lustful hawk came again
In desperate search of the catch
The thunderous sound was too close this time
And I felt the claw clutch me
For a moment I thought I had lost all conciousness
But I was alive
I struggled,
But the grip was tight
The hawk wont let its prey free
For a moment the grip eased
I struggled
The battle continued
Till half drenched in blood
The hawk dropped me
Amidst the field,
Torn and helpless
I moaned in pain
None of the gazing eyes
Came near
They wanted me to lie there
So that the hawk would come back
And reclaim its prey,
I asked myself, if the hawk owns my life now
I have survived a battle
Would I let myself be eaten alive now
I decided then ,I do not deserve the pain
I deserve life,
My friend Charolette and Selena
Broke barriers and dragged me home
Nursed me with love
And we had a paradise of our own
They say sheep follow and fall off the cliff
But we decided we will chase the sun
And then our mates might follow us
Towards light and strength.

The deeper language of love

I was watching this reality show where one participant confessed that her father had never hugged her and she wants that he once does so that she be assured that her father loves her. After her performance, her parents were invited on the show(a surprise element)  by the producers. The father kept saying that he never thought any less of his daughter and loved her the most but he was lectured by all that he should behave as a proud father. I was saddened to see the drama. Wait, I was sad for the father. In our traditional family setup, the bond between a father and a daughter is very special that doesnt require the testimony of words and gestures. Saying with words but without heart or hugging someone everyday are easy but arent necessarily the proof of love. We are inheritors of a rich and revered value system that believes more in profound aspects of a relation and isnt built on foundation of superficial gestures. Fathers are supposedly less expressive but there isnt a single one who doesnt hold a special place for a child. I do not take charge of all such fathers in the world. My father is someone who likes me to be independent but cannot be witness to a single instance of hardship for me. If someday I have to prepare tea for people more than the usual number, he will stand beside and ensure that I face no difficulty. He anticipates my needs and demands in advance without me having said a word. These are the nuances. For the bigger picture, he is my lighthouse. Whatever good he has earned or earns through learning, he transfers to me. What bigger treasure can one imagine of than the pearls of wisdom. We understand each other. But I dont expect him to hug me and write cards to me telling what I am to him. The relationship stands on a higher level where our hearts are connected. There is a communication thats beyond the scope of words. I therefore think that it is unreasonable to weigh every relation on the same scale. We should have eyes to see the beauty of heart and not be expectant of gestures. So enjoy the sweet and dont be fussy for the dish in which its served.

The metaphor "animal"

In common parlance we often use the word “animal” to imply a rather rustic behaviour displayed by humans. I was pondering over the reason for such unduly symbolism. I couldn't find one. I assume perhaps animals do not hinder to the man made order and abide by the universal law of Mother Nature, man has conveniently assigned this connotation. Animals by far (excluding humans) are the very obvious replica of nature’s incontrovertible intelligence. Having never attended schools, read books they dexterously lead their lives nailing every task from hunting for food to rearing young ones with utmost perfection. We have a pet cum stray cat at our home. She recently gave birth to three kittens. She found a protective place to give birth to her young ones on her own (without any medical assistance). Now every day since the kittens have grown, she is training them to climb trees, defend themselves and all that they need to know. Two days ago she got injured. The wound is grave. We would have ran to a doctor immediately and got multiple dressings for the same but animals rely on self healing. Amidst all the pain, nothing deters her from climbing the grills and fighting with the dogs. She is a fiercely protective mother. She feeds her kittens too. She is in extreme pain but who can she complaint to or cry before. This is animal behaviour, a little piece extracted out of the magnificent marvels that nature is replete with. It is unmindful of us to denote brutal, uncivil, loutish and vulgar behaviour of humans with animal behaviour. Don’t you agree it is unfair to disgrace nature’s beautiful creation through our oblivious use of words?

Respect wildlife. Respect nature. Respect environment. Happy Environment Day.

Marking boundaries for escapism

When you connote words to real life situations, words start symbolising meanings that aren’t a trial for our memory but condensed version of an elaborative thought. “Escapism” is one such word for me. I got acquainted with this word in my 12^th Standard English textbook. It was a story about a man who used to virtually travel non-existent places. As an explanation to his awkward behaviour, we often wrote that his fantasy was a medium of escape from the real world. Though we may not exhibit similar extreme behaviour, we all at some point in time find ways to escape our current situation. The medium can be some sort of entertainment, a light hearted chat with a friend or a little tour to our own little fancy world. All sounds good. But we may sometimes head towards other disruptive medium (say alcohol). An escape is revitalising if it directs us towards peaceful indulgence or some creative pursuit. The moment it treads us towards an atmosphere of external noise and internal loss of consciousness, escapism deviates us from our original course altogether pushing us into darkness. So let’s retain escapism in its positive application and mark boundaries for ourselves. Its relieving to get lost for a while but whiling away for long may close doors for return.

Pursuit of dreams

I was watching “Pursuit of Happyness” yesterday, not for the first time. Most of us have seen this amazingly inspiring movie.  For those of us who haven’t, I would love to share a quote “Don’t even let somebody tell you that you can’t do something. You got a dream, you got to protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you that you can’t do it. You want something, go get it”. This particular orchestration of commonly heard words never fails to ignite the spark in me to chase my dreams. More often than not opinions are laden with the burden of harsh experience. Each one of us has a past rich with the wisdom derived from failure and rewards in the form of achievement. The constant trials then skew our thinking towards accepting our unique course as the only path to success. We end up discouraging all alternative means. Whether we are on the giving or receiving end of advice, we must net out the pessimism that is associated with unsuccessful attempts. The onus of protecting our dreams and fulfilling them lies solely on us. When you embark your journey, take discouragement as a dare and self belief as your permanent companion. If you believe in something, you will turn stone into sculptures. You start digging a grave for your dreams when you let advice become obstacle. GO GET YOUR DREAM FELLOWS.

Mother's day special

मेरी माँ मेरे साथ रहती है
घर-आँगन, चार दिवारी के दरमियाँ नहीं
मेरी माँ मेरे मन में रहती है।
अंजान अकेली राहों में मन घबराता है कभी,
साहस बनकर वो मेरे साथ रहती है।
ठोकर खाकर जो मैं गिर जाऊँ जटिल रस्तों में,
मेरे कदमों की ताकत बनकर मेरे साथ रहती है।
अंधेरों में मैं पथ भटक जाऊँ तो,
मेरे मन के विश्वास का दिया बनकर मेरे साथ रहती है।
उलझनों के भवर में मेरी नौका डूबने लगे जब,
दृढ़ निश्चय रूपी मांझी बनकर, मेरे साथ रहती है।
बाधाओं से टकराकर जो मेरे सपने टूट जाएँ,
आशा भरी आँखें उसकी मरहम बनकर मेरे साथ रहती हैं।
जीवन की राह पर जब कदम बढाऊँ मैं,
उसकी सीख मेरे मन की आवाज़ बनकर साथ रहती है।
मेरी हर खुशी में, मेरे हर दुख में
मेरी माँ ही तो है जो हमेशा मेरे साथ रहती है।
(छवि)

The importance of appreciation

                                  

Language is the most beautiful gift of evolution. We humans, are blessed in the sense that we have the ability to use words to convey our emotions but isn't it sad that we compromise on this ability often. In the hustle bustle of life where most of the urban people have all attention dedicated to mobile screens most of the time, words would come in more handy and save us the effort of mind reading. You might be wondering what am I exactly trying to hint at. I want all of us to realise the importance of appreciation. I wonder do we think of appreciation as rapidly depleting essential resource which we all want to have but would never want to give. It is a very rewarding investment for the benefits far outweigh the costs. Your mother cooks food for you every day and the number of other errands she does run into a long list. The food which she prepares with so much love and affection is hardly appreciated. More often than not we simply eat it while watching television or checking messages on phone. If instead we would relish the food and appreciate our mother, we would be trading a lot of happiness for a few words. Mothers hardly have expectations but a smile on their face is priceless. Isn't it? Let us start from home and make appreciating others a habit. This will clear us of the pessimism and we will soon unearth all the hidden goodness. Lets appreciate an act of kindness by someone, an initiative at work by our fellow or maybe something as little as someone looking pretty. Appreciation is a power that each one of us has to make someone happy or maybe to make someone smile. The world would be such a beautiful place if we appreciate. Let us start with our home and initiate the culture of appreciation.

Screening the information

Screening the information we are exposed to is one the biggest challenge of our times. It is not very wise to believe any news completely and immediately. All news suffer from a serious limitation that is "bias". There is no reward for arriving at opinions quickly. So the best method is to take information slowly. When you come across any event try to understand the cause behind it and go for an analysis. The precondition for analysis is availability of abundant information.Read about an event from atleast three different sources to ensure that some particular rigid framework of thinking does not dominate our view.  The social media and even news channels with the ' breaking news' flashing almost the entire day have conditioned us to give immediate reactions. The cause of the social unrest and pertinent unconclusive  debates lies in this environment of urgency that has been created. So lets consume news like fibre rich food that takes a while to digest and not be addicted to energy drinks.

How close?

How close I am to the world I wonder

close enough that I exist amidst it, not enough that I embrace it

Like the breeze that flows past me

Close enough, I can feel, not enough that I can hold

Like the fragrance of a lily that mesmerises me

Close enough, I can breathe not enough that I can keep

Like the moonlight that falls over me

Close enough, I can bathe not enough that I can grab

Like the sweetest dream in my sleep

Close enough, that I rejoice not enough that I can experience

Like all the desires I had, I have

Close enough, to make me restless not enough that I can live them

Like the bond I share with myself

Close enough that I keep secrets, not enough that I can cherish being alone.

Experience the change within

I am of that category of people who love going forward in life. My biggest nightmare is if someone would rewind my life and i find myself facing past again. I only visit my past to reflect, to understand the evolution of my own self. I love every passing moment of life because every moment is leaving behind an experience. Some of these are minor but when these experiences accumulate, they give birth to transformations. The transformations again seem subtle but when you look back a decade or more you will realise that a little of learning of each moment has made you an entirely different person. Change is the only constant phenomenon is something we know but whats more amazing is to be a witness to the change within us. We will be able to appreciate life completely only when we keep ourselves open to realisations. While you are reading all of this there have been so many transitions between moments. When you keep this in mind you are able to understand how vivid life is. That will make you want to experience more of such transitions. The only way to live a happy life is to live it in moments of present while offloading the baggage of past and greeting future with excitement.