Life is better now....

Recently while reflecting as usual, I realised that 2 things have changed my life for better lately.
One is Accepting people as they are, and
Two is Forgiving others and yourself too!

Nothing new in those two things but I adopted them lately and saw the difference myself.

The irritation/annoyance I used to have with people (especially at home!) on so many things (not being as clean or systematic as I am, etc) has gone the moment I realised that I need to accept them as they are! Things have improved marginally. No annoyance so no repercussions! And Life is peaceful : ) Amen!

Same way, till I learnt to forgive people, I used to keep cribbing or having grudge even after a long time. Wasn’t gaining anything. Rather was loosing peace of mind and getting unnecessarily stressed. Now when I have learnt to forgive people (may not be instantly, may be to some in 3 days and to some in 3 weeks! ), I can smile to people even those who misbehaved/mistreated. And my smile fetches a smile back and makes them also feel comfortable ( I know my boss was feeling very guilty after shouting at me but couldn’t say sorry!).

Please note that I am not PREACHING anything here. Just sharing my experiences, in case anyone can be benefited – good!

Cheers!

What scares me most.... !

Death ? No... : ) (my profile intro tells that)

Lizards? Oh yes, I am scared of lizards since childhood!

Performing in public? Well.... like many others, used to be but thankfully not any more.

But what scares me most now is – “Loosing the purpose to live !”

Lately this emptiness in life led me to this question – “Why I am here?” After all, What is the purpose of having been given this human life which we say is the most superior kind? These questions are not the easy ones to find an answer quickly. They take the whole life time to realise -who I am? I am still wandering to find those answers for myself.

But meantime, the thought came out like this:-

So often I loose the purpose to live
What is Life? What I am to Give? (learnt that life is giving and not taking)

The day begins and the day ends
And Life goes on, without much plans..

Why I am here? What am I supposed to do?
Have I understood the meaning of Life?

It’s so easy to take things for granted,
Wasting time in things unwanted.

How precious life is, we realise it late
And then we blame everything to our fate!

Is that fate? Or is that the choices we made earlier in life
Which decide – whether we live or strife?


How's that ? : )

You have mail...

Emails came in my life in 1998. And life changed for better since then.
They brought so much excitement and joy and knowledge and fun in life.

Emails helped making friends with people across the world – people you haven’t seen and may be will never see!
Still they brought friends so close with quick communication that every “You have mail” brought a smile on face and brightness in eyes (at least to start with).
And I started liking that “Yellow Envelop” at the bottom corner of the screen so much so that it inspired me to write these lines :-

That small yellow envelop on my screen
Pops and says “you have mail”
It brings some excitement and some hope
And I smile… without fail.

Those very few moments
of excitement are great
And I wonder….
What would be in my fate!

Hoping it to be – a mail from a friend
I switch to the window, still with a smile
When it’s not, the smile goes
And I feel sad, for a while...

Another envelop… another hope…
Another smile…. And it goes : (

And when I see it finally
Coming from you
The smile broadens
And stays.

I like that yellow envelop appearing on my screen
I like the message “You have mail”
The days pass by… and the life goes on…
Whether a mail, or no mail !

Wed, 29th Oct 2003

on Relationships...

I know, we all know that but still I am saying this –

“Relationships are fragile. Please handle them with care.”

Because as famous Hindi Poet Rahim said :-

“Rahiman Dhaaga Prem Ka Mat todo, chatkaaye
Tute se phir na jude, jude gaanth lag jaaye”

And if at all, something happens, please don’t delay in rectifying.

I take no time to apologize, if I see I have hurt somebody.

Please don’t let ego come in between relationships.
Please be honest in saying what you feel like saying.
Please be pure with feelings and put them across.

If all efforts are genuine, they will definitely touch the other person’s heart.

I am a person who go by heart (and not head) and I do this always. And then, even if situation doesn’t improve, at least I am at peace that I left no stone unturned.

on True Friends..

“Whatever happens, happens for good.”

I strongly believe in this and this belief of mine was reinforced yesterday once again.

I was very disturbed over something and was crying. And who I remember at such times is of course my few good friends. It’s so amazing and nice that friends who might otherwise be busy in their jobs/responsibilities and might not have called/emailed for months – instantly come to stand by you, to bring you back on track, to make you smile and laugh…

Such ‘real’ friends are blessings and I am blessed to have Christoph and Lalit as TRUE friends in my life!
Thanks Christoph, Thanks Lalit for being there for me whenever I have needed you.
God Bless You!

on Teachers' Day

On this Teachers’ Day, I am thinking of all my school teachers from Banasthali Vidyapith – a boarding school (deemed university) near Jaipur, Rajasthan in India (for girls only).

What an institution !
First of all, no tuition fee. Yes I repeat – no tuition fee (at least in my times!) and the high level of education that’s imparted there is commendable. They focus on overall development so besides all typical subjects, one also has the opportunity to learn swimming, horse riding, flying, gliding, Indian classical dances (Bharatnatyam, Katthak, Manipuri – all at one place!), Indian vocal and instrumental classical music and much more…

Particularly I am thinking now of my music teacher – Pandit Laxman Bhatt Tailang. He was so keen on us learning sincerely that sometimes he would scold us for not taking good care of throat : ) At such times, we as children, used to think of running away from him.

Today after years… when I am looking for a music teacher again, I am not able to find one who could match him!
One realises value of things/people only when they are not there!
So now when I realised how knowledgeable/ dedicated/ sincere he was… I googled and (thankfully) found his contacts, drove to Jaipur to meet him. Whether he recognised me or not, it doesn’t matter. I was happy that I could again sit in his feet and listen to him singing…!

I adore you Sir…

Regards.

Drop inhibitions…

As children, we are so free and live our lives without bothering about things.
As we grow up, we start becoming conscious.
Conscious about how we look, how we behave, how we laugh (or not laugh!), and of “what would people say/think” ! (Yes, “say/think” has been written in that order with full intention as most of the time, we say first and then think “Oh”)

I also used to conscious… but have crossed that stage now. Thankfully, I am at an age and stage in life where I don’t need to be bothered about people!
I HAVE STARTED LIVING MY LIFE NOW!

And the result is – I am much happier (and likeable by people).
I do things I love to do…. like – singing in my home freely without bothering whether neighbours might listen; or dance with folk dancers in public places like Dilli Haat or Annual Suraj Kund Mela… or laugh freely and enjoy the movie in a cinema hall…

And that means, as long as I am not harming/hurting/disturbing anyone, I am living my life to the fullest!

And the result is – People walk up to me in appreciation whenever I have danced in public places.
People appreciate my laughter as I laugh without holding anything back.
And the other day…after the comedy movie (Lage Raho Munna Bhai), a couple sitting in front of me in the cinema hall, turned back and told me “We enjoyed watching movie with you M’am.”
And what was I doing? Just enjoying myself without bothering “what will anyone think!”

So… I suggest friends, you too try this out – Drop inhibitions… and see how lively life becomes !

Cheers…

Attitude of Gratitude

It’s so easy to get lost in worries and tensions that we ignore little things which are very much part of life but we just take them for granted.
And reading spiritual books, I learnt what I call is “the Attitude of Gratitude”.
And it’s really so true that if we focus on all those little things around us, it would help us come out of worries and tensions and we have more peace within.

And one such day, I started to ponder and realised how blessed I was !
Here it is in a poetic form…


I AM BLESSED !


When the Sun shines brightly in my balcony
and breezing air bring freshness in the house
I know God that I am Blessed!

When Butterfly comes and sits on flowers
and Peacock comes and shows its beauty
I know God that I am Blessed!

When Greenery around is so soothing
And the peace around bring closer to you
I know God that I am Blessed.

When I listen to music and dance in joy
and I smile and see that you smile back
I know God that I am Blessed.

When you wake me up with temple’s bells
And you listen to my thoughts with prompt replies
I know God that I am Blessed!