learnings

The orange sunrays light up the sky Bringing in the blaze of the morning sun Birds flying high Morning chants in the neighbourhood Somewhere a heaviness Heaviness in my heart I inhale the fresh air and feel the nip Hey I am awake, I am alive Indeed the greatest moment..

When a person is diagnosed with a terminal illness there is a paradigm shift in his/her thinking. suddenly the very materials he is attached to like his car, house, gadgets lose importance. They are no longer significant to him. Rather people become important. ( at last!). Experiences like a vacation with loved ones, learning the dance or music he had always wanted to acquire a new meaning. There is a paradigm shift. When a person loses someone very close ( family or friend) all is forgiven. He realizes that the grudges are not worth a penny. Property, money, ego dissolves with the ashes. There is a paradigm shift. Can't we experience the shift now, in the moment? Source : The War of Art by Steven Pressfield (partly)

I read an article this morning  on similar thoughts by a youngster and was truly inspired. It is true. Keeping it simple is actually tough. Emotions : Jealousy, hate, anger, anxious, fear require such complex thoughts and bring out complex behaviour too. Love, happy are simple emotions but is it easy to 'be' ? Actions: Frown, grimace, violence is complex Hug, smile is so simple but do we 'do'? Food: Eating at 5 star hotels, junk food - complex and monotonous ( on a regular basis) Eating at home - prepared by your loved ones- a cuppa tea, rice and dal, so simple and tasty ( ask the travelling salesman/ marketing guy/ consultants). yet do we appreciate? Academic: We find teachers explaining the most complicated with ease but unable to reach out to the student ( simple but easy?) Reminds me of the popular story: The Russians and Americans were competing to send the most friendly writing tool to space. Americans battled with various types of pens.The Russi...

I am very happy to be pottering around in the kitchen. I love to open my refrigerator, select the colourful veggies and plan the menu for the day. Most of the time I dish out my own formulae with the masalas present in my kitchen. Recently a brief stay with my daughter in law made me realize the beauty of chopping veggies in clean good shapes. Also I fell in love with the way she has maintained her kitchen. On my return I fell to rearranging my kitchen with a vengeance. I was amazed at the clutter I had stocked!! The kitchen is my domain, my space. I ponder, reflect, listen to songs in this space. It is meditation time for me.

Today I came upon a rare Facebook post (a poster) on a husband’s love posted by an acquaintance. The wordings were simple and beautiful. Very often we come across posters and jokes ridiculing the spouse. It reminded me also how we take people for granted, especially the ones whom we live or share our lives with. We miss out to be grateful to the numerous little gestures that are doled out to us. For me it is the laughter we share, the tears he has wiped off, my hand he has held, his quiet encouragement, above all his silent strength … my husband is indeed my best companion. It would be wonderful to recognise this as often as we can. At least learn to notice and count our blessings.

Being friendly with one's children This cannot be achieved overnight. I often find parents coming to me when they cannot handle their teenagers.  Parenting is like a constructing a building. The foundation has to be strong. Begin early on the values you wish to impart.  From early childhood the child has to be taught good manners, discipline and a routine. You ( both parents) must make it a habit to begin communicating with your child on a daily basis. Else it would be extremely difficult to do all of the above when the child enters its teens. Being friendly means empathizing with your child. It means to respect him/her as he/she is. It means 'listening' to your child. It means you set definite boundaries. It means your child can count on you for support. This is authoritative parenting. Please do not confuse it with being a 'friend'. Most parents make this blunder. In their good intentions of being a friend they become permissive parents. Rules a...

I witnessed this scene at the airport a couple of weeks ago. There was this Indian family of four returning to US. It was obvious that they were living in the USA ( from their conversation). The father remained oblivious and indifferent throughout. The mother and the young daughter ( around 14-15 years) were having a conversation. The boy (12-13 years) was lost in playing a game on his cell. The mother seemed to be the 'cool' kind initially throwing in the 'youth' lingo occasionally. Suddenly the cool mom turns into a vicious banshee. Obviously from her swear words and cruel tongue it was easy to deduce that the daughter had posted a few photographs of a recent party on Facebook. And yes the photos were not approved beforehand. The girl was trying to justify. The boy pitched in. Of course the father did not pay any heed as if it was happening in some other family! As a bystander I was shocked at the language the mom used towards her daughter! All the common swear wor...