Dew drop on a leaf!

As Socrates said  "mans life is like drop of a dew on a leaf" . The leaf in that moment is the support, without which the dew drop would fall to the ground, and escape our eyes. It is the same with our existence in life, when things seem uncertain, we rarely think about what life is actually offering us. And here I was sitting on my chair for a while now, the tea had gone cold. My friend was sitting right across.  At the moment, she seemed more anxious than I ever had seen before. Lot of things going on in her mind, and she was finding it tough to cope with it. Her brows seemed a little tensed and stretched....yet she looked pretty even in this. I felt the urge to touch her forehead and calm her mind, but I stopped myself and got my attention back to what she was saying and let her speak. 

When in despair, the entire world looks alien or distant. and it is at moment like these, one needs someone to confide into. Thoughts like "I don't know what to do?" , " if I could just get more love, more understanding from my family, if just one person adored me, I wouldn't be so anxious and could count myself supported".  Just pause for a moment, and think . Every single person around is supporting us in some way or the other, and even when the support isn't felt the way we need it to feel. It is making us be the person we intended to be.

When things get tough, there are many avenues that open, we just have to be alert and be available. Its never the end, we think it is, but it isn't like that. Just look around.....even the person walking on the road, is supporting us in some way...he might be working for a company that supplies us our daily network. The chair that we sit on , the bed that we lie on, the music that we listen are all part of our support system.  Even the universe is playing its part, the sun always rises, the moon always sets in...we have our day and night and that too everyday. Isn't that a support! Why not feel supported, irrespective of what life is at the moment. Its that simply, count the blessing all around and the world will manifest in itself. Even the tough life that we go through, is an indicator of what we are capable of doing with limited support.

Next time look at the dew drop, and when it fall off the leaf and hits the ground....see the way  it mounts on sunbeams to the sky!

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A Place revisited again.....

While waking up in the morning today, I felt the air smell of burning dried grass. Somewhere around the window, I could see the smoke, a little misty out there, and yes...it reminded me of my childhood times, when this smokey atmosphere would fill the morning air. The bare feet walk on the man made path, feeling the roughness of the stones touching the heels along with the softness of the red soil, which added comfort to my sore heels and the process of a long walk didn't bother. Tiptoeing  outside the house and hurrying up as fast as I could, less I wake up my parents in the process of reaching a small hillock that was closer to our house.

There was a quaintness in the surrounding, the sound of the birds chirping in the distant. And with the trudging of the bullock cart on the road, along with the sweet sound of the cow bells, simply magical to the ears and the view still treasured till date. Lined up on either side of this path that led to the hillock, were few bungalows. Some of them had thatched roofs, and most of them had terracotta tiles gracing their corridor floor up till their fences, with cute little gardens in front of their porches. There was one particular house that I fancied, it had long steep stairs. And once you reached the top of the stairs ..it was a passage of sorts that stretched a little longer. Along the passage, there were three very small  windows with few doors..you can just barely enter with tucking your head in, so that you don't bump yourself  up. And then as you reached the end of the passage, it had a similar exit. Remember taking up these stair whenever I passed along this path towards the hillock.

Just a  little ahead, was a cow shed , there were leaves and some grass left burning around, the smoke filling in the early morning air . I knew what I was expecting all along through what I knew was awaiting me on the hillock. All green to the core, giving it the scent and feel of refreshment. Luscious , green paddy fields, stretched in front as long as I could take in the view. There was so much peace and quietness in the vicinity of this small hillock. Faintly hearing the cow bells in the distance, coming up the hillock and grazing to their hearts content. Few villagers sat under the shade of a gigantic tree. So picturesque, and musical for me. I can still feel being in the presence of that beautiful place I visited as a child. it feels as though am listening to the flute in the background. The calmness still edged in the mind. And in that calmness, I heard someone calling my name, and as I turned back I saw my sister coming up the hillock. And I knew, we had very little time to be up the hill. We frolicked around for a while and then grudgingly left this beautiful place.

The cell rang, and my trance was broken. I didn't pick up the call, just left it at that. A mere smoke in the air, took me back to one of my favorite places I visited as a child. I wonder how would it be now, the hillock! A place so so beautiful.....so musical is the feeling, it makes me want to go back to the place again. 

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The Moment that IS......

It's one of those days, simply ecstatic. There's so much joy, the moment has been beautiful..so much fun. I don't know if I would be able to put it down. Its usually the thought behind the action, the unspoken words, or the hint behind the statement or sometimes the intended pun that makes all the difference. And there are people who do it in a subtle way, and unless one is alert, It can simply skip and just pass away. And when in moment, in the moment of the simplicity , one just says what the heart feels. It is these moment, it is the truth in these moments, that holds a special place in all the moments that we experience in our lives.

It's not what has been said that holds the key, it is the faith with which it comes out, it is the trust that just makes a simple, selfless moment so beautiful. There's a slight twinkle in the eyes, a giggle of sorts, that tells you more about how it had been.  And it is at this moment, you exactly feel the way it has been. There's a certain kind of joy in listening to these special moments, and feel privileged for the same. Countless moments like these makes one feel the simplicity that is still there intact , just as it was meant to be. Even with the complexities that hover around us, it is moments like these that bring smile and so much joy.

We have been having guests for a while at our end and on one such occasion I met a nice old gentleman,with a robust personality, having a wonderful smile. The ambiance was perfect for some soft music to be played in the background. So we put some nice old classic songs. Melodious " dil mein sama gaye sajan" ,  " khayalon mein kisi ke isi terah aaya nahi karte" or "unse pyaar ho gaya"...."do din ke liye mehman". It was a treat for the ears. I can simply go on and on. At the same time I was observing the rest in the room , all relaxed and enjoying the moment. Right beside me, I noticed the Old gentleman , with his eyes closed and deeply engrossed in the music that was playing. How wonderful he looked, relaxed and it made me think that I need to relax more and simply enjoy than worry about things happening around me at times.

Suddenly a song played, he simply turned around and said " aha! what a beautiful song, and I have had a wonderful moment related to this song". I looked a little quizzically , he smiled one more time...and said ' I cant share, with so many around...but it was a lovely moment". His smile remained intact throughout the song. He didn't have to mention,  I knew,  it must have been a magical moment with his childhood sweetheart. The heart still beats with the same fervor , as if the moment is right there and one is re-living the same moment again. A song triggering a wonderful moment as it was back then. The memories come gushing in , and one feels elated, contended and too happy. The feeling of that moment is breathtaking, nostalgic and one feels grateful for the fact that at-least it was a part of their life. Such is the beauty of these moments, which get treasured in our hearts forever.

Its there, all we have to do is  just tune in to that station to get the moment again. 

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The beauty of a Full Stop.

While going through the page, I noticed the child had missed writing a few full-stops. And it is this that got me thinking, the beauty of a Full Stop. Its simply a dot at the end of a sentence, but without which the sentence remains incomplete, it wouldn't make sense or makes it inappropriate to a larger extent. And at times we do end up using different types conjunctions like "and, or, nor, but, because, after all, hence, otherwise" etc and making the sentence seem like a paragraph. Hey!..I almost forgot the word "IF". A full stop gives meaning to a sentence.It's only an end to start something afresh, to begin new. But its very important that we do use it at all times when required. 

Similarly , how often do we put full stops in our lives, when it is required.  There are so many 'buts', 'If''s' and 'Only if's' and these are never ending. Every corner of our life, we have to deal with it, be it in relationships, work , health and it goes on and on. I get countless calls from people who need help, for wanting to change something in their lives, feeling stuck in a relationship, wanting the relationship to move further, wanting to take care of their health- but finding no time. 

Yes, prayer and faith heals and sorts everything in life, but one needs to do some work. Ask the mind, to take some action, otherwise one will feel miserable all the while. What would it take to simply say whats going on in our mind for such a long time or for that matter what would it take to simply stop an abusive relationship or what would it take to simply say a "No" to a pizza. Somewhere we have to put a full stop and start taking actions to change our life for the better..Why do we need to stay stuck in a rut, just because we owe something to a person, to a place or even to ourselves just because we are emotionally connected. 

We rarely do that , we simply just carry on and on, hoping for things to work, hoping that others would simply understand. Its all right to hope, wish and dream. But some where we need to just step back and think, what is it that's bothering us. There has got to be something, that we simply don't feel right about, we don't feel good about how things are shaping up in our lives. It is this SELF, that we need to take care, not to end something, but to stop something that doesn't allow us to be the person we are meant to be. The mind plays a tape and Say's " hey... don't you feel it was otherwise, what am I getting out of this and how long am I going to keep trying,  why am I feeling so used, why are you doing this, why am I just not saying, why can't I  just say stop".  

When this perception of ourselves gets deflected, it is time to step up a little bit and simply put a full stop. A full stop to all the nonsense, the hypocrisy, the cheating , emotional blackmail etc...Anything that doesn't allow the freedom to express oneself, to value what we believe in..is something that we really need to give a thought. And Once we do put a full stop, we experience the real freedom. A new beginning that adds meaning to life, respect to oneself and the process of loving the SELF occurs. 

There's a price we pay, when we delay these full stops in our lives. Mine just came a second too late, but  I hope you do put the full stops, when it is really needed. With a Full Stop there is a sense of completion to begin  or to write something new . And it is just not to start afresh but also to add a new meaning to the previous sentence. 

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The View from my Window......

There is a slight ruffle on one of  the branches outside my window. A bird is perched and moving along the branch ...its the Fantail flycatcher again. And I realized have been been watching this bird for a very long time now.  Earlier in the week I did wonder which bird is this...thought it was the chimney but on closer look ..got to know it was the fantail..usually found in the tropical areas in Asia. The weather is nice , with the summer breeze flowing through (yes! even during the rains..its still the summer here).The branches swaying in the breeze ..and so is the Fantail. Wonder how the Fantail is feeling at the moment...the breeze flowing through its feathers and moving its beautiful tail.

It has started raining and the leaves along with the fantail is getting soaked in the warm water of the rains.The huge mango tree with its branches spread out looks fresh and clean . The sky is looking grey-er , and I wish it remains like this throughout the day.Simply,  love the grey look...gives a mystical  feeling to the surrounding. Sitting on the bed, looking at the window..to this world outside.There is a sense of liveliness around, more than before or is it just me who's feeling like that ..I guess so! This is the view from my window, the only view that I have of the outer world at present. Every window is not just a window to the outside world, its a window to our inner world, a world only we know so well. Our feelings, our emotions are deeply locked inside us....its when we look outside, its not what we see that makes us feel good, its what we feel within us, how we perceive things the way they are around us that makes the difference. The window is just a thing, a structure, an object, through which we see the outside world. But the inner world is the one, that makes us feel what we feel truly about everything in Life. It is this window that we need to open , to discover ourselves , to discover what is that makes us feel good, makes us feel happy in life, even discover things that we truly don't understand about ourselves.

A chat with friends in a coffee shop, a call from a loved one, a job well done,  seeing the happiness on our child's face all these things makes our world beautiful. Life becomes dependent on others happiness and yes we feel good too..so how long are we able to sustain this feel good experience or moment as we call it. The sunrise makes us feel elated and happy and full of hope, but if we are not feeling good within, even the sunrise can't do wonders to our soul..Its never out there, its always in us,..to try to find the happiness within.  It is this window that am talking about. But very rarely we see this inner window. As I look through the window of my house, I also notice the window pane and the window sill. And a thought passes....how can I make it look more interesting. Its all up to me  to do the necessary changes. And with the inner window, its all up to me, to create a beautiful world, the presence of which I feel within .

So dear what's the view through your window?

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