Do we really need the noise?

I'm going to begin this post with a chapter out of mythology - I'll call it that though quite a few believe that everything in the Mahabharat really happened. 

Everyone knows - or maybe most of us know that Kunti, the mother of the five pandavas and Karna, had a blessing from Sage Durvasa, because of which she was able to call any of the devatas on earth. Most of us believe that this was because Kunti served the sage really well during his visit. However, from what I have read, it actually began with the welcome of the sage.

The moment Kuntibhoj (Kunti's father, the king) came to know that Sage Durvasa was visiting the kingdom, panic set in. Durvasa was known for his quick temper and one mistake was enough to get a curse. Kuntibhoj busied his people in the preparations for welcoming the sage. He was planning a massive party of dhol, nagara, aarti etc. Kunti, on the other hand, had a different idea. She asked him not to engage the noisy musical instruments. Instead, she recommended, create an atmosphere which would make one feel calm, peaceful, rested. The idea was accepted, and Durvasa set his foot into the kingdom which was decorated with beautiful flowers. The roads were scented and there was a slow, soft dhun of the omkar being sung in beautiful voices. It took away the tiredness of his travel. The ire, for which he was known so much, simply dissolved.

Coming back to reality, lets come out of the noisy Ganesh Aarti for the moment. Close our eyes and imagine ourselves surrounded by grass and flowers, sweet fragrances, peace, quiet. Now tell me, do we really need the noise to enjoy the festivities of the mind?

Of moms and daughters in law

This is what runs in your mind when you read one too many blog posts about mom / daughter in law relations and also keep reading about 'leaning in'. The whole idea of 'lean in' is bent on women supporting women and both getting ahead, rather than women competing with women, especially for getting share of a man's mind.

If, for one day, all moms, daughters and sisters in law decided to support and stand by each other, it might even turn into a maternal dominated society overnight. Why do the wife and mother have to compete for getting attention from the husband / son? On a different note, if a man's wife and mother spoke the same language, he would be very happy. In fact, he would hardly have an option other than to comply. This may however, be difficult for a generation of ma in laws which has seen a different environment since their childhood and has been conditioned to treat their daughters in law in the same manner that their ma in laws treated them.

If the change were to start by the current generation who has a son, and if this whole generation of mothers in law, daughters in law and sisters in law collaborated instead of competing, we may be headed for a society where the crimes against women would go down significantly. And this doesn't need much, except for the will to do it.

And what are the cons? Some TV serials may not remain relevant anymore, but that's not much to give, is it? I'm actually reminded of a past TV serial called 'tu-tu, main-main', showing a different kind of MIL - DIL relationship. It showed the two having constant differences of opinion among themselves, but fiercely defending each other against anyone else. That's probably where the ideal ground lies.

A post about love (!!!)

Now, I am not THAT kind of blogger / writer. I would usually refrain from blogging or writing about love or motherly emotions or any kind of f e e l i n g s. It reminds me of a scene from Everybody Loves Raymond, which, to my mind, was more of a reality show than some reality shows. In that scene, as the newly married couple Robert and Amy indulge in PDA, their seniors Ray and Debra look at each other with Debra finally saying "Remember when we were that stupid?"

But that doesn't mean I haven't had those feelings....hell, yeah I have. The wonderful thing about love is that it is capable of dominating bloody well all other feelings. I have experienced love to completely overcome fear. It can make you forget that this would be a situation in which normal people (read, those who have grown out of love) may experience fear.

In many cases involving love, one can feel one's resilience rise to an incredible level. The extent to which your mind can process things or events without reacting increases dramatically. I have seen love bring assertiveness out of an otherwise introvert person, and establishing stability over an otherwise impulsive one. 

If this capability of love, to change the innate nature of a person and to overpower other emotions were to be used in an advantageous manner, there can be tremendous achievements. But fortunately or unfortunately, where love is involved, there aren't any considerations of advantage / disadvantage. It is therefore left to destiny to bring out the best out of love. So here's wishing luck to be added to the power of love.....

The 'Sun-lighter' side of life.....

"How are you settling down?" has been on the top of the list of FAQs for me in the last few months, an obvious one for someone who has shifted residence across continents. It's not yet been six months, but here are some things that struck.....

You can see the sun in here and actually feel its heat. But the heatwave can also strike with a vengeance as if saying 'Coming from the land of rain, huh?.......now take this.....'. For at least a month since we landed, my nearly six year old limited her world to the AC room with a working remote.

Practically any grocery item needed can be found out of the society gate. But the heat makes you unwilling to walk to get grocery anyway.

Point to point distance can be reached with a means cheaper than a taxi. But sometimes, you are thankful you were able to get down in one piece from that 'means'.

Envelopes, glue stick, all available at your doorstep. But postal stamps can be secured only from the post office and must be posted in the boxes outside the post office. No post boxes can be found at a walking distance and if you do find one, you're told the post is going to stay inside the box forever.

You could travel in a local train past four stations for INR10 (EUR0.14) V/s EUR5. But god save you if you don't know which side you need to alight from.

You now have someone do your dishes for you. But promotions and bonus, all expected within a month, since its Diwali!

You now know who lives next door....but the twin kids next door can ring the doorbell (and at least thrice) anytime and hop in to disturb your kid's study.

Relatives / friends are now a local phone call away, but welcome to the land of no response to professional e-mails.

The language is of course, 'aapni', but the general mind set might sometimes feel like the square peg in the round hole, whose edges are being "filed" to suit the requirements of the hole.

Contradictions aside, it probably is the destiny of the ice to melt in its own water (Swades of course) and to be "unmade" in India!

We are what we repeatedly do. Now really?

I heard this one recently. This is Aristotle speaking: We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. The wise guy probably meant it in the sense of developing a habit to excel or some such. But the 'We are what we repeatedly do' makes me uncomfortable (If it were in my hands, I wouldn't do anything repeatedly and try something new everyday).

Agreed, people see you (and maybe, even judge you) in as little detail as your designations. That's what they think you repeatedly do. But hey, what about the whole melodrama that goes on in the mind, which leaks in little acts and might make a grand entry once the curtain's up?!! What about the thousand and one aspirations (not shekhchalligiri, but calculated, swot analysed aspirations)which keep playing like a broken record at the back of the mind? So then, you might physically be sitting down, repeatedly striking the computer keys and be a something manager. But that ain't what you are, dear Ary. What you are probably leaks out somewhere else(like in blogs!!).

Aristotle's problem was that he wasn't born in a social network world - a world where what you are, what you do, what you want people to think you are / you do and what people actually turn out thinking what you are / you do, are all four different things. For example, you sit at the desk blogging, your mind is snow tubing down somewhere and your skype status is set to 'do not disturb' mode, making people think you are on a conference call or working on a project. If Ary was true, people would be 'whatsappers' for instance. Everyone ought to see the 'Disconnect to connect' (google it if you don't know) commercial.

I recall listening to a medical doctor telling that whatever you fill into your subconscious mind repeatedly, ultimately becomes a reality. So, for the real mixed with virtual world, you probably are what your mind is repeatedly doing. What do you think?

The square is a diamond.

It must be countless.... the number of times I have heard kids blurting out gems like these.

This one happened when my little one saw one of her scrabble game pieces simply lying on the table. She was looking at it from an angle and out came an excited "Look mummy.....the square is a diamond!" At that moment I just calmed her down with a "Yes, it is sweetie", but then I wondered where the hell had I lost this uninhibited, no-set-boundaries and no-defined-rules imaginative way of thinking. Why can't we look at our squares as diamonds?

The other day, she was trying to draw a TV on her drawing board - in circular shape of course, because she doesn't like straight lines. Anything is possible.

Logical thinking doesn't work. Lateral does. And three feet tall people are full of 'lateral'.

I recall reading an address by a renowned inventor. He was telling the children 'Don't listen to your parents and don't listen to your teachers.' His logic was - what was good at the time your parents were children isn't good enough now. Probably true.

When we were kids, I recall playing a game of words. Somebody says a word and you must immediately speak another word. The rule is, the second word must be absolutely unconnected to the first. Maybe this one should be a game for grown-ups.

Rain Rain go to Spain?

"Rain Rain go away, come again another day, little Johnny wants to play" - how many of us recited this poem at school? And how many of us recited this poem in India(!) And after reciting that poem in K.G. we grew up and learnt in 'social studies'  that India is primarily an agricultural economy. And that the farmers largely depend on rain.

This poem was probably brought into India by the Brits. At some places they have actually gone a step ahead and added another line 'Rain rain go to Spain, do not show your face again'. Notwithstanding the fact that many of them themselves actually go away to Spain to satisfy the craving for sun.

Human nature is self contradictory. We long for something "different" and when we do have it for some time, we long to go back to familiar circumstances. We had a first hand experience of this in Ireland last week. It was a full week of Sun. Seven consecutive sunny days are as rare in Ireland as a summer below 30 degrees in India - a practical impossibility. We were delirious with joy until about the fifth day. On the sixth day, fear started creeping up - 'How long is the sunshine going to last - lets make the most of it while its here.' And finally when it rained yesterday, many of us were 'Ah, thank God, it's the same old Ireland' - though I am sure there will be very few who will confess to this. It's unfashionable to love the weather in Ireland.

Our car being what it is, was resting in a garage yesterday (timing!) and I had forgotten my umbrella at home (timing again!). And yet, my Indian soul, one which had, in past, enjoyed rainy days on my apartment ('flat' for US and India) terrace, thoroughly enjoyed walking in the rain back from my daughters' creche draped in a plastic 'poncho' (google image if you don't know what it means). I must have looked silly, since the last baby in the baby room had his eyes wide open with amazement when he looked at me. But it didn't matter - the familiar rain was back and for once, I was loving it. And sitting within her rain covered buggy, so was my daughter.

It doesn't matter what the weather outside is, really. It is the weather inside that counts.

So, what's new?

That is probably the very next statement you hear, particularly on telephone conversations, after a Hi / Hello / How are you?

It just goes to show how humans, naturally, are fascinated by "new". New clothes, new films, new cuisines, new job, new relationships, new events et al.  (Remember the "Waah Sunilbaabu... naya ghar, nayi Mrs." ad?). We want to know something we don't already know - maybe that's why we keep tracking all the NEWs? (I'd ignore my information that it's actually an acronym for North East West South).

Given our attraction towards the 'new', its amazing how we can still continue to be the same, live in the same way, think in the same way - nothing new! If we were to do (read try) something new, if not every day (like our kids), atleast every week, we'd garner a wealth of experiences.

I have taken up walking in the mornings and / or at lunchtimes nowadays (need to lose weight or else might need a lot of 'new' loose clothes). Though the rain in Dublin gives me ample reasons to go back to sleep in the mornings, the last few days have had some 'new' and fresh sunshine, and below is what you get to see when you venture out at lunch times in St. Stephen's Green in Dublin on a sunny day.

It is a really refreshing walk. As for me, I can't help wanting to bring my little princess down here and sitting with her beside the duck pond. Just sitting there.

And today, since the sun is back playing hide and seek and alternating with the rain, I'm back to what I didn't do since last couple of months - blog. And that's refreshing too!

Being be-littled.

You don't get an off on Valentine's day. There's no point asking for an off, since it's busy season for hubby anyway. So you come to office, and like all moms working outside their homes, your mind wanders off (yet again) to the strongest link between you and your partner. When they are with you, you have an abnormal craving for some "lone" time. When they are not with you, the cherubic photo on your desk takes your mommy mind back to them.

So as a part of the lunchtime blogging for today, here are ten rules to being "be-littled" ( in similar sense as be-witched maybe??).

1. Bow : You must get down to the size of the "towering" three foot personality in front of you, if you want to reason with them. Being high headed is not acceptable in negotiations.

2. Mind your ears: Train your ears to hear 'What's this?' as a song. In fact, it will most often be uttered twice at the same time, and in a rhythm.

3. Mind your memory: Send your grown up memory for a brisk walk, to return after 3-4 minutes. You must forget where they were hidden a moment before and look desperately for them, at the same time saying "Oh, where's my little girl gone? Mommy cannot find her..........." Repeat this four times, ending with finding them at the same place all five times.

4. Choice: Please note that a "pretty dress" can be requested to be tried at any time, including bed time. Pyjamas don't fit the definition of "pretty dress".

5. Still life?: All objects listen. They must be waved goodbye to.

6.Language: All "Oops!" must be replaced with "Upsy Daisy!".

7. Break? What Break?: Settling down too obviously with a book is prohibited. If you do so, you deserve a summons like "Let's have a picnic." or "Lets play the ABCD."

8. Higher authority: Any raising of voice is likely to be immediately appealed to a higher court. "Daddy's comin" will be the standard wordings of the notice.

9. Never say no: Please remember that any direct refusals to comply are likely to be met with 'bawling'. Bawling is not crying. Crying is shedding tears when you are sad. Bawling is designed to make mommy and daddy feel like crying. Please do not refuse. Re-direct instead.

10. Pardon: Any requests for pardon must be accompanied with the fees of a hug. Incomplete requests are likely to be ignored.

Mommies, more rules in your rule books? Please bring them out. :)

Kuchh Khaas hai, ham sabhi mein......

Preeti's last writing prompt on the final Wishlist Wednesday on her blog justamotheroftwo.blogspot.com immediately took me back to this superb Cadbury's ad of some time ago:

Kuchh khaas hai, ham sabhi mein,
Kuchh baat hai, ham sabhi mein,
Baat hai, khaas hai, kya swaad hai..... kya swaad hai, zindagi mein.

All of us have something which other people would like to have. All of us at some or other time in our lives, become someone other people would like to be - for however short a period of time. So also, everyone around us would have some good quality, which we might like to acquire. And the good thing is, you can acquire these without depriving them of it :)

So to answer the prompt,

I wish I could be like my Mom, when it comes to not wasting even a little bit of food by efficiently using it in some or other way before it spoils. She can conjure up incredibly tasty dishes by using left over bits, before it is spoiled.

I wish I could be like my Dad, when it comes to business acumen. To bring a business from a small home office to the level it is now, he must be knowing the inside out of it.

I wish I could be like my Husband, when it comes to patience and stability in dealing with circumstances. He is a perfect example of 'If you can keep your head when all about you, are losing theirs and blaming it on you'. (Please see the poem 'If' by Rudyard Kipling)

I wish I could be like my Mother in Law, when it comes to undivided, absolute dedication towards bringing up children. The manner in which she has brought up her children, despite the family circumstances, is nothing short of exemplary.

I wish I could be like my Daughter, when it comes to curiosity. As I mentioned in a previous post, every alternate sentence of hers is 'What's that'? Wonder why we loose this childlike curiosity when we grow up?

I wish I could be like my Boss, (yes, he too has something good) when it comes to using the perfect language in a negotiation. He can make a point of what he wants, and yet not make the opposite party feel like they have lost something.

And last but not the least, I wish I could continue to be like Me, when it comes to noticing the good qualities in people who surround me :)

The un-rippling effect.

Land me into a tranquil soil,
the fertility of which, isn't affected
by the ripples caused by winds of turmoil;
And which continues to support growth, unabated.

'When you want to change (read improve) the world, you should start with yourself'. We all wish to improve something or make things better for someone around us, don't we? But have we considered that improving something within ourselves might make a remarkable improvement for the people and things around us?

I wish I could touch a level of stability such that

Acceptance or rejection,
Success or failure,
Joy or grief,
Favourable or unfavourable circumstances

do not become a ripple and affect my journey - what I had set out to do and why I had set out to do it.

I am not asking for a stony, emotionless heart. But I don't need an impulsive mind either. I am only asking for a stability enough to not react to the emotions, enough to not affect my sense of purpose, and my steps towards achieving it.

I wish I could touch a level of stability which will help me retain my cool when my toddler drives my patience to extreme limits, because I had set out to be a good mother and because I love my child dearly. Won't it result in creating a wonderful example for her?

I wish I could touch a level of stability which will allow me to continue to climb the ladders of professional space, despite rejections of all ideas and non recognition of all efforts, because I had set out to be a good employee, and because I wanted to contribute something to my work. Won't it improve processes for me and other people?

Probably the following lyrics of a hindi movie song say it all -

Gham aur khushi mein fark na mehsoos ho jahaan......main dil ko us muqaam pe laata chala gaya, har fikr ko dhunve me udaata chala gaya......

This post is in response to the Wishlist Wednesday No. 6 posted by Preeti Shenoy on her blog : http://justamotheroftwo.blogspot.com.

Some thoughts which sprouted in 2012

I needed to finish this one before the end of this month, or else it would only be too outdated!!! Just like it would have happened to everyone, 2012 did leave me with some thoughts, feelings, experiences which I had not had previously. Below is some food for thought, which sprouted in 2012....and might possibly branch out in 2013 :)

1. Something should be in the pipeline.

Unless something - some new learning, some new experience, some new project is in process, you're not really living. It might be as simple a thing as figuring out a way to get your toddler to do something, rather than doing it yourself (if you're a parent, you know that this is a project in itself) or something not-so-simple, like figuring out a way to earn more money/reduce taxes/increase savings etc. etc. But something should be in process of being learnt and perfected, something should be in the pipleline.

2. Be curious.....

About people. I know people call this intrusive, but I think its fine as long as you're not piercing someone's personal space. Example - Asking "Where did you buy this dress from?" is perfectly normal and might even be seen as a compliment by someone. "Why are you wearing this sort of dress?" is not normal and will be seen as intrusive by most.

About events. Even those that might not be directly relevant to you. "Why is there a traffic jam delaying my return home?" is not really curiosity. What are the people protesting against, resulting in creating a traffic jam is a bit of curiosity. Why are they protesting, what were the events which led to this - is another level of curiosity.

About things. Every alternate sentence of my nearly three years old daughter is "What's that?" And when answered, she tries to repeat that word twice and can recall it at the most unexpected times. If you don't know what 'gangnam style' on your friend's facebook post means, google it and find out. Google can be an incredible curiosity feeder and generator.

3. Knowing your biggest limitation - may or may not be associated with fear.

In my case, it is not being able to pass the driving test and secure a full licence. Now, I am not afraid of driving. As one of my cousins remarked years before.... "she is the most confident driver I have seen. Whether or not she's good at driving is another question."   If not observed by anyone, I tend to drive pretty well, by the book, actually. But there seems to be this "rule-bound" way of being tested here, which I don't quite seem to be getting. In fairness, I trained and got my first licence in Ahmedabad, India. If you've lived there, you know how the driving discipline there is, if there is any. Lets see if I can conquer this one in 2013.

But my story apart, it pays to know what's that one thing stopping you, limiting you, making your life difficult. If you know this, you can dream of and work towards attacking it.....and conquering it.

What were your new thoughts, experiences in 2012? Please do share.

 

It's not done till it's done. :))

This post is in response to 'Wishlist Wednesday No.4' - hosted by Preeti Shenoy on her blog justamotheroftwo.blogspot.com. The creative prompt for this week is: I wish everyone loved.....   

Now, I'm not normally interested in other people's love lives. No, not even celebrities'. As long as people don't hurt any living beings, I'm fine with whatever they love.

But there are some attitudes, which, if installed in everyone, can change the way a person, family, organisation, country or the world functions.

So to answer the prompt, I wish everyone loved to finish the work they were doing, no matter how huge or how trivial. Just think, if people started focussing on completing the work at hand, if everybody put their share of bricks and mortar in, much better things would be built in no time. Mind you, I am not promoting completion of work without quality. Quality of work is important, but at the same time, completion is equally important.

Incomplete or half-hearted work, as we call it, will leave loose ends for others to pick up. And then, they can either make a mess of what you originally set out to achieve, or they can create something brilliant, to their credit, though the foundation was yours.

Take ample time to plan out whatever is required before you start working, and once you do start working, finish it.  If there are problems or obstacles in the middle, try to find a solution and do all you can to counter the obstacles. My maths teacher taught me this. I wasn't good at maths and I would bring problems to him saying I am not able to solve them. On one occassion he remarked "Unless you complete the problem to the extent where you get stuck and can't go further, I am not going to help you."  And still, how often we get defeated just by the sight of the problem and wait for a "maths teacher" to arrive, even before approaching the problem? If we do not apply our mind at all to the problems, we are never going to solve them.

Its only natural for the caterpillar to struggle against the cocoon and finally come out to be a butterfly. Once the cocoon is created, it can't sit inside forever.

Completing something small and saying "I've done it!" can give tremendous satisfaction - the kind which can never be received from initiating something big - and then leaving it half way.

 

Please don't say 'just' a housewife....

This is the first thought that struck me when I read the creative prompt for Wishlist Wednesday No. 3.

So, the one thing I wish everyone would learn is to recognise and value the abilities and contribution of women whom they brand as 'just a housewife'. Yes, I agree that having a career and yet being able to manage the house efficiently amounts to something. But at the same time, that does not mean that managing a household only, without having a paid job or business / profession amounts to nothing.

I believe that most women would want to have an income of their own, to be able to dispose it off as they please, but some of them might have had to give up this want for a variety of reasons, which, in their minds had a higher priority. And trust me, some of these women who are 'just housewives', have skills which would draw excellent rewards, if they were to use these as paid consultants.

The way some of them manage the relationships between family members - tackling ego clashes, generation gaps, inferiority and superiority complexes, could provide some invaluable lessons for HR heads. This is more relevant for housewives (Can I call them 'homemakers'? - It suits their profile better.), because they are personally available for the family to share (or sometimes 'dump'?) their feelings all the time.

The way they negotiate terms and payments with various service providers can give incredible ideas about what you missed in that all important contract negotiation for business.

I just have to point out an example here. Some years back, in Mumbai, selling stuff in plastic bags was prohibited and there was a fine of Rs.500 for shopkeepers who were found handing out plastic bags. When asked for a bag of her own by a grocery shop owner, this homemaker replied "Can't you be selling cloth bags too? I'm sure a good amount would sell......" Wasn't this a business idea for all practical purposes? Something for which we set up strategic divisions and hire Big 4s or 5s?

Why is how much money you're able to earn the major (or for some people, the only) marker for how relevant you are?

This thought was nicely portrayed in the film 'English Vinglish'. Though the film was mainly about people lacking the knowledge of English being belittled, somewhere, it also highlighted that your ordinary 'housewife' was not 'born to make laddoos'. She could be an 'entrepreneur'. I loved that film.

So people, the next time you're tempted to think of someone as 'just a housewife', think again. She could be the cause why you or your family member or your friend are what you are.

This post is in response to 'Wishlist Wednesday No. 3' posted by Preeti Shenoy on her blog http://justamotheroftwo.blogspot.ie/. More so, it is dedicated to a woman who impressed my thoughts enough to write it.

Thought Attack!

It's not often that this happens to me at night time. Mind you, I love my sleep. But last night, I again had what I would call a "thought attack" - when atleast five different thoughts, somewhere losely connected, or maybe not, attack at the same time. It started off with seeing the beginning of the movie 'The Social Network' and brought me to these thoughts:

- So many of these business ventures i.e. Facebook, Linkedin, Microsoft (and my friend added Infosys, as I spoke this thought) started in places like a backyard or a garage or something similarly un-business like;

- It must be correct that all great things start with an 'idea';

- So how to get this, this "idea" - would a logical consideration of options help?

- Probably not. Lateral thinking is the answer.

- Now what was that lateral thinking puzzle about the farmer's daughter having to select a black or white stone from the bag to avoid marrying the landlord?

So you see where I started off and where I ended? This is what happens in a thought attack. I shut off my mind with a Sherlock Holmes short story last night, but the 'lateral thinking' came back to haunt me again today. I checked out a few puzzles for lateral thinking (including the farmer's daughter one) and these seem quite interesting. Anyone having any real life experiences where they applied lateral thinking?

Direct Dil se.......

How often had I heard that the heart had a direct connection with creativity. In the past, when I wrote from my heart, it always touched some soul.

And yet, I don't know how I went on to become a calculative, practical, choose-brain-over-heart person. I stayed this way for a while.....until, of course, until he came along.

As I ended an intense argument with him on a technical matter, I realised I wanted to be defeated. Somebody had seemingly poured a drop of "amrut" on my heart and it broke out of my shell of realism like a tender sapling breaks the cover of earth to a realm of infinite possibility.

My brain went into an overdrive to stop me, exactly as some parents would want to stop their children from entering into risky ventures. It started screaming the 'you'll burn your fingers' warning over and over. But unfortunately for it, my heart was now alive. And despite all efforts from my brain, a wish escaped from my heart......the wish to have him, for life.

As I kept meeting him, I became aware that I also had a 'gut' feeling. This 'gut' was continuously telling me that this person is not who he seems - he is something extraordinary, someone who has capabilities far beyond those apparent.

And then I told him. I told him that my heart was screaming for him, with enough noise to blank out my brain's shouting. And he accepted.......

What more can I say! Seven years of life with him have proved I had a golden 'gut', atleast then. :)


This post is in response to the creative prompt for 'Wish List Wednesdays', posted by Preeti Shenoy on her blog 'justamotheroftwo.blogspot.com'. All the best for your forthcoming book, Preeti!

Worldly wishes from a materialist soul.....

Yes, I do call myself a materialist and yes, still, I do have a "working" soul. A soul which shouted today morning, to give a little schoolgirl my bus seat - to which her dictator-of-a-mother refused.

But lets not digress, we need to talk here about my worldly wishes. As Preeti has mentioned, these need to be "things", and these need to be capable of being possessed (i.e. it can't be Harry Potter's magic wand, you know!)

So, here goes......or as my two and half year old would say "Here GO...."

The three things I badly wish I could have are........

1) A nice gleaming published copy of my miracle fiction book, the title and concept of which are very clear in my mind, but which does not have a single page written yet, for want of imagination and introspection time...actually, that is what the book will be about. (Preeti, your publishers are reading this, right?)

2) A letter from The Prize Bond Company Ltd. confirming that one of my bonds has won their EUR1 million prize.

3) Retainership agreements with five companies (I am not greedy) who wish to avail of my services. I can't disclose my field of work here, sorry.

And, maybe not badly, but I do wish to get Preeti's latest book - to be able to see how people can put their souls into imaginary bodies and make them do things.




This post is in response to the 'Wish List Wednesdays' creative prompt posted by Preeti Shenoy on  http://justamotheroftwo.blogspot.ie/

CATCH IT!

Out there, running in front, is your dream,

Go, come on, run, CATCH IT!

Its attractiveness has lured many fools around -

Like bees to a honeycomb,

Everyone’s  looking to find a higher ground

With a fake tan of aplomb.

If they grab it you know they’ll make a mess,

From what you originally thought it should be,

And then you can do nothing but confess:

You had it there, but you let it flee....

So, get up.....

Out there, running in front, is your dream,

Go, come on, run, CATCH IT!

Pankhon ko hawa zara si lagne do.....take risks!

Was listening to this inspiring song from Rocket Singh on the way to work yesterday. And what followed was a spotlight in the newspaper on the Irish runner who scored a gold in the 1500 mts at the paralympics. Seeing all the pics of the runners with the blades (and without legs!) with this song playing in my mind brought me back to another oft repeated statement "Whatever the human mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve." So what if you don't have legs? You can still choose (yes, choose, not wish!) to participate in a running race for your country.

And yet, how often people like us, with all physical capabilities, by the grace of God, still want to land and remain in a "secure spot"?

The "blade-runners" did move a few strings of my soul. They will have made many people consider getting out of their nests and attempting to fly, I think....

Kahaani : Appearances are deceptive

Got to see this interesting movie only yesterday. (Ah! the joys of being a working mother!) Right from the helpless (?!!) pregnant lady looking for her husband, to the lame looking insurance agent who is in fact, a contract killer to the seemingly subdued junior police inspector, who actually turns out to be smarter than his boss, the movie screams this line : Appearances are deceptive. People might not always be what they seem.

And then, how often do we judge people based on the way they look? And how often do we change our appearance trying to make people think we are something, that we might not really be?

Years ago, I had got this worldly advise from a cousin of mine, who was obviously, mature beyond his years : Never underestimate anyone and never be over-impressed by anyone. Nice one that was. But despite having been given such wisdom, I do end up forming some impressions (better word than 'judgement', isn't it?) about people. I believe everybody does. We may or may not react to those impressions, but sort of can't help forming them. And these are of course, based on how we have lived and what we have seen and experienced until now.

So lets go some insight sharing here : If you were to meet a stranger today, what is something that would impress you - positively or negatively? What is something that will make you remember that person?