Recipe of Life

The best recipes in life are those which we create ourselves – I was told once. I read somewhere ‘Life would be much easier if I had the source code’ – interesting concept. How true is it? Would we have a better control over our lives if we had the power to change it as and when required? As much as I want to believe otherwise thinking about notions like fate, destiny and providence, where all these notions stands correct to a certain extent, I also believe we always have the other option i.e. to make a difference, to live the way we want.

Unable in achieving an objective at one given point in time or the other is not necessarily failure but not the right time for it to happen – that is providence helping us off and on, guiding us through different perils with or without our knowledge. There is no recipe for a successful life – it is a combination of our experiences and observations, what we learn through our mistakes and last but not the least the strength of positive thinking and never giving up! Imagine your life as a big canvas ready to be painted - so paint it beautiful – paint it well, full of bright colors. The recipe can be as complicated or as simple as you want it to be – it’s just the way you look at it!

Mind Without Fear

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action--

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

~ Rabindranath Tagore

On Success...

It is strange how busy we get battling with the daily affairs that we fail to stop and admire the simplest things in life - how conveniently we manage to ignore the obvious and move on as if it never happened, running blindly towards fame, fortune and success yet missing the essence which makes one's personality. How unfortunate we are not to feel, enjoy and realise where true happiness lies and how each one of us can make a difference. As beautifully explained by an American poet 'Ralph Waldo Emerson' some simple yet powerful and inspirational words to follow...

To laugh often and much

And the affection of children
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
And endure the betrayal of false friends
To appreciate beauty
To find the best in others
To leave the world a bit better
Whether by a healthy child
Or a garden patch…
To know even one life has breathed easier
Because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded   

Things to do...

What would you do at times when you get to hear words like unemployment, recession, downsizing, frustration, disappointment almost everywhere you go? How would you keep yourself motivated, focused and on track filtering these distractions from your daily routine thinking whether it is time to change or to continue the same way? 

One of the ways to balance it is to have a look at the 'things to do' or our wish list which many of us keep making note of thinking we shall get back to it whenever we have free time. That time is here now - so let’s have a look at that list of pending items requiring your attention starting from prioritizing the top 10 things want to do. Putting off what might keep you motivated will make you grim if you don't get to it soon enough. 

As for me, I am catching up on my photography lessons ~ something I have wanted to do since a very long time. Finally, one of the long awaited items on my list of things to do is coming true!

I Ask You!

How did it all come to this, I ask you? When as a child I was taught not to lie, not to hurt, not to steal from anyone – was taught to be honest, comforting and gentle to everyone – was taught to become a good human being, to be considerate, to be a beacon of light for all and yet the first day I step out from the safe and secure boundaries of my home I witness the opposite. How did it all come to this; I ask you, who is to blame? I ask you!

With this contrast between the real and the unreal, where do I stand? what do I do? when I am asked to join a few who ruthlessly dictate the lives of all or else left alone to withstand the consequences of choices I never made. Where do I stand? what do I do? when I am asked to defy my essential teachings to become a fake who I am not; how did it all come to this; I ask you, who is to blame? I ask you!

This is not the world I was promised. This is not the way I set out to live – so why am I to be punished if I retaliate – why am I to be held responsible, if I fight to protect myself from the unjust ways? Where do I stand? what do I do? when I am forced to go through the constant agony and pain of daily affairs which make me forget who I am. Where do I stand? what do I do? when I am made to lose track of where I started from and where am I heading. How did it all come to this; I ask you, who is to blame? I ask you!

Everyday is a constant struggle to keep myself alive. Trying my best not to give into the vicious circle of life. But slowly and steadily I start forgetting who I am; withering away with constant poisoning inculcated again and again – such poisoning which leaves me stranded with every bit of sanity from within. Where do I stand? what do I do? when I see my beliefs being brutally murdered in front of my eyes each day; so much so that I start a life of deceit where everyone is welcomed to join but no one is permitted to leave. How did it all come to this; I ask you, who is to blame? I ask you!

How will this ever change? I really don't know. Will I ever be able to make my place, I really don't know. For how long will I have to pay the price for standing my ground; I really don't know. For how long will I be punished for enduring it all; I really don't know? How did it all come to this; I ask you, who is to blame? I ask you!

Who are we fighting? Is it me, them or us all – trying in one way or the other to break free from it all. Why did it all come to this? Why did not we stop? Is there still hope, I question, for us all? I imagine each day that tomorrow will be a better day, there is hope I can feel, there is still light for us to reach. We can't give up now for I can see some good still left in this world worth fighting for! I Believe.