Moisture-laden winds of monsoon swish through the trees
playing with the leaves
The smell of wet earth
Green land looks up at the dark clouds
waiting....asking.....for more rain to drench the searing heat....for soothing coolness....
30 May 2013
29 May 2013
28 May, Muscat, Oman...
We are bombarded with senseless cruel acts that people perpetrate...here's something very different...
As my DD was driving home, she suddenly saw that cars had slowed down to a crawl and were stopping.
She wondered why, and then saw the reason. There was, in her words, 'a teeeeennyyy, tiiinnnnnnyyy kitten chasing a leaf on the road. The scene was so cute. One person got out and tried to catch the kitten, but the kitten thought that was a game and played now with the leaf, and now with the person. Everyone just sat and watched, laughing at the innocent sight in front of them. Finally, they backed up and started driving slowly in the opposite lane....'
In Muscat, where lane traffic is followed carefully, and people move at high speeds to definite destinations, this little kitten had the power to make everyone stop.
There was no road rage, no upset at time passing, no thought of deadlines that might be getting delayed....
Everyone just sat and watched and gave in to the happiness of the moment
Finally, not wanting to upset the kitten, they actually backed up and went down slowly in the opposite lane?....unthinkable....but they all did it....and I'm sure they carried that scene with them in their hearts to tell those they were to meet.....This is something that is bound to stay a long time in their minds, and whenever the thought pops up, will always bring a smile to their lips and eyes....
That's it---we do so little of stilling ourselves, and watching the little dramas life unfolds for our sheer enjoyment and pleasure...
As my DD was driving home, she suddenly saw that cars had slowed down to a crawl and were stopping.
She wondered why, and then saw the reason. There was, in her words, 'a teeeeennyyy, tiiinnnnnnyyy kitten chasing a leaf on the road. The scene was so cute. One person got out and tried to catch the kitten, but the kitten thought that was a game and played now with the leaf, and now with the person. Everyone just sat and watched, laughing at the innocent sight in front of them. Finally, they backed up and started driving slowly in the opposite lane....'
In Muscat, where lane traffic is followed carefully, and people move at high speeds to definite destinations, this little kitten had the power to make everyone stop.
There was no road rage, no upset at time passing, no thought of deadlines that might be getting delayed....
Everyone just sat and watched and gave in to the happiness of the moment
Finally, not wanting to upset the kitten, they actually backed up and went down slowly in the opposite lane?....unthinkable....but they all did it....and I'm sure they carried that scene with them in their hearts to tell those they were to meet.....This is something that is bound to stay a long time in their minds, and whenever the thought pops up, will always bring a smile to their lips and eyes....
That's it---we do so little of stilling ourselves, and watching the little dramas life unfolds for our sheer enjoyment and pleasure...
24 May 2013
If..
you are nice, be nice just for the sake of being nice...
you are loving, be loving for its own sake...
you are doing things for others, do it for its own merit...
you are being kind and understanding, be that because you are that, and you believe in that...
Not because it is going to win you something, or get you somewhere......
(that never works out....)
you are loving, be loving for its own sake...
you are doing things for others, do it for its own merit...
you are being kind and understanding, be that because you are that, and you believe in that...
Not because it is going to win you something, or get you somewhere......
(that never works out....)
This 600th post...
would be a good time to do a spot of thinking...
The awful....awful.....awful thing that happened at Woolwich, once again puts the spotlight on wrong interpretations that people give to their religious beliefs....no religion advocates paybacks...no religion.....and do paybacks really work out? The surrealistic picture of the killer walking around with the cleaver and bloodied hands....did it register in anybody's mind what was happening? And that poor innocent lad....paying for someone's madness.....did his being killed in that brutal manner bring back to life even one person who had been killed wrongly, collaterally, or in somebody else's war? did it assuage the pain of any of the relatives and loved ones of those killed whenever, however.....? and which killing is going to be the final one after which everyone can go back to leading normal lives?
There is no way anyone can rationalize or justify any killing....a killing is a killing. And, worse, it does not solve anything.....nothing at all....killing only begets killing until someone can stop it with generosity of spirit and compassion...
The awful....awful.....awful thing that happened at Woolwich, once again puts the spotlight on wrong interpretations that people give to their religious beliefs....no religion advocates paybacks...no religion.....and do paybacks really work out? The surrealistic picture of the killer walking around with the cleaver and bloodied hands....did it register in anybody's mind what was happening? And that poor innocent lad....paying for someone's madness.....did his being killed in that brutal manner bring back to life even one person who had been killed wrongly, collaterally, or in somebody else's war? did it assuage the pain of any of the relatives and loved ones of those killed whenever, however.....? and which killing is going to be the final one after which everyone can go back to leading normal lives?
There is no way anyone can rationalize or justify any killing....a killing is a killing. And, worse, it does not solve anything.....nothing at all....killing only begets killing until someone can stop it with generosity of spirit and compassion...
23 May 2013
Wise to remember...
at all times.....
That when we have a moment of glory--it really is that---one moment....
I came across this phrase while watching the movie, "Patton". Did some research and this is what I came up with:
In Roman times, a conquering general was allowed a “triumph", a parade though the streets of Rome, but Caesar commanded that a slave stand next to the general in his chariot continuously whispering into his ear “All glory is fleeting”.
Just to keep him grounded....
Held good then, holds good still......for even the memory of the triumph vanishes save from our minds, and if we don't want to let it run like a stuck record in our heads, it's better to get it out quick.....for after a while it becomes a festering sore....."I was........", "I did..........."
Everything is fleeting.....better to keep the head clear and the eyes straight ahead....
That when we have a moment of glory--it really is that---one moment....
I came across this phrase while watching the movie, "Patton". Did some research and this is what I came up with:
In Roman times, a conquering general was allowed a “triumph", a parade though the streets of Rome, but Caesar commanded that a slave stand next to the general in his chariot continuously whispering into his ear “All glory is fleeting”.
Just to keep him grounded....
Held good then, holds good still......for even the memory of the triumph vanishes save from our minds, and if we don't want to let it run like a stuck record in our heads, it's better to get it out quick.....for after a while it becomes a festering sore....."I was........", "I did..........."
Everything is fleeting.....better to keep the head clear and the eyes straight ahead....
22 May 2013
A dilemma...
an existential one...
Faced with correcting someone which may result in goodwill vanishing, or retaining the goodwill....which would be important.
Today, faced with this, I chose the keeping of the goodwill....errors or mistakes can always be worked out, solved, corrected.....but goodwill once lost, may be difficult to win back......
As in all problematic or difficult situations, force yourself to put some space between you and the problem/situation/even person, maybe......makes the perspective clearer, and we find there are more choices and options...
Faced with correcting someone which may result in goodwill vanishing, or retaining the goodwill....which would be important.
Today, faced with this, I chose the keeping of the goodwill....errors or mistakes can always be worked out, solved, corrected.....but goodwill once lost, may be difficult to win back......
As in all problematic or difficult situations, force yourself to put some space between you and the problem/situation/even person, maybe......makes the perspective clearer, and we find there are more choices and options...
Check these out...
My book, Frankincense and Myrrh is on Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CN9URPO
and I've just put in this story into Buzzle - Somethings that PYTs today take for granted was......................one of those things, two generations ago....!!!
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/susans-lipstick.html
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CN9URPO
and I've just put in this story into Buzzle - Somethings that PYTs today take for granted was......................one of those things, two generations ago....!!!
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/susans-lipstick.html
19 May 2013
No matter...
what situation you put a person in, the mind will find a way to deal with it. The whole body - in its totality - goes into emergency mode. Some systems shut down, and some go into overdrive, and eventually, not only does a way to cope appear, but the mind also makes it possible for you to turn it into as good a deal as is possible given the circumstances...
The mind actually never gives up.....we lose heart and stop the mind from functioning......but time and again people from ordinary walks of life have shown us the stuff heroes are made of.
The mind actually never gives up.....we lose heart and stop the mind from functioning......but time and again people from ordinary walks of life have shown us the stuff heroes are made of.
18 May 2013
The cricket IPL scam...
has again put into focus the fact that our actions cause a ripple effect.... the results of our actions affect us, yes, but also with equal force, if not greater intensity, they affect our immediate families, our extended families, our society, and on to the state to which we belong, and our country...
There is really no justifiable reason or excuse for wrong actions and words. For any one....big, small, rich, poor, famous or ordinary...
Agreed, very often we don't have time to think, or our thinking takes a wrong road, a wrong turning....but actions born out of insatiable greed? or out of wanting to harm someone? Where do these take us, and along with us a whole lot of innocent people too...
Whenever you have to do a lot of justifying, or reasoning, or rationalizing.....something must be wrong somewhere....
There is really no justifiable reason or excuse for wrong actions and words. For any one....big, small, rich, poor, famous or ordinary...
Agreed, very often we don't have time to think, or our thinking takes a wrong road, a wrong turning....but actions born out of insatiable greed? or out of wanting to harm someone? Where do these take us, and along with us a whole lot of innocent people too...
Whenever you have to do a lot of justifying, or reasoning, or rationalizing.....something must be wrong somewhere....
It is absolutely true...
It is only faith that can make you whole...
Faith in yourself would help you to look forward to waking up every morning...
Faith in your job would make you a better player and teammate...
Faith in family would bring meaning into every day of family life...and bring meaning into all the relationships a family brings with it...
Faith in your heritage would help you understand yourself better and remove all confusion...
Faith and only faith can make you a whole person...
Faith in yourself would help you to look forward to waking up every morning...
Faith in your job would make you a better player and teammate...
Faith in family would bring meaning into every day of family life...and bring meaning into all the relationships a family brings with it...
Faith in your heritage would help you understand yourself better and remove all confusion...
Faith and only faith can make you a whole person...
12 May 2013
Sharing something...
that jumped out at me from an article sent to me by my DD.
The Julliard Effect
"I don't have to be real specific what my life has to look like."
Which by extension means that you should not take your successes or failures personally.........for then you will be defining your life, and you'll just end up getting stuck--and----- getting stuck either on a platform (from which you may fall, or desperately try to stay on, or unrealistically try to go up from) - or under it (from where you may go up, or worse, stay put, or even worse, go further down) will not in truth contribute either to your happiness or your peace of mind...
You have to create your own reality eventually and keep the doors and windows open so you can bring in freshness and change.....and constantly re-invent yourself...
The Julliard Effect
"I don't have to be real specific what my life has to look like."
Which by extension means that you should not take your successes or failures personally.........for then you will be defining your life, and you'll just end up getting stuck--and----- getting stuck either on a platform (from which you may fall, or desperately try to stay on, or unrealistically try to go up from) - or under it (from where you may go up, or worse, stay put, or even worse, go further down) will not in truth contribute either to your happiness or your peace of mind...
You have to create your own reality eventually and keep the doors and windows open so you can bring in freshness and change.....and constantly re-invent yourself...
11 May 2013
One thing...
that I'm really beginning to enjoy and even relish is the sense of freedom that is happening to me as I'm growing older....
So many things that I used to get hyper about or that seemed hugely important, now don't seem serious enough for me to get worked up about....
Strangely, very, very strangely, this change isn't easy---one would imagine that 'becoming easy' is the easiest thing to do...'letting go' is so simple...but fact is, it isn't...thoughts of 'what's happening' or 'am I losing it' or 'is the aging process kicking in too speedily' and others in a similar vein come pounding in. However, since this change is a persistent thing, if you give in and loosen up, the real feeling that permeates the heart and soul and body is, in fact, a very peaceful and soothing one...
................and I'm loving it.......growing older is turning out to be quite fun.....
So many things that I used to get hyper about or that seemed hugely important, now don't seem serious enough for me to get worked up about....
Strangely, very, very strangely, this change isn't easy---one would imagine that 'becoming easy' is the easiest thing to do...'letting go' is so simple...but fact is, it isn't...thoughts of 'what's happening' or 'am I losing it' or 'is the aging process kicking in too speedily' and others in a similar vein come pounding in. However, since this change is a persistent thing, if you give in and loosen up, the real feeling that permeates the heart and soul and body is, in fact, a very peaceful and soothing one...
................and I'm loving it.......growing older is turning out to be quite fun.....
05 May 2013
Something I heard...
something to think about...
There is no digitized communication in the world which is a hundred percent secure...
(I heard this on a You-tube interview with a federal official on CNN)
WOW!!!
There is no digitized communication in the world which is a hundred percent secure...
(I heard this on a You-tube interview with a federal official on CNN)
WOW!!!
STOP...
and check where you are at this moment -
Wallowing in yesterday or in all the time before yesterday
OR
Swallowed up in to-do lists for tomorrow and all the tomorrows after tomorrow
OR
Right here
(this is something we must constantly do to ensure that we are IN the here and now)
Wallowing in yesterday or in all the time before yesterday
OR
Swallowed up in to-do lists for tomorrow and all the tomorrows after tomorrow
OR
Right here
(this is something we must constantly do to ensure that we are IN the here and now)
04 May 2013
I want to share...
some very powerful words I read in a Buddhist text...
Where there is dependence, there is instability, where there is no dependence, there is no instability, where there is no instability, there is quietude...
Here I believe is the core of our life...
We have to be independent.....learn to be independent.......this does not mean self-sufficient or making ourselves into islands with great big walls around us, but we need to learn how to think independently....we need to have an independence of spirit, because this is what will give us inner stability and thus inner quietude - a state of stillness and calmness. Here again, we must not make the mistake of confusing this with passivity.....as in, we must not accept or allow what happens or what others do without any kind of response.
And yet we are so dependent--dependent on others and outside factors--for our well-being as it were....that is why we are so often in such a state of restlessness or anger or depression or upset.
Independence of our spirit.....beautiful, wonderful state to work towards...
Where there is dependence, there is instability, where there is no dependence, there is no instability, where there is no instability, there is quietude...
Here I believe is the core of our life...
We have to be independent.....learn to be independent.......this does not mean self-sufficient or making ourselves into islands with great big walls around us, but we need to learn how to think independently....we need to have an independence of spirit, because this is what will give us inner stability and thus inner quietude - a state of stillness and calmness. Here again, we must not make the mistake of confusing this with passivity.....as in, we must not accept or allow what happens or what others do without any kind of response.
And yet we are so dependent--dependent on others and outside factors--for our well-being as it were....that is why we are so often in such a state of restlessness or anger or depression or upset.
Independence of our spirit.....beautiful, wonderful state to work towards...
03 May 2013
I must have seen...
The Devil Wears Prada at least ten times and every time I come away with something new...
This time it was the rather unhappy interaction that Nate has with Andrea when he overhears her say she's going to Paris.
He talks about integrity--and to tell the truth, I had never seen it in that light.
He says if we are doing something, then we need to own up to what we are doing and make sure that we are in total sync with it. No matter what it is.........but we can't be doing something and then make excuses for it. Because, at all times we have a choice - we can up and out. However if we are in complete sync - physically, emotionally, psychologically, mentally, with what we are doing - and mind you we cannot be in sync if we are not honest - that is what integrity is.
Andrea kept making excuses for her crazy hours, fashionable clothes, etc etc as if she was just doing it because she had no choice, and this was not really her...
Nate's take was--if you have taken on something then do it with integrity, otherwise it all comes out as false....and worse, you too come out looking and sounding false....and that can kill - us, our relationships, everything...
This time it was the rather unhappy interaction that Nate has with Andrea when he overhears her say she's going to Paris.
He talks about integrity--and to tell the truth, I had never seen it in that light.
He says if we are doing something, then we need to own up to what we are doing and make sure that we are in total sync with it. No matter what it is.........but we can't be doing something and then make excuses for it. Because, at all times we have a choice - we can up and out. However if we are in complete sync - physically, emotionally, psychologically, mentally, with what we are doing - and mind you we cannot be in sync if we are not honest - that is what integrity is.
Andrea kept making excuses for her crazy hours, fashionable clothes, etc etc as if she was just doing it because she had no choice, and this was not really her...
Nate's take was--if you have taken on something then do it with integrity, otherwise it all comes out as false....and worse, you too come out looking and sounding false....and that can kill - us, our relationships, everything...
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