Happy new year

WELCOMING THE NEW YEAR

The season of perpetual hope is here....

As we head towards the trail end of yet another year, we tend to contemplate on all the major events that we had experienced.

Each of us would have had a good share of good and "not so good" experiences.

Challenges and struggles succumbing to persistent and progressive efforts.

Like a new leaf springing out fresh, it's time we trashed out all the negative and unwanted memories of yesterdays. Letting go of all the struggles, pains, tears and words is easier said than done. But, it is the only way for a peaceful today.

What has been done and happened is now history. There is no point rewinding and re-evaluating all those sequential events in our mind. Our thoughts and perceptions tend to create more damage to us than to others. Like the old saying goes, “Worry is like a rock chair, the more you rock on it, and the more it rocks you”. Just like we intentionally switch channels to avoid and turn away from unwanted scenes in a movie, let us also make an honest attempt to erase the negative thoughts that has captivated us for years.

All the exterior stimulus that had disrupted our inner peace shall remain as is, until we change our perception.

Regrets, hurt, anger, anguish, despair and hatred are those energy suckers that drain out your peace.

Let bygones be bygones. Like we tear away used pages from the scrapbook and clean the blackboard, let us wipe out all the accumulated negative thoughts from our mind consciously, for our own good.

Let us be grateful for all those challenges and struggles, for without them, we would not have learnt the lessons of life and evolved to be a stronger person than before. Let us be thankful to all the blessings that came in disguise to make us a wiser and a better person.

Let us cheer all the opportunities that came our way that paved the way to explore and evaluate our capabilities and limitations.

Let us try to forget all the disappointments, arguments and wrong deeds of people around us.

Let us forgive our own selves for our misgivings and failures.

Let us bury the past and look forward for the future with hope, faith and compassion.

Tomorrow is indeed a new day like never before.

A new dawn, a new ray of sunshine, a new year full of hope and promises is beginning.

Let us welcome it cheerfully and merrily.

Happy New Year!

First Day @ School

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL

                                   

                                  

It was the D-day. I had not slept a wink the whole night, as I had been mentally visualizing the same event iteratively. An eerie silence filled our home with everyone tensed.

I went about my morning rituals uneventfully and obviously irritably.

My heart pounded so loudly as I bent down to have a closer look at my child barely 2 years and 3 months old. He was sleeping soundly unobvious of the situation. It was his first day at pre-school. The entire family had been rehearsing this event for quite some time discussing details like choosing an auspicious date and time, carrying his favorite toy and snacks and hinting him subtly about some nice place where he could play with toys and other kids. Despite all this memory exercise, homework and planning, I had butterflies in my stomach.

As I woke him up, he smiled radiantly and opened his eyes wide. I wanted to hug him tight and wail. My mom gave me a look that asked everything “Not sure who will cry first, him or her? Is it her first day at school?” I prepared his favorite breakfast and dressed him up in his best clothes. I could not even swallow a morsel. I had symptoms of nausea and heavy head. My son though, was jubilant about going for an outing to some “unknown place” with the entire family. Numerous calls from friends and relatives wishing us good luck for the D-day was pouring in, but nothing could lift my spirit or quench my anxiety. As he waved goodbye to our maid and the road-side chai walla I wondered if I would faint even before we reached his school.

As we jumped out of our car and walked to his school, I held him tight and whispered into his ears, “Be a good boy. Amma will be around”. He giggled as though I was telling him some joke. The lady at the reception welcomed us and requested me to let my child in. I hesitantly obeyed. The assembly had started and my son was so excited about everything. As his teacher held his hands and made him walk, he was comfortable and for a moment I thought he had indeed forgotten my very existence. I had mixed feelings at that moment, I was happy that he did not cry but was all surprised that he never turned back and looked at me. The other teachers shooed me away informing that we could only wait outside the gate and would be called in if required. My heart sank and I could barely stand. I sat under a tree praying and breathing slowly.

Suddenly I could hear his wails and the distinct screams of “amma”. I turned around and realized my husband had also recognized the familiar voice. I rushed towards the door. The lady politely refused to let me in responding that it is expected reaction for a toddler and my presence would make things worse. I could not hear her words clearly as my child’s crying was resonating.

The crying continued as I helplessly stood at the gate trying to get a glimpse of my child. After about 30 minutes of incessant crying, I was summoned in. The principal greeted me but I barely could smile back. I bluntly asked, “Where is my child?” She pointed to the classroom and I rushed to the door. As I peeped in, he leapt out and clinched to my neck. No words spoken. As we hugged each other tightly, his wailing stopped and tears rolled down my cheeks. That moment seemed eternal for both of us and we were disturbed by the receptionist who informed me to meet the principal. He refused to get down from my arms and I sat down with him hugging him tightly, the principal smiled and informed that he would settle down in two weeks times. As we got out of the gate, he was smiling and happy to get back home from school. Though he did cry for almost a month before settling down, to this day, we still vividly remember his first day at school and we enjoy recollecting the events.

Vanity of Life

VANITY OF LIFE

           

In my true dream of real fantasy, I saw

A rainbow void of its colors,

The sky without its ornamental starts,

The sun raging like fire.

The days and nights becoming indistinguishable,

The elements of Nature all turning wild with rage

I could only hear the feeble cries and silent prayers…

The earth is opening up and savoring its inhabitants

As though She is no longer bothered to nurture them anymore.

The wind is blowing away everything with all its might,

The ocean is rising to swallow the land,

Volcanoes erupting to emit out lava,

The habitation is slowing becoming extinct with every passing moment.

Nature is destructing itself unfathomably.

Everything is dying.

Everything is destructed.

Yet man tries invariably to safeguard his material possessions, his ever greedy mind unsatisfied,

As he lay in his grave, repenting about his past…

Epilogue:

Man never realizes the vanity of life, until he loses it. There is no greater asset worthier than life itself.

W.U.S.I.W.U.G

W.U.S.I.W.U.G

(WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET)

In Computer Graphics subject, this is one vital acronym any student of computer science will get to learn when they enter the world of graphical user interface. It implies that the user gets to view the final output as in print copy while editing. In other words, you can get a view of the end product while creating the document.

The recent ad for makemytrip.com emphasizes the fact that you indeed will get what you see.

Similarly in Life, we tend to get what we see for ourselves. In simpler terms, whatever we see in our mind –visualize about our life is what we eventually make out of our life.

Many a great men have dreamt of big things and also had the will to make their dream a reality.

In August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his public speech on racial equality in Washington D.C “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” This has been one inspiring reference to many people in the generations to come. He dreamt of such a situation that was close to impossible during his lifetime, yet he dreamt with complete clarity of thought and faith. His dream did become a reality in the year 2009, when America elected its 44^th President – Barack Obama, the first African American to hold office.

Like a journey, in life we need to know where we are heading to and what we want to accomplish in this lifetime. Stephen Covey states in his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People that the 2^nd Habit is - ‘Begin with the end in mind’. This emphasizes the need and importance of setting personal goals in life.

For instance, if I board a train and I am not sure where I want to go, I can only reach the last destination, the train can travel to. But if I know where I want to go, I choose the right train and complete my journey successfully.

Have you seen kids play the maze puzzle? The paths from the start to the end point cross each other at several points and yet there is one single path that will lead to the end. The easiest way to solve this puzzle is to back trace from the end point to the start point.

An important learning for us is to have the end in mind and cross over all challenges with faith and courage.

Let's Celebrate!

C.E.L.E.B.R.A.T.I.O.N

Life is all about Celebration.

With the summer vacation setting in, I along with my cousins decided to play “Snake & Ladder” to beat the summer heat indoors. As we were playing, my 5 year old son and 4 year old niece were watching us play the game intently.  They observed that, when the player had a favorable toss of the dice, she used to cheer and the kids joined along. After a couple of games, the kids pleaded to be allowed to play too.

We gave in, but before we could help them understand the game, they were all ready snatching the dice and rolling it. Soon I realized that it was the dice rolling that attracted them and not the game as such. The board remained idle while the kids tossed the dice. They didn’t know the game or even to make out what number was depicted in each side of the dice. But, they played merrily. The only difference was that, irrespective of what number was tossed, the kid cheered and celebrated. Every toss of the dice was celebrated like a grand success and this continued without the children getting bored. 

It made me ponder on how beautifully children are gifted with the instinct nature to celebrate life, every moment and every time. They could do it each time, with no reason of course. Their enthusiasm became so contagious that soon everyone joined in cheering them and it was such a great evening. As we grow old, we tend to forget to even smile and laugh, leave alone celebrate. We take things too seriously, that we can’t remember that last time we laughed our heart out or enjoyed our day. Days roll by and we tread along like a machine. We are not aware of what food we eat what words we spoke and sometimes forgot what we have to do also. We are so lost running a race with such speed that we have no time to even realize where we are heading to. We look forward for that IDEAL situation or D-Day to come, to celebrate and with all the anticipation and excitement, we fail to even enjoy the day, when it happens.

“Child is the father of man”. I learnt a very good lesson from these children that you need to enjoy life every moment and make the maximum, for every moment that passed by would never come again.