~ Reflections ~

It suddenly hit me that the year is about to come to an end... This time of the year is normally when I sit down to think what have been the high points and low points of the year.... I don't exactly do this try accounting for the year that has, as usual, zoomed by...  I do this because somewhere, it makes me identify, more clearly the people/things that count to me the most... moments that have clearly left a mark, and are now a part of me...  Almost every year, most of the high points are contributed by my family... close friends... whom we often take for granted the most.. This year has also left a lot to seek... a healthier life for everyone... take a break from work more often... and some growth in work & family... But in the middle of all this.. some highs & some lows... I feel that the year went by fine... And hope that we have even better ones ahead of us...

All of us like to plan ahead...  some to the closest instant, so for the distant future... As humans, i guess we feel assured of a certain lifespan.. so we like to control, to the extent possible, what comes our way... What we don't anticipate, is that it can all come tumbling down, with that instant of carelessness, or the sudden slamming of the brakes.... And then, it dawns... Thank God I am alive... Maybe that helps respect the life we are living... every moment, every thought...

The confidence of being in control... The satisfaction of being right... The joy of reiteration... The squabble that follows... The pleasure of just kissing and making up... M not sure going through the rigmarole was worth it... Considering there were easier ways of achieving the same end result... Not like I drove home a point either ;))

I ran through life, not bothering about people who'd have joined me... Now, as I barely manage to walk, I am all alone...

We are all entitled to views.. perspectives.. about things... people... But what happens when these views slowly turn into prejudices.. without realizing, we begin judging, which the need of a judgement... It could be based on anything... gender... religion... faith... language... colour... just about anything... even something as trivial as how someone dresses... How do we control our thought...And not see everything through tinted glasses... It becomes so difficult to see the truth, to get past these thoughts & our ego, to see that we are wrong.. and someone else is right... Photo Source:  http://www.blue-point-trading.com/bluepoint-daily-market-view-%E2%80%93-february-09-2012

Memories are vicious things (and I don't necessarily mean in it in the negative sense)...  They are self absorbing.. make you forget reality... almost like a quagmire... Also, they are like the items kept in a Cupboard ...  If the cupboard stays locked up for too long, the minute you open it, a million thoughts keep flowing out... and we are just left recollecting old thoughts and worries... If we kept opening the cupboard once in a while, it would be well ventilated. Also, it would be easier to weed out and forget old worries, and make space for new memories. Needless to say there won't be a flurry of clothes tumbling down.. Afterall, our head has only that much space for memories, where we pack them all :)

Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values. ~ Ayn Rand

If you are living in Delhi (or maybe any part of this country) and drive yourself to work... what do you to think is the single most persistent sound that you can hear (ofcourse, besides the non stop blabbering of your head !)... the Horn !! The ever so irritating sound, that just doesn't go as long as you are on the road... though the purpose of a horn is to alert people on the road if they are on the way (yes, yes.. that thing has a purpose)... it seems to be an indicator of our impatience, a bike howling its way on the road, or just mindless show off... After much thought, I feel that the best way to curb the unnecessary usage is by linking the horn with the usage of fuel... so everytime you go for your horn, you will also be loosing a drop of petrol.... Once the damn thing is not free to blow away, we will all be more thoughtful and mindful as to when to use it... And hopefully, in the future, we'll have a more peaceful drive to work and back home... sigh !!!! Pho...

All of us dream when we sleep... Some dream about the days gone by, and the others navigate through time around the corner.. Of wishes fulfilled, and the ones left to accomplish.. Of love & life, hope & pain... But what if I told you that I wanted to break free from dreams.. That I didn't want to contemplate - neither the past nor the future... Would should I do ? http://dianablography.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/dreams-and-reality-might-collide/

Found this in a book I just finished reading... says it all... "In the infinity of time, what is the span of human existence..." Photo Credits: My Husband :)

No moment is ordinary... each is unique and non-replacable... Infact, every moment we are spending cribbing, feeling disappointed, fighting over banal issues... we are wasting time on hand.. Life is like a clock moving backwards...  We rarely know when our time will be up...  Only the moments created are an infinite.... 

Waltzing through the day, I laughed at my life... I lie down at night, And the tears hit me...

What do you do when people are being very stubborn... So stubborn that they've stopped seeing anyone's perspective other than their own... When they try and convince you in every possible way that they are looking after your welfare.. but they don't see that they are doing as much harm... All you can do is try and be calm.. and wait for them to hear your plea... Not just hear, but listen to them... and understand.. what exactly we are saying !!! Source:  http://coffinberry.deviantart.com/art/You-re-So-Stubborn-131282027

What happens when you suddenly break free... The realization that you were caged so far suddenly dawns upon you... As though... I was so used being in the cage, that I didn't know of a world beyond it... That the walls were where it all ended... But the most painful is when there is a creak in the wall, and you can see what you are missing out on... 

All of us have small little rituals, that comfortably become a part of our daily lives... And we don't even notice them till they stop... be it a good night kiss, or a meal together.. Actually, I always used to wonder during my childhood why my mother used to try her best that all of us eat dinner together at the dinner table... yes.. dinner table !!! It all sounds like an alien concept, with tight schedules and the television to give us company.. But it all makes sense to me now... through our entire busy day,we are always surrounded by different objects/people... Dinner seems to be the only time when the entire family has the opportunity to sit together.. and talk... discuss the day's events... and other trivial things.... As unimportant and trivial as it may sound, I have come to believe that a family that eats together, stays together !!!

Read this somewhere... It struck a chord somewhere... As the dream of most parents I had acquired a degree in Software Engineering and joined a company based in USA, the land of braves and opportunity. When I arrived in the USA, it was as if a dream had come true. Here at last I was in the place where I want to be. I decided I would be staying in this country for about Five years in which time I would have earned enough money to settle down in India. My father was a government employee and after his retirement, the only asset he could acquire was a decent one bedroom flat. I wanted to do some thing more than him. I started feeling homesick and lonely as the time passed. I used to call home and speak to my parents every week using cheap international phone cards. Two years passed, two years of Burgers at McDonald's and pizzas and discos and 2 years watching the foreign exchange  rate getting happy whenever the Rupee value went dow...

A lot of us believe that we should apologize for the wrong we've done...True.. But I've observed that a Sorry seems to be an easy shortcut... Uttering the one simple word seems to wash away the wrong-doing... We might not even pay as much attention, when we just utter the sorry...  And obviously now, thou shall be forgiven !!! Source: Toonpool

that thought in my head... it doesn't seem to go.. when i should have said what i'd known... but couldn't seem to find the right moment to do.. now life has given me a moment's grace.. to say what i want to..  so i don't take it to my grave.. my mind is doing a somersault... 'coz i have time enough, just to mention 'em all... and that's what i deserve in the end... something i wanted to say, but was left stuck in my head.. PS: This is another masterpiece by MC Escher

Found these lines online... they've got me thinking... "Just because my eyes don’t show tears, doesn't mean that I don’t get hurt... Just because I come out strong, doesn't mean nothing went wrong... I often choose to pretend to be happy, so that I don’t have to explain to people who will never understand.. Smiling has always been easier than explaining why I am sad…………."

"The ego is a leaky balloon, forever requiring helium of external love to remain inflated, and ever vulnerable to the small pin pricks of neglect." ~ Gurcharan Das, The Difficulty of Being Good We all claim to be sane. Not engrossed in ourselves. Not influenced by flattery. But we all are.  I think most of us realize once the other person is overdoing it.. but till then, it's all music to our ears...

Good food is appetizing... But the best kind of food is which touches all our 5 senses, to make us loose control ;) The intoxicating aroma hits the nose even before our fingers have touched the food that is looking delectable, urging us to quickly bite into it... as we crunch the food down... very few things can arouse similar emotions, all at once :) yes yes... I am a foodie...

Witnessed something on a Delhi road today... and somehow it gave me a high... Though I was neither the subject nor the object... Driving down a crowded road in Okhla, a group of local village 3 kids came along, with school bags... and began asking for a lift.. In today's world of sceptics, I was pleasantly surprised to spot a guy in a Corolla stop by to give these kids a lift to their desired destination...

There is such a wide gap between the demand and supply of basic amenities like medical services... housing... good schools.... that getting into any of them, doesn't seem to be possible.. atleast not on pure merit... So even in places where you thought there was no possible corruption (and by that, i don't necessarily mean money)... it takes, what is called सिफरिश i.e. Recommendation... What is even more amazing is that most of these places state it very blatantly, that you are not welcome, even if you are eligible... When all of us, today's generation, discuss corruption, and talk about wanting a clean society, free of having to bribe anyone, we tend to forget... that discussing such issues from the comfort of our homes/offices is rather convenient... But when recommendation (which is just a more sophisticated form of corruption) is requested for, even for basic admissions... I wonder how we can plug such things from our society... And if a corruption...

Can you hear that sound... Ya.. that one... the one that never seems to stop... Some call it the voice in the head.. I call it the chatterbox.. Because no matter what is happening, it just doesn't go quiet... It just goes on and on and on... But have you ever paid attention to what it says... It sometimes tells you what you don't wish to hear.. the truth !!! Credits for the Photograph: Kosmur http://kosmur.deviantart.com/art/Alter-ego-73280600