~ Reflections ~

We are simpler and more honest people when we are younger... what is on our mind is what comes of our mouth... the blatant brutal truth...  added to that, we never bothered filtering any information with our family/loved ones. But it seems like the older we become, we put in a lot of thought into everything we do, be it a simple good morning to conversation over coffee.... cheerful banter with friends or simple things to be shared... till a point where the thinking becomes over thinking ...  The joy of sharing suddenly becomes a well thought out exercise.... thoughts to be shared are treated like burdening the other person, wondering if the would affect the person too much (or maybe not at all)... leading to muted conversations and longer silences... The urge to share thoughts is replaced by the thought of whether to burden a person... We know the issue is important, and yet we assume it isn't vital for the other to know.... Simple uncomplicated words and conversation...

We often have a longing in our life... for certain people, things, places.... We feel it... we absorb it... and sometimes we weep about it... But more often than not, most of us rarely do anything about it... We lead such busy lives, that the standard excuse for not fulfilling this longing is that we don't have time... but more often than not, what pulls us back is not the clock ticking by, but our will to just do it... We want to speak to our friends, but get caught up in our busy - mundane lives... and if our lives are not busy enough, we wonder if the other might be, and if we may end up disturbing them...  This tendency to over-think an action is actually the true cause... So the next time you are longing for someone, but pickup the phone/car to reach out... All the fulfillment of a wish to visit a place takes is booking of tickets... All you need is just an attitude to Just Do It !

All of us talk about gender equality, and woman empowerment... How a girl is as good as a boy, that she can be treated like one... I've heard lots of parents saying they've raised their daughters like sons... maybe with the intent that they have been raised to be as independent and self sufficient...  But as long as we aspire for our girls to be treated like the boys... as long as the women are competing with the men... we can never be expected to be treated as equals... it feels like there is still something lacking... Women who seek to equal men lack ambition ~ Marilyn Monroe

There is a secret joy in helping strangers.... those walking by the street... people fumbling in a market place... or simply some pedestrian trying to cross a road.... I try not to loose such an opportunity....  But truth be told, I have a strong ulterior motive for doing this... It is always, and I mean always, with the hope that,  in case my family and loved ones are having trouble and need help, some stranger will come around and help them out... We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone. ~ Ronald Reagan