tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28598248413005714622024-03-12T16:11:29.007-07:00WoW.. Wonder of WordsWoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-9957075491858815942012-09-01T21:28:00.000-07:002012-09-01T21:28:49.905-07:00Where is your lemonade stall?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The short monsoon is over and sun is out again. The sun’s
scorching heat leaves us pining for something cool. At such times, what a
relief it to come across young little kids with smiling faces, beckoning us to
have some lemonade from their stalls.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lemonade stalls, such a simple and yet an effective way to
instill entrepreneurship skills in kids at a young age. There are so many ways
in which we can encourage kids to be more responsible at a young age.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My first video game was from the money I earned by selling
ice cream at a fair. It was a great experience and taught me big concepts such
as inventory, sales, marketing, discounting in simple hands on way. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In our effort to provide our child with the best and give
him all the comforts of life, we forget these important lessons that can help
your child form a strong foundation. So go on, encourage them to take up a
small project.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While there are plenty of ideas to help kids understand the
value of money, to instill a sense of creativity in kids and at the same time
help them get awarded for their efforts. Here are a few to get you started. How
about a little arts and crafts show? Get some kids together over the weekend,
help them create small items such as greeting cards, decorative pieces and then
have a small exhibition in the house in the evening.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Saloni @ Wonderofwordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552468183968849080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-78316174824341489042012-01-23T12:26:00.000-08:002012-01-23T12:26:58.351-08:00If its in my life... Its my responsibility!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:DoNotShowComments/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<u><span style="font-family: "Centaur","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"></span></span></u><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Centaur","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">If its in my life, it’s my responsibility. The secret to success is this simple. A recent passion of mine was to understand what makes a legend a legend. How are these special few able to become such inspirations whilst the majority others live lives which appear ordinary at best, and a chore at worst. I wanted to get inside the heads of these marvels and understand what made the difference?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Centaur","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Finally, I know. A single line philosophy can change everything around and it is this: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If it’s in my life, it’s my responsibility</i>. The man thrown on the railway platform could have blamed the officer or cried at his bad luck – but he didn’t. Instead, he took responsibility for what happened to him. The result? An ordinary barrister emerged as the Father of the Nation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Centaur","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">She could have wept and questioned God for creating such inequalities as she beheld the sight of extreme poverty outside her school – but she didn’t. Instead, she took responsibility for what she saw. The result? Years after she has died, Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity feed millions of people each day. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Centaur","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Too often, I have given in to the temptation of blaming others for what was going wrong in my life. Last year my husband had too many financial responsibilities and we were unable to go for holidays or buy things we needed. Somewhere I began to resent him. However, once this sentence: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If it’s in my life, it’s my responsibility </i>came into my life, I realized that if I wanted certain luxuries, I should be able to fund for them. Why depend on him? This simple shift enabled me to begin a lucrative project which is also deeply enriching.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Centaur","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Today I realize that Life unfolded even better plans for me, than I had from my own life. The tough times didn’t last, but the invaluable lessons they taught me, did. No experience was unnecessary. Although I didn’t have the wisdom then, I now know, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">if it’s in my life, it’s my responsibility.</i> I no longer shun my life, or the inherent responsibilities that come along with it. The result? I feel like I am living a dream.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKVDdzTzl9xQuiLzO4hUnO2ignJm2mlmpmtF60ixcjnLvMTiWvYlMuWTZwFhRE8kI1yQk6LLG8egv4yqeNME5vmvbFIHaYKEUA9PsdhsAvli_er5ocsbgwwcP8MLCKJCL2KpICZjAIyw/s1600/IMG_1540-660x495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKVDdzTzl9xQuiLzO4hUnO2ignJm2mlmpmtF60ixcjnLvMTiWvYlMuWTZwFhRE8kI1yQk6LLG8egv4yqeNME5vmvbFIHaYKEUA9PsdhsAvli_er5ocsbgwwcP8MLCKJCL2KpICZjAIyw/s200/IMG_1540-660x495.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Centaur","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I don’t leave things to chance or to another person, until I have fulfilled my part of the deal. If my health is not fine, I take control. If my relationship with a friend is not as intimate as I want it to be, instead of waiting for her to call, I take responsibility. Expectations from others or Life has, at least to a small extent, turned over to expectations from self. The best part about this is that the moment I stopped expecting another to give me happiness, love or financial security, and decided it’s my responsibility and worked towards it, with a sleight of hand Life turned the cards in my favour. From the smallest of issues like the coffee not being to my liking to the larger ones like dealing with health issues or struggling with marriage, I remind myself: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">if it’s in my life, it’s my responsibility</i>. I will do my best and only then life will do the rest. Let’s not turn the equation around and spend our lives in an agonized waiting…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-65502729253297894242012-01-11T06:05:00.000-08:002012-01-11T06:05:03.562-08:00Which circle is bigger?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><!--[if !mso]> <style>
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</style> <![endif]--> </div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Are you ready for a challenge? Look at the drawing below and guess which of the two circles in the centre is bigger? Is it the one on the left? Or perhaps, the one on right? Be sure of your answer and only then read below. Don’t cheat!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PWogb8G7MtAC8XADqtnIV_8TJr9NyBPNxWpxfsGVoEE8Re924eRLwhfmf6FfKEObJkD5cRdsCHWC3-748oN0MD9zrucucscav6LE5FzbfN5m1JEFiOYVh6SyRQaaQuK0FSX3LLzJodw/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PWogb8G7MtAC8XADqtnIV_8TJr9NyBPNxWpxfsGVoEE8Re924eRLwhfmf6FfKEObJkD5cRdsCHWC3-748oN0MD9zrucucscav6LE5FzbfN5m1JEFiOYVh6SyRQaaQuK0FSX3LLzJodw/s200/Untitled.png" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When I was asked this question on some quiz site on the internet, I knew they were trying to get me to click the circle on the left. So I decided to outwit them and clicked on the one on the right! (Super smart me, no?) Imagine my surprise when the answer flashed across the screen: “Sorry, you are wrong. Both the circles are the same size!” Skeptic of the first order, I immediately drew out a ruler and measured the two (If you are like me, try it too!) and was stunned to find that indeed both these circles are just the same! Just because one is surrounded by circles smaller than itself and the other by ones bigger than itself, my perception got skewed into believing that one is small and the other is big. This puzzle really got me thinking…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So often in life I had believed that people outside me, and their opinion about me, is more significant than what I think of myself. All through school I believed I couldn’t dance. I loved dancing, I loved losing my body to the rhythm of the music, and yet, I never had the courage to try out for any of the auditions for the lovely annual dance shows in school. I would watch the graceful dancers perform with longing and imagine myself up on stage, but after all, I couldn’t dance. This belief, I identified, came from an experience in the childhood. My cousins and I were having a dance competition and each one of us would dance and the others would give scores. When my turn came, I did my best, and yet my cousins gave me very low marks. Since that day I believed that I couldn’t dance. And I didn’t dance until five years back. People outside me had unknowingly and unintentionally convinced me something about me. All because, like the seemingly small circle on the right, I believed that what others thought of me was the greater truth and what I desired for myself was just wishful thinking.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">I wrote a book on breast cancer and for this I met several women across the country to get accounts of their recovery. Some women were able to overcome cancer even in Stage 4 when all doctors had given up on them. Others, whose cancer had been detected in the early stages, had succumbed. I know of at least five women personally, who overcame the disease almost two decades ago, when the doctor had given them just a few months to live. Today they are ‘living’ inspirations. I often thought to myself, what had worked? Love? Family support? Belief? Life Mission? Divine intervention? Or was it a mix of it all? Perhaps it was different for each. However, today I am able to sum up their victory in one line – one thing that was common for all. Each woman who was able to conquer cancer, had faith that she was much bigger and stronger than a few cells gone wrong. It’s that simple. Like the seemingly large circle on the left they believed, whatever may be the problem, it’s much smaller than them. They can handle it. And they did! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s only in the last couple of years that I have begun to realize how important it is to realize that no matter what, I need to draw the circle of my life by keeping myself at the center and realize that all the other opinions, relationships and situations are secondary to me. I earlier thought this would make me into a selfish or self centered person, however, in reality it’s quite the opposite. I have been able to, to some extent, allow my positive self beliefs to triumph over people’s negative beliefs (and my own deep rooted negative ones!) about me. I have been able to say no within the relationship and therefore not had to say no to the relationship. And I have realized that no matter what situation one is in: combating a disease or handling a divorce, grieving over the death of a loved one or trying to overcome financial debts – they will be able to overcome it provided they believe they are bigger than the problems in their lives. For me, this realization has been groundbreaking. For the first time, I have been able to gift myself the most precious present of all: a self esteem which is becoming healthier each day. So, which circle defines you at the moment?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div></div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-60376229903107774342011-12-21T06:45:00.000-08:002011-12-21T06:52:31.773-08:00Dont agonize over getting it right!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"> WoW brings you tips that will help you not just improve your writing but also your lives... Simple steps make all the difference! :)</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dont agonize over getting it right!</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0in;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghII_plyMO3nX6FyUuTZxV2_xXAHpEyQMiYb6BF-n2aPKotXewZx3j5Ktyj_XPL-zOL0CNx6MkMumEudFwo-lHTVK8nYglM-LiBBae9Wdm62Wuw9SyiKuD-CCgJWovYuS3Sz87oraR5U0/s1600/business-mistakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghII_plyMO3nX6FyUuTZxV2_xXAHpEyQMiYb6BF-n2aPKotXewZx3j5Ktyj_XPL-zOL0CNx6MkMumEudFwo-lHTVK8nYglM-LiBBae9Wdm62Wuw9SyiKuD-CCgJWovYuS3Sz87oraR5U0/s200/business-mistakes.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">WoW writing...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Haven't we all been there… Writing something and then revising it and editing, then again revising and editing, revising and editing. Hardly is the case that we are satisfied with what we have written at the very first go. But don’t agonize over getting it right! Let your work be for a while, a few days if need be, forget all about it and then come back to it fresh. If you know there are problems with your work which you cant seem to fix, try getting it read from a friend or colleague, they might be able to offer valuable feedback! The more you dwell over something that’s not working right, the more you will think around those lines and will not be able to break the shackles to get a fresh perspective.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0in;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">WoW life...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">You ask for apples and life throws lemons at you. Not everything in life will work out the way you expected it to, but that’s just life! Don’t agonize over getting it right, getting it the way you had planned. We need to have faith and believe that whatever happens, happens for the best. If you are having problems in your relationships, be it at home or with friends, give it time, look away for some time. Then when you revisit, you might see the situation in a completely different light and might be able to deal with it better. Don’t obsess with working things out that very minute!</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Try it, wow your self!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">saloni@wonderofwords.org </span></div></div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-70422925358401104782011-12-13T20:08:00.000-08:002011-12-13T20:18:13.030-08:00Sacred self<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">She has been with me since the day I was born. I have often hated her, blamed her, burdened her with guilt and done all sorts of things I never should have, but did. And yet, she remained. With me, within me. Yes, I am speaking of the ‘self’, that lives with us from the day that we are born to the day we die.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So often, I have treated myself in a way that I would never imagine treating another. If a little child is scared of something, will you take the child and scream and shout at it or will you lovingly hold the child, tell it ‘it’s okay’ and comfort it? We all have a scared inner child who is afraid of the unknown, afraid of the numerous rides life puts it through. I have one too. And I have hated myself, been so harsh on myself just because at times I get scared. I have got frustrated with myself. Furious even. I have internally screamed at myself and today when I think of all the harsh things I have said to myself, tears flow down my cheeks. It’s okay. To be scared. And to admit that I am scared. When one is scared, they need comforting, not yelling… and so too with ourselves.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgli0g8dr2M52V8bcTqQevu7OwDDvFa9sgExBCPLNa6nOBqqOKQXSmq4y4t7Trs-tdXUJgiwztrpxnK7zPTG3tE5qnaNYpxheDPdXHlqBGdlnzGXekkjBeU1S4UwHH5eRGFHNKsBlKVVWg/s1600/Surrender-Acceptance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgli0g8dr2M52V8bcTqQevu7OwDDvFa9sgExBCPLNa6nOBqqOKQXSmq4y4t7Trs-tdXUJgiwztrpxnK7zPTG3tE5qnaNYpxheDPdXHlqBGdlnzGXekkjBeU1S4UwHH5eRGFHNKsBlKVVWg/s200/Surrender-Acceptance.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>When someone fails, what do you do? Inspire them to do better next time? Motivate them for another try? And yet when we ourselves fail, we subject ourselves to such a beating. We curse ourselves, believe we are good for nothing and think that we can never do anything right. It’s okay. To make mistakes. To fail. When it’s okay for others, why is it not so for you? Who has achieved anything great in life before first getting a taste of failure? Let’s love ourselves when we succeed, and yes, when we fail. In fact, when we fail, we need it the most.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I can give to others, only what I have. If I have mangoes, I will be able to give mangoes. If I have oranges, oranges is what I will give. If I hate myself, the very person who matters the most, hatred is what I will give out. If I resent myself, resentment is what I will exude all across. If I am insecure, insecurity if what I will pass on. But if I love myself, if I learn to accept myself irrespective of my numerous weaknesses, if I love myself unconditionally, it is this pure love that I will give to anyone who comes in contact with me. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have so much time for my work, for my colleagues, for my family and friends, but how much time do I spend each day with my sacred self? How often do we detach ourselves from all our roles – being a mother, being a son, being a teacher and just experience ourselves as the pure selves that we actually are. There is nothing selfish in loving ourselves. Nothing self centered about it. Close your eyes right now as you finish reading this article. Tell yourself a sincere, “I Love you”. We all need love. Each one us needs acceptance. From others, but even more, from ourselves. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Megha Bajaj</div><div class="MsoNormal">Www.wonderofwords.org</div><div class="MsoNormal">www.facebook.com/wonderofwords</div></div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-50115811887254580892011-11-30T11:39:00.000-08:002011-11-30T14:58:05.051-08:00Be positive.. Not Negative!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">WoW brings you tips that will help you not just improve your writing but also your lives... Simple steps make all the difference! :)</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Be positive, not negative!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">WoW Writing...</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">The power of positivity can never be underestimated, so how do you bring about this positivity in writing? Try saying what something <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span>, rather than what it <span style="font-style: italic;">isn't</span>. Focusing on the negative leads your mind towards it and emphasizes the negativity. If I told you a particular brand is inexpensive, your mind will still automatically focus on the "expensive" in "inexpensive". A better way to put it would be to say - this brand is quite economical!<br />
If you want to say "writing is not difficult" try saying "writing is relatively simple". Similarly, if you want to say that "this process is error-free" , you can express it positively by saying that "the process is consistent"!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">Conscious effort for a few days will lead to a positive change in your writing.</div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">WoW Life!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">Day in and day out people talk about the importance of positivity. Positive attitude brings about more positivity to your life whereas thinking negatively attracts unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Lost your job? Be positive and reflect on the many doors that this situation opens - spending more time with family, focusing on doing what you really want to do. Didn’t get something that you really wanted? Maybe there's something better in store for you!<br />
Every cloud has a silver lining to it, look for your silver lining and keep shining. You need not be the cheeriest person in the world, but simple efforts will lead to profound changes in your life.</div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
saloni@wonderofwords.org</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Wonder of Words </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/WonderofWords" target="_blank">Like us on Facebook</a></div></div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-27875460718993304202011-11-15T18:37:00.001-08:002011-11-15T18:39:01.040-08:00Simplifly... 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Look at me, I have taken the wheel of hours in my hand and gently tipped it backwards. It moves slowly, gracefully, round and round- anti- clockwise. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latinfont-family:";" >I became eight years old once again. It happened a few months ago. I chanced upon an old copy of my favorite fairy tales book. I read of Cinderella, I became Snow White, I danced with Thumbelina, went through adventures of Hansel and Gretel and felt like I am in heaven once again. The beauty of fairy tales and almost all other ‘kiddy’ books that one reads is in its simplicity. No, not just of language but of the thought. I realized that all the characters in fairy tales go through their share of mishaps and challenges but they remain absolutely untouched by them. The characters remain good. They remain beautiful. They remain simple. Little wonder, all of them in time, live happily ever after. I loved every page of every fairy tale because I knew, I had complete faith that ultimately it would all end happily. As I stared out of my balcony that night, in to wonderland, or so it seemed since I had just completed the entire book I realized..<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latinfont-family:";" >Everything in life had become such a big deal. Taking a string of relationship, another of health, one of profession and yet another of positive thinking I had knotted all of them around me so tightly that without realizing I had strangled and tangled my spirit. Having a beautiful relationship and sustaining it seemed impossible. Feeling healthy, pain free and blithe again seemed hard. I loved my work as a writer but often doubts and fears clouded the dreams. Over the years I had complicated my life so much. And yes, I had done it. No one else. As I gazed at the stars I realized about ninety percent of my problems were self created. Beautiful relationships seemed impossible because my relationship with myself was not all right. I was constantly judging myself. Constantly wondering if I was all right? The only consolation was that most people around me seem to be doing the same. Indeed, if you just look around you will realize half of people’s lives get wasted in questioning themselves. I realized a simple solution to this would be to love myself. Yes, I would strive to become better each day… that makes life exciting but at the same time I will constantly remind myself that I am one of God’s most beautiful and precious creations. The minute I start thinking like this, a lot of self doubts and question marks clouding over would disappear. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latinfont-family:";" >I desire health. Yes. Do I deserve health? No. I realized my sleeping times were irregular; I ate almost everything I could lay my hands upon and exercised my mind much more than my body. I wanted to feel vibrant, I wanted to feel energetic. That night I realized that all I need to do is give my body the little attention it deserves. And the way to health can actually be fun. Eating healthy and fresh food, regular walks and sleeping times. It’s so simple. Health became an issue only because I made it one- but by taking simple, progressive steps towards my body so much can be achieved. ‘It’s not so simple okay…’ your mind may start thinking. Look at all the healthy people around you and you will know it actually is that simple.<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latinfont-family:";" >Doubts. Depression. Dullness. Dread. The four deadly D’s in my life. I found a very simple solution to these, meditation. By beginning and ending my days with concentrating on my breathing and introspecting all these four, and much more, could be taken care of. Clarity shoved doubts away. Cheerfulness occupied the space of depression. Energetic enthusiasm became a part of who I am and fear is gradually being replaced by faith. There is so much meditation can do and yet for years I resisted sitting still and silent for just a few minutes in a day. The solution was so simple that I was unwilling to accept this could be the answer to all my woes- but well, life is actually so simple. I only complicated it because I could not accept that it was actually so simple. Somewhere I had heard that life was tough, life was a challenge, life was a struggle and I made that my reality. The illusions shattered and today I know life is only a series of experiences… to make them appear simple or complicated is the function of the mind. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >K.I.S.S. , KEEP IT SIMPLE, SWEETHEART, has become the new philosophy that I abide by.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Megha Bajaj<br />megha@wonderofwords.org<br /> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latinfont-family:";" > </span></p>Saloni @ Wonderofwordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552468183968849080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-62559236223197124512011-11-10T05:57:00.000-08:002011-11-10T05:59:27.735-08:00Practice makes one perfect~<div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">WoW brings you tips that will help you not just improve your writing but also your lives... Simple steps make all the difference! :)<br /><br />Practice for perfection..!</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">WoW Writing….<br /><p style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt;">Not everyone who is talented, was born with it. Many times, greatness comes through practice. Incessant practice and the will to go on without giving up. Its the same with writing. The more you write, the more you will learn about writing. Most writers will advice you to set aside some time to write everyday. Or set a goal for each day, for eg. writing a page everyday. Keep reading your previous work after a few days and you will see the difference in your writing. It will get better and you will feel much better about it as well. After all, how can you improve something if you don’t practice it, don’t work on it?</p><p style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt;">WoW life!<br /></p><p style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt;">Effort never goes waste. Half the battle is won the minute you make up your mind to get better at something. You want to cook better, spend some time reading recipes and the various techniques about cooking - then practice what you have learnt. Want to get healthier, spend some time exercising and eating healthy - then practice what you have learnt. Want to ace that interview, practice, practice, practice; catch hold of anyone and everyone willing to hear you and hold some mock interview sessions. Want to get better at presentations, its the same thing, practice, get up in front of that mirror and talk away. One of the keys to success is practice. Every iteration, every practice session take you one step closer to your final goal.</p><br />Saloni@wonderofwords.org<br /></div>Saloni @ Wonderofwordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552468183968849080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-32278963117175360562011-11-08T08:28:00.000-08:002011-12-27T13:09:19.425-08:00Living life Inside-Out...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhupFWxGaRTgMXjkVmoMC9jKNW2MG6FXn3xzGVJ9uFYk_-sagMFV1HmdTgxemsQtDRMRQR0PPO-xNJDTrTokZiewSU7CmKZ7EG5NVgZrrAJJfbIXjU3tzt97xTqB_-grbfqwTPPP8mj5w/s1600/daily_positive_thoughts-resized-600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhupFWxGaRTgMXjkVmoMC9jKNW2MG6FXn3xzGVJ9uFYk_-sagMFV1HmdTgxemsQtDRMRQR0PPO-xNJDTrTokZiewSU7CmKZ7EG5NVgZrrAJJfbIXjU3tzt97xTqB_-grbfqwTPPP8mj5w/s200/daily_positive_thoughts-resized-600.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>We believe we will feel healthy when our health becomes okay. Conversely, I have realized, the more we <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">feel </b>healthy, the better our health becomes. We believe that if we find that one person to love us, we will fall in love with ourselves; conversely, I have discovered that when I love myself, the entire world around me automatically finds itself in love with me. We live life outside in – and struggle on to find peace and happiness when the answer lies inside out. Peace and happiness, after all, are not commodities available in a shop. They are the bounties of the inner world. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQeYZr-XC4qGIetRwnqyt5ysOrgttTaQLXXCYEdlYK8sWrlz0RqEgurpv_QAhW4Jamr_m076hOS4eIAyQTf2yNcQnOXTHrVncl7mbbPNBn9MZhT4CEYjcNDXpILYuShNn54bDZ7KJlF4/s1600/new+beginning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I realized that in all the areas of my life which were going great, I was subconsciously using this ‘inside out’ formula. A while ago I had read somewhere that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">feel </b>rich to become rich. Each day, I was consciously imagining abundance and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">‘feeling’</b> it and indeed, to my astonishment, within a few months my income had grown 100 per cent. I wasn’t following the formula in relationships. Too often I depended on Arun to make me feel ‘happy’ and ‘complete’ and if ever he failed to listen to me, or understand me, I went into Being angry.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I smiled at a thought. Life is indeed like a cosmic kitchen. We are the guests who have come here to fulfill our hunger. We are ordering dishes to make us feel a certain way. We believe if we order the wonderful spouse, or the Mercedes car, or the fame we seek, or the love of the world, we will feel happy and peaceful. When the dish arrives we do feel satiated – for a moment. But, the feeling is short lived. Either we get bored of our dish or watch someone ordering a bigger and better dish and start believing now that if only we order that dish we will become happy. Wouldn’t it be so much simpler to order the feeling you want to feel instead? And grow into it, so much so that it becomes you? In peace, in happiness, you are bound to enjoy every dish served to you – be it small or big, sweet or salty. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> I admire some people around me for certain aspects, and on closer observation I realized, they take care of their state of being in that particular areas. I have rarely ever seen my dad in a state of depression – he is usually cheerful and jokes are always in the air when he’s around. The result? I have seen so many things just go his way – reducing the chances of him feeling low altogether. Inside out. Whenever I ask my 85 year old granddad how his health is, he shows me a thumbs up. The result? He continues to remain radiant and glowing. Even when he had a kidney problem five years ago and the doctors said he wouldn’t make it through – he bounced back, full of life, because he kept telling everybody (and more importantly, himself) that he is simply waiting to eat some of his favourite delicacies (Jalebi and pizza, if you please!). Inside out.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The more a person feels good – and makes it into a permanent state of being, the more Life presents reasons for him to feel good. Unfortunately, the opposite also is true. The more a person feels miserable and dejected – and makes it into a constant state of being, the more Life presents reasons for this to be so. Change The Being – and life undergoes a change. There is no other way. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The problem with us humans is that the state of Being is our personal responsibility and too often, we don’t want to take it. We want to feel low because of him, we want to feel angry because of her, we want to feel we never became what we could because of them. It’s too easy to pass the buck on – but I have decided, I won’t do this anymore. After all it’s my life, and I want to experience abundance flowing, nay gushing, towards me from all directions.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Another issue, I recognized was that often I didn’t strive long enough to remain in a desired state of Being. Say, for five days if I tell myself to feel positive, and on the sixth day something goes wrong with my life, I started to believe the Law is not working for me. I now realize that the Law is immaculate. The thing that went wrong on the sixth day, went wrong because of my thinking before these five days when I decided to become positive. To ensure my life is amazing – I will have to constantly strive to feel amazing within. It’s not a day’s agenda – but a lifelong striving. However, the superb news is that the longer I stay in a particular State of Being, the easier it starts becoming to be there. For so many people they don’t have to try to BE happy – happiness BECOMES them. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Megha Bajaj</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">megha@wonderofwords.org</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">www.wonderofwords.org<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/wonderofwords" target="_blank">Like us on Facebook</a> </div></div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-43984631863615375862011-10-25T11:58:00.000-07:002011-10-27T06:45:39.778-07:00Challenge yourself....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">WoW brings you tips that will help you not just improve your writing but also your lives... Simple steps make all the difference! :)<br />
<br />
Challenge yourself..!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">WoW Writing….</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">What is the secret ingredient that makes your writing an interesting read? Your passion! If you are inspired to write and have keen interest in any topic, words and plots flow out to weave a riveting story. Hence, it 's a no-brainer that you would choose a topic that you like, a topic you are comfortable with. But don’t get too comfortable playing on the same turf. Never underestimate the importance of learning. If you are comfortable writing for children, try writing for adults once in a while. If you are comfortable writing fiction, try writing something reflective. If you are comfortable writing about opinions, try writing about a theoretical topic which will need some research at your end. Dabbling with stuff that is new to you, will bring in a fresh perspective and help you grow and learn as a writer.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">WoW life!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">Again, let me stress on - Never underestimate the importance of learning! I try to learn something new every day. Be it by reading books, researching a topic on the internet, or speaking to someone about something that I am not very well versed with. Keep challenging yourself and you will find that you end your day with a fulfilling and satisfying feeling. You know how sometimes when you watch a bad movie, you feel terrible that you just wasted precious two hours of your life that you will never get back? Imagine that happening with a whole day! Go to bed thinking of the few bits of wisdom that you gained in the day, be proud of your efforts and enjoy the deep slumber!<br />
<br />
Saloni@wonderofwords.org </div></div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-63469364271682939372011-10-21T06:47:00.000-07:002011-10-21T06:47:48.153-07:00As is...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:DoNotShowComments/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Outside, it was just another November morning. Within, my cells were in a state of celebration. I was meeting my guru and couldn’t decide what to wear. His timely message on my phone read “Don’t take too much trouble over dressing. Come as yourself. In the ‘As is’ state, you are beautiful.” I sat down and softly chuckled to myself. Somehow, he always knew all the antics that I was up to. I wore my most comfortable pair of jeans and a simple T-shirt, grinned and said, “As is”. At various points of the day, the two words tickled my mind and made me smile. As is. As is. The wondering had begun…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Although I enjoy a several close relationships, it is in my sister’s company that my inner Self completely unfurls and stands ‘As is’. I feel so at ease when I am with Nidhi. If I have an issue with her, I don’t need to think or edit, I can express myself as it is and I know nothing about our relationship will lessen. I can scratch my nose or I can burst into a song, I can laugh and roll on the floor in mirth or cry like my entire world has fallen apart, and I know nothing about us will change. I always wondered why I sought her company and now I know. With her, I am ‘As is’ – not an inch of formality, not a molecule of pretension. Not even an atom of being what I am not. Oh, such freedom this is!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Being with children refreshes me – this I have known for years. This is so because kids are always in the ‘As is’ state – is a discovery I just made. Whether a little one is running around or sitting peacefully, colouring; whether he is gurgling over nothing or she is crying over a toy; I can sit in meditative silence and watch children for an entire day. So beautiful they are, in the ‘As is’ state.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As I dwelt more upon these two words, I began to realize whenever I saw someone being ‘As is’ I enjoyed that person, no matter how strange or eccentric they appeared. I liked my loud aunt because that’s just the way she was. She had no qualms about her decibel levels so why should I? I loved my miserly uncle who wears torn socks and ‘banian’ (inner vest) with holes even bigger than the ones through which we put our hands, although he is a billionaire – that’s just the way he is, who am I to question it? Conversely, I have found something within me repel whenever I sensed that someone was not being themselves. Even if someone was doing a kind act – but being extremely pretentious about it, something within me would screech like nails over a blackboard. A humbling experience came in the form of a college re-union.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqivyX7MS1DDxHxBKiwOhjR32SEI-aHpQ4BkPHxanHvjzGu-2u3iciHRHiFLZ9YoubU4lWk7l_v1tj0WoEBJ7LIDRqpLEcmVyE8pR1qNMJSO3gJhpxTyW6jSdSuIgu7nWF4IRB8jdFwEk/s1600/be_yourself.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqivyX7MS1DDxHxBKiwOhjR32SEI-aHpQ4BkPHxanHvjzGu-2u3iciHRHiFLZ9YoubU4lWk7l_v1tj0WoEBJ7LIDRqpLEcmVyE8pR1qNMJSO3gJhpxTyW6jSdSuIgu7nWF4IRB8jdFwEk/s200/be_yourself.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The party was in full swing, and so were my thoughts. I was judging all those who weren’t being genuine and was wondering, “Why can’t people be ‘As is’ – it’s so obvious when someone is not being genuine…” Just then, a reflection caught my eye in the long panel mirror of the party hall. Someone had a huge, plastic smile on her face as she was telling another person, “Hey, we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">must</i> catch up, it’s been soooo long.” With horror, I realized that the reflection was mine! I looked fake. I sounded fake. And it was clear, I was being fake. It was like a bucket of cold water being dumped on my head. Obviously, just the way I could sense it when someone wasn’t being genuine – it must be so clear to others when I wasn’t ‘As is’ too! After, we all acts as mirrors to one another!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">So often I change myself because I believe it is ‘socially acceptable.’ Why say, “pleased to meet you” when in my mind I know I found the meeting boring? Why say “the food is amazing, give me the recipe!” when I know I am never going to try the dish? Why tell someone “you are looking so amazing” and then gossip about her later? I have promised myself – if I say something good to someone, I will mean every syllable of it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Conversely, when someone around me is displeasing me, I have started asking myself a key question. It is, “Does this person really matter?” If the answer is no, I am learning to keep my peace and remind myself that I am no one to judge anyone. However, if the answer is yes, the person does matter, I make it a point to express my feelings to him. Of course there is a way to say things – and a time and a place, but instead of allowing negative emotions to fester and boil within me, I have decided to let the other person know what’s troubling me. I have seen that when I am able to communicate nicely, directly and respectfully to the other, when I am able to say things ‘As is’ most of the times it has been received in the right spirit and the relationship has only deepened. When I looked into my life and reflected upon the relationships that got strained or fell apart, I saw that in most cases it wasn’t the issues that were too big, it was the gap between discussing the issues that had become too big. We had stopped being ‘As is’ with each other.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Being ‘As is’ is improving my life so much. From little instances to important ones, every instance where I was ‘As is’ leaves me happy and refreshed. For example, I love getting gifts. In fact an important part of my birthday is sitting amidst colourful wrapping paper and admiring the things I had received. And yet, until now whenever someone would give me a present I would say, (with one hand upon the gift, mind you) “ Heh Heh Heh, you shouldn’t have…” This birthday, I decided to be ‘As is’ – I accepted all the presents with an excited smile. As is. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In the book Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert shares a profound insight. She says, “God exists within you, as you.” If the Almighty can accept us as we are, why do we change ourselves to please others? Even the journey of self improvement can only begin when, in the first place, there is self acceptance. Only when I accept that I am a liar can I move towards becoming more truthful – only when I accept the ‘As is’ can I do something about it. The stupidest thing that I have done in life is to deny me to myself, others and even God– and I refuse to do it anymore. This is me. As is. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I realize, life is nothing but a series of memories. Every moment that passes becomes a small fragment of my mind in the form of a memory. It’s up to me whether I choose happy memories or the painful ones. Do I slip in to reminiscence with a gentle smile or a scorn? What he said, what she said, what he did, what she did, will all result in nothing but a memory in my head – so which ones are worth keeping… which not worth processing? As I became conscious of this thought, I realized, somewhere unconsciously I was picking and choosing all the right memories and therefore life is as beautiful, as abundant as it is right now. The negative memories must be lurking in corners – but I consciously choose not to think of them whereas the happy ones I play time and again, making them stronger. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I had a quarrel with my best friend. We both said quite a few nasty things to each other. We raked the past, we scorned the present and questioned the future. However, in the end of it all, it ended with both of us weeping, realizing, how much we mean to each other. There were I love you’s and I care for you’s. There were hugs and holding of hands. With a new day, with a new understanding – what played an important role was our old memory. We remembered not the hurt but the healing power of love, we kept in mind the adoration not the abhorrence, we memorized the gentle words and not the stream of insults and that’s why we are closer than we ever were. Memory… just a memory. Yet, which I choose to dwell over, which I choose to lose, makes all the difference. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“You will never be good at English”, said my teacher ten years ago. Although her words were meant to hurt, in my memory, I only remember a little girl in a blue uniform looking back with raised eyebrows. I had said nothing. But even then, I remember thinking, “No teacher, I will learn English. I will.” Even in memory there was no sense of humiliation or failure. Indignation, yes. A chance to prove myself, perhaps. But no sense of failure. Recently, after having finished a book called Thank You, Cancer and being praised for it in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Times of India</i>, the same teacher wrote me an email saying, “I am privileged to have known you.” Probably none of it had been possible if somehow my mind had not chosen to keep the memory of this moment as a challenge rather than a hopelessness one. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">That’s the beauty with memory – of an entire instance, of an entire conversation; I can choose to keep alive only that which I want to. So when someone once told me, “You are pretty ugly”, I conveniently, in my memory keep alive only the first three words of the sentence. Today truly looks does not seem to be an issue in my life and I walk about with my head held high, believing I am God’s beautiful creation. What could have broken me, created me. Memories which could have shaken me, awakened me, as I chose to keep only those alive which helped me feel good, made me happier. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInHBhTxvAYShcVFj7gJp2EWe0T3lBxy6fMatVpbmpTSAAj3vxOQUTk7erKzlSCmMnZYlBAiLu_72-oed6PfqAB_fok5oBMUpR7niKF_NCTNwsper3QePdSlfT-SOz6-rXvgVbBybUFqY/s1600/heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInHBhTxvAYShcVFj7gJp2EWe0T3lBxy6fMatVpbmpTSAAj3vxOQUTk7erKzlSCmMnZYlBAiLu_72-oed6PfqAB_fok5oBMUpR7niKF_NCTNwsper3QePdSlfT-SOz6-rXvgVbBybUFqY/s200/heart.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What you say to me is not in my control. What life brings to me is not in my control. What will happen in the very next moment is not in my control. But as I sleep, what memories I choose to keep in safe possession, what memories I choose to ignore and thereby discard remains in my, and only my control. I have made insults in to compliments, failures in to challenges, fights in to yet another chance to renew a friendship, ill health in to an important rest and pampering period, moments of humiliation in to humour in my memory. So when I look back, there actually seems so much of joy, so much of excitement and growth, that I get excited about what tomorrow will bring. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This article, as of now will be nothing but a memory… but I want to keep it alive in my mind, keep remembering that life is nothing but a series of memories – and I can chose, and lose them according to my wish. Let this learning not fade away… let this memory, of memories, remain alive.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14.0pt;">Did you, like me, buy a brand new book, a brand new pen with a shiny tip just when you had to begin studying for school exams? For me, it was an event. I would go to a stationary shop, hold my nose high so the shopkeeper knows he is to take me seriously and stand pondering what to buy- which pen would get me more marks- which book would ensure that I write more, learn more and sleep less; which color marker would help me notice important words better? Pink, maybe. Purple, Yes. And like this my tiny shopping bag would fill with new stationary. Surprisingly, I would actually study harder, concentrate more with all these new things surrounding me. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14.0pt;">Do you, like me, get so excited when you bought a few new clothes, that for quite some time you forgot your old ones completely. Little else thrills me as shopping does- there is a certain fragrance that new clothes have, a certain feel- that old clothes just don’t. Laden with shopping bags, thoughts of what I will wear when, anticipation of coming sales- I feel this little thrill. Ok, ok, if you are a man- its probably not clothes- think of that brand new car that you bought. That glisten, that glimmer, that fragrance that teased you as if saying- ‘I am new and therefore special’ and you probably know exactly what I am saying about the thrill of ‘newness’. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14.0pt;">Have you, like me, felt shivers run down your spine at the prospect of getting to know a person, of adding that one more number on your mobile- knowing that you are going to use this number quite a lot. What a feeling it is to talk for hours and find out- favorite colour, favorite food, favorite flower. And favorite person. Shy smiles follow. Some relationships become new with each passing day- no matter how much two people know about each other they always find something new, something more to speak about- something new to discover together. And the excitement of ‘newness’ within the relationship simply refuses to fade away.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWHNtDH758Kkzs_LQ19Db2bwF18G6rx-kuH33PgvEl3KqPaT3n42uFFQah9B4uAMWAEdC_6GdDq44w_dzDGg6YqyrWaDyo8GnXweGxJH9PCV6cTq6Jlg0TWoY9XC_ITFtJt7QXyn43_E/s1600/new-day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWHNtDH758Kkzs_LQ19Db2bwF18G6rx-kuH33PgvEl3KqPaT3n42uFFQah9B4uAMWAEdC_6GdDq44w_dzDGg6YqyrWaDyo8GnXweGxJH9PCV6cTq6Jlg0TWoY9XC_ITFtJt7QXyn43_E/s320/new-day2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14.0pt;">Have you, like I did, realized that life itself renews itself each day? With each morning, life begins once again. Sleep, like a mother, puts her hand over my head and weaves webs of darkness around me so I may sleep in peace- and wake up to a new day, a new life. What a waste of a new day it would be, if I am the same old! Yesterday I allowed ego to spoil a relationship, today I won’t. Yesterday, I was afraid to be the first one to do something; today I will do it with excitement. Yesterday I lost my temper on someone I loved, today, I will make it up. Yesterday I didn’t realize my potential, today I will. Yesterday I didn’t extend my arms and hug a child, today I will hug two. The old me had health problems, the new me wont. Yesterday I couldn’t, today I will. Between what I was yesterday and what I will be tomorrow lies a new day- renewed twenty four hours asking me- so, today what will you do? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14.0pt;">What a feeling it is to wake up to a new day. The thrill of newness engulfs me every morning as I wonder what all I will do with this brand new day- the fragrance of newness tantalizing me to explore more, more, more. The beauty of life is, until it’s here, it keeps giving me a new day, again and again. A new sun, a new sky, new clouds, and to go with it a new, improved me- everyday. </span></div></div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-9048458982176226532011-10-01T07:44:00.000-07:002011-10-01T07:45:21.553-07:00Decided it. Did it.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">Since forty years it had been his best friend. Since forty years, every day, through every different mood it listened calmly to him- never questioning, never judging, for it knew that each time he would get a little more dependent on it. Each time they spoke it took away a little from him, without him even realizing it. Each time it killed him a little, and yet he continued. For he could not imagine his life without it. Yes, he couldn’t imagine a life without his cigarettes, which now seemed like a natural extension of his fingers. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">When I met him he spoke to me, with a cigarette in his hands, of his dreams. Beautiful dreams. Dreams of creating an educational institute in Rajasthan for the poor. He spoke with clarity, he spoke keeping reality in mind. I coughed a little and then smiled in encouragement. Smoke and smile. Hazard to health and dreams of progress. Cigarette and visions. The paradoxes got to me and I couldn’t help but ask him, ‘Uncle you have such a beautiful vision for the future of kids you don’t even know, and yet with each cigarette you kill yourself a little bit hour after hour – hazarding your own future. Isn’t it a pity?’ </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">Mr Pansari, my best friend’s father looked at me with widened eyes. He processed the thought. And within few seconds he replied, ‘Give me a twenty one day challenge and I promise you I will not touch a cigarette. On the twenty second day I will call you and tell you that if I could do this for these few days, I can do it for a lifetime.’ One week passed. And then another. I had not heard from uncle at all- and in all honesty, I did have a doubt whether he would be able to do it- a forty year old habit- can it be dropped in twenty one days? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">On twenty second day the phone rang. With triumph in his voice uncle informed me, ‘I decided it and I did it. My decision became bigger than me and I never even had the urge to touch a cigarette. All that mattered was my decision, my promise to you. It’s now impossible for me to ever smoke again.’ Undoubtedly I was thrilled- thrilled for him, thrilled for his family but I think I was most thrilled for myself as I had the sudden realization that this was the victory of the human spirit, the human determination over a particular challenge. If one can decide it, one can do it. Suddenly I looked around myself to see more examples of single decisions changing lives. I was not disappointed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzoJEAdxD-BCaROuG5hkqtngdTNchkJb90nztv3Wi1f7tL2YoHCiEeLzBHctekjgQa46v2vrzsjO0YmxIJvlLP3lK_znxH0lQk11xYPXmF79YP8HmKOcvRAGkhkASw8cAltCfw7XMR9s/s1600/1276598643can+do.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTzoJEAdxD-BCaROuG5hkqtngdTNchkJb90nztv3Wi1f7tL2YoHCiEeLzBHctekjgQa46v2vrzsjO0YmxIJvlLP3lK_znxH0lQk11xYPXmF79YP8HmKOcvRAGkhkASw8cAltCfw7XMR9s/s320/1276598643can+do.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">He was only sixteen years old when he developed an eye problem. He was told, progressively he would now lose his eyesight for a few years until he becomes completely blind. At an age where youngsters seek and find themselves, at an age where one starts developing vision for a beautiful tomorrow, at an age where what others think, how peers relate with you matters so much, he found himself immersed in darkness. His mother wept, his father wept, his younger brother too wept. But Ankit, my young cousin, made a decision. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">One of those evening when he was listening to a few of his favorite songs a thought came upon him, ‘I am only losing my sight- everything else in my body is functioning perfectly and I should be thankful for that.’ Instantaneously the thought became a decision, ‘Before I knew I would become blind I had several dreams. Loss of vision will not stop me. I will achieve all that I want to achieve in life and blindness will not subtract anything from my life. In fact, it will give me an impetus to strive harder. I will remain self reliant.’ And that was it. The rest, as they say, is history.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">The handsome twenty year old today reads more books than most people who can see, via a special program; he won the student of the year award in his college; he has written a book on his life and will soon celebrate six months into his first amazing job in India’s most reputed MNC. He told me, ‘I took the decision and the decision governed my life. At times when I felt weakened, I would just remember my decision and with a calm smile walk on. I started every day of my life running my decision through my mind. And today my decision is me, I am my decision.’ He adds, with a naughty smile, ‘Am sure will even find the girl of my dreams someday- after all, love is blind.’ I laugh with him but have tears in my eyes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">Her husband told her he loved her, and the he told her he loved her not. Once again he told her he did, and then he did not. Sometimes he would come home and be the wonderful caring husband that any woman can dream of; at other times he was a detached stranger- incapable of all thoughts and feelings. She questioned herself, tried providing answers to herself and kept trying to make things work. She was a housewife- she had grown up believing that a marriage is a one time phenomena and no matter what you have to make it work. Although educated, she had never stepped out to work, to find herself in a role other than a daughter, sister and a wife. That evening he came home drunk. She offered him a glass of water which he threw aside abusing her. She sat in the balcony crying, watching the sun set. And suddenly, out of nowhere a thought came, ‘Do I not deserve a better life?’ In a moment, the decision was made. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">She decided, ‘I deserve a beautiful life. I deserve to live without wondering what will happen tomorrow, I deserve a life of love. If not my husbands love, at least my love for myself.’ She quietly packed her bags and left for her parents’ home. Of course there was resistance. Questions. Accusations. And yet, since the decision was made, there was no going back.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">In six months she was able to get a job that brought little salary, but a lot of self respect. She managed to get out of the marriage, unscathed. And is on her journey to discovering a new Shalini. There is so much strength in making a decision and standing by it. I didn’t know what I would do, where I would be when I left my husband- all I knew is that I deserved something better and I would give it to myself. Today, that single decision has turned my life downside up and things are looking better each day.’</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">For the first time I realized that I need not give examples of the Mahatma or Mother Teresa, my own life is surrounded by people who have had the courage to take a decision and make things happen. A thought, when it becomes a decision has the power to make things move. A decision when remembered every day, becomes a force. A force, when it becomes bigger than the person himself can overcome all the hurdles and become reality. If indecision is like the car which doesn’t know whether to go right or left, and goes nowhere in the bargain; decision is that chartered plane which zooms past the runway and gains flight. Certain indecisions arise of lack of information- in which case one can seek a higher intelligence to make up their mind- but most indecisions arise from a fear of the future- a question upon tomorrow. That robust health, that amazing job, that dream relationship, that wonderful life… awaits. Can you make the decision and make it yours?</span></div></div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-64384958990775350152011-09-27T06:07:00.000-07:002011-09-27T06:08:46.107-07:00What's right?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">A beautiful face with radiant skin. A single acne mark. Chances are, the girl to whom the face belongs, complains about the little blemish each day instead of feeling gratitude for what is already right. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">A wonderful relationship. So many beautiful memories. A single acrimonious quarrel. Perhaps you have actually considered ending the relationship for just that.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">When I asked myself, some years ago, why I was so often, so miserable, the answer stunned me. I had expected some complex, deep, karmic revelation. It wasn’t. It was simple. Since childhood I had trained myself to look at what’s wrong, and not at that which was right.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">If I got nine out of ten in a spellings test, instead of celebrating the nine rights, I complained about the one wrong. If I had three good friends in class, and there was one girl who didn’t like me, I focused my entire energy on that girl. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I didn’t know at that time that wherever goes attention, wherever goes energy, there goes life</i>. Little wonder, by the time I came to the tenth, I had a larger number of people who disliked me and whom I disliked than true friends!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">If I did something for my health on five days of the week – and became lethargic on the last two days, I would be upset with myself for that. I would never appreciate what I was doing right, rather I would keep focusing on the wrong, not realizing the profound law of life: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wherever goes attention, wherever goes energy, there goes life.</i> Every part of my body was functioning perfectly – just a slight disorder in the right ear and instead of stopping and thanking Life for a beautiful body, I would complain and focus on the little aching part. Little wonder, my entire body had started giving way just a few months ago.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">There are hundreds of books on the laws of attractions and scores of gurus who speak of only, and only, focusing on the right. And yet, it has taken a lot of time for this intellectual understanding of the law of life to become a part of my DNA. Perhaps because the training of focusing on what is wrong, began with so many of us as kids itself. In all probability when you were blissfully playing in a room full of adults, no one so much as glanced towards you, but the moment you opened your mouth wide and howled or cried, you were immediately the centre of attraction. Such experiences repeated in and out perhaps trained your subconscious, like they did to mine, to believe that if you need attention you need to be in pain, or be unhealthy, or be unhappy. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTfERU48XvYjSzQJjqufhah3IiENWR8HQIPxm3sbk769IucV-qnHoPjkBelDCb-yZK7gDpxWYRpnqaF85MhFX3Y0N-HL3I2vwshp2No1LF2pcamWCRszRbjRYS-thHmkXSueMKQrlnC0I/s1600/positive1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTfERU48XvYjSzQJjqufhah3IiENWR8HQIPxm3sbk769IucV-qnHoPjkBelDCb-yZK7gDpxWYRpnqaF85MhFX3Y0N-HL3I2vwshp2No1LF2pcamWCRszRbjRYS-thHmkXSueMKQrlnC0I/s1600/positive1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14pt;">Thank God (literally!) I now realize that life is perfect because it is and not because it fits my definition of perfect. I am able to find something to be happy about by looking for what is right, even on the worst of days. I am able to feel healthy, even if just one part of my body is not functioning to its best capacity. I am able to look for something to appreciate in almost everyone. And what abundance is unfolding into my life. My book, Thank You Cancer, is doing better than I had expected, I feel really good about myself most of the time, my classes for children is a big hit, my relationships are deepening. And I am just waiting… to watch more magic unfold. The mantra is simple, wherever I go, whoever I meet, whatever I do, I will ask myself, what’s right?</span></div></div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-57803735941084369472011-09-19T10:39:00.000-07:002011-09-19T15:21:03.830-07:00Why define.. Why confine?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">“Ma’am, Ma’am, come fast”. <br />
<br />
Little Shourya held onto my shirt and dragged me towards the object that had caught his fancy. I had taken my little 7-year-old students to a lush garden to show them the beautiful world of insects. <br />
<br />
“Ma’am, just look at his beauty. Ma’am, just look at his colour. Woow, I have never seen anything so beautiful. I love him, Ma’am”. <br />
<br />
Expecting to see a fluttering butterfly, I gazed at the point where he was trying to draw my attention. And I shrieked! For it wasn’t the colourful beauties of the garden that the little one was so smitten by, rather it was a cockroach. Argh, a cockroach! Almost upset, I wanted to move him away and tell him how ‘yucky’ cockroaches were and how they gave me the creeps. As I was about to take him elsewhere, I noticed Shourya’s expression. He looked stunned. Amazed. Excited. All because of a cockroach. There was open admiration stamped upon his face for the tiny maroon bug. In that moment, so many of my definitions dropped. Why had my adult mind got trained to believe that a butterfly was beautiful? And a cockroach was ugly? Why had my definition of beauty become so limited? I sat right there in the grass and began to pen down all my thoughts. <br />
<br />
I had always loved definitions. As a child I had labels for all my friends. There was ‘friend’, ‘good friend’, ‘best friend’ and even ‘bestest friend’. I had neatly packaged them into groups. And I loved it. However, the problems would start coming if a friend started becoming a good friend, or somehow, a ‘bestest’ friend started moving towards being a friend. Caught up with theory, I would ignore the practicals. I would resist with all my might and ensure that the changing relationships stayed in their specific categories… and today, I am barely in touch with any of them. It’s only now, sitting here in the garden, that I realize that I hadn’t allowed the river to flow along its natural course – rather I had tried to build a dam here, and one there, and tried to control its flow. In the bargain I had completely lost out on the river and its natural beauty altogether. I was too busy deciding where it should go, rather than just jumping into it myself and flowing along.<br />
<br />
Even as an adult, I was constantly caught up with definitions. I had a particular idea of love. I probably picked it up from one of the self help books which had fascinated me. “Love is that which brings out the best in you”, it said. And there, a definition was ready. As I thought deeply, I realized, that love brought out not just the best but also sometimes the worst in me. Did that mean that it was not love? Did that mean that I didn’t love my mom, dad, sister, husband, guru? No! I did and I do. The people don’t have to be dropped, the definitions have to! Love is this… and love is that. When there is ‘and’, when there is inclusion of two opposites, how can a definition be possible? <br />
<br />
A rush of realizations seemed to sweep me. All my life I had feared death because I saw life and death as two opposites. And since life was beautiful and exciting and thrilling and colourful, death seemed to be its exact opposite. Today, for the first time I realize, that everything in life comes in pair. And the pairs just are. It is I who defines one as good and one as bad. To her day could be splendid and to me night. To him winter could be unbearable and to me summer. Life just is. It is this. And it is that. So putting definitions will only limit my experience as I will see one thing as positive and the other as negative… I will accept one with open arms and reject another with all my might. But both are life. Both have something to teach, something to experience. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIrhzGq0jW0txNe6PpdMRAmHKwUDEb7vrzMUwrxK70OCh784hQ0-q4Oyt7AFNOJz01pomlAHotHHe-S6il1nIvP0AW72okL9nE7yYA1Ypqtm1NFOTOORgdOF9DlN2agGflzIvnHWAk8D0/s1600/thegreatescape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIrhzGq0jW0txNe6PpdMRAmHKwUDEb7vrzMUwrxK70OCh784hQ0-q4Oyt7AFNOJz01pomlAHotHHe-S6il1nIvP0AW72okL9nE7yYA1Ypqtm1NFOTOORgdOF9DlN2agGflzIvnHWAk8D0/s320/thegreatescape.jpg" width="320" /></a>I want to break my life out of definitions. I want to just be. Let each moment unfurl a new experience unto me. Let every idea, every pre-concieved notion be challenged. He is cunning. She is jealous. He is wonderful. She is terrible. Life is tough. My health is bad. I will only get something after a lot of efforts. Oh, who gave me all these definitions? I, myself? But then, I too am beyond definitions…. Tell me, can you define yourself? I sure can’t! Than why this urgent need to define everything, everyone… why not flow with the river and allow it to carry me? <br />
<br />
Shourya shook me and broke me out of my reverie. He was asking me if he could take the cockroach home and keep it as a pet. He would call it Ben Ten. I smiled and said, “Sure, darling, why not? After all, who ever defined pets to only be cats and dogs?”<br />
<br />
Megha Bajaj<br />
<a href="http://www.wonderofwords.org/">www.Wonderofwords.org</a></div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-47370714084027345892011-09-15T12:47:00.000-07:002011-09-15T12:47:40.436-07:00Attitude of Gratitude<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The children’s class was in full swing. I had asked the ten year olds to write about one attitude that they would want to have for life. As they bent their tiny heads and pinned their flying thoughts, one at a time, I observed them. There were four of them and each represented a world in itself. Shruti, the pretty one came from a very affluent family. Raghav, was the intelligent boy wearing spectacles and a serious look. Garima was the cute, chubby girl who loved to giggle. And then, there was Dhruv. He had half a smile on his lips as he wrote. I couldn’t define him. I couldn’t label him under a type. Dhruv just was. <br />
<br />
When he read out his paper and said, “Ma’am, I would like to develop the attitude of gratitude. Now and forever.” I asked him why. And he looked into my eyes and shared, “Because I am alive.” Taken aback, I just looked at him. He spoke softly and said, “Ma’am when I was five I had leukemia. I am now ten. And I am alive.” I couldn’t utter a word. The other kids surrounded him and began to ask him questions, but I couldn’t join in. I could just hear a few words like ‘two years treatment’, ‘blood transfusion’, ‘18 injections’, and the other kids kept gasping every now and then. Dhruv had unknowingly become a hero – but he didn’t seem to care, he just gave honest answers and shrugged his shoulders when Shruti asked him, “Can you get it again?” <br />
<br />
When all of them left, I just sat with the little paper in my hand in which Dhruv had written, “I would like to develop the attitude of gratitude. Now and forever.” His childish handwriting seemed to contrast with the profound message that it contained.Conceptually, I liked the term gratitude, however, practically, I had two issues with it: One, I childishly believed if I was grateful, God would stop giving me more. And two, I believed that while some aspects of my life were great, there were always enough areas which were challenging and they took most of my time – so how could I be grateful? <br />
<br />
Dhruv had shown me. The very law of life suggests that life goes wherever energies go. So the more grateful I am about something, chances are the more of it I would create in my life. Closer observation proved this to be true. Off late, I was just feeling too good about my health and often spontaneously the words would flow, “Thank you God for this feeling of absolute lightness and well being.” And the feeling was just growing. I was feeling better and better with each passing day. <br />
<br />
Consequently for all those issues which I kept grumbling about – they indeed seemed to be growing in magnitude, I wasn’t enjoying my relationships too much and often felt like I was giving much more than I was getting. Dhruv’s words shook me and I began to focus on every little thing that my close ones were doing for me and the perspective shift led to phenomenal results. Suddenly I felt loved, cared for and protected. Magically, the more I relished the tiny gestures and expressions of love from others, the more they came my way! <br />
<br />
Gratitude seems a bit too simple to be life transforming. And yet, it is. Thank you Dhruv, for changing my prayers. These days as I sit in meditation, I ask for one thing alone: Dear God, help me to develop the attitude of gratitude. Now and forever. </div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859824841300571462.post-64649144790483762052011-08-29T08:53:00.000-07:002011-08-30T07:05:30.739-07:00Tea With Me<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5a3700; font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; line-height: 14px;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5a3700; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Have you ever heard the song of rains? It starts with a hum, builds to a loud, emotional singing and reaches its crescendo with the thunders. Never the kinds to be happy as a bystander, I jump in to drench myself with the heavenly notes. What a feeling it is to see nothing but the silver rain all around, to hear nothing but the rain song and remember nothing but rapture. I feel no consciousness of who is watching and I feel no embarrassment to express my childlike joy: rains and I, I and rains: dance away.<br />
<br />
Music too has a similar effect. It is like my magic carpet which transports me to different worlds. Listening to slow, meditative music I am transported to the bank of a sacred river, surrounded by silent snow capped mountains. I imagine myself flowing with the river, no resistance, no conflict, just going with the flow. Drumbeats, on the other hand, transport me to jungles where I dance with a tribal group and feel a primal, raw, energy flow through. Imagination refuses to be chained and sitting solitarily on a chair, listening to music I visit places unknown and unheard of. Music has the capacity to make me forget everything- it’s the notes and me, me and the notes: in silent symphony.<br />
<br />
‘Love your work, and you will never work again,’ this quote finds resonance with my life. As a child I wrote to my family whenever I felt sad, whenever I felt happy and also whenever I wanted a gift from them. As an adolescent I wrote in my diaries of crushes and infatuations. And today I write books. Writing is a part of me - the way my right hand is a part of me. A paper, a pencil and thoughts just fly about, competing to be pinned down. When I am writing an article, someone could be staring at me for hours and I wouldn’t realize it. I lose all consciousness- all I am aware of is my thoughts and my words. Words and me, I and words: we need little else.<br />
<br />
As I wonder what to name this article, I look around. And here I find my answer. I am sitting at a café having a tea with me. Everyone else is sitting in little groups. Lovers in a corner, exchanging shy looks over the brim of the cup, some elderly people chatting about their aches and pains in the middle and youngsters guffawing around. Undoubtedly, it is a beautiful feeling to share life’s moments with someone close - but today I realize that it is as important to do a few activities in a day which are just for me. When I need no one else to enjoy what I am doing. When I lose myself in whatever I am doing so completely that for those few moments nothing, absolutely nothing else matters. No roles, no responsibilities, all I know for those few sacred moments is how it feels to be me.<br />
<br />
I recently asked someone to tell me five things she loves doing and she could come up with none. Flooding our lives with people and activities we tend to distance away from the person who matters the most: our self. I now know that each day needs to be filled with at least one activity that I enjoy thoroughly, that I am doing only for me. It could be eating a strawberry ice- cream, it could be playing with a dog, it could be singing in the bathroom, it could be scratching my ears: the activity hardly matters, what matters is that its bringing me a little closer to me, making me more intimate with me. So, do you owe yourself a tea time date too?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5a3700; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5a3700; font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Megha Bajaj</span></span></div></div>WoW... Wonder of Wordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14497842097301772936noreply@blogger.com0