Struck By The Strom

Hello Everyone,

Struck by the Strom and a log in my eye,

I am blinded and oblivious to the world around.

My eyes are shut closely with darkness surrounding by leaps and bounds.

I am confined to a corner petrified by fear,

I fear movement lest I would stumble down.

But the Strom did die leaving behind a dreadful silence.

Screaming at me a voice from within “Till how long?”,

“Till how long you will hide from life when you don’t know when the death would arrive?”.

I was stubborn enough to not to answer,

But soon sun rays did knock my eyelids urging me to listen and care enough to answer and I had to.

I was struggling to open my eyes to let the light drive away the darkness of ignorance.

Log was gone but pain still reckoning, tears still rolling down leaving behind a burning trail.

But the struggle wasn’t futile for my eyes are seeking comfort in the light of enlightenment.

Strom did knock me down only to let the wind of new beginning blow.

Strom did break my branches only to let me sense the strength of my roots.

Strom did turn the dullness on with its grey hue only to let me understand the beauty of colours.

Storm did struck me down only to let me stand a new chance.

 

Have You Acted Like A Fool Of Late?

Hello Everyone,

Have you acted like a fool of late?  Or in your distant past?  Do you remember those acts and do you laugh at them?  Can you laugh at yourself?

Ability to laugh at oneself is a boon and an agreeable characteristic trait.  You laugh at your follies, others won’t have a chance to laugh at you.

I don’t want to be overtly preachy here, just wanted to share few incidents where I felt like a fool, nudged my head for a second then, thinking “Gosh! What I have done?

• Tryst with French: It’s been over seven years here in Belgium but my French isn’t perfect yet.  But now I can manage many things using that language for communication.  But remembering how I used to fare initially still leaves me in splits.  Wrong punctuation can be fatal. Before every conversation with any stranger I used to say ” Je parle anglais” which in English says ” I speak English” but what I actually wanted to ask was ” Do you speak English?” Which should actually go like this in French : ” Vous parlez anglais?  So basically I replaced “you” with “I” and the expression was of a question mark instead of a full stop.  Which means my expression was like “Je parle anglais? As if asking myself if I can speak English.  Such a blunder I tell you.  But irony is no one corrected it as they took it in face value as a statement of my confirmation that I speak English 😁.
• Too friendly/ overtly eager to help:  Two days back I had some work in our commune office.  As I was walking towards the office I saw a couple with their baby in a pram near the office.  I just passed them and within a second turned back and told them “you can take pram from the other door and can use lift instead of carrying it on the stairs” because I thought they didn’t knew that.  They gave me a blank look as at first place they had no intention of entering the town hall and at second place they were wondering who is this woman uttering nonsense (believe me they had that look😂).  Sometimes trying to play good Samaritan without being asked can make us stand like a fool.
• Feeling too excited because of nationality:   When you are in a foreign land faces from your land, for that matter everything associated (even seemingly or remotely) with your mother land gives a sense of belonging.  For example I get excited seeing a “made in India” tag on any cloth or accessory here in Belgium, any restaurant serving Indian cuisine, even if any random name sounds or smells of indian-ness catches my attention ( can’t help it).  So it was in the year 2013 I guess, I was on tram back to home, saw few Indians on-board and in inexplicable excitement waved my hands at them as I know them.  How silly of me! There was no reaction from that end. Felt like a fool.  What at first place prompted me to do such an action still a question for me.  That was just one such incident and that’s not my general way of reacting to see fellow Indians (you got to trust me, I am perfectly sane😁)

These are few incidents from my life that I wanted to share with you all and have a good  laugh (you can join the party and I won’t mind that).  It happens with all of us – pushing doors which clearly says “pull”; tripping off on a perfectly plain surface while walking that too bare feet; slipping off embarrassing words at wrong time with no wrong intention whatsoever.

Crux of the issue is being able to laugh and amused by own silliness.  Our silliness is not a weakness in itself until taken too seriously lest it becomes a weapon for others to tease us.

 

 

I CONFESS – I AM MONEY MINDED

Candles Online

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday night I was struggling hard to add Google Adsense on my WordPress site.  Only aim was to monetize my blog site.  But I failed.  Actually possibility of  monetization of blog sites encouraged me to start blogging.  Or let’s say one of the reasons.  And I don’t shy away from admitting so.  I don’t mind if you call me money minded, I really won’t.  Because if desire to be financially independent or make an extra stream of income is being money minded then I am “IT”.   Not only this but I think of money in every possible situation.  For example I wait for months of sale to shop loads because they offer huge discounts, if electricity bills flare up that gives me sense of tension, an unwanted expense that could affect the monthly budget definitely puts me off.  Though I have a comfortable life but this is the way…

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A LETTER FROM A BROKEN FATHER

Note: Purely a work of fiction

Candles Online

Radhika, a 25-years-old marketing professional recently shifted to Delhi as a part of her career decision. She convinced her parents about  her safety and took the big plunge. She was happy about her new project, new house, excited about life in new city.

Delhi – city famous for its mouth watering street food, high street fashion and zest for life also have a shoddy picture when it comes to the safety of women and that made Radhika a bit apprehensive.

But that it didn’t stop her journey from beginning her journey.  She used to take bus daily to her work and back. On one such fine day she noticed a man (must be in fifties or early sixties)in the bus staring at her constantly. She turned her glare other way and ignored him. But not for long. She saw him again, again and again consecutively and every time she noticed…

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Oh Woman! Go And Liberate Yourself

Hello Everyone,

I am not sure about how shall I begin this but I am pretty sure about what I want to say.  It’s about every wonderful woman around.  Now please men! don’t draw your inferences that this is another feminist post or male shamming post.  No it’s not.  It’s about three important “E”s that should be an integral part of any woman’s life.  They are:

• Education
• Earning
• Evolving & Exploring

Educate yourself:  Don’t let anything or anyone come in your path where you are trending and striving to enrich and enhance your knowledge.  I remember clearly what did Michelle Obama once said  ” Had I concentrated on how I looked instead of aspiring big would you think it was possible for me to be the first lady of USA.  No guy is cute enough to distract you from your goal” (forgive me for discrepancies as I am not copying the text but reproducing what I read, I may be wrong in quoting but not summarising).  She exactly meant that no matter what, education should never take a back seat while rest of the things can wait.  So if you are a young girl, study hard before you party harder later in life 😋.  If you are a woman, well you can still educate yourself with new things in life and world.  Education shall never be narrowly defined by the degrees one receives but how enhanced it leaves the outlook.  Your education shall aim at making a better person out of you and definitely those certificates don’t harm either, do they?😉

Earn – Well this seems to be a tricky issue.  For many it is a matter of need where they share the responsibility of running a household or even shoulder the entire responsibility.  Question is what if that responsibility is being taken care of well by the male counterparts, would she  or does she have to stop earning?  I think “NO” unless her health / mental peace is at stake.  Even if she is not under the thumb of responsibilities she should work (not talking about chores, they anyways don’t leave us alone😀😉).  Because it’s not about the monthly salary but it’s about her aspirations, her independence, her dignity and more importantly about her happiness of being self-reliant.  Working for self and being self-reliant makes her less vulnerable to the uncertainties of life (you can have a different view-point).

Evolve & Explore:   Grab any opportunity that life throws at you to learn a new thing.  Driving, swimming, a new language, any form of art – be it the need of the hour or a self urge.  Evolving self helps not only to explore world (meet people, go places, know new things be it a practice or a myth or a fact) but explore a new dimension of ourselves and of course a sense of achievement at the end of the journey.  It’s imperative for our existence as a human.  So never stop evolving yourself and exploring.

A close look at the above mentioned aspects reflect the fact that they are like three strings of yarn woven tightly together making them inseparable. This is how it is:

• Education helps one “Earn” knowledge and “Evolve” as a person having strong viewpoints.
• Earning helps one to “Educate” with skills as well as about the world thus “Evolving” as a person with competence.

It’s just like a circle biting its own ends😁.

Important rules we all must remember:

• Never fear your voice being unheard without letting it out.  Speak up!
• The three important “E”s mentioned above, age is no bar – never.

So dear woman you are never too old to liberate yourself from perhaps your own idea of yourself – “I am just it”.  Go for it and be a happy woman you always wanted to be.

 

 

 

IS THE MOB JUSTICE JUSTIFIED?

Candles Online

Hello Everyone,

Recently I saw a news clipping which brought forth the news of a mentally ill woman lynched to death by village people on the basis of suspicion that she has kidnapped a child. I emphasize on the word “suspicion“.  There was no proof whatsoever.

This is not something out of the blue.  Such lynchings have become more or less a routine.  People get killed by the mob because of their eating preferences (read beef), their religious beliefs, their voice being voiced (example: a young auto driver killed because he asked two men not to urinate in public, Reference: Times of India news site).

Reason behind this brutality:  Being hurt!  Yes people get brutalised by people because the later set of crowd gets hurt, I mean  when their religious sentiment gets hurt they don the robe of anger;  when their ego gets hurt on being pointed…

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CAN I CALL IT A MIRACLE?

Candles Online

Hello Everyone,

How do you define a Miracle?  Well send me message in the comments section 😉.  This is how I define a Miracle:

“Anything you desperately want to happen, so many hopes pinned up but somewhere deep down your heart you know it’s next to impossible.  And when it happens you are overwhelmed.  Basically it is hoping against hope and celebrating the happening of impossible”.

I know that’s a long definition.  Let me give you a recent example:  when our men’s national cricket team lost to our arch rivals (Team Pakistan, this is how it is termed) really bad, the entire country was hoping for a positive result but deep down they knew that was not going to happen.  Had the result been in our favour after the such a dismal performance then that’s a “Miracle” precisely.

Well talking about my personal experiences I am not sure if…

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Let’s Learn It From Kids

Source: Internet

Hello Everyone,

In the process of raising our kids we impart (try to constantly) many things, per say – discipline, values, ethics, etiquettes.  From how to eat to how to and what to wear, how to sit and how to behave especially with strangers (read do not entertain), we keep on instilling things into their heads.  But have you ever wondered what our kids can teach “US”?  They are of course very good teachers if only we can see:

• Unassuming they are: As we grow and evolve we become complex. And not just us but our relationships too get tangled many a times.  One of the main reasons behind things not remaining linear in our lives is our nature to “Assume”.  “I want to go on an all alone trip but I can’t express it because I know the answer would be NO” this is an example only.  We don’t express and assume that we would be misunderstood.  That’s where the problem lies.  We assume a lot and that messes up things many a time as a result of lack of clarity of communication.  On the other hand we have tender minds that speak up their likes, dislikes, preferences, whims and fancies, wishes – literally everything that leaves no room for ambiguity.  “Mom I want an ice cream, I don’t want broccoli” (I know not a healthy choice though😉)  but what’s important is they don’t assume our response and keep their thoughts to themselves.  That keeps things linear, period!
• Ego at bay:  They fight, they unite.  I remember this particular episode from my childhood – I fought with my now best friend.  Face-offs, grouping followed but not for long.  We broke the ice when the other one needed help, it was that simple (hope she reads this😊).  But somehow Ego has become our staple and a constant companion which we misspell as “Self Respect”.   We find it really hard to extend our hand to sort out the differences cropping up only to see them develop as a permanent damage.  I wonder what would have been the outcome of our fight had it been fought now.
• Never fail to question:  That might irritate us as adults but their eagerness to know things is something that we should learn.   Joy of exploration is surely something we should give a shot at because hadn’t it been the eager nature of questioning, we might not have our major inventions and discoveries that improved our lives.  Don’t you agree?

These are seemingly pretty simple things yet difficult to inculcate when you are an adult but as they say “Learning has no age”.  So keep trying and let the child in you Blossom to keep the complications at bay and make life simple, isn’t it worth that?

 

 

 

viaDaily Prompt: Blossom

Are You Human?

Hello Everyone,

23rd June,2017, I was with my daughter, returning from her crèche.  Took escalators to the underground metro as lifts were absent and I was carrying my daughter in a pram.  It’s prohibited to carry a pram on escalators but I had no other option as I was alone and this is what I do daily.

But today I was jolted for a fraction of seconds.   At the end of the escalator as I was about to push the pram onto the floor the pram got stuck at the end and I was practically stranded on one of the stairs behind the pram.  As the stairs kept revolving I lost my balance but kept holding the push cart and eventually it was lifted from ground on one end while the front wheels were still stuck.  It raised to a level where I thought the baby would fall from the cart, almost inverted.  I was petrified with fear especially because as a child I heard few accidents involving escalators (just heard, not witnessed) and I was even more worried about the safety of my child which is natural for any mother on the earth (be it human or an animal, don’t you agree with me?).  Then a passerby rushed and helped me to release the pram safely to the floor.  And I instantly made it to the shore.  She and her companion enquired my well-being not just once but many times (read four to five times) before they took the escalators upwards.  They saved me and my daughter from a possible accident.

I understand it very well that this might not be a big incident but could have been an accident, that might be or might not be serious.  But the crux of the entire episode lies in the helping hands that acted in time.  Who were they?  They were not just a man or a woman but human beings because they have a heart that can feel the pain of others and generosity to lend out a helping hand.

Mother Teresa said : Helping hands are better than praying lips.

This is true to its core.  And not many remember this is also a bitter truth about the world out there.  Don’t believe me?  Check out your FB pages.  Every day we see innumerable posts depicting someone or the other in a depleted/ deprived state demanding our attention, a like, a share, a comment.  How helpful are such posts to the people actually concerned is my question?  Taking into consideration the far reach social media has I am ready to believe that such posts bring an awareness thus creating an avenue of help from somewhere.  What is disturbing are the videos posted on social media showing a person being brutalised mercilessly or a person in distress, seeking help.  Instead of helping or at least trying to help, people are shooting the helplessness of the person to get more likes and comments on their account, bizarre isn’t it?

It’s not just the reserves of non-renewable resources that are getting depleted but qualities that are characteristic traits of a “Human” being like compassion, benevolence, forgiveness etc are on verge of depletion.

So engrossed we are with our lives that we forgot to smile even in our private moments, to and with our near and dear ones let alone strangers.  We are constantly in fear that our effort to help someone might have repercussions on our lives or might simply waste our time.  We fear asking “How Are You?” because we think the other person might just share his or her problems and we might land up in an obligatory position to help them.  In short we are being “Selfish” where everything in life is about:

• Me & Myself
• We & Ourselves (strictly restricted to immediate family consisting of a man, a wife and children).  Anything or anyone out of this realm are strangers.

Being Human is not about the ability to think because that is what distinguishes us from animals.  Being Human is about having humanity to be precise.

I have heard people saying life is more complicated these days thanks to the competition all around.  That’s the reason for their haste and their selfish behaviour to secure things for themselves and family.  In this run to the finishing line we are becoming more and more oblivious and indifferent to the pain and sorrow of a fellow human being.  And irony is that we don’t want anyone to see and point out at this side of our nature.  “Why don’t anyone help them?”, “Why no one is coming forward with the initiative?”, “Someone please help” – are few statements that we make to show everyone around that we have a soft heart, an emotional side that feels for others.  But we fail to understand that, that “someone” or “anyone” can be us or someone else might raise such slogans when we are in trouble because”what to goes out comes back” this is the rule of life.

Have you heard about this most tossed up line “life is too short, make the most of it”?  I am sure you would have.  Well, living life is not just about being merry everyday yourself.  It is also about giving or being a reason for happiness of someone else.  There’s more to this life as a “Human Being”.  There’s a purpose to this life transcending the levels of selfish motives.  How can we serve that purpose?   I understand that not everyone is a Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi but surely there is something that we all can do given our limitations and these are very simple things to do:

• Smile, it costs nothing: Yes a smile costs nothing but atmosphere that a warm smile can create is beyond any explanation. It brings out positivity and sets positivity which is so much important in this otherwise negative world around.  A positive atmosphere can influence productivity to a major extent.
• Mind your tone and tongue:  Our words and how we say them show what we are.  An acid tongue can harm more than a bullet, its ain’t any discovery.  There is no point in saying “I didn’t mean it that way” after the damage is done.  Use your words wisely to soothe and ease the pain of a person and not escalate it.  If you can’t then better keep mum.
• Try to help at least:  I have heard people saying “if I had money I would have definitely helped you”.  I understand there are so many matters in this world that needs only money to be resolved.  But help can be otherwise as well.  For example: a person needs money for surgery and he or she seeks your help and for obvious reasons you can’t support that person with that amount of money, but you can buy the medicines or can arrange food, take care of that person’s family in their absence, offer to stay at hospital.  Remember help is not always financial.  What matters most is your will to help and your effort to make a little difference.
• Little things matter:  If God has blessed you  with what you need or may be little more in abundance show your thankfulness to him doing little things. Walking down the street you see a beggar famished, buy him bread; a salesperson at your door in the hot and humid weather offer him a glass of water; a person met with an accident offer him first aid and assist in hospitalisation if needed.  Little things do matter!

The moment when you start feeling and believing that this world is like your family that is the beginning of a change.  Don’t await the change, you be it.

 

 

 

Share the chores – It Helps!

Hello Everyone,

In one of my article I said “Your time is best gift to your child” (https://world4womencom.wordpress.com/2017/03/28/your-time-the-best-gift-to-your-child/).  I am sure everyone would agree with it but many find it difficult to do it effectively.  Thanks to our lifestyles, complications, obligations, choices made out of compulsions we as well as our kids are at the receiving end due to “Lack of Time”.

Well it is not practically possible to sit with them and spend couple of hours separately or exclusively because of various deadlines we have.  In this scenario I think sharing chores with kids can be a very effective way of spending time with kids.  Sharing of chores here doesn’t mean burdening them with orders over orders, I believe you know what I mean.  Ask them to arrange plates on table for dinner, ask them to arrange books on rack or do their beds, they can accompany you in tasks like shopping from super market or gardening.  There are numerous petty chores that your kids can be a part of to make the big difference – for you and for themselves.

How sharing of chores with kids can be instrumental in their development?

• Helps In Developing Bond:  Guiding kids how to go about a task, appreciating their participation and most importantly being patient while handing over the responsibilities or handling the crises (I mean mistakes) gives a definite boost to the bonding between parents and kids.  Such moments can help parents / kids to get closer, to understand each other (starting from understanding the instructions 😁), talk more often thus giving quality time that we were talking about earlier.
• Independent individuals in making:  To begin with delegation of responsibility as chores helps kids not only to learn daily tasks but it makes them independent over the period of time.  They become responsible as well.   And confidence is surely an icing on cake.
• A helping hand for sure:  Help from those tender hands would surely make your day, isn’t it?  And over the period of time when those hands master the little tricks they surely prove to be a huge help and relief.

So dear parents don’t stress too much thinking you are unable to spend time with your kids.  Just give this idea a chance, make smart use of time, let your kids share the chores, contribute in their development the fun way!