"Beautiful"

A newborn ray of hope broke in the horizon and made the seemingly everlasting darkness disappear. At first it wanted to blend in with the grey of the sky but then it changed its mind and spread its own color. Soon the sky started to fill with a blushing peach pink and then turned into oranges and yellows and the monotonous grey canvas showed vibrancy and turned into a great vista. It was all very “Beautiful”. 

 “Beautiful” – there’s something about this word that is haunting in nature, haunting because in our times the word has taken a new meaning. Haunting as we become the walking judges of what “meets” the standard mark of beauty and what not and as this age of idiocracy proceeds we get haunted by this “Beautiful” word more and more. What is “Beautiful?” Who is “Beautiful?” Is a woman walking down the street wearing a mini skirt is “Beautiful” or the girl who’s afraid to wear them because she is a little over-weight? How do we set parameters between the two? More importantly, WHY do we need to create a line between the two? Where does true beauty lie? Did you care about beauty when you made these - 

For years, human beings have been obsessed with Aliens, but I think what we are not realizing is that we ourselves are becoming Aliens to Humanity. Human beings are not being human anymore. Obsessed and knighted by the “ignorance” of this age, we are quick to jump to conclusions basing them on how someone looks, if someone is “Beautiful” or not. And who and what sets the parameters? Everything we are exposed to. Turn on your T.V. and watch the commercials for a while. The subliminal messages are pretty clear – if a woman shows her legs or some skin she is “Beautiful”, a baby is cute only if he or she is healthy and has a cute smile, men who work out regularly and keep a handful of steroids in their back pocket are “Beautiful” and well so on..

I remember in my teenage years I used to run after any good-looking girl who used to pass by me, it’s later now I realize how stupid I really was. Being slim or dressing attractive are not the only things in life, look at Aamir khan’s wife, she looks like a complete nerd but do you think Aamir khan cares about that? What do you think of Pierce Brosnan? Look how curvy his wife is, do you think she is as attractive as he is? When people grow up, they realize how important to be able to have a mature conversation with someone is. They realize how dumb it is to go after “good looking” people. I think to be able to have a comfortable conversation with somebody is “Beautiful”, to be able to talk to someone without thinking is “Beautiful” and to be able to share complete silence with someone is “Beautiful”. When a fellow human helps another without expecting anything in return, that is “Beautiful”. When the world unites for a good cause or for when a calamity strikes, that is “Beautiful”. If you believe in god and think that, your god believes in you and accepts you as you are, that is “Beautiful”. Don’t measure your beauty with the bars this age of dumbness has set for the society. You are “Beautiful”, we all are in our own specific ways it just takes someone a good look inside your soul to realize it. 

When a woman gives birth to a child after being barren for years “Beautiful”

When that child holds her finger for the first time “Beautiful”

When after a hard day at work a stranger smiles at you on your way home “Beautiful”

When an unspoken wish becomes true “Beautiful”

When a loved one hugs you close, it’s so warm so “Beautiful”

When your mama smiles with all those wrinkles and lines on her face the more she smiles the more she looks “Beautiful”

No matter if jack died but the time they spent before titanic sank “Beautiful”

A blind person getting eyesight back because someone donated their eyes “Beautiful”

There is beauty in everything and everywhere. It depends on you whether you look down at yourself and keep a low self-esteem or raise your head up and look at that rebellious ray of hope that broke in the horizon. But no matter what you do and no matter which state you are in always remember my dear friend - 

You are “Beautiful” the way you are! Know your value know yourself!

You don’t have to change yourself for someone else. Thin waistlines, rock hard chest, breast implants, nose jobs, and other blah blah! Leave them to those celebrities. Let them live a world of lies and leave it to them to create the same for others. Inspire yourself to become a “Beautiful” human being.  

In sickness and in health

 

 I do, I promise I’ll be with you in sickness and in health. I haven’t been well for some time, hence the absence from the blog! What? You people thought that I’ll leave you with half your brains fried? No, not at all, I am not leaving and I won’t be done until I have given you a complete brain fry! “BHEJA FRY” to be precise. Time flies by like a falcon and then it soars to great heights, looks at you from above, and laughs at you and if you are not careful it can even eat you like a prey. Your best buddies never leave you when you are down, right? 

The Space Explorer

                      “thousand splendid suns and stars to be explored within yourself...?”

July 20, 1969, what’s so special about this date? Why is it such a breakthrough in human history? For some it probably was just another day, they went through with their daily chores and woke up the next day without the slightest bit of wonder or achievement in their heart. However, for most, it was a giant step towards conquering the unknown. It was the day when Apollo 11 landed on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Edwin “buzz” Aldrin. A personal dream of mine, I have always wondered, how they must have felt when they first stepped on the moon taking those bumpy jumps? Perhaps like a child, learning to moonwalk! Of course, that was the first time a human being pondered to step on something which had captured our imagination for hundreds of years. A small dare, a small desire, a small effort gave us an achievement so miraculous that it could have its own category of wonders!  

I look at space as a grand pantomime horse, which never fails to kick us with something new. Just when we’ve found a new planet. It gives us a new star. It keeps giving us something new to explore. It gives hope to so many around the world it’s only for them it shoots out shooting stars every now and then. Apart from teaching us about constellations, stars, cosmic cycles, space also teaches us that exploration is never ending. Should we take this lesson from space? Of course, we should. Think about the numerous galaxies, suns, stars, and planets that we are yet to discover. Planets bursting with new life. Imagine the beautiful panoramas…

Now, stop! Come back to our own galaxy. Actually, come back to our own planet. More importantly, come back to yourself. Do you think you are any less than the galaxy? Don’t you think that just like this universe which is waiting to be explored; there are hidden qualities, thousand splendid suns and stars to be explored within yourself? There is no gravity in space. You know why? because to truly explore yourself, you have to forget about the gravity of judgment and feel free. The only question is, do you have the courage or the keys to kick start your space ship? 

       Keep exploring my friends.        
                                                           May the force be with you! 

 

Story Of A Young Player

Motivation sometimes can come from anywhere. Sometimes it is a deep voice from inside and sometimes it can depend on a single external factor. Here’s short story about a boy and his “goal”.

There was a young boy who used to come for regular practice but always played in the

reserves and never made it to the soccer eleven. While he was practicing, his father used

to sit at the far end, waiting for him.

Dreams

“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”

          -          Oscar wilde

Moonlight or Sunlight doesn’t matter, as an avid dreamer, I never see the time of the day. Sometimes the only time I feel alive is away from this dimension I know as reality. Lost between time and space, floating like a leaf in the sea of possibilities, in a world where everything is promising. Away from these oceans of “rights and wrongs”, into the river of smoke I find myself gushing towards a promising land. Breaking myself on its shore again and again till I find myself walking on it. Without the slightest yearn for looking back at the footprints, I ‘am leaving behind. 

In my experience with life till now, i've learned that the most difficult thing is to follow your own dreams. Beacuse the reality is that even to build "sand castles", one has to be able to afford to go to the "beach". Many people often ask me what is a dream? I tell them that it depends from person to person. Everyone has dreams. Even dogs have dreams. And the dream of every puppet is to be a human.

Many people often ask me this too, what does it take to make a dream come true?

And I always tell them the same thing, Everything you have!

Breaking a kit-kat

            

                 "Think of a calm ocean, the clear blue sky, or a mountain"

I ‘am not the kind of person who sits back and does nothing, usually I am always on to something. Blame it on my impish mind or the flow of thoughts, which might put Niagara Falls to shame or maybe not but you get the idea. Yesterday I kept exhausting myself over a little piece of paper. I had to add it in my project. It went on and on about things which were not even required in the whole project. I sat perplexed for hours and kept scratching my head. I looked around pages after pages to find where I could fit that information. However, by some divine intervention (coffee spilled on my table) I could not find the proper place for that Pandora’s Box. 

Birthday Celebrations!

                                                        

                                          “After all it’s your day wouldn’t YOU seize it?”

Like many of us, I don’t remember my first birthday, how would I? I was just a tiny person away from the hum drums of life, my daily to do list consisted of drinking milk, trying to walk before I crawl, screaming on top of my lungs, and of course dropping little droplets here and there. I do remember my 5^th birthday though (videos), there was a big party, all of my tiny friends and relatives gathered around and we all took part in a 10-second ritual. Bring the cake, blow the candles, hear people clap and sing in monotonous tones and then some seconds later, make your way to the bathroom and get that cake off your eyes. The last one I learned would become an integral part of the ritual when you start celebrating with friends. But I also found a sneaky little way out of that situation, this – 

success

“There are only two rules for being successful. One, figure out exactly what you want to do, and two, do it.”
                                                

                                                           -  Mario Cuomo

Sounds simple doesn’t it? However, more often than not it isn’t! The father of a friend of mine worked in the retail industry for 20 years. In these 20 years, he held some of the most influential positions in the company. Then one day he suddenly quit to become a devoted “painter”. Turns out while the corporate mogul inside him had been winning because of his consistency, the painter inside him had been struggling to survive! 

Success has a different definition for different individuals. And for our different versions of success we have our own special keys. For some success can be handling a big client and getting that big raise. For a chronic procrastinator it can be as simple as opening up a mail, for someone suffering from Alzheimer's it can be something as simple as remembering their birthday. And for an autistic, it can be going over to the next person and introducing their self.

Golden words – Find your niche, be consistent in it and never measure your success with someone else’s.

Yellow Brick Road

                                                  

         “Let the innocence stay pristine like you are still a newborn”

In my previous post, I promised that we’ll take a trip down the yellow brick road. Some time away from the jargons of life. Away from the traffic, and away from the lights. Just the two of us! It’s a yellow brick road of your life and in the end we’ll reach the beginning. So, come here hold my hand if you want to or follow me.

Why me?

Legendary Wimbledon player “Arthur Ashe” got infection in his blood, during a heart surgery in 1983. Letters poured in from all over the world, as he was dying of AIDS. One letter asked, "Why has GOD chosen you for such a bad disease?"

To this, Arthur Ashe replied:
"In This world, over 50 million children start playing tennis, 5 million learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals,
When I was holding a cup I never asked GOD 'Why me?' And today in pain I should not be asking GOD 'Why me?..."

In my next post we'll take a trip down THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD just the two of us! Don’t miss, subscribe now!

The keys i keep forgetting

      "Understanding needs the key of liberated thinking"...

 If I had a buck for every time this happens, I’d make my own operating system, and at the same time make a rival company to Google and Facebook. Give Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates a run for their money. Leave stress marks on their face, as I book bills out of bank gates. I keep forgetting my keys and I don’t know why it happens but it does. Sometimes I leave my car keys; sometimes I leave my house keys. Once, I even forgot a key to the little box of keys (I’ve this so that I don’t forget my keys and forget them somewhere). Sometimes I wonder what is so special about keys. I mean they are all metal and jagged edged. In fact, I believe this world should be without any keys. Imagine a key free world, no more keeping those weird metal objects in your pocket, no more trying to remember where were you when the last time you saw them, and of course no more struggling with them at airport security checks. Sounds wonderful don’t it?

A Different Prayer

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.

                                      - PHILLIPS BROOKS                                                                                                                                                            

 Often, we underestimate ourselves and we do it so consistently that after some time we stop believing in our true potentials. It is said that the human potential and imagination knows no bounds. Then, why do we underestimate ourselves? Time and again I hear people say “why did you put me in this place god, why are things so harsh on me” et al. If only they could pray a different prayer and not worry, should it get’s answered or not

The Importance Of Stories

What is the importance of stories? Why do we need them and why are they so enchanting? Love them or hate them, they form our life and everyone has a story to tell whether knowingly or unknowingly. The following story you are about to read is an Irish legend about -

The Man Who Had No Story

Failure

Results? Why, man, I have gotten lots of results! If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward....  – THOMAS EDISON (on how he felt after having failed 10,000 times to make a practical filament for the electric bulb)

 Just imagine, if Thomas Edison had not tried so many times, not only we might have never had a light bulb that stays on for hundreds of hours without getting burned, but also, we would have never got such a perfect example which would inspire us to keep us devoted for what we believe in.

Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. It’s okay to fail as long as you are learning from your mistakes. Every mistake made is a lesson learned and a step taken forward.