Humility

Humility is such a Divine Blessing to be bestowed with. That's what I think of it, a Blessing. 

The early morning hours when everything (man made) has not awoken yet, the overcast predawn skies that water and mist the Earth preparing it for the blossoms and the fragrant grass, when all you hear are the dancing raindrops and bird tweets...I can't help but be filled with a sense of Awe and Humility, that all these things occur like clockwork and so beautifully! There is no greater example of Team Work than watching Mother Nature come alive in all her splendor because of the multitude of little things that work in unison. 

And yet in some corner of the World, there is obliteration of this Beauty so Man can feed his greed even more....but Nature does not take that 'personally', does She? :)

I used to take great offense at the phrase "don't take it personally" or "learn to compartmentalize stuff" to the point of working myself up to a rage, asking 'what the hell does that even mean?? Everything I do is personal....cause I'm a Person, you clod!!'....yeah, not pretty thoughts....until this morning watching the rain dancing over the bushes, I realized with a shock that "Really, it's not Personal!" All this time, I was lost in the feeling of my own small Self - my ego. Naturally, everything that was said or done that didn't align with it, tormented me as in my ego and was very, very personal! 

But when I chose to let go of that smaller self and go deeper into something Higher, it's not personal, it can never be. For all those things, views, opinions, judgements, reactions....all that stuff does not define who I AM!! They don't even come close! 

I was shocked that I hadn't thought of it like this before but watching Nature popped the explanation into my head! With the so called destruction of the Natural world going on at large, Nature doesn't pout and stop doing what She's meant to. She carries on in all Her Grace as always! It's Amazing, really!! The Humility with which the birds, animals, trees and all of those millions of species that we ridicule thoughtlessly, carry on with such resilience and beauty that it is more Powerful than the most powerful thing you can think about.

Humility is not weakness.

Humility is Strength and such a Powerful one at that, that it can never be destroyed. 

It's a Gift, a Blessing that's given to each one of us...If we are prepared to go beyond the feelings of 'personal' and divine it in our Souls. 

Happy and Thankful

The first word I woke up to this morning was: GRATITUDE

A few days back I was helping my son rehearse his speech for an upcoming symposium and the following two lines managed to stay buried in my head,

"Je Sukh de taa tujhe aaraadhi,

Dukh bhi tujhe dhyaayi;

Je bookh de taa ith hi raaja, Dukh vich Sookh manaayi"

These lines are from the Guru Granth Sahibji, the Holy Scripture of the Sikhs. 

I have no doubt in my mind about every other Holy Scripture in this World being a work of Lyrical Metaphor. There is such Beauty and Humility that fills your heart when you read and meditate, deeply, (even if it's only for a few minutes) and ALLOW the meaning, message, translation, call it what you will, to COME TO YOU, rather than rush after it. Because when it does, the Truth behind those Words seem so utterly simple and yet can seem so enormously complex to the unconscious mind...!

Loosely translated, the above lines mean,

"When I'm blessed with Happiness, I worship You,

In Despair too I meditate on You;

When I feel Hunger, I'm still deeply Satisfied, in Sorrow (seeming) I still find Happiness"...

In a nutshell, isn't this just GRATITUDE for EVERYTHING that happens?? :-)

I find when you feel grateful for all that has been Given (what You NEED as opposed to what You WANT), it is very, very difficult to stay Unhappy. :-) There comes an innate ability to see a Silver Lining in situations that others around you may consider completely hopeless. You'd wish you could help them See, that it is not so, but again we only See when we are READY TO SEE.

We are Sooo much MORE than our daily dramas and pathetic egoistic fulfillments! When we resort to thinking and viewing Life as children do, there is incredible Beauty and profound Joy even in the simplest and ordinary things of our daily existence. If we can't construe, for instance, the unceasing spinning of this Globe that we are on, without being thrown out in Space, as a Miracle, we have lost that ability to Wonder, somewhere, and we need to go find it!!

Every Breath, every second, every day is a Miracle and a Gift. The moment we recognize this and let it fill our hearts with the deepest Gratitude, how can we not be Happy and Thankful? :-)

"I am on a Roller Coaster that only goes Up"

Ever been on a Roller Coaster?

I have, and I can honestly say, the higher it goes, it scares me to no end, waiting for my heart to plummet when it free falls. But all this happens so quickly that by the end of it, I am laughing hysterically and ready to puke, NOT wanting to do it again but glad that I DID IT at least once! :-)

Lately I have been thinking about a lot of things and a friend gave me a book to read that totally blew my mind. Not because what this Author was saying was "Alien" but because it made perfect sense and that I had already been thinking along those lines whether I realized it or not! 

It amazes me how much of our "Reality" is really what we "create" in the space between our ears! :-D To borrow from the author, we are born as "perfect little bundles of joy" essentially a clean slate with none of the beliefs or limitations that we so love to tether ourselves to. Can you imagine the amount of work and focus we put in trying to "prove" (to I don't know whom or what!) that we are NOT capable of being the ABSOLUTE BEST in anything we want to be? 

"I want to swim."

"Nooo!, Don't do that! You'll drown!!" REALLY?

"Don't go skiing, you will break a leg!" SERIOUSLY??

"Why do you want to give up your steady job to be a Golfer or Writer or Photographer...whatever..?? You know, it's not gonna work!" OH MAN! HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW THAT???.....

And on and on and on and on...! :-D

Sound familiar? Yep :-) Who decides that You can or cannot do something? The beliefs and practices that we have been conditioned to absorb and regard as 'defacto' are just that. Somebody else's beliefs and practices!! Certainly not Yours. You weren't born with them! 

Scientists believe that absolutely everything, from stars to spider webs to cotton candy, may be made of string, very tiny mathematician's string. This is String Theory. And these strings vibrate at a certain frequency. My point being, EVERYTHING in this UNIVERSE that we know of, vibrates at a certain frequency, including our irrational thoughts and fears and beliefs and of course, ourselves! The only way we can RESONATE (when two frequencies are aligned, there is Resonance. Am a Physics Grad after all ;-) ) at a Higher Frequency is if we CHOSE to vibrate at one....

And by Higher Frequency, I mean, KNOWING You can. If your Mind is so capable of holding you captive to the Negatives (the "don'ts", the "Shouldn'ts", the absolutely "you mustnt's"), then by the same token, Your Mind is also undeniably CAPABLE of freeing you to accept the POSITIVES (the "I cans", "It's gonna work", "I KNOW it will") :-)

All it takes, is one SHIFT. One STEP in the right direction in believing in YOUR Dream. You may not know all the 'hows' of how you are gonna make it happen (where would be the FUN in that? ;-)). But when your Step stems from that deepest intent that You are CONNECTED to a HIGHER POWER and whatever You need will surely come, all that is left, is to GIVE IT YOUR BEST. Merely thoughts and intents about "getting up" won't make you get up. You have to GET UP to make it happen :-)

There are so many Unknowns right now in my Life. So many good things yet to come. Not once have I questioned the Intelligence behind all that has happened and yet to happen. I used to wonder about my Calling or Purpose in Life. But today I felt if I could help people (including me) see the BEST in themselves through what I write or say, help them BELIEVE that they are totally WORTH the UNIVERSE having created them, that would make me immeasurably happy! I couldn't ask for more :-D

The way I see it, as Augustus Waters would say (from the Fault in our Stars), 

"I am Grand. I am on a Roller Coaster that only goes up, my Friend." 

It's All Good

It's All Good

Today was the day. 

After almost 11 long years, I was going for an Interview back in the Corporate World, a world that had sustained me, till I had decided to leave it... 

I was nervous and excited and my tension seemed palpable to me. In all these years, I never did miss the Corporate World, I was so immersed in raising my children and loved every minute of it! It is what I had always wanted - to be home with my children, for them and bask in their accomplishments, goofiness, sweet laughter, mad quarrels and every day joy that only little ones are capable of. 

But when Opportunity presented itself for a chance to go back into that other World, I was pleasantly surprised that I actually welcomed it! The preparations involved took me back into my long forgotten realm and I realized I enjoyed it! I did really miss it in a good way! :-)

All through the years, I have just gone with the flow of Life and when I resisted, I only realized I couldn't keep resisting forever, and so let go. I'm glad that in the process, so many experiences have touched me, shaped me into what I am and I can truly say, looking back, that I haven't regretted any one of them. I may have judged them before, but they all happened for a reason. 

I'm exactly where I'm meant to be and what happens next is also exactly how it's supposed to be. 

Funny, how when I accept this, I feel downright relief and a sense of Loving Safety. 

There's got to be some truth then when the Saints claim,

'Turn it over to your Maker,

For as He maketh, so shall He provide'...

No telling then, what's to come next, a new Chapter, a new Dawn... Whatever it may be, I know, It's All Good :-)

The Rugged Park Bench

The Rugged Park Bench

Spread under the vast blue skies, you can't help but feel so unbelievably light like a feather! You think there is nothing to see but the longer you look, you find the Blue is unlike any and no color palette in the world can mimic it. It's just Spectacularly...Blue :-)

Of course there is not just the Blue depending on how long you chose to lie. There is a small sliver of the Moon that you just might see if you are patient or  a formation of geese in a perfect V! What synchronicity!! I always wonder HOW they know what they know?? It's remarkable how the birds stay in line and ever so slightly change and perfect the shape as the direction calls for it....the Grace is undeniable :-)

When the Spring sun warms up and kisses your face, the only thing that quite compares to that warmth is when you have a baby pressed to your cheeks or when your face is buried deep into a puppy dog's soft coat. The feeling is just ahhh...what can I say :-)

Nowhere to go, nowhere to be, but just the Present, enjoying every beautiful Moment as it presents itself. Who knew a rugged park bench could be just as comfortable (if not more!) as your bed and set your heart afloat to dream all the mystical and magical wonders under the vastly Blue canopy...

From My Front Porch

From My Front Porch

The packed ice around my bushes are melting releasing the tiny branches that bounce back. I hear birds chirping everywhere. The ground's thawing and there's a lot of snow melt. I can't help but be excited, Spring is almost HERE!!

As I write this, I'm siting on my favorite garden chair after 4 long months. I have always enjoyed the Morning outside with its own stillness punctuated by Nature's sounds. But to do so from my own front porch is a Blessing I can't seem to get enough of :-)

The whole day is contained in the Stillness of the Morning, pregnant with amazing possibilities. I don't even have to plan. I just watch the day unfold. Sometimes and some things you know are a given, like your kids waking up EARLY on a Saturday morning when you are trying to enjoy the peace and Quiet! :-P But there are times when there's a surprise right around the corner like a little red Cardinal watching me intently while I'm writing and observing her :-) 

As the day gradually wakes up, with dogs barking, lone joggers jogging up the sidewalk, and distant vehicular sounds rumbling, I can't help but be thankful that I don't have anywhere to rush to (at least not yet ;-)) but sit back and enjoy the daybreak with my tea in hand and breathe deeply the scent of the morning Spring air. 

Morning of Gratitude

Morning of Gratitude (written on May 23 2013)

As the rosy hues paint the eastern skies,
I thank you Lord for all that's mine

I thank You for every ounce of beauty
I thank You for every drop of mercy
I thank you for the smallest acts of kindness
I thank You for every grain of joy
And a gratitude that's unbounded
I thank thee for all that You have bestowed
But most of all I thank You for a heart of Love
Without which, I could not have felt
Your Grace so untainted and pure.