Summer Solstice-Makes Me Think!

Today is June 21st-the longest day of the year with the summer solstice. It is 10:34 pm and I peer outside through the glass windows to see if it is still bright. The sky is painted a dark blue with a tinge of black slowly creeping and seeping into it. Night is slowly treading into this part of the earth, noiselessly and subtely. It is such a contrast to be here and experience the daylight for a longer period of time. There have been days when my room mate and myself used to wait for the outside to get dark in order to have dinner because we were so used to having dinner after sunset that we did not realise it was already way past dinner time. And when we used to check our watches, it used to be close to 10:00 pm!!! And we slowly started getting used to this.
Dawn breaks as early as 4:15 am and the sun's rays are arrested by the curtains that are tightly pulled across the windows not to awaken us sleeping soundly.
How different is nature in different parts of the world! And we all get used to this fact, accept it and carry on as a matter-of-fact. What if we follow the same principle in relationships too- accepting the fact each one is different in his/her own ways. We could still respect and accept the difference and move on with our lives.

Point to ponder!!

Brewing Thoughts...

Imagine the smell of freshly brewed coffee! The aroma that floats around in the morning and stimulates your nostrils as you wake up! The sight of foaming coffe with steam forming waves right above the steel tumbler, the coffee waiting to be gulped, in slow sips first till the liquid slowly seeps down the throat, warming the body, sending ripples of energy waking up the drowsy mind- the sheer thought prompts me to dream of my next cup of filter coffee.
Whoever conceptualised this drink must have been a genuis.
A universal drink with variations- call it espresso, capuccino, cold coffee,kaapi,black coffee, irish coffee....I love the South Indian Filter coffee the best, followed by Tropical Iceberg at Coffee Day:)
Coffee tastes good in freshly made milk-milk that is boiled for the first time.
Serving in a copper tumbler does wonders to the aesthetics and the senses.
And it is indeed an art to prepare the right bend of coffee with the perfect amount of sugar dissolved in it- not too sweet nor bitter-just perfect- perfect to awaken every cell of the body to the morning freshness and the streaming sunlight-perfect to lighten a hectic day at work-perfect for a headache- perfect while hanging out with friends-perfect to spend an evening in the balcony relaxing-perfect when it rains-perfect when its shivering outside-perfect for anytime of the day:)

Anytime u feel low, u know what to do? The beverage is right there, at any corner, waiting to be savoured, waiting to gulped and sink into its ecstasy.

So, What is Everything?

Today I saw the ultrasound image of my room-mate's baby. Astounding!! The image showed the foetus comfortably curled up in the security of the mother. The baby rests there, patiently waiting for the d-day when the world would await its arrival.
And we all started that way- a tiny cell, multiplying into millions to form what we are today. And yes, we all started fresh- our mind was a clean slate. No imprints- fresh as a newly painted slate. Just like this foetus.
As years pass by, we let imprints be left on our mind- some indelible, some evaporated, some faded. This is one of the wonders of life- how we originate.
From nothingness into forming what is everything. So, what is 'everything'?For this baby, everything is the security the mother's umbilical cord offers. For some, it is their work, for others it's their family. And this concept of 'everything' transcends people, boundaries and forms different images in different people's minds.
What if we forget all our prejudice, bias and dissolve for a moment into a state of nothingness and start afresh? Afresh, with new thoughts, visions, zeal from the beginning.
It would be a new life- like this baby-free from inhibitions and conditioning.

05/06/07:)

I like today's date. It is 05/06/07 :) Cool, isn't it? And it also happens to be the 'World Envronment Day'. I remember when I was in Std VI, I had to make a speech in the morning assembly on this topic. And as years passed by, there were more environmental conversation speeches made during competitions. But as I grew, I realised the importance of this conservation. When I reflect back and compare my childhood days, compare what I had read in mythological tales and what I see now, there has been a dramatic transmogrification. And hence, here is a message. It is our duty to conserve the environment that we habitate. Call it social responsibility or belongingness. But the underlying fact is we live here.
If we only pause in our tracks and observe the way nature operates, we would be deriving life's lessons- adaptability, letting go, living in sync, perseverance...the list is endless.

Adaptability- The cactii in the Thar desert and mangroves in rainy forests

Letting go- Pls read my post on the same topic

Living in sync-different species all together in a forest

Perseverance- have you noticed how a plant emerges stronger and lush when it has been chopped off its stems and leaves to get rid of the insects around it?

And as my previous posts go- Nature: Thy name is Beauty!! And yes, it does stand testimony to time.

The Grass is Greener on the Other Side of the Fence...is it???

A very oft heard saying!! True..and how not true! True in the sense that we tend to think and fantasise the 'if only's and 'what if's. Not true when the actual reality actually hits us hard.
We see people longing for a particular job because his batchmate managed to bag one. And the current job seems worthless in front of the plush locales the batch mate travels to. And once this person manages to secure a similar job, does he realise the freedom, working hours his previous job offered. If only he had stuck on to it.
And here is the next scenario. A house-wife sighs and wishes she could also be a career woman and command authority and have a sense of accomplishment. And the career woman wishes for the day where she can afford to quit her job and be a home maker, cooking the choicest dishes for her husband, making up the house, knitting mufflers for the new born and what not.
And how about onsite travel? We see people who really wish they could move across airports for every meal of the day. And vice versa, people who actually do that are desperate to get back home and have a meal from the same old plate that has been in the kitchen for years now, that brings back memories of good homeland.
What this goes to prove is that we forget to live in the present and relish what it actually offers us.

It is this moment that matters. The moment of truth. The moment that actually holds promises that we fail to see.