ITS JUST THERE.....

"A beautiful baby" was the words that left my lips, when I saw that lovely child.

He must have been around two/ two and half years of age, and a wonderful bundle of boundless energy he was....looking at him jumping, and talking all at the same time, intrigued me no end.
It was a bus journey and took us a long time to get to my destination, for once I wasn't grumbling about the traffic snarls, the crowded roads etc., Little baby boy kept me amused.

He was seated diagonally  across the aisle and his whole world was his mother who was very busy with her phone, to pay attention to the little boys cuteness.

She held him firmly across his tiny chest and at times he tried to jump and get himself loose to jump on the seat ...fortunately the bus was empty and he did have a little space on the seat besides him.

What does it take for a parent to realise that the children will grow faster than they will every know, and no amount of money could ever buy such beautiful emotions.
The little boy was babbling and talking away to the mother ....his world, and all she was doing was talking into the phone.
Yes, it must have been something urgent she had to attend to, given the inclination towards technology, that society has nowadays addicted, she surely did miss out on the lovely boys antics and banter.

He did look towards me and was pointed his tiny finger to the TV screen quite excited.....

My thoughts were on various aspects of life, how we are missing out on the beauty all around us, the little boy's presence during the bus journey made many a passenger happy ..Of course yours truly included.

Look around and you will find  happiness in the most unexpected corners ..... the look on peoples faces, the smile of a child, the happy shouting of children when the bell has ended their day....just got to look ...no need to search.
                                            



                                

LIFES JOURNEY IS NOT A BED OF ROSES

Life is a challenge and if you have conditioned yourself to believe that it will be a smooth, perfect and flawless, and a happy one...No,No,No way.
Even for a second, dont believe in that, trash away those thoughts and come down to ground zero, where you have to believe that the road, will be filled with ups and downs, sometimes, maybe more downs and no ups for a longtime to come.
You must remember, that every little challenge that comes along your way... it would make you stronger than the last  one that you faced...isn't it that way?
I do remember my first job that I went to, it was a nice place and life to me at that point of time, could not go wrong..silly me, so i thought.
A few days into the job and there was the ugly head of discontent, not by me, by a staffer who had just reported to work after two weeks of leave, she saw me as a potential threat and was  most unco operative, in whichever way that you might think ..be it directing me to complete a task that I had asked for her help or as simple as fixing the cartridge( New to all these chores).
I could not believe, the outside world was made up of all types of people, BUT it was right there staring at me  ...what do you do in a situation like this ? I took the easiest route.
I would bare my soul to my family, in between sobs at home, tried the kindness angle but no, she would not relent with her unco operative movement, in the bargain she managed to rope a few of her friends on her side.Life was getting a bit tough for my soft self.It was my first,
What did I do ?after speaking my heart out to the authority, who kind of gave me a hint  in unspoken words, that either I survive this or move to better climes.
I chose the latter and was I happy ..Of course !(Sometimes, you have to look at happiness too !)
Nothing frees oneself from unpleasant situations than moving away from it, and glad i did it, the lesson from this incident was it made me a stronger person and I was able to tackle tougher situations with ease than the previous times.The other challenges I faced were so much smaller in comparision....

When you face a challenge and overcome it, you have greater faith in yourself, in your abilities, and greater trust in the divine an now you can do something even bigger
Challenges and obstacles present all of us with the opportunity to grow and improve and learn and step outside of our comfort zone.
I do not see anything as a problem, I just see it as an opportunity to learn and grow in confidence
Visualize the outcome you want, and you will receive a solution to it, but take time to listen to the solution given to you, listen to your mind, your heart, and maybe someone you trust their advice, deduct, add and better it the best way you can ...and you will have the world on a platter.

HAPPY PEOPLE,HAPPY PLACE.

The happiness people find is amazing in whatever sphere of life, one always finds their  HAPPY PLACE.

My visits to the vegetable market is an experience in itself, besides the exotic vegetables and fruits and their country cousins, it is with awe that I watch the happiness on the vendors faces, the light flirtations they have amongst themselves and the connect with each other is a little lesson I have learnt

They tend to the baskets of their produce with utmost care and love, wiping each and every one with a cloth, polishing the apples, till they can blush no more, the glow of the red and yellow peppers makes a sunny day even brighter, the humble green pumpkin (humble no more, check out the price!) has a lovely shade of green to it.

The vendor knows his flock, ask him if his produce is fresh, he kind of gets offended"What did you say?"

He is always willingly to chat with his regulars, and make new ones too, The push and shove are part and parcel of this morning rush in the bazaar, but the way the vendors are connected to each other is a story in itself, just a scream or a shout and a wave of a hand to the other side of the bazaar and he knows he has to transport some carrots quickly to this end to give the waiting customer.

Its always a 'Changing' story they are ever willing to lend out all the notes of loose change to help out their brothers who are haggling with a customer.

Very rarely do you see impatient ones, I had the experience of one such person, I picked a bundle of kotmir, as I was searching in his basket for a non flowering one, vendor saab flew into a fit, and asked me to take what he gave me, naturally I was upset and just walked away, but not without saying my bit to him, telling him how impolite he was and how he should allow his customers to choose, not that vendor saab cared too much with my walk away, I choose not to buy from him, my silent way of protesting.

The happiness that I have witnessed is really wonderful, wonderful to know that whatever place they maybe, (I have written about this in my previous blogs), in a bus, in a train, or even in the saabzi mandi, people find their HAPPY PLACE

Happiness Is In Our Hands

 I Was watching the two kids, around 5- 7 year olds, playing around whilst their mother prepared their dinner.

They lived on the pavements outside a posh apartment and I was waiting for my friend.
Just seeing them giggling and pushing (Yes, there was hardly any place to push ) but nevertheless they were having their share of fun, giving me too a happy sunny smile
Occasionally their mother  leaned towards their direction and gave them a stern warning, I guess she told them to be wary of the vehicles around the place.
The children had a broken toy and a soft toy, on a chair there besides them lay a couple of text books probably their school books, mother was humming a tune, and also making an occasional  comment to her 'neighbour.'
The kids seemed to be happy with whatever was theirs, happy with their broken toys, and a warm meal for the night.
What a feeling of guilt that was for me, that evening, they had so little but were the happiest ones I have seen in a long long time.
What does it take to make us all happy and content ? we must look around and then it will dawn upon us, how  fortunate we are. 

It is totally up to us to be the way we are.
So lets dwell on the little things, and look around for happiness, its not too far.. a smile, a touch or maybe a warm hug.

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
Kahlil Gibran

I am at a stage of my life where my niece is a few months away from moving out , that is to say get married. Sounds so cliched .. she was so little remember the day we went to see her in hospital the day she was born, so tiny, so vulnerable so beautiful !, watched her grow to be a toddler, a young girl, with a satchel and a hairband larger then her head going to school, a teenager and finally a little adult, lots of interesting tidbits I have shared with her, her friends, her likes, her dislike and finally her prince charming. What a lucky boy he is.
And each time I see the brides mother on a wedding day, I know I too will have to be there,one day.My daughter is still a teen and will be a grown up "Little"lady.
I have always believed that it is in giving that you receive real joy. My heart all mixed up, with joy, and parting, and knowing well that she has to go, most importantly to see her Happy.
Kahil Gibran so clearly states this, And I am referring only to daughters,
Sons too at one point of life have to move on and get on with their own way of life, their happiness and we have to be able to let go, I must admit that I admire my parents who at this age have let us three with our own ways of life my brother in his and my sister and me in ours, they are always there to help us, whenever we need but NEVER imposing themselves on us, I am sure Mum and Dad are the living examples of what Kahil Gibran has stated above.
And as my husband and me draw closer to our empty nest syndrome may God grant us the grace and wisdom to be able to live and let live.....They belong not to you....