For the restless spirit!

Dec 1, 2013  11 months of 2013 gone....only 31 more days before we end yet another year. The end is definitely in sight! As I look back, this year has had its fair share of ups and downs - for me , atleast. But we human beings usually focus more on the not-so-good rather than the better times, so my initial thoughts were - its been a bad one, let it end soon! But then I remembered other things that were actually good and changed the flow of my thoughts, forcefully.... Today, as we enter the last month of this year, I take a few moments to reflect on all that has happened throughout the year - some things broke my heart, some things made me feel truly blessed, some things I gathered with joy, some I let go with pleasure and some with pain... but it's all gone now and what I chose to do with all those memories is up to me. I chose to remember and focus on all those times when I have lived, laughed and loved.... I do not forget the rest, I just learn from them - to be stronge...

Its a very liberating feeling..... When you are able to love, with no strings attached. Its really not as easy as that may sound - you possibly know - and I have learnt recently.  Love, attachment, affection - all sublime feelings, but cause humans to expect ....nothing wrong with that too. Its natural. I expect those close to me to love me back, show me that I am important to them as they are to me, that I matter ......but I have also realized 2 things: You can't always expect - you shouldn't ...even the most prudent investment may not give you dividends and love should never be an investment in the first place.  You can't always measure what you will get in return - it may not match up to your expectations, but may be the most the other person is either capable or willing to give to you..... So, when you are able to bring yourself to love, unconditionally....with no strings attached.... you move to a higher plane. It's a very powerful feeling...you conti...

For me, that's most important these days....... to have peace of mind....it's no longer about winning, about who's right or wrong, about getting all the answers ....it's simply about being at peace with myself.  And I have realized now that being "at peace with yourself" is actually a decision, a personal choice.  Maybe it's to do with my advancing years....maybe it's to do with my running out of steam, little by little.....but it doesn't really bother me, I don't need to know. What I do know is that I am focussed more and more only on matters that lie within my sphere of control, I pick and chose my battles wisely these days and I try and keep my world simple .... Friends often wonder how I am still at ease though I have so much still going wrong in my life, so much that could improve, so much that is vague, uncertain. ....all of this should cause me stress, right?  But I have made a choice - that I will chose Peace. And that helps me...

Recently, a dear friend sent me a video where a "crazy" dream of a young bride this friend of mine knew personally, was made to come true unexpectedly.....naturally, her joy knew no bounds ... for me, this was yet another proof that you never know when your dreams could come true, however crazy they may be! Those who know me well, know how much of a dreamer I am....infact, I dream so much that I sometimes think I could be heading towards schizophrenia!!!!  But to me, to dream is an natural as breathing....and it keeps me going, through thick and thin. I dream of how it will be when I am in certain places, with certain people, doing things I aspire to, wish for ....I feel happy seeing myself there and get energized to work towards getting there .....it keeps me moving, it keeps me positive. Do I always get there? Are all my dreams achievable?  No. I don't always get there... many a time, I stumble, I fall, I look up to realize that what I was looking for was...

Life always likes to throw "googlies" at you - I have come to understand that; it's like a little game Life wants to keep playing with you....And its your choice to play ball - go on the front foot, get defensive or refuse to bat ..in other words, go into denial! I recently read an interesting post by an extended member of my family - who has incidentally denounced the material world and moved beyond - about human attachment and how it is but natural.....struck a chord somewhere.... I have always believed that we need to manage our expectations and that is the route to happiness and being at peace.....but is that always possible? Is it also desirable? Are we not going against human nature to lower expectations? But if we expect, we open ourselves to disappointment and hurt and that's never good, is it? This recent post triggered a thought process ......one has always heard through the ages that beyond a point in one's life, one should start to detach ....fr...

Back in Dubai today after a short trip to Kolkata.... Those who know me, also know my passion for the city I was born in and grew up.....the love that remains unscathed, irrespective of all that has changed in my life and in Kolkata! Leaving the city and my many loved ones there is always difficult (my friends must be tired of my wails and tears ) - but as I have always said - life is all about choices and I have made mine. My adopted land here in the desert is where I need to be now and when I accept that, it becomes easier .... to come back and adjust to a completely different lifestyle. Life compels us, nudges us, to sometimes make choices that we don't want - sometimes we'd rather be somewhere else, doing something else, with someone else....but lucky are those few fortunate ones, who manage to have everything they ever wanted. Most, like me, have to accept at times, make choices not always very pleasant and adjust.... Whenever I have had to make a choice that I w...