No one else in this world can play your part…

WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY

No one else in this world can play your part.

No one else in this world can take your place.

You have a right to live.

You have the right to breathe the air that surrounds you.

You are loved.

Sometimes it may be hard to feel that.

Sometimes it may be hard to see that.

And yet, loved you are.

You have fought with your circumstances.

Sometimes you won.

Sometimes you lost.

It’s OK.

Look back and see the mountains you already climbed.

Look ahead and see the roads that lie ahead.

Love lurks around those bends.

Happiness lies right round the corner.

Keep walking, soldier.

Life is not done – Not yet.

You are a warrior.

You are a trooper.

You are just YOU.

No one else in this world can play your part.

No one else in this world can take your place.

                                                            – © Rachna Sharma Sirtaj

#suicideprevention  #suicidepreventionday #motivation #life #love #happy #depression #fight

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Precious gifts made of Gold

 

Turning our backs on emotions, holding them in, not speaking about them, keeping them buried and then unloading them at the drop of a hat on an unsuspecting victim, is not only unfair, it also reveals the emotional growing-up that we need to do.

Emotions are not scary – not when they are ours…nor when they belong to others. Emotions are precious, priceless parameters that provide us with the obstacle course that helps our growth as a person. Learning to look at emotions as our friends instead of looking at them suspiciously or with fear, helps us learn to deal with emotions and express them with ease.

Of course, the process is not as easy as it is to read the above paragraphs.

A few things that one can do to become emotionally sturdier:

Identify your emotions

Become aware of your emotions

Find a chart that breaks down and points to the root-emotion.

Speak out your emotions

Write your emotions down

Observe emotions all around you

Understand the simple fact – YOU are a cluster of emotions

Love yourself – the emotion filled human form…traversing thru this life.

 

Author – Rachna

 

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How I go to the woods – Mary Oliver

Ordinarily,

I go to the woods alone,

With not a single friend,

For they are all smilers and talkers

And therefore unsuitable.

I don’t really want to be witnessed

Talking to the catbirds

Or hugging the old black oak tree.

I have my way of praying,

As you no doubt have yours.

Besides,

When I am alone I can become invisible.

I can sit on the top of a dune

As motionless as an uprise of weeds,

Until the foxes run by unconcerned.

I can hear the almost unhearable sound

Of the roses singing.

If you have ever gone to the woods with me,

I must love you very much.

― Mary Oliver

Swan: Poems and Prose Poems

 

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72 and still young – Happy Independence day, India !!

Happy Independence day, India

72 odd years !! High time we grew up, don’t you think This year let’s decide to drop the religious bias that’s ruining lives, relationships and our neighborhoods…let’s safeguard our children and our vulnerable population and never hesitate to punish those who harm them … let’s get on to really helping our farmers and vow to make India clean again…in every sense of the word…rest of everything else is a breeze to accomplish for a fabulously spirited, young and largehearted nation like ours

Always grateful and proud to have an Indian origin and the best values that an all-accepting richest of rich culture (which I grew up in) inculcates

– Rachna

#instablog #instapost #independenceday #india #blog #motivation #inspiration

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Social Media & the self-proclaimed right to dispense one’s unsolicited views

This morning I deleted a semi-angry comment from my beautiful dandelion picture ‘post’ on facebook and restricted an individual from accessing my profile.

Here is what happened:  I found a pretty dandelion lying across our patio, like a little puppy lazing in the sun. Of course it demanded a picture and I happily obliged. The picture was shared on Facebook as I have many contacts who appreciate such pictures and conversations with me. That was yesterday. I woke up this morning and as I checked the notifications on my newsfeed, I found one that indicated that someone had left a comment on my picture.

I clicked on the notification and was taken to the comment which to my horror turned out to be a semi-angry comment with frenzied words written in a ‘vigilantist-state’ of mind with many capital alphabets and enough and more exclamation marks giving an illusion of trees lined up in the forest. The comment basically demanded that I leave the dandelion alone for ‘bees and bunnies’ !! Though it was the written word but it did seem like the person was very agitated and upset. Of course I could be wrong and he could have been in a zen state of mind whilst writing what he wrote.  This man was insistent about the dandelion that SHOULD be left there as it is.

Here in the  spirit of full-disclosure I  would like you all to know that I do not have pet bunnies and no wild ones walk in and out of my garden. I am not too pally with the bees or flies or the dragonflies but we let each other live out our own lives.

So by the time I got down to gathering my thoughts and writing out this blog in the evening, the pretty dandelion is still here on my patio and will remain but the man was restricted from viewing my posts and will be leaving my fb contact-list very soon.

Now here is the thing – Of-late I am usually left appalled (jaw-dropped-to-the-ground kind of appalled) with the level of judgements that many social media users throw around – without a second thought. All they see is a post and the open comment section. With the dedication of an Everest climber – they get down to the task of leaving their unsolicited views, irrespective of the fact that the person who they are leaving the comment for may not even know them or care for the views that they are leaving.

Why is it so difficult for people to follow social norms when on social media? Would people simply barge into anyone’s living room and tell the residents off, while they were expressing an opinion in their own house? Is it necessary to push your passions and views on others, without knowing their interest or views?  And lastly how dare someone assume that I would not let the dandelion be? On the other hand. if I want to weed it out, how dare someone  stop me from making that decision?

Here is what I believe…My sense of humour, my life, my achievements and the mountains I climb every single day … cannot be automatically understood as soon as someone connects to me on facebook/twitter/linkedin or where-ever else. And this applies to each and every one of us. I own public pages with a large following as well as lead many groups that I run to help people. There are odd friend requests that come thru these public pages/groups and I do add some of these to my social media…especially those whose names are familiar due to their online participation on my pages. They usually are restricted from viewing my personal profile and have an access to my public profile, which is a great facility provided by facebook. Sometimes I may overlook this, add someone and forget to restrict them.  It does not happen often but happens nevertheless. I take this to be a work-hazard and deal with stuff, if something goes wrong, which it rarely does.

I do not know or claim to know anyone’s way of thinking and their way of life just because I am ‘facebook friends’ with them. When I have known someone for a while and we have made efforts to be friends with each other,  that is when I might qualify to  pass a remark on their intentions or ‘what I assume they might do to the weed’ or their life decisions, without coming across to them as judgemental or showing my ignorance about understanding the beauty of their being and their values.

But guess what? Even if I know someone well enough, I will not pass a judgement based on my assumptions.

I am not a keyboard warrior and refrain from extended tiring arguments on social media. Every one on social media has a right (and thinks has the might) to say what they want to say – I can offer my opinion to person X but I do not have to stay and argue when I know there is no space for a dialogue. I am also not inclined to give my opinion and jump in to change the world at every opportunity on a random facebook/twitter comments.

I have had enough years in my life and enough learnings to know that uninformed judgements do one job and only one job well —> that of irking the one who is being judged (this morning that irked ‘one’ was me 😡 ) and of revealing the mindset that the said judge-err carries around. Ok that was two jobs. My bad.

Being a conservationist, a vegan, an animal lover could be your calling and passion. That does not mean that all others who do not have a passion for the same do not respect life ( that of all species including plants) and need to be told-off or given life-lessons at every point your eye catches a word here or there on someone’s postings on social media. No. That is not required as you ( the judge-err <— see what I did there ? ) do not know what other person believes in or why the other person said what they said.

I know I could have let this be. Half way thru this monologue, I was actually feeling lazy…got a cup of tea…looked thru my mails and was generally very tempted not to write any more…but written down it had to be !!

Also what better time than a Tuesday evening to let out a heart-felt vent on facebook or as a change of plan demanded – on Wordspress.

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love & an abundance of Peace.

Picture Credit – Rachna Sharma Sirtaj

Model – A little weed called – Dandelion

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Learn your way around loneliness.

 

“Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Never again use another person’s body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

When we understand our loneliness and get in touch with it or with that we ‘perceive’ as loneliness, we find out that we are yearning for something which is outside of us. We are looking around and craving to fill that loneliness by various means – by having a relationship (including ones that  might be one sided and/or toxic), by adding ‘friends’ to our lives, by filling up our hours with mindless activities, by entrapping ourselves into addictions or by doing a thousand other things that will fill up the minutes in our hours. And at the end of the day when we go to bed, we still have the same loneliness nagging us and freezing our hearts.

When we understand the above, we can then focus our awareness within and understand that we do not need to look out for external ‘things’ that fill our time. When we get in touch with our completeness we understand that we would be OK if we spent time with ourselves without seeking out another. We could enjoy the time spent with ourselves, with a book, a glass of wine and perhaps some music. We could go for a hike or a walk all alone. When one is comfortable with one’s own self – shortcomings as well as strong points – the sense of belonging starts to grow.

Once we stop buying into the notion that one needs ‘someone else’ for fulfillment and completion, life starts to ease up. We stop running after others and craving for company. We no more moan about the lack of a relationship or friends.We stop looking outwards and instead start feeling content and a feel a sense of ownership and belonging within ourselves.We discover aspects of us that we start loving and aspects of ourselves that we lovingly work upon. We start moving towards becoming more self-involved though not selfish. We understand ourselves and in turn the world around us much more than ever before.

Having said that, I must clarify that I am not promoting a social boycott or asking anyone to become a loner. Noway. Go ahead make friends, have fun and by all means share yourself with others. Do it to communicate, enjoy & enrich yourself and others instead of doing that to fill the ‘loneliness’ that you think you might feel, if you did not do all of those things.

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love & an abundance of Peace.

Picture Credit – Internet

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You never really understand a person (2)…

Part 2 of You never really Understand a person

 

And then there are times when you climb into the skin of another, wear their shoes and even feel where the shoe pinches – because you see, you both have the same contours on your feet. But you still do not understand why the other person behaved the way they did. So you take the advise that you previously read and imbibed. You do not try to understand them any more but work from that deep place of love within you and accept them. You expand your being and embrace the side of them that is hurting you so. You think the pain will ebb and become more bearable. You wait for it to subside. you wait and wait but it does not. Well, actually sometimes it does ebb and sometimes it does not. After all you are just as human as them.

So now what do you do?

Do you keep expanding and feeling the pain and the confusion as to why the pain does not go away when you are accepting someone from a place of love? Or do you put away your pain and obliterate it from your mind and your being?

You don’t do either.

What you do instead is – this time you understand yourself and look at yourself with the kindness that you would bestow upon another human being in pain. You understand your own self and feel love for this vulnerable person, that is you, who expanded themselves out of their comfort zone and out of their pain to embrace someone who hurt them. You did your best. You looked beyond their capacity to hurt and accepted them as they were. It did not change them or their capacity to hurt.

So now you look at yourself with the same kindness, love and empathy that you would feel, when you looked at your child with scraped knees and big large tears in those beautiful innocent eyes. This was an experience that taught you so much about them and about you.

It taught you to expand yourself and accept another without understanding them. It also brought you face to face with a beautiful new aspect within yourself. It got you in touch with you innermost depths and made you do something that is often not easy for us to do – To accept someone without understanding them.You did it. You held on.

Now it is time to take care of yourself.

You evaluate the pain and the consequences of this pain. You assess the other person and see them for the individual that they are. Do not cut corners. Do not give them a discount. Assess them and then choose if you would like to stay with the pain that you are feeling deep within your soul or would you like to let them go.

If you have chosen to let them go, you have made the right decision. Trust your instinct and let them go. Move away. Distance yourself.

Let go. 

Now.

You have done your part. Now it is time to heal the injured ‘you’.

  Let go of the sadness and the sorrow. The space that is emptied in your soul can be now filled with energy and brilliance of yourself and of those who really love you and care for you. Look around, find and acknowledge those who love you and never want to inflict pain upon you. Feel their love and energize yourself with genuineness and warmth.

Give yourself the time to feel. Give yourself the time to heal.

Be patient. Be generous. Be kind to you. Be all that you would be, towards another who was in pain.

Stay lodged … Stay quiet.
Take time to recover.
Take as long as you need to.
The rain will stop.
The howling winds will cease.
The sun will shine again.

And you will rise and bloom.

 

© Rachna Sharma Sirtaj

 

Related reading : Octagon of letting go

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Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love & an abundance of Peace.

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It is OK to say ‘No’

Have there been times when you have caught yourself in a situation, you did not want to be in – because you agreed to do something that you reeeaaalllly did not want to do? Have you found yourself gritting your teeth and fuming mad with yourself for your inability to say a clear NO ? Have you found yourself stuck in a situation, that you promised yourself will not happen again, once again because you could not say NO?

I know I have been there. I know how awfully tough it was for me to say NO. I know how miserable I felt and how many I did not say NO, just to avoid looking at the disappointment in the eyes of others. I also know how much I struggled to keep up any promise that I had made, because I could not say NO.

That was long ago.

I have a come a long way and despite an odd instance now and then…it is fairly easy for me to evaluate the situation and consider the pros and cons before I make a commitment. It is not difficult for me to say NO when I feel deprived of time or resources on my part to undertake a commitment. It is simple if I trust the other person to understand my limitations…for they usually do.

It takes time and an awful lot of work on oneself to understand that when you say NO and mean NO, it is clear communication. You saying NO does not turn you into a bad person or an uncaring, hard hard-hearted monster nor does it reduce the other person into a pile of helpless crumbling rubble. It is advisable to trust the other person to understand your limitations or inability to make a commitment. Your inability or unwillingness to undertake a project or to do a favour to someone does not in any way mean that you do not care enough. Your inability to undertake a project or to do a favour to someone just reflects your inability to do so at that point in time. The fact is that when you clearly communicate that inability, it helps the other person to work out another solution without being wrapped in your unclear fog of  a ‘Yes…No…Maybe’  loop.

Below are some thoughts that might benefit you, as you read them. Read them as often as you need to. Read them till your soul remembers the magnificence of being. Read them until your heart believes these thoughts and the expanse of freedom that they provide you with. Read them aloud…read them silently…read them until you and these words become a part of you.

It’s OK to say ‘No’.

It’s OK to stand up for myself.

It’s OK to terminate a situation if I feel disrespected.

 And

 It’s OK to trust my inner voice that seems to know more than what my eyes can see.

I respect people around me & understand, that they have a right to say ‘No’; a right to stand up for themselves and to terminate a relationship or a situation if they feel disrespected.

There is just one set of rules.

 

– Rachna

 

© Rachna Sharma Sirtaj

 

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love and an abundance of Peace.

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There are days…

There are days

When I sense a vibration

In the winds

That will change the course

Of my life

The life that I know in the ‘now’.

 

 

There are days

When I sense the storms

Approaching

To uproot and reposition

My being

A being that just ‘is’ in the now

 

There are days

When the tremble of destiny

Forebodes

The roar that it eventually will become.

Transforming

My breath, my being, my everything that ‘was’…in the now.

 

On such days

I hold my breath

And then release it with ease

Ebbing away

The fears

Of this frail human mind

 

Embracing the truth

Of knowing my ‘not knowing’

The abyss of the ‘unknown’ ahead

Juxtaposed

By the silhouette of the new mountain

That I was just beginning to climb.

© Rachna Sharma Sirtaj

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love and an abundance of Peace.

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And the page turned..

Changed homes
Changed cities
Changed life

Familiar
To
Unfamiliar

Twin Towers to Ground Zero

Home changed
City changed
Life changed

Unfamiliar
Is
Now familiar

I have moved on..

Or have I ?

I wrote these lines when I first moved cities as a grown up.

It was a move within India, from Hyderabad to Bangalore.  It was not my first move though. My parents had moved from Madhya Pradesh to Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh when I was 8 and my little brother was 4. Even though little, it was not an easy move for me and I am sure neither was it for my brother. A lot changed and simple coping mechanisms were developed in their own unique ways by 2 kids, to survive the massive change. It was a not an easy move for a child who came from a Hindi speaking state and school to move into an English school and Telugu speaking state. A lot changed – personally, academically and socially. But of course when you are thrown into a cauldron of soup, you kinda learn to warm up slowly until you reach that level where you are deliciously perfect.

My second Move was from Hyderabad to Bangalore. Bangalore, a city that despite the initial discomfort became home in true sense. A city that allowed me to grow up professionally, emotionally and spiritually. Life got awesomely beautiful with my little bubba , my son, who filled my days with sunlight. Soup continued to simmer.

The third move was from Bangalore, India to Munich, Germany. Once again the primary changes were the language, social interactions and profession related. All good – Cauldron churning at the best temperature – almost mid way.

A dash of creme and some herbs to bring out the flavours & add the mellowness to that soup in the making. Here comes the fourth move. This time from Germany to England. Unexpected yet known and anticipated at a deep inner level. Its been almost 25 days and the physical settling in is happening.

By now I know that this is a passing phase.

It has been amazingly interesting to stay in the present and know that it is turning into the past.  I literally feel the pages of time turning over and its an extraordinary feeling.  I cannot explain this experience, just like I cannot explain to anyone what ‘sweet’ tastes like. The frequency needs to be tuned into to go thru this experience and that dear friends, is a matter of time.

 

© Rachna Sharma Sirtaj

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love and an abundance of Peace.

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Fear – That monster under your bed

Fear holds us back…more often than it should. Fear restricts us and places boundaries on that, which we are perfectly capable of achieving. We have learnt that it is safer to fit into the contained mold of known emotions, known territory, known work/job criterion. We have learnt that trying something new or choosing something, that not many others choose, is risky.

Safe is traditionally what we do…despite the innumerable examples that we see, read and hear about otherwise. We choose to obliterate the methodology and the realness of people who have stepped out of the safe boundaries despite their fears and apprehensions. We categorize them as ‘brave’ or ‘lucky’. We choose to revere them and say – “Wow, I wish I could do that !!” Well, why can’t you? Who stops you from achieving what you ‘want’ to achieve? Who is holding you back?

I think successful people are not fearless or unafraid. I think successful people choose to keep going, despite their fears. I think success depends upon how well one is aware of one’s fears. It also depends upon how well one understands these fears and deals with them.

It is alright to know that there is a monster under the bed. Being aware of the monster under the bed, allows us to prepare ourselves to deal with that very monster under the bed, and identical ones that might appear thru the night. Similarly it is alright to have fears and to be aware of these fears. Being aware of our fears allows us to prepare ourselves to deal with these fears and other identical ones that might appear as life goes by. Being aware allows us the following choices 1) deal with the fears 2) let go of the fears and 3) sometimes just make peace with them. Awareness is the most powerful tool we possess, towards making a change. 

In the words of the wise – “A further sign of health is that we don’t become undone by fear and trembling, but we take it as a message that it’s time to stop struggling and look directly at what’s threatening us. ”  – Pema Chödrön

So, It is alright:

To have fears.

It is alright to be aware of your fears.

It is alright to choose to deal with your fears.

It is alright to let go of your fears.

It is also alright to make peace with your fears.

What is not alright is:

To continue feeding your fears

To continue staying frozen by your fears

To continue walking a few steps behind everyone else, due to your fears

And

To continue staying still because of your fears.

-Rachna

 

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with an abundance of Love & Peace

Rachna

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Just another memory

Feet meander homewards
Snow filled clouds part
Soft peachy glow
Of the late afternoon sun
Turns a lifeless moment
Into one that will now be held
In the deep recesses of the mind
For an eternity.

Playing hide and seek
Between lives
Filled with hope and despair.

 ©Rachna Sharma Sirtaj

 

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love and an abundance of Peace.

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Ripples of truth

 

And just like that the dream shattered.

Even though she had suspected for a while that it would, the sound of the crash was louder than she had expected.

Here is the thing about broken dreams. They are not easy to deal with. They crash and they scatter all over, creating a big mess that needs to be swept up. Sometimes the saving grace is  that people understands this particular sorrow of loss. In reality they may have helped bring on the process of shattering or even actually taken over and shattered the dream. But when they see you standing in silence and and looking at those scattered pieces, tears streaming down your cheeks – they sometimes do understands. At times you also get lucky enough to have everyone step back and allow you the time to mourn the loss.

In this respect, she got lucky. The world stepped back and allowed her the space to absorb the sight of those little bits and pieces that her dream had shattered into. Thru the haze of her misty eyes, she could see her reflection, her ambitions, her plans and her future in each one of those tiny pieces. Potentially this would have been a good time to sink into a depression or have a nervous breakdown – like the books suggested or the umpteen number of movies portrayed. It would be easy and everyone would actually understand. She could withdraw from all the pain that surrounded her being, and retreat into the gentle white softness of silence.

She felt alone and unsupported. It seemed like everyone had given up on her. She felt completely written off – devoid of potential or a possible future. There is something about the lack of ‘show of support’. If it does not happen at the right time – it becomes ineffective, like medication that has passed its expiry date. In her case, the lack of ‘words of support’ gave rise to a silence within her being, that she found strangely peaceful. It was a space where she could experience and see everyone as they were. No layers of words to cover up their real thoughts – no pretense of love. Just plain indifference that she found easy to accept. This actually seemed really nice. She liked the feeling. It was akin to wearing no makeup – which she disliked wearing. It felt like being alone  in nature, under the sky – in her minuscule spot in the universe. A spot that belonged to her.

And then, in that silent space, something magnificent happened. Amidst the sounds of her dream crashing and reverberating loudly – there were ripples of a stark realization that echoed into infinite loops, through the eternal vastness of the universe.

She had not yet given up on herself – not yet.

She had not written herself off

This is what mattered.

This is ALL that mattered.

 

Author – ©Rachna Sharma Sirtaj

 

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love and an abundance of Peace.

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Desiderata: A Poem for a Way of Life

 

“Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant;

They too have their story.

Be yourself.

Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love

Ffor in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

It is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you from misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,

Whatever you conceive Him to be,

And whatever your labours and aspirations,

In the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all it’s sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.”

― Max Ehrmann, Desiderata: A Poem for a Way of Life

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love and an abundance of Peace.

© Copyright 2016. Tranquil Space Limited. All Rights Reserved

Website: http://www.tranquiljourney.co.uk

Articles – https://motivatedsoul.wordpress.com/

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Quotations – http://motivationunlimited.wordpress.com/

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Clouds (from my Photo-Blog)

Scattered across

In abundance

Floating around

Aligned in chaos

Just like my thoughts

-Rachna

Smattering of Clouds over Munich

From my Photo-blog today.

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love and an abundance of Peace.

© Copyright 2016. Tranquil Space Limited. All Rights Reserved

Website: http://www.tranquiljourney.co.uk

Articles – https://motivatedsoul.wordpress.com/

Poetry – https://rachnasirtaj.wordpress.com/

Quotations – http://motivationunlimited.wordpress.com/

Photographs – http://rachnaphotoblog.wordpress.com/

Home

The Earth has a strong and simple message for us: If we can’t take care of it, it can’t take care of us.

That’s what our planet says in a new short film, Home, which environmental organization Conservation International aired at the Momentum for Change Awards on Thursday during the U.N. Climate Summit in Paris, also known as COP21.

Home is an extension of Conservation International’s #INeedNature campaign, which stresses nature’s vital role in our lives and livelihoods. It’s narrated by actress Reese Witherspoon, who achieves an impressive balance between calm and stern in her voice — very apt for the subject matter.

The script reads:

“I am Home. I give you comfort. I shelter your family. See me for who I am: home sweet home. I am your refuge. I am the floor that supports you. The foundation that keeps you steady. The walls that give you shelter. The roof that protects you. I am your home. If you don’t take care of me, I cannot take care of you.”

Text Courtesy: Mashable

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love and an abundance of Peace.

© Copyright 2016. Tranquil Space Limited. All Rights Reserved

Website: http://www.tranquiljourney.co.uk

Articles – https://motivatedsoul.wordpress.com/

Poetry – https://rachnasirtaj.wordpress.com/

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Making the Ordinary Extraordinary – Mridula Kaul (Guest Blog 2)

A beautiful blog post by Mridula Kaul, a dear friend and a fabulous human being – kind, gentle, funny, spontaneous & innovative. She thinks and feels from her heart and manages to convert those thoughts and feelings to beautiful words – I am very proud to add her writing to my blog. This is the second write-up that Mridula has graciously shared on my blog. 

Mridula, a versatile netizen, is a resident of UK. 

 

 

People often say they want to be free. This is the biggest hoax of all time. It’s a beautiful lie packaged in the most enticing gossamer. We don’t want to be free. We want chains. Because chains create a bond with people, material possessions, emotions and memories even. We don’t want to break away from those connections, that would require courage and we’re not really built to be courageous, normally – well, normal people under normal circumstances don’t need to display courage unless they’re faced with extraordinary situations. So we don’t want to be free or courageous (except when it’s founded in a deep-rooted, all-consuming desire for something that just can’t be ignored – more on that in my next post). Happy days! Anything else we don’t want? Of course – misery! So it stands to reason that if we don’t want misery, we must want the opposite of it. And yet most normal people are anything but happy. It’s almost like they find a vicarious pleasure in counting all the things that make their life sad or difficult.

And then there were three – freedom, courage and happiness, we’re having none of these bad boys. Crikey, so what do we want? After much deliberation (many bottles of alcohol were tested to prove this theory), I’ve concluded that ultimately, we just want to escape reality. Because that is ordinary and no one in their right mind wants ordinary. Like good, evolved, migratory animals, we plan a holiday to exotic or not so exotic locales, only the reason is not so much to escape dismal weather conditions but the drudgery of life. If we can’t, we watch movies that transport us to those locales and make us believe we could look like someone special so we then go and buy attire based on current fashion trends and wear make up that makes us look like our favourite celebrities. We eat (or would certainly like to) in restaurants that the rich and famous dine in, reading books about things we would love to do but probably never will. We make bucket lists because we ‘only live once’. We look for perfect excitement outside to make up for what’s missing in our imperfect relationships.

I get it. I get the need for us to do this. What I don’t understand is the extent to which we inconvenience ourselves to get this brief respite from reality. I say brief because like all good, migratory animals, we do make our way back ‘home’ even if that home is far from ideal. It might be out of habit or perhaps, because we know, deep inside that the migratory flight doesn’t have the permanence or comfort we seek. So I say, let’s not be ashamed of celebrating the ordinary. Why lament that walk because you don’t have a car – enjoy the great outdoors instead and revel in the post exercise after-glow; bemoan not that small, quirky home – it is much-loved and sees conversations, happiness and warmth in as much abundance if not more, as the ten bedroom mansion you see on your walk home everyday; be grateful for those wrinkles, they prove you’ve lived, loved and laughed. And if all this ordinariness feels good, makes your eyes twinkle and creates memories that will long outlast what you are trying to escape, then that for me, is extraordinary.

 

– Mridula Kaul

 

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love & an abundance of Peace.

© Copyright 2016. Tranquil Space Limited. All Rights Reserved

 

Website: http://www.tranquiljourney.co.uk

Articles – https://motivatedsoul.wordpress.com/

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Random act of Kindness – Mridula Kaul ( Guest Blog 1 )

A beautiful blog post by Mridula Kaul, a dear friend and a fabulous human being – kind, gentle, funny, spontaneous & innovative. She thinks and feels from her heart and manages to convert those thoughts and feelings to beautiful words – I am very proud to add her writing to my blog. This will be a  short series with snippets of writing that Mridula has graciously agreed to share on my blog. 

Mridula, a versatile netizen, is a resident of UK. 

As I sailed through the sea of commuters gushing out of my train at Charing Cross, I noticed a young lady make a beeline for the nearest Costa and grab a hot beverage. Her stilettos clacketteering (I know there isn’t a word like that but indulge me if you would), she checked her smartphone and smiled (I could see her cheeks lifting up her lips, prompted presumably by interesting texts or funny comments on her FB pictures) and then rushed towards to the man who sells The Big Issue (the man who stands at the same spot outside the station, come rain, snow or shine) in a way that only a customer who is intent on buying something, would do. At this point, I would ordinarily have smiled at the man as I do every morning, and quickened my steps to get to the office. Today was different. The lady handed over her take-away coffee cup to the man, covering both his freezing hands with her gloved ones. ‘There you go, swee’haaa!!’ she said in her Saaf London accent, ‘thaw you might need thaa!!’ With that, she pecked him on his cheek, gave him a wink and clacketteered away, as he watched on stunned. Not many would have bought a copy of his Big Issue. But not one person would ever have bought him a coffee, of that I am certain. In the world we live in, full of cruelty and horror of unheard and unseen proportions, this small act of kindness suddenly restored my faith in humanity. But then, I’m easily pleased. I haven’t been able to wipe the smile off my face since.

-Mridula Kaul

 

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love & an Abundance of Peace.

© Copyright 2016. Tranquil Space Limited. All Rights Reserved

A Miracle

 

Miracles just happen.

Miracles do not always happen in a snap.

Miracles do not always happen in the blink of an eye.

Miracles sometimes happen slowly & steadily over a period of time.

A miracle is the healing up of a body that has been suffering with dis-ease.

We need patience in abundance and a wide angled-panoramic vision to see the blossoming of a miracle.

A miracle is feeling life seep back in your weary body and soul, after a loss that had made you feel lifeless and forlorn.

Miracle is also the peace descending into a strife ridden soul and healing a relationship that you never thought could heal.

Miracles just happen.

Be open and ready to receive them, when they come into your life.

Accept them as they come…without expectations and without complains.

Most of all accept them with gratitude, without asking for more.

A miracle is for us to decipher – for it is always subjective.

©Rachna (Author)

 

 

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love & an Abundance of Peace.

© Copyright 2016. Tranquil Space Limited. All Rights Reserved

A beautiful heart

Each one of us has gone through  heartaches and a few heart-breaks. Our hearts have been crushed, pulled at and often left broken. Sometimes leaving behind a pain so intense that it almost seemed to hurt physically.

Did that stop us from loving again or giving? Did that stop us from being who we are? I hope not !! Despite all the breaks and hurts and pains and lost pieces. I think our heart is the most beautiful part within us, beating at an even rhythm & responding to our thoughts and emotions, every second of our lives.

Years ago I attended a workshop, where one of the group member shared a story  that I now share with you. It’s a tale of loving unconditionally, giving without expecting any returns  and learning through pain. I remember being deeply moved and teary eyed, at the end of that reading. I know it’s just a story. I know it has been created to touch our hearts. But I also know that this story is true for me and for most of us.

As you read the story below,  become aware of your beautiful heart. Take a deep breath & visualize it. Think of it lovingly. Thank it for being the life-force that it is. Smile at it & smile for it. Feel it respond to you, filling you up with a warm fuzzy feeling as you do.

And Now – on to the story of *A beautiful Heart*

One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the valley.

A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.

Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said, “Why, your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine.” The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn’t fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces missing.

The people stared. How can he say his heart is more beautiful, they thought. The young man looked at the old man’s heart and saw its state and laughed. “You must be joking,” he said. “Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears.”

“Yes,” said the old man, “Yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love – I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn’t returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges – giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?”

The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands.

The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.

The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his.

They embraced and walked away side by side.

(source: Unknown)

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 (Picture : hdwallimg.com)

©Rachna

 

Wishing you a fabulous day ahead…filled with Lots of Love & an Abundance of Peace.

© Copyright 2016. Tranquil Space Limited. All Rights Reserved