The Power of Appreciation!!

I hold the curative powers of appreciation in very high esteem. A genuine phrase, glance or gesture of appreciation can turn even a very bitter and sarcastic mood to a positive and optimistic one. A smile always begets a smile, is what I have seen.

By genuine I mean that a conscious effort needs to be made to find out a streak or aspect ( maybe in the way of looks or nature) in another individual, which deserves appreciation. This repititive conscious effort to look for good in others will make us a positive person, which is no mean gift. and this in turn will help us in finding the goodness which is already everywhere around us.

What about the ugliness then, our cynical and practical mind bounces back to ask. The answer, according to my realizations, is that, everything is there in a platter before us - the good, bad and the ugly, and it for us to pick and choose. Everything is as we behold and perceive.

Bitter Experiences and Consequences

Knowing one's inner self is really tough. I presume, even more tough than trying to know the cosmos. Every ingredient is present within us to make the perfect recipe, as well as the most disastrous dish. Depends on us, as to which ingredient and in what amount, we are using, when.
We hear often, about reaping what we sow, and getting back what we give. But it really takes time, a few grey hairs and a couple of bitter experiences for that realization to really sink in.
Please notice, I mentioned BITTER experiences. Bitter experiences and their fallouts or the consequences are the ones that give us an opportunity to learn. After the dust settles down, we tend to ponder about what had gone wrong, and what can be done in the future to upgrade oneself. Pleasant experiences are breaks in those class rooms. I said classrooms, because each life is a classroom, we are here to learn, So next time that we are passing through a rough patch, This idea may prove to be the silver lining.

Patience, Acceptance & Time

Among all virtues that a human being might possess, the greatest are perhaps, the virtues of patience and acceptance. The ability to be patient in face of adversity or being patient with a fellow human being, and to accept the situation or a person as he/she is, I think wins half the battle for the person who has been blessed with these particular qualities.
With age I have learnt that every problem has a solution, and that even the most complex problems can be sorted out with a generous dose of patience, a spoonful of time and a pinch of acceptance. There is absolutely no reason to be desperate, EVER. So lets give it a try!! Never to late to start, isn't it?

Expectations from a Relationship

Any relationship revolves around a mutual give and take. At times we give more and take less, and vice versa. Each relationship has an equation of giving and receiving, which is unique to it.
From the inception of a relation, slowly, but surely, a pattern emerges, as to how much, each partner is contributing to the growth of the relation, and how much he/she is expecting from it.
So each partner is responsible for etching a limit of expectation in the other's mind by establishing a ritual, a habit of giving a particular thing, perhaps at a particular time.
What happens then, when without asking or informing, any one of the partner withdraws from that pattern? Shock, suffering, pain and hurt surfaces in the mind of the other partner.
The solution perhaps is to not expect anything from anyone. That however, is a hypothetical solution. It is not humanely possible.
Perhaps an attempt at keeping the expectation at a minimal level, consciously, from the start, is a more feasible solution. But, again what is the benchmark of that level?

Being Judgemental

It is in our nature to be judgemental. Especially for us Indians, it is like a national pastime. Whenever we encounter any new situation, meet somebody for the first time, or for that matter, get to see anything which has somehow gone a little bit, out of the normal routine of things, we jump at the opportunity to "sum it up".
Is it possible to judge a situation or a person without reading the situation from all the angles? or for that matter knowing a persons character, attitude or thought processes in its entirety?
Are we really bestowed with the gift of really differentiating between the good and the bad? if we glance minutely at things, we will find them more in shades of gray, than anything else.
Can we just sit back and reflect about why then, are we so opinionated and dogmatic?

A Greenview

The super cyclone whizzed past us. What a relief!! at least we were not hurt. But was'nt it too close a shave?

Who knows, maybe we will be the target of the very next one. A very unpleasant and disconcerting thought? Why waste time over something that has not happened yet, it is a fragment of imagination only and it would be best to push the unpleasant and the ominous to the back of our minds.

But for how long, can we keep on avoiding this time bomb. It is sure to explode, it is only the wait. And then instead of us, somebody else will be reading the newspaper about the calamity.

We have brought it upon ourselves. The extremities in climate, the terrible tropical storms, to the incessant rainfall and floods in one place, to the famine in another part owing to lack of rains, the Tsunami, and the slow but steady extinction of many many species. They are gone for good. And we will be gone for good too, before long.

It was all in our hands, and it is still in our hands. We need to think, realize and act. Act pretty fast too. Let us not insulate ourselves in a false sense of security, because what has touched even one human life today, is sure to touch me either today or tomorrow or day after. But it is sure to touch.

Soul Searching

A dream stirrs a memory
long buried under pages of incidents and layers of logic.

A vision - of my endless search for my soulmate,
across time, consciousness and realms.

We have braved the ravages of time.
Have endured, together the traumas of shared lifetimes

We have experienced reassuring dawns,
and seen the timid approach of dusks.
Together, we have marvelled at the innocent beauty of our sleeping child.

We have walked hand in hand with crunching leaves beneath our feet.
And the moonlight bathing our souls.

I know-I have returned again to renew my search,
to go through all the trials and triumphs of this life,
To be able to feel complete again.

I owe this to myself....in this life, and to many more after this.
To live, love and share with him,
every moment of my being.

I must return.
I will return.

A moment with me!!

A moment with myself....
When, in a flash,
I get a glimpse of the real me, the deepest me,
the truth, bereft of all the obligations, incumbent in this lifetime...........
When, the emotional oppressions, clouding my senses, fades...........
When, the, vagaries of life taking a toll on my optimism, settles down to a plane in my mind,
When, in my mind's eye, the larger design of nature, opens up like the petals of a bud,
releasing the fragrance, that it had hidden in its bosom,
giving itself, to soothe my frayed nerves...................
It is at this eternal, magical moment, that......
I am one with You.

Author: Jayeeta Sinha Roy

If Only I Could...

If only I could............
hold the silvery ripples of the moon on water,
walk alone, on a red dusty path, towards nowhere,
relive the moment, when I held my child for the first time...
hold onto my mother and cry, like I did as a child,

If only I could
dream of a tomorrow, stripped of pain,
break the barriers that keep us apart,
see the sheer ecstasy of just being together, reflected in your eyes.
hear and count your heartbeats, again,
and sing, such that a tear would roll down your face........
If only I could................

Author: Jayeeta Sinha Roy