Christmas Time

Impatience has today become part of our personality without our realising it. We are generally in a hurry to log on and to log off. We run short of time and no longer does time stand still. If it does, we worry why is it so. Instead of becoming our friend, time has become our master.
But Christmas is just a day away and on this day we need not navigate time to fill in the missing links. Christmas time is the time to commune with our inner self and be happy within and then share that happiness with others. Here's a short poem sharing joy for Christmas and New Year.

"New Year is round the corner,
Christmas is knocking at the door,
Let's forget our past woes,
and warmly wish all friends and foes
A loving and joyful Christmas,
A New Year's resolve too, in tow.
Be, what you wish to be,
Free, frank, fearless and loving to the core."

Wishing every one a loving Christmas, and a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!

What is impatience

To develop patience it is necessary to recognise impatience in us. The seed of impatience lies in our thoughts and to some extent speech. Too many thoughts jumbled in our minds means loss of clarity. Emotions and stress related to work causes mental and physical fatigue. In such a state, the mind lacks focus and steadiness and short term goals are chased at the cost of long term ones. A wider perspective, a macro vision of life and flexibility to change is a must to overcome the web of impatience which robs us of peace. Under the spell of impatience we turn to wrong means to achieve our goals which lead to negative repercussions later on. It is necessary to focus on one important thought and goal at a time and to do full justice to it. Small baby steps when tackling something new, mean fewer mistakes and the time taken will be exactly the same as when we try to do things hurriedly and often mess up.
Believe me, I speak from experience. Recognising and acknowledging impatient behaviour is the first step towards patience. Change is possible only when we feel the need for change.

Patience

Patience is the touchstone of progress towards mastery of your own self and in today's world most difficult to maintain. But without it there can be no inner and outer peace. Very few people are born with exemplary patience and today it is at a premium. Patience really means accepting people and circumstances over which one has little or no control cheerfully. Relationships, at work, with children, and even efficient workers need to be tolerated with loving patience. However, patience should not be confused with apathy, laziness or sheer inertia. Patience is quiet strength in the face of dominant opposition and a willingness to wait for the inevitable change. Seasons change in cycles and so does life. Hope is the key of patience.

The Seeker

A seeker is one who has a genuine thirst for knowledge. He or she is dissatisfied with the present state of affairs, not superficially but from deep within. The person seeks to understand the cause of the annoying or difficult set of circumstances. Material fulfilment ceases to matter, satiated as some are with the best that the world offers. Dissatisfaction can, in fact, become the spring board for achievement if channelised in the proper direction, and if not it can take one to the abyss of despair. The seeker must have patience and wait for the right guide to come along.

The Guide

The question is who is a guide and do we need one? Are we self-sufficient to manage on our own and how do we check out the right guide? We all go through our phases of doubts and fears when unable to decide we forgo all decisions altogether and simply drift, the flow sometimes rapid and sometimes sluggish. Late in life we realise that life has passed us by and we wasted the most important years of life in frivolities. Dissatisfaction and regret creeps in but its never too late to understand and change. The moment we are ready for transformation we are ready to recieve the guide. The guide seeks out the one who understands what he or she has come to say. Before meeting such a person nature is our best guide. Understanding the functioning of nature calls for intelligent study and implementing it in daily life means learning to shed the old impositions from childhood and embracing new insights.

When will we understand the need to understand ourselves? I see people moving somnabulantly, apathy writ large on their faces, forever trying to catch up, not to be left behind and to be part of the crowd. Is there comfort in a crowd which racuously cheers and boos without thought? Youngsters perhaps may be excused because they know no better, but people who do, should they not stand apart and serve as guides in their own little way?
A guide is not a teacher sermonising. He or she points out the way to the weary wayfarer. A guide gives advice only when asked for and not before.

Understanding the root cause

It is very interesting to note the chain of action and reaction when we are facing minor or even major problems in life. To some extent we must analyse to check what went wrong where. We need to find the root cause----was it desire, animosity, anger or fear which motivated us to take a controversial decision, which set in motion certain events leading to the current crisis. We must understand the root cause, have clarity of thought, and then take the right decision to reverse the negative fall out of the problems we are facing. Each one has to seek their own means of understanding themselves and their difficulties. Sometimes the problems are self created due to lack of awareness and wrong habits. Change can come about only by understanding.

Holding On

Sometimes, without quite realizing we hold on to relationships, be it with friends or one's own children. We cling to a pattern of behaviour which we have seen and expect our children to duplicate it. But that seldom happens and even if it does, it cause friction and ultimately disappointments. It's best to accept every one as they are, to let them be and to learn live and let live.

We must learn the art of seeing the universe in the child. Innocent, unspoilt, loving and trusting----that is how children are. The universe, too, is based on those principles. Rivers, seas, forests, all the flora and fauna of the world, were inherently unspoilt in their pristine beauty. They still can revert back with a little help from people who care for nature as it once was. Some where along the technological revolutions we have lost the art of sharing and caring. But everything is possible with understanding and effort.

Prism of a child

A child's point of view is radically different from an adult's. I told the children coming to my class to draw their home and family. One eight year old had a bossy elder sister and she drew her sister as a drooping sad flower and the other wanted to know if there were any 'male' flowers to represent her kid brother! Children reveal and share their feelings spontaneously without any pretense or camouflage. If we hark back to our childhood, we shall all find ancedotes humourous and sad when we lived in the present, with no thought of the past or the future.
Regaining entry to live in the present is the treasure we should all seek.

Child at heart

We are all children at heart, simple and pure, seeking love and willing to love. But some where along the way, the tiny child gets buried beneathe layers of selfishness and desires. We forget the art of giving and the ability to recieve love. Everything is measured by our own preconcieved parameters of 'ought' and 'ought not'. The actual 'is' is lost and we move far away from reality.
Coming back to reality is always painful but everyone has to at some time or the other.
Becoming a child again is easy if we mingle with children and see life through their prism of joy and sorrow. Children forget and forgive easily--- a simple truth we can learn to practise in our life.

Home, sweet home.

Coming home is a beautiful feeling. We often feel restless and uneasy about something we are unclear about. But, on coming home the restlessness vanishes. The niche we call home fulfills our longing to belong somewhere. Each species has its home and we are no different. But the home is a creation of our thoughts, feelings and actions. Home has a boundary, a discipline which binds us with love. We all have love in our hearts, even if it's for a plant or a pet and the home is where the heart is. Caring and sharing for the inmates is the base of the home.

Patience

Time is a great healer. But do we allow Time to heal or are we always in a great hurry to get rid of our angst and start anew ? We feel that the new is better than the old but that is not alwaus the case. Patience is the key to progress in any walk of life.

The right focus

Recently I was disturbed by the natural phenomenon of a dog going bonkers over a bitch in heat. His one track mind registered only one fact, even refusing food and drink. In fact, it set me thinking that if we learn to stay focused on any one thing, everything else ceases to matter. Perserverance is needed to overcome the distractions of the body which deflect the mind from its chosen path of action. Some times one is distracted unknowingly so that the long term goal becomes hazy and short term benefits appear attractive. One needs to be constantly alert to avoid losing sight of what one has set out to accomplish.

marriage

Marriage contains the word mirage. Is it a mirage or do we make it by our rose tinted spectacles, by our expectations and desires ? When reality hits, disappointments follow and some times the entire personality is shaken to the core. Is there a reality check or should one walk in without any preparation? Marry in haste, repent at leisure, the old adage holds true for all time. Only when one is ready should one marry, not before.

marriage

BLAMING OTHERS

It is easy to blame others for our mistakes. We go over our mistakes and on trying to pinpoint the source, we invariably find that someone else is the cause of our problems! But why are we unable to admit our folly ? Why do we find it difficult to admit our fauxpas ? Leave alone open admittance even within our own self we never accept that we are at fault. Unless we do so we cannot possibly overcome our faulty behaviour or attitude. Change from within is possible only in acknowledging , yes, that was my mistake. If this is not done we keep repeating our mistakes over and over again.

Today I met my cousin who's just come from Sydney and she told me about the varying life styles of people over there and here in India. As the cultures vary customs and attitudes are markedly different, beginning with children leaving homes at eighteen, setting up their own households, working to maintain it and saving for a university education. Parents, too, encourage them to leave and be independant. India is vastly different, with parents willing to sacrifice but determined to extract their pound of flesh when their children are settled in life. It's difficult to decide what is right or better for the parents and children both. It's a matter of understanding the concept of duty, where it begins and where it ends.
The ideal is of course to perform duty with love and without expectation. The moment we do this, we become bound to the law of return from nature which is the best form of return.

Monsoon rain

Trying times

Trying times basically means difficult times. But to pun on the word trying , we have a vast range of connotations from trying out different remedies for various problems, to experimenting with challenges that life flings at us to see whether we are up to the mark or debunk our problems under the carpet i.e out of sight, out of mind.
Trying times can also mean making efforts to understand the changing time and adjusting accordingly. As the status quo shifts, trying times emerge and one should be thankful for then one never grows old. The secret of not letting changing times affect you is not to get used to the status quo.

The Path

I just read Mabel Collins treatsie titled " Light on the Path". Mabel Collins was part of the Theosophical Society in the late nineteenth century.

We are all treading a path, but are we aware of the direction in which we are going , the hurdles we are likely to encounter, and the means at our disposal to over come them ? The path is of our own choosing , we must own responsibility for it and not blame others for any mishaps that ocurr on the way. Even if we feel pressured by guides, we always have the option of turning to our inner guide who truly loves us. We must learn to listen to our inner self waiting patiently by our side. We can do so only if we close our ears to the cacophony around us. We must learn to see and we can do so only if we see through the world around us, see the unity behind the diversity,

the real from the unreal.

All those who are on the path must go through Mabel Collins Light On the Path.

Summer in New Delhi

It's hot and dusty ,with a constant hot breeze keeping people indoors as far as possible. The haze of dust is trapping the heat and a restlessness grips me as i patiently wait for a relief of a thundersquall or shower. The relief is momentary but sorely needed. I try to see something positive about this weather. Well, the trees Gulmohur and laburnum are in full bloom. Their deep red and yellow flowers are easy on the eye. The extreme heat has killed all the mosquitos and this heat makes the kharbuja and the water melon really sweet. Most people are away on a holiday and there's relatively less traffic on the roads. Moreover I look forward to the monsoon when the heavy rains actually make us think of the sun wistfully. Are we ever satisfied ?

Childhood memories

The simple joys of childhood are climbing the ladder in the snakes and ladder game or crashing down to the bottom.
Watching the children play, one is reminded of our own childhood when we experienced identical feelings. Revisiting our childhood and perhaps relearning to feel happy about small innocuous happenings will fill our inner self with long forgotten joy make us better equipped to deal with the present.

Love and loving

We love to love without knowing what loving is all about. Loving is understanding and giving what your love needs most at a given moment in time. Loving is learning from each other, admitting your ignorance and being modest about your achievements.

We are all sailors in this vast ocean of the world. Our boats are often rocked by stormy waters. We constantly need help and coordination from all those on board. We love to hear our own voice but we must learn to listen to the heartbeats of others.

We are one

We are all one sharing the same pain and joy
lost for a while in a trough of seeping sorrows
but overcome we must
and not allow the shadows to engulf
the sweet serenity lost within each one of us.
Search, look within and the answers you seek
will be there for you to see.

Down memory lane

Teaching Values to Children

I have just joined as an Advisor at bitwine.com in the category of 'Teaching Values to Children'. All the values are in fact latent in children. We must know how to bring them out. The best way to teach anyone is by being an example which is really a very difficult task. But we can always try and effort is what counts.