TUNE IN TO YOURSELF

 Guru Nanak Dev ji, founder of Sikh religion said: If you conquer the mind, you can conquer the world. ( "Man jeetei jag jeet.")

T is for:  Tune in to yourself.

Pressures of modern life have turned us into a hassled generation. We've forgotten to live a purposeful and joyful existence.

In fact, the mad race for a living has bound us in its shackles. We have lost the inclination to think about life at a deeper level.  However, our inner growth depends on imbibing human values and righteous Karma.  There are well-defined parameters of living a meaningful life outlined in our scriptures. They abound in gems of wisdom, which can show us the right path.

Our willful alibis give us umpteen reasons to avoid looking within. That is the uncomfortable truth. We wrongly presume that wearing tinted glasses to escape unpleasant ground realities will work.   Experience confirms that shortcuts eventually harm our progress as human beings.

The enormity of distractions, technology has gifted us, has taken away our discerning power. We are afraid to face ourselves. Sitting in solitude has become an anathema. Unceasing action and noises have robbed us of calmness and composure. We hanker after instant gratification. Our world is limited to the four walls of our house. We run away from questioning ourselves. We avoid introspection and reflection. Self-awareness becomes a casualty.

Yet, tuning in to yourself is as important as earning your livelihood. Listening to the voice of our conscience, assessing the flow of our lives on a daily basis, constitutes the essence of life. While being busy in inanities of mundane life, time for meditation and mindfulness has to be squeezed out.

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Here are a few suggestions based on personal experiences and gleaned from spiritual reads to help in tuning in to yourself:

Spending just fifteen minutes on gardening daily is a great stress buster. Tending plants teach patience, connects you to your inner self.  Consider it your ‘me’ time.

Nothing can beat a short walk in a park all alone. You feel the wind caressing your body, trees talking to you and flowers wreathed in blissful smiles. Optimism you garner via stimulating environment makes you take right decisions. Your day comes out to be more productive.

Mindfulness helps in focusing on your mind and actions.  It wakes up the forces of moral reasoning, reducing self-serving tendencies. The practice generates compassion for others and thoughts of doing larger good.

Develop a silent mental calendar to help in rationing time for main tasks. 

Disciplining the monkey mind is a tough job. Yet one should continually strive to achieve it.

 Friends welcome here as always!

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ABC Wednesday

SKY GAZING

For a lover of nature, sky gazing is like traversing the depths of imagination and reflection!


S is for SKY GAZING:

Since I've initiated myself into amateur photography, sky gazing has become an inspiring hobby with me. It is especially so, when I’m amidst hills during summers. In the congested urban milieu, what you see above is upper stories of houses, hindering the sky view and reducing it to a limited entity. 

Among hills, the scene is altogether different. While you step out on the balcony in the morning sipping your ginger tea, your eyes wish to take up the freshness of the setting all at once. Your gaze goes up spontaneously. The rising sun dispatches its magical signals through the wide-ranging hues in the east. The sprawling mountains present signs of imminent  arrival of illumining splendor. When finally the sun rises, it lights up the earth with its magnificence. Every object wreathes in smiles of celestial sweet warmth.

The sunset, the twilight hour with its gloaming hues takes our breath away. It is a metaphor for  the time of the day, which is mind blowing  wrapped in  an exotic color palette. 

During rains, sky gazing has its own indescribable charm. The endless designs of soaring clouds are simply mesmerizing. Every minute the shape, size and texture of clouds undergo changes. Your whole being whispers to itself, “What a wonder!” The unique natural phenomenon is humbling. It reminds us, how inconsequential human being is in the universal scheme of things.

The sight of the dark menacing clouds is thrilling and enchanting. They give loud and clear message of their intentions. You keep looking up expectantly. However it doesn't take long. Soon gurgling heavy  showers  rejuvenate the parched earth.  The withering vegetation and plants get a new lease of life. Summer mellows.

Many a poet and a painter have been stirred by the beauty of the sky and produced great literature and paintings. The tapestry of the sky has captivated photographers to click unforgettable pictures delighting the connoisseurs of art.

Moon lit starry skies have continuously enticed generations of cupid bitten couples to exchange love bites in the eerie light of the night. Novelists, short story writers, poets have used reams of paper to sing paeans in praise of star-studded nights. Literature abounds in tales of handsome knights and bewitching ladies smitten by each other, professing undying love in mystic moon light.

When everything is lost, sky watch, moon and stars will still be there to liven us up!

last two images courtesy: google

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ABC Wednesday

RAIN CLOUDS

"Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending on earth; without rain there would be no life."   John Updike

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life. John Updike
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/rain

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life. John Updike
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/rain

R is for rain clouds:

Dark menacing clouds over Shivalik hills during monsoon season.

For us young children decades back, rainy season was a much awaited event. It afforded us thrill, excitement and that indescribable feeling of getting drenched while coming back from school with our friends. Laughing and hopping around trying to save our school bags under our frocks, unmindful of the cares of the world used to be uniquely exhilarating. The special treatment our mothers gave us- changing into crisp clothes, eating or drinking  something hot after being tucked into  bed. It was all heavenly.

Coming back to the present, who does not love the floating clouds giving some hope of cool showers, when the earth is parched, plants are withering and our bodies haven been scorched in the extremely hot summer months. The clear blue sky and sometimes that nature's magic in the form of a rainbow bowls us over completely.

Rains have a calming effect on the senses. They make us reflective. The rich and luxuriant natural beauty after a heavy spell of rain drowns all the existential negativity. Every droplet of rain is a priceless gift of nature to mankind.

If occasionally rains disrupt life, it is usually our lopsided planning!

Friends, welcome here as always! Pl. share your take on rains.

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Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life. John Updike
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/rainABC Wednesday

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life. John Updike
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/rain

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life. John Updike
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/rainABC WednesdayABC Wednesday

ABC Wednesday
Our World

THE QUIRKY GAME WE PLAYED IN CHILDHOOD.

"We didn't realize we were making memories,we just knew we were having fun."

Q is for quirky game of childhood:

How about narrating a quirky game, we played in our childhood. My reflections on the subject took me back in time, when I’s in my primary school years. Then the evenings were wholly solely meant to be indulged in whatever thrilled us. There was  complete surrender to the idea of delight with ‘no care in the world attitude’.

How splendid childhood days were! Wish they could be replicated. Perhaps, they would, “if wishes were horses” and we could ride back in time. The utmost one can do is to wallow in nostalgia.  Well, to pen those moments’ means recreating the repertoire of emotions, excitement, passion and sheer joy, which I think is beyond words. Yet, try I must.

We were a gang of girls and our games were girly. The most popular one was Chupa Chupai (‘Hide and seek’). Though, there were many other games in our kitty, yet nothing could beat the pleasure, thrill and physical workout ‘Hide and seek’ entailed.

Our playgroup consisted of about half a dozen girls, more or less of the same age. We’d gather at a predetermined house of one of the participants at the stipulated time. To start with, one of us had to become the volunteer seeker. She was supposed to go near the boundary of the house, close her eyes and count up to a fixed number (mostly up to ten) slowly and loudly to  allow others to conceal themselves.  On our part, we’d run helter - skelter like maniacs to find the spookiest place to hide. In no time, we would squeeze our small bodies behind cobwebbed Amirah’s, under the low cots, in the farthest dirty corner somewhere, in the congested storeroom behind tin trunks and behind dark bathroom doors. The war like cry of the seeker, 'here I come' used to send chill down our spines. Our hearts would thump in our tender bodies in fear and ecstasy. When the seeker’s footsteps were heard close by, we would even stop breathing to prevent being caught. The suspense would keep us on edge. Finally, after gnawing tense moments, one of us would we found out to the accompaniment of shouts, screams and clapping. Everyone would emerge from her hideout.  The one found out first would assume the role of seeker and the game would start once again.

I wonder why we never had enough of it. Only our parents', admonitions could drag us home.

For a couple of years more, we kept this tempo of playing various games with complete abandon.  Soon life entered a more serious phase with its own problems and shocks and the girly games were played no more.

Friends,welcome here as always! Pl. share your own experiences of childhood games!

 Quote and images: courtesy Google

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ABC Wednesday