Road to the waterfall- Skogafoss, Iceland
Pathways and bridges, Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
Walkway to a majestic tomb, Agra, India
Cobblestoned pathway outside the Norwegian parliament, Oslo, Norway
The Break
“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.”
-Alan Cohen
Running through life at a maddening pace
Sleep-deprived, spending days in a haze
With ample assistance from caffeine
And stress pumping out adrenaline
I sashayed from one project to another
Juggling my career and being a mother
And a liberated woman of this millennium
Who wants the moon and stars, and then some
Caught in the trappings that screamed I’d arrived
In a society where all gestures seemed contrived
When distressed, I tricked myself with the reminder
Compared to many, life to me had been kinder
I had no objective reason to complain
Nothing is ever achieved without pain..
**
I did not see it coming, did not realize
Until I was staring at it with my eyes
A burnout hurtling towards me
With amazing speed and ferocity
A crisis I barely managed to avert
From all the stress I barely escaped unhurt
I did not collapse but one thing I knew
Life at this dizzying pace could not continue
For the first time in years, I decided then
I needed a break to explore inner zen.
**
I took a vacation, planned a no-frills getaway
A far cry from my usual instagrammable holiday
Retreated into a quiet village, with little to do
Except heal myself, bond with my son too
Lazy days with no excursions on the schedule
I rediscovered my most powerful tool-
My mind, that had become an automaton
Conforming to social norms and obligations
Now well-rested could think once again
And plan my next steps in a manner more sane
I rediscovered how nourishing sleep could be
For my soul, my mind and my body..
**
Rejuvenated, I came back with a vow
To not exceed stress that my body would allow
How far this would work remains to be seen
For now, I am less stressed than I had been
The break did wonders for me, that is true
If stress levels climb, I’d do it again too
Life does need a pause button to evaluate
Your priorities, before it is too late!
Ego battles
“The ego is not master in its own house.”
Sigmund Freud
Arguments over matters trivial
Instantly changing an atmosphere convivial
Snowballing into resentment profound
Creating barriers hard to maneuver around
Egos enormous creating mountain-like obstacles
Larger than the issue at hand, they spread their tentacles
Until animosity pervades through the air
Promoting more stress, that for no one is fair…
*
When you look back, scenarios of this kind
At home or at workplace, might come to your mind
Looking back, you might see clearly how inconsequential
Were such altercations in your life, how trivial
Were those issues over which you had stressed yourself out
Raising your blood pressure, bad hormones, without any doubt
When egos are involved, every disagreement is magnified
In the heat of the moment, it is impossible to decide
How much effect does such a situation have after all
On the grand scheme of things, likely none at all…
*
We have a tendency to complicate life in many ways
We seem to be adding stress to our days
We forget what is really important and what is not
Collegiality is desirable, a conflict of egos is not
Let me end here with, reminding all of us again
To forego ego squabbles, lessen stress and pain.
A Bad Day
I really was having a bad day- my poem disappeared! Enjoy the beautiful Gulfoss waterfall in Iceland!
Comfort Zone
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”- Neale Donald Walsch
It’s quite easy, is it not
To go with the flow, without a thought
Live your life in a fashion predictable
Following a routine is practical
Saves time in a world fast-paced
Helps you stay ahead in the race
You are most productive in your comfort zone
Where you can handle your life alone
Being too comfortable is a thing dangerous
Life tends to throw curve balls at all of us
There will be times when you are taken by utter surprise
Forced to do things on a limb, and improvise
We are all resourceful, there’s usually a way
To get through the unexpected, any place, any day
I must confess I like my days to proceed
In a smooth fashion, it gives me the control that I need
To keep multitasking, maximizing efficiency
Keeps me confident, maintains my self-sufficiency
But every now and then, when I get too comfortable
I crave for some action, a little something to enable
My fight or flight skills to rise from dormancy
And challenge my sense of passive complacency
Then I try to reach outside my zone of comfort
My adaptability to something new I try to assert
(No, I do not bungee-jump or sky dive,
I do not need such thrills to make me feel alive)
I break my routine and try to explore
A new form of creative expression, not tried before..
I don’t push my boundaries but do step out
Of my comfort zone into the realm of self-doubt
And when I do that, my zone of comfort expands
I acquire an extra skill for my hands
If you think life is smooth, but a bit too smooth
A new target might be worthwhile to shoot
Getting out of your comfort zone should help you, I say
Get something more out of an ordinary day…
Inspiration Overload
I’ve observed a growing trend
Among my acquaintances and friends
Of sharing on social media every day
Inspirational quotes with clever word play
Superimposed on a backdrop spectacular
Of natural beauty, of vistas singular
Thoughts for the day meant to inspire
Soak in positive energy, before the world can conspire
To derail your plans and bring disenchantment
Feel hopeful, before sets in disappointment..
*
Of course I reach out for my phone once awake
I’m hungry for stimulation before I can shake
Sleep from my body and my foggy mind
I am greeted with messages of the motivational kind-
Telling me to take the first step, or be
The change in the world I wish to see
Or do one thing every day that is scary
Or not to be lonely, the universe lies in me..
When this first started, I used to smile
Pause and ponder on the quote for a while
Then the quotes began to blur into each other
Rumi, Gandhi, Buddha- everything seemed scattered
Words I would still read, without any emotion
Scrolling through them was just going through the motions
Artistic photography I still would admire
To explore those places, I did desire
Until the photoshopped images too lost their lustre
Such quotes keep mushrooming, I cannot register
Any longer what they are trying to say
I might look at just one to start my day
Usually it shaves off some time precious
From my morning, delaying me thus..
*
Writing this poem, I migrate in my mind
Back to school days, where you could find
Neatly written below the date on the board
A “Thought for the Day” by the teacher- I adored
This practice, reading a quotation that inspired
Lifted my spirits, fueled my desire
To change myself and improve my ways
But those were my impressionable days..
*
I am still a believer ( I use quotes liberally
In my posts) but this is inspiration overload literally
In the midst of a bad hair day, I rarely get
The appropriate message to make me forget
About everything bad, that is the moment crucial
When I need the power of a message motivational-
Until then I shall continue to largely ignore
Such messages, please do not send me more!
Weekly Photo Challenge-Edge
The Edge of the Opera House at Oslo, Norway, making it appear as if it is arising from the ocean
Edge of the Solheimajokull glacier in Iceland, tainted with volcanic ash
Cliffs in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland- at the fissure zone, part of mid-Atlantic ridge
The Road Well Traveled..
Fed on a steady visual diet
Of facebook, instagram and pinterest
Watching photographs of jaw-dropping scenery
Of amazing places in far-flung countries
I thought that everything worth exploring
Needed an air-ticket, places around me were boring
My city, after all, could not compete
With a volcano in Hawaii spewing heat
So every weekend I would in self-pity wallow
Looking at travel pictures of friends that I follow
On social media, thinking how most of them
Were in locales exotic, whereas I did not know when
I would get a chance to plan a vacation-
Time off, finances etc. would make that determination
One day I decided to venture out
In my city with my camera, without
Any expectations, there were no surprises, after all
But..I was wrong- I found on my leisurely stroll
Amazing vistas, the familiar riverfront showed a difference
When captured this time with my lens
And I was reminded of how beautiful it had appeared
When I had first moved here, now the magic had disappeared
Then I realized it was a matter of perspective
I could find something new if I wanted, or live
Each day wishing to be elsewhere
And, unable to do so, spend my weekends in despair
So the road well traveled showed me sights new
With pictures that were instagrammable too!
Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge
Just realized my all-time favorite challenge was open again- here are some photographs. Enjoy!
The Novelist
I wondered what would happen if a novelist tried to make her stories come alive in her own life…the result is this poem
Born with a natural inclination
To tell stories, mixing facts with imagination
From the time she could sentences write
Pen and paper made her jump in delight
Soon she started jotting down stories in long hand
Some simple, others too abstract to understand
If you met her, your peculiarities she would file away
In a nook of her brain, to be liberally used one fine day
When the tale she was weaving and your traits
Aligned together in a path straight
Everything she observed, nothing escaped her eye
She could not be fooled with the most convincing lie
Stories got longer, plots complicated
Fact merged with fantasy, as masterpieces she created
*
She wrote with a zeal quite difficult to find
Her novels and real life merged somewhere in her mind
While all novelists tend to derive inspiration
From real life, embellishing it with their imagination
She on the other hand, tried to orchestrate
Events in her life such that they would imitate
Well-defined endings of the novels penned by her
Much to the chagrin of those near and dear
*
In the twilight years of her life, she had achieved
Fame and popularity, much more than she could have believed
Life had been treating her well until the day she found
That she had the dreaded cancer, it was a blow profound
She kept this a secret, and wrote with a sense
Of urgency, about living with cancer through her lens
She knew her days were numbered and thus the hurry
To finish her last novel, she did constantly worry
That her exit from life would be quite sudden
Leaving her soul in a limbo, stuck in her pen
*
She ended her novel, words saturated with certitude
Bidding a final adieu to her readers, she sat in solitude
The final step in her life would be to organize
Her exit from this world, in a way that would surprise
Everyone, give people, besides her books, a reason
To remember her through many a season
She wanted to do this before she fell prey
To the vicissitudes of cancer one day
And needed to be drugged to control her pain
She planned her departure while she was still sane
*
Her book was released and the following day
Mimicking the end of her novel in every way
She was found to be dead, having ended her sojourn
On the earth herself, leaving hundreds to mourn
With a pen and paper beside her, the sheet pristine
What an extraordinary life it had been!
She wrote her novels and made them her guide
She was an open book- with nothing to hide.
Women in charge
Through sheer hard work and industry
She climbed the organizational ladder steadily
As she reached the top echelons she had a vision
Of a smoothly running ship, the picture of perfection
She had high standards to which she conformed
Difficult to achieve, they made people squirm
She could not withstand distress of other employees
She thought everyone she needed to please
So she bent backwards, trying to clean after
The less-than-perfect work presented to her
This led to a vicious circle where work she accumulated
While the quality of work of her juniors deteriorated
Soon she was exhausted, irritable, stressed out
Pleasing everyone had taken a toll, no doubt
As her cheerful demeanor morphed into a frown
Her ability to keep her staff happy also went down
She felt like a victim, others she resented
There was no one to whom she could have vented
Her predicament, she could not give the impression
That she was incapable of handling her position
**
Then one day when everything spun out of control
She took a few moments to reflect, search her soul
And asked herself why she was ready to bend
To please everyone else to no definite end
She decided her strategy she needed to revise
There were certain boundaries she needed to devise
Not everyone was going to be happy, or easy to please
Realizing this put her mind somewhat at ease
She needed to gain confidence of those who appreciated
Her work ethic and her style, she had underestimated
The number of people who had nothing but admiration
For her work and her commitment, it was a revelation
She decided she would be empathetic but firm
With her sub-ordinates, soon they would learn
To match the high standards to which she aspired
To fulfil her promise for the position she had acquired
**
This is the tale of many women in positions
Of power, they often complicate their situations
By aiming for perfection, trying to please everyone
That is just not how the job gets done!
So here’s a piece of my humble advice
Stick to your standards, and never compromise!
Guilt and apology
There is something I wish to say
To you, it has gnawed at me every day
Since that incident when I had been
Blatantly wrong, inconsiderate and mean
I had ended up hurting you in my
Anger- since then each day I wonder why
My folly soon after I failed to recognize
Why did it take me months to realize
That the incident caused fault lines to appear
In the mantle of our relationship, my dear
The apology that never left my lips somehow
Turned into guilt that would not allow
Me any peace-the guilt just hung in the air, still
Like dense fog enveloping a rolling hill
The air between us icy like the winds Arctic
The silence of resentment cut me to the quick
I blamed myself for this endless winter
Between us, yet could not muster
The courage to apologize to you, thinking
It was too late, our relationship was already sinking…
**
The guilt grew within me, causing my transformation
Into a raging insomniac, desperate for salvation
Years had passed, we had gone separate ways
The air had not been cleared in all these days
I had to do this, late as it might have been
I had to wipe my proverbial state clean
So I set out to apologize to you-yes, that’s true
Seemed to me you had forgotten the details too
You accepted my apology with some trepidation
Not lowering your guard, it was an awkward situation
While our friendship was not restored to its glory
I could breathe easier since I said I was sorry
The guilt that I had carried in my heart
Was shaken off, of me it was no longer a part!
Passion...unbridled 