Passion…unbridled

“Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.”- Jon Acuff

I know it is pointless and unfair

I know that I should not compare

Myself with others, but I seem to forget

Quite often, inadvertently I seem to set

Out to compare my life’s circumstances unique

With others, subjecting myself to critique 

Wallowing in abject misery self-inflicted

Later hating myself for being afflicted

With this malady, albeit common, 

Of being tempted to indulge in comparison

Even while counting my blessings it appears

I compare myself to those with more tears

Over time one thing to me has become clear

Compare, and you feel superior or inferior

Neither brings contentment to the heart

It threatens to pull your uniqueness apart..

 

So I have been working to let go

Of this dreadful habit, progress is slow

Less comparison does make me feel better

(Also from spending money it does deter)

One final thought here- with nothing to compare

Yourself to , you can be perfect, that’s only fair!

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The worst distance between two people is misunderstanding.”- Anonymous

They were co-workers in the same place

Spending ten hours, sharing the same space

With similar goals in mind, they did share

A camaraderie that at work is probably rare

They worked hard, each other they supported

Towards a common goal both were motivated

Now there were some people, who, like always

Could not help feeling jealous in some ways

Of their friendship, they felt ignored

Anecdotes of these two would leave them bored

**

One such individual, one fine day

Trying to generate excitement in some way

Let loose a piece of gossip quite benign

About one friend to the other, drawing a line

Between the two friends, creating  distance

Their friendship would not be the same hence

The seed of doubt germinated once it was sown

 

Out of proportion the gossip was blown

In the mind of the one who had heard

This piece of gossip, believing every word

Never did the listener stop to verify

From the friend whether this was a lie

 

There occurred a quiet transformation

In his demeanor, to his friend’s consternation

But again his friend did not stop to clarify 

The reason behind this behavior, though he wondered why

Thus this misunderstanding pulled them apart

Interactions grew awkward, although at heart

Both longed for each other’s company still

There remained a void others could not fill

**

Months later, when it  was already accepted

That they avoided each other, in a manner unexpected

They found they were alone with each other

Unable to escape, at first neither did bother

To initiate a conversation, but then out of politeness

One struck a conversation, hovering on topics harmless

Almost imperceptibly the conversation took turn

To the gossip that had been the bone of contention

And thus came the chance to clear the dark cloud

Of misunderstanding between them, to get rid of doubt

It was something quite minor, actually ludicrous

Not even worthy of creating that much fuss

The air now clear, the distance between the two

Disappeared, they were back to being friends true!

 

 

 

 

“And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares, that infest the day, Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, And as silently steal away.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

From one task to another I scurry

With plenty to do, I have to hurry

The day goes by in a grayish blur

With not a single moment to ponder

Upon what I am doing and why

All I feel are moments slipping by

At times I feel I have been mechanized

In relentless activity I am galvanized

Until it is time to lay my head

On the pillow, hit my unmade bed

As I close my eyes to finally pray

At the end of a very long day

Even though I work hard throughout

Discontented I feel, without a doubt

I am glad when sleep eventually takes over

Under fitful dreams, my mind takes cover

**

I had always been taught to admire

Dedication, industry, a belly full of fire

Working was noble; was my interpretation

Of a meaningful life, in my estimation

Workaholism was a quality to be emulated

Constant work would keep one stimulated

Thus my life I had filled with work relentless

Any time spent idling appeared pointless

**

Of course I did not realize when it happened

All of a sudden with burnout I was threatened

I was forced to take a break just for my sanity

Even though at the time it hurt my vanity

Then I discovered, and it was quite a revelation

How time spent at leisure led to rejuvenation

Somehow in my life’s remote control I had

Missed the pause button, but now I was glad

To have discovered what relaxation meant

It was the solution to many an ailment

Real and imaginary, that afflicted me

What I had been missing, I could now see

Now I have learnt to soothe my mind

At the end of the day, I try to unwind

And do nothing but reflect on my day

Calm down before my prayers I say..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watching my son struggle with the ball
I cringe inwardly, I hate to see him fall
Like every parent, with every ounce of my soul
I want him to succeed every time, score every goal
He is trying hard, that much I can see
To the very best of his somewhat limited ability
He is only five, competition not yet a word
In his vocabulary, he is still guileless in this world
He has not yet succumbed to peer pressure
He can still play a game for sheer pleasure..
**
When I get disappointed, I have to remind
Myself, this is not about me, I have to find
The right balance between pushing and letting go
Letting him learn to deal with the highs and the lows
I am his cheerleader, the one with the loudest voice
But how he handles a sport is ultimately his choice
I have to be careful never to weigh him down
With my expectations, even if reasonable they sound
He is learning to kick the ball, that’s true
But on the field he is learning life’s lessons too
To fall, and get up, to never lose sight
Of the ultimate goal, to keep up the fight
When he does not play well and I get upset
I set a wrong example, he does not learn to accept
Disappointment, which in life is inevitable
In every walk of life, this rule is applicable
**
Thus while my son soccer and life’s lessons learns
I learn valuable parenting lessons in turn..

A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.

Ayn Rand

I have been trying to find what exactly

Is it that has motivated me

To get out of my comfort zone and seek

To climb yet another peak

In the past- I am trying to find

The impetus given to my mind

That propelled me to seek adventures new

I need to know, I really do

Now that stuck in a rut I feel

Unmotivated, I’ve been waiting for life to reveal

An exciting opportunity that I can capture

Something that can send me into rapture..

That is not happening and so I need

To be proactive and find inspiration indeed

That would galvanize me towards a goal

Bring succour to my restless soul..

**

Feeling uninspired, ultimately one day

I decided, to my own dismay

I could not climb another mountain

I could not push myself again

I could not accomplish another feat

I would be contented in my current seat-

What happened next is ironic, I’d say

Just saying to myself “I could not” paved the way

For me to get over inertia profound-

Suddenly motivation came around

And once again I found myself neck deep

In an exciting project, oblivious of rest or sleep

It became my most ambitious venture to date

Another achievement I found on my plate!

**

With this rigmarole all I wanted to convey

Is that what motivates me every day

Is an inner critic that whispers in my ear

“This is beyond your capability, my dear”

To prove the critic wrong, the fighter in me

Takes on this serious responsibility

And pushes me forward relentlessly

Until a new pinnacle is reached by me!

 

 

 

 

Wikipedia definition-” Jugaad (alternatively Juggaar) is a colloquial Hindi (Devanagiri जुगाड़) and Punjabi word, literally meaning a hack. It is generally used as word to represent an innovative fix or a simple work-around, used for solutions that bend rules, or a resource that can be used as such, or a person who can solve a complicated issue. This meaning is often used to signify creativity to make existing things work or to create new things with meager resources.”

(This post is inspired by the launch of 20 satellites in a single mission by India, produced at a fraction of the cost of NASA satellites.)

In the midst of resources scant, ingenuity runs high

Feet planted on earth, eyes lifted towards the sky

Out of box thinking has always been in vogue

Hacking is a way of life, call them maverick or rogue

When they come up with products at a fraction 

Of the cost involved in a developed nation

That work equally well,  less energy consume

Leave critics awestruck, they can no longer assume

That the product, being cheap, must be inferior

Granted, less appealing might be its exterior

This capability of “jugaad” is inherent to every Indian

Survival in paucity requires principles Darwinian

Most days they are loud, chaotic, disorganized

But once in a while, the world is surprised

By the unexpected display of ingenuity profound

Leaving agape critics and economists all around

Frugal thinking and flexibility are features salient

Of “jugaad”, the concept that’s quite ancient

Maybe the rest of the world with shrinking reserves

Should take a page out of Indian books to conserve

Precious resources that might one day disappear

Learn to make do with less, and scarcity not fear..

(Image source: https://www.linkedin.com/topic/jugaad-innovation)

 

 

As I sit down to eat all alone

Checking messages on my phone

Occupying a small corner of the table

Thinking to myself if only I was able

To go back in time and fill up the empty space

Wipe away the loneliness that I had to face

Of eating dinner without any company

Except that of myself and my gluttony..

I travel back to my childhood days

Where dinner was in many ways

Bonding time for the family entire

By an unwritten law each member was required

To be present at the table to break bread

Or be in peril of going to bed hungry instead

While during the day life happened to us

Over dinner as a family we discussed

Our daily highlights, frustrations and fears

We laughed at our antics, we shed some tears

While simultaneously enjoying food glorious

Freshly prepared, every dish scrumptious

(Especially when compared to my dinner current)

Such luxuries are now from my life absent..

It is true what they say about food and family-

Ordinary food becomes gourmet with good company!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It took me years to realize
Who I was in my father’s eyes
The empowered woman that I am today
Would not have been without the way
I was raised by my father in a society
That glorified tradition and propriety
He taught me to do what my heart desired
He was ready to take any criticism that was fired
Against my choices that unconventional appeared
Because of him, exploring new grounds I have never feared

He lowered the peaks he wanted to climb
But when it came to ambition mine
He gave me the courage to aim for the skies
He always wiped away disappointment from my eyes

A guiding light in my life he has been
An omnipresent shoulder to lean
On- his greatest gift to me would be
The fact that he believed in me.

 

“The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars

But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

-Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

 

From time immemorial man has tried

To make some sense of this world wide

 

Life operates in ways quite mysterious

It’s machinations make human beings curious

When scientific inquiry fails to provide

Answers; science and superstition collide-

Thus was born astrology, a discipline controversial

Claiming our fates are tied to configurations astral

How can stars and planets located light years away

Influence a mere human, a skeptic would say

Yet people trying to make sense of their lives that spin

Out of control check horoscopes daily, trying to believe in

Anything that gives them some semblance of control

Astrological predictions are like therapy for their souls

The stars  make a nice scapegoat, I would say

To unload responsibility- they can be blamed anyway

When they “align” (a term quite dubious)

Fate would bestow you with blessings copious

 

Belief in astrology should have been outdated

To the era of Shakespeare it should have been delegated

But newspapers across the world  still carry a column

Dedicated to this discipline, read by millions

Some hang on to every word but for others

It is frivolous entertainment, like any other

Section devoted to housekeeping or fashion

Nice to read but with no direct implication

 

The stars were aligned so this verse was written

May the planets behave themselves in the heavens!