Passion…unbridled

I am always surprised to see how food can become

A source of conflict and friction for some

How food is prepared and how it is eaten

Is rooted deeply in culture, and when

Dietary preferences are questioned it appears to be

An attack on your culture and your family

Without meaning to, you become defensive

Towards the food from your culture you feel protective

To return things to their prior state amicable

Needs resolution of differences in the food on the table..

*

Food is an emotion, I came across this statement today

And it resonated with me in a profound way

Food from our roots provides deep solace

When criticism regarding our food we face

There is a threat to our sense of comfort

We interpret it as a personal hurt..

*

So in a feast where multicultural people gather

Where different cuisines and food traditions come together

We can eat what we like and try not to be

Critical of others’ preferences and traditions culinary

Food was meant to unite not divide

While eating let cultural differences be kept aside

I am being pulled in different directions simultaneously

(And that is a usual work day for me)

I think I can handle it all, this is an occurrence frequent

I should be adept at multitasking, at being present

For the smorgasbord of decisions that need to be made

But I get flustered, stumble as I try to wade

Through the muddy waters of complex decisions

That are quite subjective, with a low degree of precision

*

With too many decisions when I am faced

It often gets impossible for me to place

Them in the right order of priority

With that comes a hit to my efficiency

Which leaves me profoundly dissatisfied

I feel like I’ve failed despite having tried..

*

One such day I felt overwhelmed completely

The next step to take I just could not see

In the midst of this decision paralysis I walked away

Stepped outside in the sun to enjoy the beauty of the day

Felt rejuvenated and then returned

To work with renewed vigor, here was a lesson learned

*

There is a lot to do that can be frustrating

When I get overwhelmed I am now educating

Myself to take a moment to regain

My composure, so that I remain

Focused when and where I need to be

I’m learning to step away and get clarity..

To the exclusion of everything else in life, I had tried

To make work my primary focus, I did not try to hide

That in almost everything else, my performance

Was subpar, therefore my energy and focus intense

Were devoted to work almost exclusively

I had made work my sanctuary

*

I tried to invest much in work and the workplace

And did not realize that for others that space

Was not as cherished as it was for me

I expected too much from my work family

I loved work so much that objectivity I could not maintain

In the end that attachment to work gave me much pain

*

I tried to love work but work did not reciprocate

I tried to give it my best but I ruefully state

That the more I gave, the more it expected of me

I tried even harder, because I could not see

That work would never love me back

That a reciprocal relationship I would always lack

*

I started paying more attention to everything else around

There was joy and satisfaction to be found

Once the tenacious attachment to work I let loose

Fulfillment in other areas of life I could choose

The quality of my work actually improved

When my unhealthy focus on work was removed

Many years have gone by in learning how to build

A life for myself and my family, now I’ve fulfilled

Most of the goals I had set out to achieve in the past

I have made a comfortable life for us at last

From the society I have taken up resources for my needs

Now I must find a way to give back indeed

*

A passion project is what I need to explore

Something that makes me want to work harder, strive for a bit more

Something into which I can pour my heart

Something that combines science and art

In a way that benefits my immediate community

Something that quenches the restlessness within me…

*

I have many ideas but at present they seem to be

Tangled in complex webs of uncertainty

Let me try to untangle the yarns and find

The ideas that resonate most with my mind

There is a will now, there should be a way

I hope to find it soon, one day

I want to teach my child something in a systematic way

I want a textbook, but in this age and day

Textbooks for school children well-written are few

I must search online for study material, what else can I do

So I perform a Google search and find information

In bits and pieces, with inaccuracies, to my consternation

I don’t want information bytes, I want the curriculum entire

I want a book from which stepwise understanding we can acquire..

*

I look back at my childhood when I would read

Chapters from my textbooks the day before class, I did not need

To search for my course somewhere else (internet was in its infancy)

What I needed to learn I could read in my textbook conveniently

*

Maybe I am a generation old, therefore I want a textbook

To build foundational knowledge one should not have to look

For poorly explained material on the internet

Perhaps there is an online textbook I can get..

Many argue that textbooks can seem outdated quite fast

But most principles of school mathematics and science for a long time last

*

I remember the textbooks I have over the years read

I wish I could procure them for my child, instead

I search through online courses trying to find

The one that would make the best impression on my child’s mind

You are a high achiever, similar to those around

Stories of success and rags to riches abound

In your community and in your workplace

An environment where achievement is emphasized you face

You set success as the only standard to which you aspire

You inculcate in your children that success is required..

*

The bar gets raised higher and higher

When success is the outcome desired

Therefore when those high standards are not achieved

You are a failure is what you start to believe

This feeling pervades young minds even more

Who feel more pressured than before

To be “exceptional” and keep climbing the rungs of success

Whatever they end up achieving seems less…

*

All of us fail many times in many ways, yet we have internalized

The message that failure is not an option, have we realized

The enormous mental pressure that we endure

And place on our children as well, in trying to ensure

That we always succeed, because the alternative

Is something with which we are not supposed to live..

*

Life is not a constant climb uphill

There are peaks, but there are valleys to fill

Failure is not an option, but an integral part

Of life, “failure” gives a chance for a new start

If only we could learn to embrace both failure and success

We would make more progress with less stress..

I can pick you up each time you fall

I’ve done that more times than I can recall

It hurts me more than you would ever know

To see you in pain, even if emotion I do not show..

*

I am able to be by your side immediately right now

I can be your crutch as long as time would allow

But that is not how it was meant to be anyway

You would have to learn to fly on your own some day

*

I wish more than anything else that you would not make

The same mistakes that I did, that you would be able to take

Advice from me that I have the hard way learnt

I sincerely wish you would not in the same manner get burnt..

*

Like every adolescent, you too are prone

To defiance before authority, you want to be left alone

To make decisions that might not be the best

I can only guide you, and submit to a higher power for the rest..

*

You may stumble, you may take a fall

I won’t be there to protect you through it all

As you spread your wings wide and continue to grow

My unconditional love shall be with you, you should know

Many social media groups have people seeking advice

On matters intensely personal, so it comes as no surprise

That the posts are anonymous, they do not want to reveal

Their identities obviously, but in reality I feel

That often enough information is given away

That people who know them can identify them anyway

That brings me to the question- is anonymity online

An oxymoron- even if you were to go completely offline

Your details would remain somewhere on the internet

If you are on social media, about anonymity you might as well forget..

*

It is interesting to how many people reveal every detail except their name

If they are found out, they only have themselves to blame

But those responding to the posts are not anonymous

The anonymous person can collect others’ thoughts thus

Without revealing their own identity-

They can get the opinions of friends and family!

*

Sometimes I want to reply to posts anonymously too

Especially if I have an unconventional point of view

It would be nice to state my opinion without revealing my identity

Needless to say, I would not disclose details that could trace the comments to me

*

Anonymous or not, people are seeking genuine help and advice

The least responders can do is to be courteous and nice..

“Word your suggestions differently,” she was told

“People are offended by your being straightforward and bold”

She was asked to infuse her statements with saccharine

To approach a subject indirectly, not be as direct as she had been

To make sure no feathers were ruffled in interactions

To ensure there was the highest level of satisfaction..

*

There was nothing wrong intrinsically with the advice

But she was warned she would have to pay a price

If anyone was offended by her approach-

At the same time her male colleagues seemed beyond reproach

When they were direct and did not mince their words

They were perceived as confident, their message was heard

Loud and clear, they did not have to lace

Their words with sugar, no backlash did they have to face

*

She felt stuck between a rock and a hard place

If she was too direct, her superiors’ wrath she had to face

If she was too sweet, the impact of her words

Was lost, her message was not actually heard..

*

She learnt how to walk a tightrope, but even that rope slippery appeared

She checked herself constantly and still feared

Whether she was leaning too far in either direction

Like a test of her mettle appeared to her each interaction

Hyper-vigilant at all times, to criticism sensitive

Seemed to be the only way she could work and live

Peacefully in her workplace but then

She was labeled as a high-strung, insecure woman..

Her work was superior in quality but she was denied consistently

Opportunities for advancement, she was not a “well-liked” employee..

*

This story is true of many women in the workplace

In different yet similar ways, such challenges they face

Where their demeanor is never quite “right”

Thus fade away the careers of women who are bright…

Why don’t you join me in learning a new skill,

People would ask me, I would say my schedule was filled

To its capacity, and that I did not need

To indulge myself in a new pastime indeed

I told myself I was content with my life as it happened to be

In following a set routine I was perfectly happy

I saw people pursuing short-term interests

I thought those to be indulgences at best

I had enough on my plate and it would be a stretch

To find time to learn to dance, sing or sketch

Or some other skill that would commitment require

In the short-term, I had no particular desire

To showcase myself as a well-rounded personality

I was no longer in school, I did not need a stellar CV..

*

I read inspiring stories of women from all backgrounds

Learning new skills at all ages, and I found

That they had been as constricted in their beliefs as I seemed to be

And yet something had happened to make them break free

And master a new skill which made them fe more alive

I noticed their confidence, I saw them thrive

*

Life seemed increasingly stagnant and it appeared

That I was shutting myself down in fear

I told myself that some day I would retire

And learn something that I’d always desired

But retirement seems to be decades away

Would it be possible for me to do something today?

*

I am still exploring what skill I can learn feasibly

Something I can feel passionate about, it should be..

*

I am not there but at least I am trying to take

The first step to correct what was a mistake

I had boxed myself up trying to disguise

My fear as contentment, little did I realize

How my limiting beliefs were standing in the way

Of living life to the best extent every day..

The plasticity of plastic

Is no longer fantastic

Micro-plastics are the new evil now

Having made their way into our arteries somehow

That plastics are bad we intuitively knew

But they were so ubiquitous, what could one do

We ate out of plastic containers, bagged our groceries

In plastic bags, wore polyester clothing free from unwanted crease

Plastics had invaded aquatic life, we had heard

But micro (and nano) plastics had not yet become buzzwords…

*

An article in the most reputable medical publication

On plastic in blood vessels causing inflammation

Has taken the world by storm, opened our half-shut eyes

To the dangers of plastic, made all of us realize

That human-made can be dangerous to humankind

For inventors of plastic, this must have been the thing on their minds!

*

Another lesson learnt that nature we cannot outsmart

After flooding the planet with plastic, now we have to start

Replacing plastic with natural materials, just like in old days

To secure our future, we have to embrace our past in some ways

This poem refers to the article in New England Journal of Medicine cited here: Marfella R, Prattichizzo F, et al. Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Atheromas and Cardiovascular Events. N Engl J Med. 2024 Mar 7;390(10):900-910. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2309822. PMID: 38446676.

I look at everyone else around me, and feel reassured

When life seems to be on the upswing, I feel secure

Knowing that my blessings exceed those of most people around me

In a competitive world, I feel like I’ve scored a temporary victory

When life’s trajectory is less than smooth

Comparison with others does not let me soothe

My frayed emotions, even worse does life appear

When I compare it with everyone else within my sphere..

I tell myself repeatedly not to fall in the comparison trap

It would do me no good, my joy it would sap

But all the advice I try to give myself seems useless

I continue to compare myself with others nevertheless…

*

Trust the Japanese to teach us philosophical principles sound

They are simple to grasp, yet hold truths profound

One such concept is that of “Oubaitori” that states

That each flower blooms on its own schedule, follows its own fate

Just like spring flowers, all of us are unique

Our individual strengths we should seek

To find within ourselves, without any thought

To whether they are comparable with others or not…

*

Since it is spring and flowers of different kinds

Are blooming, it is easier to wrap my mind

Around this concept, by drawing a comparison (ironically)

Between the lives of flowers and me!

*

Society is competitive, we are hardwired

To compete against each other, it’s a habit acquired

Since childhood, that is hard to break

But a huge toll on our well-being it does take

Here is the lesson that I must imbibe

I am unique with my distinctive vibe

Comparison with anyone else is futile

Let me save my energy for issues worthwhile