Passion…unbridled

I have been busy making a living

But time is running out, time is unforgiving

Instead of a living, it is high time I made

A life, memories for money trade

*

Let not infinite moments pass me by

Without being experienced, let time not fly

Without my pausing to make memories

Let me, wi my loved ones, weave stories

*

To make a living, I’ve invested in my profession

Now I must count all the blessings in my possession

And make a life with gratitude immense

Mark each moment with my presence

*

I’ve made a living by giving work my best

I’ll make a life by focusing on the rest

Relationships, community, service, charity

My life goals I can see with amazing clarity..

*

Making a living is but one part

Of making a life aligned with my heart

I am making a life- bountiful, abundant

Where I am fully present in every moment

Most of us like to fix broken things

A wrong made right immense satisfaction brings

We fix broken things using our skill-sets

But are often left discontented and upset

When things are broken beyond repair

And we have to give up in despair

When forces beyond our control are at play

Sometimes we cannot get our way

*

When fixing something is an integral part of what you do

You have to always have something to fix too

Since there are many unfixable problems you face

You start trying to fix things not broken in the first place

You end up making a change in something that did not need

To be altered or upgraded at all, indeed

Soon you start believing in the changes you make

You think you’re fixing broken things, but that’s a mistake

*

A lot of us keep spinning our wheels this way

“Fixing” unbroken things, day after day

The true fixes that work are few

and far between

But they keep us motivated behind the scenes..

When someone asked a question that to me

Appeared redundant, meaningless or silly

I would feel amused or be critical

How could someone not know something that simple

My judgment was heavily flawed, I later did realize

The world I saw was different from the one viewed from their eyes..

*

Each generation has different perceptions based

On the prevalent norms and traditions they have faced

While growing up, therefore when a new generation brings

New liberal ideas, new ways of doing things

The members of the senior generation feel perplexed

Trying to understand new ideas leaves them vexed

The questions they ask represent an effort to understand

The newly minted ideas, the unfamiliar lay of the land

*

Now in my middle age I am on the other side

Of the difficult-to-navigate generational divide

I’m slow to imbibe concepts that are obvious to my son

And my ignorance is often met with his exasperation…

How do you open up your mind

How do you let new ideas find

Their way into the fossilized part of your brain

Imprinted with biased opinions that are ingrained

Deep within you, essential parts of who you are

How do you get rid of them, how do you go far

From the forces that keep your outlook narrow

How do you experience the diversity the world has to show?

*

When you make an effort to step outside

Your echo chamber, get a taste of the wide

Range of human experience, you realize

How transformative it is to have your eyes

Opened to ideas diametrically different

From yours- you start seeing through a wider lens

The world and its varied inhabitants

You no longer feel your identity is threatened

By those who hold opposite views

You uphold your own and others’ right to choose

*

So, why don’t you tune into a different radio station

Or watch a different news channel for experimentation

Or read a book completely different from what you read

At the very least I promise you would be intrigued

To see what the other side has to say

You might pick up fresh ideas along the way

Or start thinking along lines that are new

Even if that narrative does not resonate with you

*

Go outside your echo chamber, new ideas imbibe

Form new neural networks, let your mind thrive

Motherland, I look up to you with unbridled pride

Though no longer on your shores I reside

Seventy-six years after your tryst with destiny

You are a beacon of hope, an inspiration for many

Rooted in history spanning five thousand years

Stepping futuristically on the Moon and Mars without fear

You are a booming economy that no one dare ignore

You have an optimistic young population clamoring for more

You are a land in which paradoxes at every turn reside

Where past, present and future exist side-by-side

*

Motherland, you are a tour-de-force in the contemporary world

Rising from the vicissitudes of colonialism you have unfurled

A formidable nation built on the strength and aspirations

Of the 1.4 billion people that constitute your population

Motherland, I salute you with overwhelming pride

As your offspring, a part of the Indian diaspora worldwide

If you came across me today

I might appear opinionated, I daresay

But what you would not know

Is that I’m still surprised when I show

Assertiveness, or a strong opinion express

More than anyone else, myself I impress..

*

I remember a time when I did not

To issues around me give much thought

I didn’t think my opinion mattered either way

I just listened to what people around me had to say

And simply agreed with them for the most part

I just assumed others were better informed and smart

I was too preoccupied with myself, I confess

To ponder over other issues and a coherent opinion express

*

If age gives you wisdom, at least I can say

I understand the world a little better today

Besides, I have also come to realize that those who express

Their opinions aren’t necessarily better informed or possess

Any special abilities- this has allowed me

To articulate my opinions more freely

The fear of being criticized I’m trying to overcome

My opinions cannot resonate with everyone

*

I invited in my life healthy discussions

Once I gave my thoughts free expression..

When a successful boss lady you visualize

The image that probably appears before your eyes

Is that of a woman CEO in a power suit and designer shoes

Someone who has the financial freedom to choose

The lifestyle she wants, the objects she desires

Someone ambitious, to break the glass ceiling who aspires

Someone who can stand all alone, tall and straight

Someone who can a life on her own terms create

*

Such women are few, and increasingly visible these days

But women can be boss ladies in many different ways

A middle-aged lady working as a domestic servant

Who is strong-willed, hard-working, and independent

Who takes on the world all alone to protect her family

Is as much a boss lady as the woman CEO, according to me…

*

A woman who has many storms weathered

Someone who was expected as a child bride to stay tethered

To an older, alcoholic husband, who subjected her to violence

Despite facing physical abuse, poverty, hunger intense

She has worked long hours to provide for her family

Despite her meager means, she has never accepted charity

She has ensured education for her children despite

Being barely literate, she has had to fight

A patriarchal system rigged against her in every way

But she works with exemplary dignity and self-respect every day

Self-preservation is an art that she has perfected

She has built a life much better than one would have expected..

*

Both are women of indomitable spirit indeed

May each one in her journey succeed!

Chatty Cathy, Debbie Downer, Lazy Susan, Negative Nancy, Nervous Nellie, Bye Felicia,

The list of gendered colloquialisms is long

Doesn’t ascribing negative traits to women seem wrong?

*

It is disheartening for me to realize

(Even though it should come as no surprise)

That women in diverse workplaces find

Themselves with labels of a similar kind

As soon as they express any negativity

While men remain label and criticism-free

*

Associating a name with a negative trait can be

A vexing issue for someone with that name unfortunately

This, along with the biases that these phrases represent

Discourages me from using them despite their prevalence

*

There are many ways in which an opinion can be expressed

Keeping it free from ingrained biases can be challenging at best

But with changing ideas, language has to keep pace

In my humble opinion, discriminatory language should not have a place

(On National Book Lovers’ Day)

If you are a stranger with a book

Know that I’m not being a voyeur when I look

At you intently, I am only trying to read

The title of the book you possess, it’s a pressing need

For me to satisfy my unrelenting curiosity

Regarding books, it is a fixation, you see

I must find out the title if the book is in a language I know

Or decipher the language the book is published in, and so

You may notice me glancing surreptitiously

Until the title of the book I can clearly see..

If you are my patient and bring a book with you

There’s a fair chance I’ll talk to you about it too

If you make eye contact while traveling next to me

I shall start the conversation referencing your book immediately…

*

As for myself, I carry books everywhere

And am always more than willing to share

My thoughts about my current book

I would be happy for someone to take a look

At the book in my hand, that is the best way

For me to make new friends any day!

I am supposed to listen to you without

Interrupting you, I do not doubt

That letting you drive the conversation

Is the right thing to do, but in the spirit of self-preservation

I have to interrupt to redirect you

I must ensure you pay attention to

What I have to say, my message should be clear

If I keep listening to you, I definitely fear

I would spend more time than I can afford to spend

The appointment time is finite, and must end

So that I am not running late for my next patient

By keeping an eye on the clock I can be more efficient

In the limited time we have, I must address

Your concerns, have the ability to assess

Your condition objectively, and discuss my plan

With you, ensure that we both understand

How our shared decision-making would be implemented

I still hope you leave my clinic contented…

Heavy, thick, humid air

Envelops you, ensnares

Beads of perspiration fall

Trapped inside a heat wall

You feel your cells shrink

All the water you drink

Does not keep pace

With the loss in this furnace

Hot, languid, listless

Squirming, turning, restless

Dehydrated brain unable to think

Heat brings you to the brink

Of complete shutdown of faculties

When would this heat wave cease?

Thunder, lightning, downpour

The air fills up with moisture more

The heat index higher soars

Storms more power outages force..

Intense heat unrelenting seems

Of cooler temperatures I dream

All the information that I need to procure

Is sourced from the internet for sure

Most of the time I simply assume

That Google is right, I naïvely consume

The information that is presented to me

That I am in an echo chamber I don’t even see

The internet knows thoroughly my interests

From political leanings to fashion trends I like best

My search for answers serves to confirm

My biases, my faith in my opinions it affirms

*

When I browse through the library or the bookstore

I may stumble across a subject I’ve not yet explored

Find a new idea, or discover a way different

To look at an issue contentious and relevant

The selection is not filtered to cater to me

Thus I can learn the way learning should be

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If I want to expand my world-view

It is not just preferable, but crucial for me to

Browse the aisles of a physical place

Where the printed word takes up space

If a book or article contradicts

My opinion, it’s the one that I should pick

Confirmation bias is a danger real indeed

To recognize and avoid it is what I need

*

Let the crisp pages and bold prints inspire

Novel ideas, let me skills in critical thinking acquire