THE CHORD THAT TOUCHES ALL

It was a star lit night; the cool breeze was romancing with the jasmine flowers. Far away I could hear someone play an old favorite track of mine and within seconds it took me down memory lane and before I knew something trickled from the corner of my eye and stumbled upon a smile on the lips.

I was blissfully sleeping in the cozy comfort of my bed when my slumber was gently rocked by the melodious tune of a song that took me back to my childhood and I got up and called up my mom.

In the afternoon I bumped into a friend I had an estranged relationship with. We both came face to face accidentally after years and did not have much to share except a strange awkwardness. To our surprise, someone in the hallway started playing the song both of us used to love. Silence gave way to a smile, and a warm glance and awkwardness was substituted by conversation.

The power of music is such that it can heal wounds and soothe ruffled nerves. The power of music is not curtailed by language, geographic boundaries and even time. It not only connects people but also connects the threads of one’s own life. Connects the present with the past and also the present with the dreamy future.

There is always a song we can associate with some or the other instance in life. No wonder they say there is a song for every occasion. It hard to say what about music moves the human soul. Is it the lyrics or the mere musical melody?  Whatever it might be it is a form of art which everyone can relate to.

ACHIEVING PERFECT HARMONY: MAN & NATURE

It was early morning; I could hear the birds chirping in a distance. The soft sun was showing signs of arrival and the warm golden beams were illuminating the earth.  The gentle winds made the grassland sway with joy as if welcoming day break and exuberating happiness. The soothing breeze, the delicate scent of the earth and the cheerful chirping of birds conveyed a sense of how peaceful nature was with itself. The peace of the environment was such that it could soothe a person with ruffled nerves.

source: http://grahamettridge.blogspot.com/

Man and nature have a stark resemblance. While we have mood swings like rage, sorrow, happiness; nature too exhibits itself through storm, cold winter, parched summer & a warm morning. However serenity and peace lies at the heart of existence. 

We need to look inwards to find peace and solitude. Calming the rage within, sorting the internal strife sometimes of the heart and mind. Being at peace with your soul.

 Just as we chance upon a perfect morning that leaves us mesmerized, similarly we come across some people in our life who radiate peace. The look of serenity on their face leaves us awestruck. That is perfect harmony! Perfect peace!

The serenity within, creates an atmosphere of its own. The brightness in the eyes, the glow of the skin and the warmth of a smile is quite like the ‘The soothing breeze, the delicate scent of the earth and the cheerful chirping of birds.’ of a warm early morning.

Semblance between man & nature to find perfect harmony within.

Anna Hazare.. Lokpal Bill..Corruption! The Root Cause Is Way Deeper

It only takes determination followed by action to start a movement. Anna Hazare as we all know is a perfect embodiment of this. While a lot of us supported the movement and have been plagued by the menace of corruption but the root cause and problem is much deeper. While we all suffer from corruption, at a more basic level, we are the ones who in our small way, have also fed the menace.

Giving Rs 5000 to get passport renewal in a week without standing in queues, using contacts to get a driving license, paying donation for school admissions; whilst such means made tasks quicker and hassle free, it has acted as fodder for corruption. While people in power made more money and we made our life simple, the foundation of corruption grew stronger.

We might play the blame game and say politicians are corrupt, but when we look inwards this vice lies in all of us. We have been a lucrative audience that has let this disease proliferate.

We tend to garb it with fashionable terms like ‘incentivizing’, when we are actually bribing. ‘Leveraging relationships’, when we are actually cutting queues. You might say am on a moral brigade here, but the truth is that corruption is a way of life.

While passing a bill is a step in the right direction but the success of the movement lies in our hands. We can gather at India gate and pledge support but if you truly believe that corruption should stop then the clean up starts with you!!

The conspiracy theory revealed...

‘When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it’. A line we have often heard. Am sure if this statement has come true for you , it has made you feel overwhelmed and you almost believe that miracles happen!

However the truth is that it is not a miracle that has happened. It is you who has created the universe for what you have wanted. Thoughts, words, actions – call it the harmonious trio that has led you to your victory.

The thought of goal creation and the dream of achieving it, followed by words that motivate and urge you to move forward and finally lead to action to take concrete steps to achieve your dream. This is the universe that you have created that has resulted in victory.

I know I make it sound logical and simple, while it might not be all that easy. But if you carefully observe, you will see that there is almost a mysterious yet beautiful synergy that exists between thoughts, words and action. How one leads to another tells the story of success and struggle. The convergence of one with the other is almost like the journey of a river from its inception in the hill to its final submission in the sea.

Just like our environment is a reflection of ourselves, similarly the universe is a reflection of our thoughts, words and actions. If the three are disjointed then there will be no harmony in the universe too. If we dare to dream but suffer from negativity and procrastination, our universe will throw the same vibes back to us. However, if we want to soar high , equip ourselves with positivity and the courage to take action, the harmony will be created. We would have pulled the right strings to produce the perfect music.

THE RAGING BULL

He was soft spoken, meek and seemed like the most harmless person you would have ever met. She was petite, innocent, and was a gentle dainty darling. No one could ever imagine that such calm and tender looking people could have a  raging bull taking shelter in their soul.

People might look calm and tender on the exterior but the truth is all of us have a bull hiding in us. A bull that makes us range between strong and stubborn, firm and inflexible, headstrong and insensitive.

The stronger the bull more extreme is the predicament in which we can be stubborn, insensitive and inflexible. However, the power we give to the bull is in our hands. Time and life teaches us how to control the bull. If we let the animal loose it will push us to the extreme.

We all have a bull in us, sometimes dormant and in some cases predominant.

We can control it but not kill it because at the end of the day, the bull has its virtues. It helps us be strong during rough times, be firm when circumstances are making us weak and be headstrong to achieve our goals.

While the dainty darling weathered the storm and learnt to pull the reins. The soft spoken guy meandered now between the bullish extremes, unable to use the leash.

MOTHER: The Creator Who Cannot Tailor Make

She was soft like silk and harmless like a feather quilt. There was a glimmer of innocence in her eyes and her soft voice reminded me of the delicate sound of the wind chimes. Carefully etched fingers would clasp round my grown up finger and she would, joyfully play in the air with her arms and legs.

A miracle of God, healthy and bright, a bundle of happiness, called –CHILD. I am amazed to see how beautifully we have been given the power to create life. But the strange part is that we might be endowed to create life but God did not give us the power to customize it. To all the mothers out there, you have given birth to life but have been fortunate enough to be blessed with a happy, healthy and normal child.

I sit down and think about those mothers who gave birth but were not blessed with normal children. Some born with deformities and with mental disabilities are permanently handicapped to lead a normal life. The happiness of giving birth clouded by the sadness of seeing your child leading an incomplete life is heart wrenching.

While we get the power to give birth but it is mysteriously shrouded by forces unknown to us. Call it past karma or destiny. We can create life but not define its composition.

THE RIVER AND THE SKY TAUGHT ME…

The water in the river was gushing with a passionate fury. The bright blue water, running down continuously with the same force and pace.  From where did the water come?  No one knew. I looked up at the bright blue sky; it enveloped flora, fauna, me (the mere human being) and my race. Where did it originate from? No one knows.

Under the bright blue sky, I sat on a rock near the river, the water hits against the rock and softened it too.  I looked at the rock, the sky and the river and realized that the most bountiful things in life have no source no origin and yet are so powerful that they can soften a rock.

Love, compassion , strength might be mere words but  if you really think are as vast and as bountiful as the water gushing in the river and the bright blue sky that encompasses us all.

Strength again is just like the river, which has so much power that it can help us overcome any rock like obstacle that comes our way. The power of the water is such that it overpowers and subsumes.

And finally the amalgamation of all. Strength to give love and compassion despite all odds continuously and passionately. As bountiful as the skies and as consistent as the everflowing water in the river. Where it comes from no one knows, where it goes too is unknown, but in its journey from birth to final conclusion all it does is GIVE!!

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GIVE THAT ONE MOMENT OF HAPPINESS

Ever thought about a simple action, innocent and pure, with effects that are universal? 

It was a bright winter afternoon. The sun mischievously playing hide and seek from behind the clouds. The breeze was gently warm, heralding the onset of spring. Lost in my thoughts, I was walking towards the park, when my eyes stumbled upon a beaming face. My reverie was shattered, my eyes widened with surprise. In front of me was this strange lady, flashing a warm million dollar smile at me. Strange because I didn’t know her. Surprised because the 1^st thought that came to my head was, ‘she doesn’t even know me and she is smiling like she’s known me forever?’  In my lost and found state I just looked back, and before I could realize, I had a warm smile on my face too.

Sometimes in life you come across these unknown angels who without knowing you touch your lives in a strange way. A friend of mine says, it’s all about the energy. An energy that surrounds you and the same you exuberate. The smile of that lady touched something deep inside. The warmth of her being was transmitted by her smile. The vibes she gave not only comforted me but made me reciprocate as well.

I come to believe that a happy person emits happiness not only to people he knows but to everyone around him. Something as harmles as a smile can make someone’s day, can communicate without words and in a flash of a second can give happiness which is priceless. 

Between the devil and the deep sea

I walk down memory lane and stumble upon these lines I once crammed

“How happy is he born and taught
That serveth not another's will;
Whose armour is his honest thought
And simple truth his utmost skill!”

The tranquility in me is perturbed by a question in my head ‘ if you were to choose between professional success with fame and recognition for the work you do and a simple life of a middle class person who lives with a utopian belief of simple living high thinking what would you choose?’
It is easy for most of us to say ‘simple living and high thinking’ but the truth is quite different. The urge to make it big in life is so powerful that sometimes it can drown the simplest and basest of values we used to read about.

This urge, which some people define as ‘my dream’ and some say ambition is by far one of the most powerful tools our mind has that drives our lives. ‘I want to be a star performer in my company.’ ‘My business is my life. I want to be the best in my profession and I want to be a name, people recognize and swear by’

The adrenalin rush to get somewhere to achieve something in life sometimes saps out the simplicity we are born with. The simple core that all of us have is not just hidden but somewhere is lost by the hardened layers of ambition.

Success is intoxicating. Especially when it is in its nascent form, it bedazzles you. The appreciation, the love and the recognition that you get from this newly found audience is overwhelming. The glare of success sometimes blinds you and you are unable to see or remember those moments when you struggled. Those people who held your hand when you were struggling. Simple values of humility that we all know and supposedly believe in, get faded.

Hence passages from a poem that we all crammed at one point in life sometimes emerge like a blast from the past and we all get stumble. Pull the reins, do a reality check, the passage of the poem you once crammed mindlessly will eventually make sense.

IT AINT A MERE COINCIDENCE!

It’s a cold winter night- must be around 1 am. She is rushing towards the car. From behind, she hears her mum call, “Get back here..you are not going in that car!” Flustered by this remark she looks back and chides, “Why mum?  I want to go with all the cousins!” Her mom asserts, “Just get back!” and the conversation ends.

4am: Her blissful slumber is rudely disturbed by a frantic call. “They had had an accident!” The cousin driving the car was horribly hurt.

There are indications and signs planted in our life- famously called coincidence or luck. Signs and indications that have a language of their own. They subtly warn us, protect us and always bless us. Most often, we are too busy in our lives to notice these small hints or think about them. We let them pass us by and go unnoticed. We think they are trivial and we have ‘better things to do in life’. If you carefully pause and think, and travel down memory lane you will notice that there are numerous hints that life has given you. A faint glimpse of what lies in the future or a soft  whisper offering a solution.

A thoughtful message from a long lost friend, especially when you are down and out, subtly giving you a solution. A call from nowhere that cheers you up. A stranger offering you a helping hand when you are lost. Instances which we all say are just a coincidence. It is actually a beautiful indication; a conspiracy of the universe giving an assurance that there is always a way out.

These hints are like elves surrounding us whispering to us and putting their hand on our head to guide us in life but we have too much noise around us to hear the whisper and too many people pushing and shoving us all the time to feel the guiding touch.

EACH ONE IN HER SHELL

We all wear masks in life. A mask of being prim and proper at work or a mask of being a socialite in a party- these are all layers that hide the core. Call it entrapments of the social world that define or dictate how we should be in a situation or at a place. But the truth is that there is always a place or a space where we are ourselves. A place where we live and breathe without inhibitions and apprehensions of being judged.

The faint glimpses of this place in her mind were: a small piece of land traditionally enclosed with red brick walls. Aroma of freshly cooked rajma chawal, garish sound of the television, a male authoritative voice, a warm caressing touch, flowers in the garden and the incessant bark. She visualized herself coming back from school, studying for her exams, dancing at her sister’s wedding and sneaking back from a late night party.

No matter where she would go- place, geography and distance would not matter. She would always come back to this small piece of land traditionally enclosed with red brick walls. It was her shell where she would sleep like a child. It gave her the protection from the so called ‘big bad world’ out there. A fortress that gave her strength to face what the world had to offer. A fence from where she could easily distinguish between the pure and the tainted.

We all have this shell in our life where we get a feeling of security and protection. In this rat race of life, we all tend to go back to that shell. Sometimes to replenish our stock of strength and sometimes to hide from the ‘big bad world’.

Our shell which resembles a small piece of land traditionally enclosed with red brick walls – WELCOME HOME!

WHEN WE BECOME LIKE WINTER

The sun was pushed in oblivion by the menacing fog. The icy cold winds were unnerving and merciless. Everybody seemed to shiver in the unrelenting cold wave.

I walked down the street loaded with woolens, yet shivering. I could barely keep my head straight or eyes open. The cold wind was  freezing my senses.  I saw the watchman huddled in front of an ‘angeethi’ trying desperately to get some warmth. For a minute I gave him company. Looking at him, my shivering stopped.

I moved on, near my lane, my eyes stumbled upon a dog. Crouching in a corner, beneath the fur the skin was cold. Coiled on the ground, I heard his silent plea for warmth and his tale of survival against all odds. My fists opened and my hands were less cold.

The fog thickened and the vision got blurred with each passing minute. I was rushing back home and just before I took the stairs, I saw a small girl, sitting in the corner. Tattered clothes, boney hands, teeth chattering and a helpless look in her eyes; she sat there just fight the cold. My eyes were wide open and my senses thawed.

Looking at them, took away the chill.

All wrapped up in woolens we all truly become cold. Despite the icy wind, I was warm. I ran upstairs and got some woolens to share.

WE NOBLE BEINGS- CREATORS OF OUR ENVIRONMENT

It’s dark all around. The skies are over cast and look menacing. The wind is gathering steam and the silence around is indicative of a storm. The stage has been set, the cause has been made and the effect of it will be a torrential downpour.

He walked down the road. A spoilt brat with a brash gait kicked the dog who was harmlessly sitting in the corner. The dog got agitated; he got up charged towards the boy and bit him in his leg. And the brash gait reeking of arrogance was tarnished in a way.

She was a warm person, genuinely cared for everyone around her. Care that was given not only through comforting words but also translated into actions and gestures.  One day, anger overpowered her senses and she rubbed a friend the wrong way. The cause was made, anger led to an effect - an argument & a fight between the two friends.

From science to philosophy there are instances of cause & effect everywhere around us.  From nature to mankind, it is a theory that seems to have universal application. You make a cause and the effect is generated simultaneously and comes forth either immediately or subsequently in the walk of life.

This theory has not only been propounded by great thinkers like Aristotle but also is beautifully embedded in nature. The Lotus flower is a clear example of how intrinsically the law is embedded in flora & fauna. The lotus flower produces flowers and seeds at the same time, indicating that the effect is simultaneous with the cause.

Cause as we all know simply means words, thoughts or actions which creates a response or an effect in our life. Cause can also be understood as an indication / action which is going to lead to an effect. For example warning call by animals in the forest denoting that a predator is around or is on the lookout for the kill is a cause that will lead to an effect.

Seldom do we pause and think that such causes and its effects are all around us. While they create our environment, we (all creations of God) create them.

WHEN THE SEASON REFLECTS HUMAN PERSONALITY

Scene 1: It was a bright sunny winter morning. The soothing rays of sun affectionately caressed the grass, the leaves, the bark of the tree and possibly everything it fell on. The warmth of the sun gently sapped the wind of its chill. Birds chirped in the bright blue sky and the children played in the park downstairs. All basked in the glory of the sun.

Scene 2: The fog has thickened. Icy winds slyly chill you to the bone. The untimely rain dampened the spirits and any ray of sunlight (read hope). The birds duck themselves under a window pane. The smog, the rain & the wind has a dubious femininity- beautiful, mysterious yet merciless. The man on the pavement shivers helplessly trying to withstand the onslaught of the merciless winters.

This absolutely mystic and opposite shades of nature depicted in one season has undercurrents of unpredictability and also shows the varied range of its existence. I am urged to think how wonderfully, man and nature seem like mirror images of each other. Warm and benevolent and then cold and merciless- winter in its paradoxical shades reflects how beautifully similar it is to what we call split personality of mankind.

MYRIAD FORMS & POWERFUL SOUNDS

I can hear it fall gently drop by drop and settle itself on the leaf. I can feel its magnanimity when it flows royally. I can relate to its naughty and free form when it drops down like a ‘fall’ and sometimes even feel the tranquility of it in a puddle.

The beauty of water lies in its myriad forms and sounds.

The sound of raindrops pelting, almost deafening and incessant; enthralls all life forms.

The sound of the river –loud and powerful permeating the air subtly conveys the magnanimity of it. The river is considered pious in some places and therapeutic on some occasions. The constant sound of the water gushing along in a river overpowers man and sometimes says, ‘I rule the land and am worthy of worship’.

Far on the highway I see a waterfall, water racing down free, loud, mischievous, and frothy white. Hitting against the rocks, mist all around, softening the edges of the rocks with its aggression, dominance and force. Amidst the lush trees, I hear the wild sound of the water interspersed with the docile sound of the wind. I am awestruck by its wild and carefree form.

It has rained, the water has settled. In my balcony I see a small puddle of water. Silent and still, glistening in the sunlight.

I look at it and smile in amazement, at the paradox that exists when you look at the wild waterfall or the powerful river and now this silent puddle. Such diverse form and sounds makes me wonder about the unfathomable variety that exists in just one illustration of nature.

It makes me relate it to the inexplicable temperament of mankind- profound and beyond comprehension. Sometimes wild as the waterfall and sometimes calm like the puddle. Man and nature similar in a lot ways yet pools apart.

WHEN WORDS ARE TOO MORAL TO UNDERSTAND

We often come across words that have multiple meaning and can be customized as per our understanding. Words like faithful, happy, peace, honesty- all of them have great moral significance with diverse ramifications.

More important and far tougher is the practical use of these words. However an irony exits there too. It might be difficult and utopian to understand and practice  but we seldom realize that in simple things and in daily life the meaning of these words can be realized.

Peace for example doesn’t only mean ‘no war’, amicable relations with neighboring countries, no bloodshed. These are just instances, larger than life, where we wish to see peace. Peace exists in the tranquility of the morning when you breathe clean fresh air, soak in the sun and hear the sound of birds chirping. Peace exists in making someone smile when the person is feeling low. It exhibits itself in talking things out when misconceptions exist. It presents itself in each and every amicable bond we share. It is nothing more than a state of tranquility and calm that we all strive for in life.

When we are restless, walking on the road of negativity, using our brains to manufacture suspicion, insecurity, jealousy and more of those negative emotions what gets disturbed is our own inner peace.  

I read somewhere that it we who control our life condition and it’s we who elevate us to be a calmer and peaceful person. Easier said than done but yes if we are determined to find peace something in us will make us work towards it. When I want to go out at night to let my hair down and I have tons of work to do, the mere want to go will make me put in double the effort in my work and ensure I go out and have a good time.

If we can use determination to our advantage in our professional life then why can we not use it in achieving inner peace and a state of mental tranquility?

What am sharing here are not pearls of wisdom but a highly practical thought which revolves around the fact that ‘words’ that according to us are utopian and too moral for us to accept are actually simple if we really come doing to understanding and putting them to use in our life.

RISHIKESH- FAITH & RELIGION ALL IN THE NAME OF THE RIVER

The gurgling and overpowering sound of the Ganges permeates the fresh & clean air. Far away you can see the trees swaying to the tune of the water. Bells ringing, people chanting; it almost seems like the mighty river rules both man and nature.

While the river rules the land, it’s here where religion and faith seem to converge. The natives of the land seem to worship the river and make religion their business. Old women fervently chanting at the Ganga Puja, foreigners dressed in yellow and orange, bedecked with Rudraksh beads seem to be under some spell. It’s hard to say if this spell can be called faith or religion. It almost seems like people here have surrendered to a power. The purity of the water & the power of the river has left all spellbound.

Religion has become the livelihood of the people here. Pious music, ornaments, religious books, incense sticks all sold in the name of religion. Millions throng to this city from faraway lands, in the name of what? Faith or religion or is it to see the pious India? (Traditionally known as the land of snake charmers).

The concoction of faith and religion is at its concentrated best in Rishikesh. It’s hard to decipher where one ends and the other begins. While religion seems to be more commercial, faith seems to be the spiritual undercurrent that governs all.

Sitting at the banks, when the cold water touches my feet and the bells in the temple chime, I begin to decipher the difference between faith and religion. I begin to understand that faith is beyond the realms of reasoning. Faith is like the river Ganga- no one knows precisely when and where it originates from and where it ends. The only overpowering truth is that it exists and is a driving force.

Faith is the river itself and religion, devotion, divinity are the paraphernalia which are nothing but manmade, superficial and commercial entrapments.  At the heart of it all resides the belief and the faith that is as pure and as natural is the river. It has no religion and has no reason for its existence.

WHEN YOU LOOK LEFT & RIGHT FOR HAPPINESS

We often hear people say ‘you made my day’ or ‘meeting you was so much fun’ and similar such statements which denotes that we as human beings attach happiness to situations, people and activity. It might be true that meeting friends and loved ones makes one feel happy or an instance makes us feel ecstatic, but seldom do we realize that this happiness is momentary and the source of this feeling does not lie in us. The source of this happiness is external and hence the feeling is momentary.

Opinion on this varies but, the truth is, that happiness lies within us. In our heart, mind and the environment WE create.

The rain this year created havoc in our lives. The overcast sky, the glistening raindrops, smell of the rain and the cool breeze would soothe ruffled nerves and give joy to some. On the other hand, some found the rain depressing and gloomy. This is a perfect example of how we perceive our external environment differently and associate the feeling of joy and sorrow with it.

When bogged down by daily chores and stuck in the rut of life we tend to let the circumstances and situations overpower us. Our happiness and sadness at that point is not governed by us, it is dictated by the situation.

It’s important that we step aside and adopt an inside out approach. Delve deep within us and find the resolve to be happy. Create an environment for happiness not just for us but for everyone around us. Only if you are a happy person will you be able to share happiness.

If you are a negative person who cribs and complains, you are unconsciously creating a similar environment around you which reflects the same. This is when you start depending on external sources for happiness. Sources that will give you joy, which unfortunately is short lived.

With the break of dawn you wake up, consume fresh air and soak up the sun. You reconvene with yourself and connect with nature. Sync up your mind and soul and make a simple resolve. Open your eyes look at the beauty around you. Be thankful for what you have. Offer gratitude for what you are blessed with, seek forgiveness for the wrong you have done (Am sure there will be coz you are after all human) and acquire strength to do the right thing and make your environment happy and peaceful.

I am by no means trying to preach. Neither am I saying that you should become religious. What I write above are not pearls of wisdom, but often while walking on the road of life we tend to forget the simple meaning of introspection. We are so busy running that we forget to pause, breathe and take a sip of water to rejuvenate.

Introspection and looking for peace and happiness within oneself is the ‘pause’ we all know that we need to take but for some strange reason we don’t. We spend most of our lives looking at what others have done and seldom look at what can I do to restore happiness & peace  for myself.

 At the end of the day, happiness is infectious. You tend to spread it only if you have it. So smile J J

THE DOUBLE EDGED SWORD

People often say that actions speak louder than words and undermine the power of words. They can create and devastate. They can touch you with joy and drown you sorrow and pain.

There are people in this world who are gifted with a blessed tongue. When they speak they shower pearls and flowers. Their words are like manna dew, they sooth the ruffled nerves, fulfill the latent desires of love, care and affection. Everyone loves to be loved and showered with affection and care. These are basic needs of a human being, sometimes kind words and phrases and sentence can show that love and give that warmth.  Selection and usage of words is an art. An art which cannot be acquired, it has to be by birth. It’s debatable to question the authenticity of the words. Despite their genuineness, they have the power to influence.

Sometimes it’s strange and scary to see what these words can do. They can make you fall in love, seethe with anger, make you green with jealousy. In a way it can transport you to a make believe world which is diverged from reality. They have a mystical way of painting a picture without a canvass or paints. Create a world which in reality might not exist. It’s a drug that can a give u a high and transport you to a world you dreamt of.

Now let’s flip the coin, words can rip you, make you bleed and cause pain that no medicine can cure. Words can cause wounds. Harsh and mean words have the power to break relationships.  A person with a pure heart and honorable intentions if chooses words rashly can witness unfavorable repercussions. Harsh words are often a result of anger and are not measured and calculated. Here too words can cause untold misery just like they created a garden of love. A person might not mean a word of what he says but the listener understands what is spoke and not what is unsaid. Words used in anger might carry no meaning but by their sheer intensity can create havoc.

In a nutshell, the character of words is questionable. The mastery with which it is crafted can never give you an idea of what the intent is, thereby questioning its honesty. Words shape opinions sometimes true and sometimes false ones. Words give pain as well as joy. They have the ability to make you experience the extremes. Words at the same time can very well create a make believe world of anguish or ecstasy. In all scenarios, actions might speak louder than words but words have the power to move to create ripples.

Thoughts in Dhanaulti

It took me eight hours to reach heaven. The land which spoke volumes about purity and tranquility was symbolic of the peace we seldom find in the hustle bustle of city life.

The long and shapely oak trees, the chirping birds and the daunting hills all whispering in my ears, “This is my land and here you shall live the natural way. Come and experience simplicity in my lap”.

The trees overpowered the presence of mankind. The loud rustling of leaves dominated any other sound that you would want to hear. Amidst the noisy and rebellious wind the birds were chirping and were party to the dominance of nature.

It’s beautiful to see how nature in its purest and simplest form is like a child. Innocent and unblemished. Happy and rebellious wind is like a naughty child playing, chirping of the birds reminds me of the peels of laughter in childhood and the purity of the air is like the innocent and simple heart of a child.

I feel like a puppet in the lap of nature, the wind playing with my hair, and I somewhere begin to believe that nature has numerous untold tales hidden in the soil and the trunks. Tales of life the way God meant it to be.

Life was meant to be as simple as the luscious trees, happy like the chirping birds and carefree like the rustling leaves, but as we come down the ages, nature retained the meaning f its existence and with held the simplistic form but mankind fell in the rut of a commercial a life.