Happy V_ Day

If it were not for hopes, the heart would break . How rare and wonderful is that flash of a moment when we realize we have discovered a friend. Love begins indeed with small things. Maybe, sometimes, even with an egg shell!

Happy Valentine's day, to each of you today!

As we walked inside I said to the florist,

"I need a long-stemmed rose for my lady to carry while we go shopping.

"The florist, a rather unromantic type, replied, "We sell them by the dozen."

"I don't need a dozen," I said, "just one.""Well," he replied haughtily,

"it will cost you two dollars.""Wonderful," I exclaimed.

"There's nothing worse than a cheap rose."

Selecting the rose with some deliberation, I handed it to my friend. She was so impressed! And the cost? Just a little and some imagination and care.

Just a bit later she looked up and said, " I seem to be the only woman here, in today, carrying a rose." And I believe she probably was.

Remember, it is not the amount that matters but the thought and care that often has the greatest impact upon those you love.

People ask what must they become to be loving. The answer is ‘nothing.’ It is a process of letting go of what you thought you had become and allowing your true nature to float to the surface naturally." -- Stephen Levine

Good or Evil: The one I feed

In black you can read the word GOOD, in white the word EVIL (inside each black letter is a white letter). It's all very physiological too, because it visualize the concept that good can't exist without evil (or the absence of good is evil ).


Think of this poem called ‘The Eagle and the Wolf’:

There is a great battle
That rages inside me.

One side is a soaring eagle.
Everything the eagle stands for
Is good and true and beautiful.

It soars above the clouds.
Even though it dips down into the valleys,
It lays its eggs on the mountaintops.

The other side of me is a howling wolf.
And that raging, howling wolf
Represents the worst that is in me.

He eats upon my downfalls
And justifies himself by
his presence in the pack.

Who wins this great battle?
The one I feed

On the Lighter side :)))

Stylishly Yours'

Dear Lalitha working on this tag made me feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with the inner voice which said, ‘This is the real me,’ and I have found that attitude, to follow it. Thankyou very much, for passing this tag to me.

Sprouted Beans
Sprouts keep growing with the right amount of moisture and warmth, until they are chewed. They are also deliciously fresh and colourful! I grow with a style of a bean sprout.

Balloons
Stand back! I may explode in a style of a balloon. I have learnt to keep safety in mind and keep away from porcupines and unicorn! Balloons are my style of joy and freedom. The kind of space I enjoy in my heart, as well as, in others.

Museum
Yes, a Museum defines my style. Besides having a taste for ancient I can preserve/protect many things. I have good, old memories…. Well, I have preserved all my son's milk teeth He finds my taste of collection as "Antique" and prefers to call me "Ancient".

My Thumb
Hey! ease your minds. I don't have a style of rule of the thumb. I have a good, firm handshake which folds a strong thumb. It is my style of a natural part of my connection process. It accompanies my eye contact with a smile. It makes a difference to me.

A Bridge
This style of mine doesn't need me to be anything other than casually friendly. I practise this style anywhere, be it a shop or a bus -stop! It's a great style and a wonderful feeling to know you’re not alone in this world.

Neck Ties
Neck ties are my style of shopping. I am one of those who would love to shop for silk neck ties. They add aesthetic value to my shopping cart. Selecting the right tie , is enjoyable and a treat to my eye.

Bouquet of flowers
That’s me! I appreciate a good presentation. My style is not of a single flower, it’s the whole garden. My bouquet should consists of various flowers, assorted kind of leaves, tied with a beautiful satin ribbon, decorated in a cane basket or an artistic flower-vase. My bowl of fruit salad is the delight to see before I relish it.

Traditional Mehendi
My style of art is the fascinating, exciting traditional art of mehendi. The reddish brown colour of Mehendi would define my style of passion and warmth.

A Christian Bride
That would be my way of dressing with style. It’s simply awesome. I adore the way a bride walks forward forever .

Surfing up the waves
Surfing sums up my tenth style. Its my style of sport. Here, I relate to the adventure and spirit in me. Though I have never tried this feat, I often dream about such.

To all my Friends,
You all will enjoy doing this tag. Please go ahead and write the ten things that define your style. I am sure Usha, Preeta & Mahadevan would definitely do this tag, even before I ask them.

A few names I hope to read are: PRash...a blogger who blogs with a style. Neers....she has a way with her magical words. Mizfit ... you cannot escape. One comment on your blog fetches me a lot . I would never let go a chance. :)) Artnavy, Sara, ALapana, KAvya, Reshmi. I wish to read your styles too ... ... Cheers!!

Happy blogging and Happy tagging!

MY MOM taught me: to listen, then take that one step further and trust ONLY what my heart hears ...

I propose, that as of today:

"The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it's the same problem you had last year."

I propose, that as of today: let us hold our hands together and welcome 2007.

‘Happy New year, Friends’

Always Positive ...

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.

A family had twin boys whose only resemblance to each other was their looks. If one felt it was too hot, the other thought it was too cold. If one said the TV was too loud, the other claimed the volume needed to be turned up. Opposite in every way, one was an eternal optimist, the other a doom & gloom pessimist.

Just to see what would happen, on the twins' birthday their father loaded the pessimist's room with every imaginable toy and game. The optimist's room he loaded with horse manure.

That night the father passed by the pessimist's room and found him sitting amid his new gifts crying bitterly. "Why are you crying?" the father asked.

"Because my friends will be jealous, I'll have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with this stuff, I'll constantly need batteries, and my toys will eventually get broken." answered the pessimist twin.

Passing the optimist twin's room, the father found him dancing for joy in the pile of manure. "What are you so happy about?" he asked.

To which his optimist twin replied, "There's got to be a pony in here somewhere!"

A Joy Ride ...

A few years ago, one summer day, we were waiting to hear the good news. My elder bro and his wife were expecting their second child.

My parents were eager to see a granddaughter. Until then, the house was full of grandsons.. "Grandsons are good, but granddaughter is a must", Mom and dad had spelled out on several occasions. " I have to be an aunt to a niece", I added to their feelings.

Later that afternoon, my elder brother's son and his cousins enquired when would his mom return with his new born brother from the hospital. I told him, "Mom, would be back soon with their sister".

On hearing this, there was an united shout "No, no way, we have no place for a sister in our gang. She will cry for little things. Girls are sissy". I was not happy to hear this. It was indeed a bad attitude towards my newly born niece.

"How could they not be waiting for their sister?" I am the second born , I am a girl . Mom, ones mentioned brother would hug around and sing newly learnt rhymes to her tummy. He was waiting for his unborn sister, a Star, who was yet to arrive.

"Bro do you remember, how you sang and made me feel welcome at home. Were you waiting for me? Did you always want a sister. or was it a brother you wished for? .I enquired.
He smiled to reply, "Yes, I was waiting, but neither for a sister nor a brother".

He continued ," Dad had promised that if I behaved well, when mom was carrying you , he would buy me a tricycle". "All the neighboring boys had one and played with it in the corridor". He smiled to say. Although, Bro was not waiting for me. I was happy neither was he waiting for any brother.

Dad kept his promise. He bought a tricycle but with a double seat. The family album at my parent's home shows my bro riding the tricycle with me, on the second seat. Mom remembers that he carried me everywhere, on his new tricycle, and I always smiled to enjoy it.

On this very day, indeed a star was born for dad, mom and big bro. Thankyou, brother for the "joy ride" and "happy birthday to me".

I will ...

A little boy leaned and whispered in Santa’s good ear and said , “I want no toy , Santa dear . I want your secret. Tell it to me”.

Santa smiled and replied, "I have no secret, but the truth is, my sack is full of magic”.

What is the magic Santa dear ? enquired the little boy.

I shall tell you the magic, said Santa to the boy. “Now listen to me"

In my sack I carry on Christmas Eve day

More love than a Santa could e’er give away.

The sack never empties of love, or of joys

‘Cause inside it are prayers and hope.

Not just toys

The more that I give, the fuller it seems,
Because giving is my way of fulfilling dreams.
And do you know something? You’ve got a sack, too.
It’s as magic as mine, and it’s inside of you.

It never gets empty; it’s full from the start.
It’s the center of lights and love.

It’s your heart.
And if on this Christmas you want to help me,
Don’t be so concerned with the gifts ‘neath your tree

Open that sack called your heart, and share
Your joy, your friendship, your wealth, your care.
”The light in the small boy’s eyes was glowing
“Thanks for your secret.

I’ve got to be going."“Wait, little boy,” said Santa,
Will you share? Will you help? Will you ?”

And just for a moment the small boy stood still,
Touched his heart with his small hand and whispered,
“I will."

.

A short story ...

Little girl and her father were crossing a bridge.
The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter,"Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall into the river.

"The little girl said, "No, Dad. You hold my hand."
"What's the difference?" Asked the puzzled father.
"There's a big difference," replied the little girl."

If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I maylet your hand go. But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go.

"In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond.
So hold the hand of the person whom you love rather than expecting them to hold yours...

Are your speakers on?

Happy Weekend!

Stand _Out

This daisy is Unique, not because of her colour or shape. The Truth is she Believes that she is wonderful and knows how to stand out

So:

You have to find out who you are, and be that.
You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not to compete with others,
Because no one else is in the contest of *being you*.

Then:

You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due.
And you'll be a most vital mortal.

Dare To Believe:
That you are a wonderful, unique person.

... :(

MY 12-YEAR-OLD daughter asked me, "Mom, do you have a baby picture of yourself?

I need it for a school project." I gave her one without thinking to ask what the project was.

A few days later I was in her classroom for a parent-teacher meeting when I noticed my face pinned to a mural the students had created.

The title of their project was "The oldest thing in my house."

a "V" formation

Next fall when you see geese heading south for the winter,flying along in a V formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way:As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following.

By flying in a V formation the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of formation it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.If we have as much sense as a goose we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are.When the head goose gets tired it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs ... with people or with geese flying south.Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.What do we say when we honk from behind?

Finally ... and this is important ... when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshots, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.

" If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that"...

.. .. .. the heart of a rose :)

Won’t you come into the garden?

I would like my roses

to see you.

** A House of Joy**

Thank you, for living with me and for inhabiting and making this house of joy, a home. You have helped me build this structure with wisdom, understanding and knowledge. Your words have filled it with rare and beautiful treasures _ Hearts Full Of You.

Neers, Mizfit, Prash, Sreejith, Eclipsed thoughts, seriously_frivolous, desperado, Lalitha, Usha, Preeta, Velu, Ram, Tarini, ALapana, Vibhor, Ekta, Random thoughts, Srijith.

Each of you have helped to fill this with your spirit of love , joy, and peace.
Thank you, for helping me keep this place spiritually fervent with joy and zeal.


A New Day Has Come ...

Good Wishes ...

I wish all my friends "the Brightest Deepavali and A Prosperous New Year".


Friends,

I wish to take a break.
I shall be back soon.
Take good care of yourselves.
Bye.

ok, I am weird ... but in a good sense .

While I was working on this post, I met Jack. Jack is my online friend. This conversation(chat) is between Jill(passerby) and Jack .. .. .. please read on.



Jack : Hola! how are u?
Jill : hi there. I am fine , thanku

Jack : so what’s up buddy
Jill : just a little busy, with my blog. I am tagged by two good blogmates srijith and neers.They both have asked me to list six weird things about me.

Jack : Oh ! I remember you tell me that you blog.
how is it going?
Jill : I seem to find nothing weird in me right now. can you help me find something weird about ...

JACk : Me?
Jill : ya, its better to know from your frds. They are the ones who know you better.

Jack : you are right there, but I never find anything weird in you, if you were weird why would you be on my frnd/list
Jill : may be weird in some good sense, did you observe anything weird but good about me.

Jack : let me think, oh ya do you remember, at one time I told you that you jump topics.
JiLL : jump in wht sense?

Jack : jump, like A Monkey , but in all good sense. We can then exchange a talk on variety of subjects you see.
Jill : (thinking in her mind) I am a monkey. (Wants to ask Jack to Pack and leave her alone).

Jack : yes, Jill one good weirdness about you is that you talk a lot.
Jill : you mean talkative in good sense

Jack : yes, I often wonder how can you talk so much?
Jill : you mean to say I talk non stop and that I should try to shutup!

Jack : hey, you jump to conclusions very fast , this is weird in you.
{Jill : thinking to herself..he could not count a single weird ness in me and now the whole of me seems weird ….JAck is so weird}...


Jack : I hope I am helping you find weird things in good sense.
Jill : {( in her mind) yes you have helped enuff}
Jill : Jack thanku, you helped me with this difficult tag.

Jack : my pleasure, Jill

Jack : bye, got to hurry now. I have a meeting to attend.
Jill : byebye ,, see ya soon.
( I wonder did Jill come tumbling after or did Jack push her).

So I am talkative, I rush through topics , and I jump to conclusion, but all in a good sense ... *smiles*… Let me quickly push (pass I mean) this tag to a few here …

ajay, wild reeds, contended, Seriously_frivolous, alapana, random thoughts please take up this tag, if you have not done it before.

... On the bridge between people

Unless we can hear each other singing and crying, unless we can comfort each other's failures and cheer each other's victories, we are missing out on the best that life has to offer. The only real action takes place on the bridge between people.

Abe was fiercely independent, even at the age of 85, but after a mild stroke his son insisted he move in with him. Abe missed going to the park near his old apartment, and one Saturday he set out to find it.

When he became disoriented, he asked a young boy where the park was. The boy, named Timmy, said he’d like to take Abe there, but he didn’t have time because he was looking for God. He needed to talk to him about why his parents were getting a divorce.

"Maybe God is in the park," said the old man. "I’d like to talk to him, too, about why he’s made me useless." They set off together to find God.

At the park, Timmy began to cry about the divorce, and Abe lovingly held the boy’s face in his hands and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Timmy, I don’t know why bad things happen, but I know it’s not because of you. I know you’re a good boy and your parents love you and you’ll be okay."
"Are you sure?"
"I’m sure."

Timmy gave Abe a big hug and said, "I’m so glad I met you. Thanks. I think I can go now."
From across the street, Timmy’s mother saw them hug and when the boy came up, she asked in a worried voice, "Who was that old man?"
"I think he’s God."

"Did he say that?" she demanded.
"No, but when he told me I’m going to be okay, I felt better. Only God can do that."

When Abe got home, his son in a scolding voice asked, "Where were you?"
"I was in the park with God."

"What makes you think you were with God?"

"Because he sent me a boy who needed me, and when the boy hugged me,

I felt God telling me I wasn’t useless."

Yet Tagged Again ...

I am tagged by Preeta. A few months ago, after i first read her I wrote a post on it. The link to that post is here

1..Are you happy/satisfied with your blog with it's content and look? Does your family know about your blog?
I am happy with my blog, My entire family does not know about my blog. I have already written a post about my entry into the blogworld. The link to that post is here .

2.Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?

I enjoy this world of blog exclusively with my blogmates. My friends outside the net are not into blogging, so I never discuss my blog with them.

3.Did blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts?
I enjoy interacting , reading and commenting here. Blogs make me feel positive, and they do influence my thought process.

4.Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself?

I do open blogs of those who comment and also love to explore and discover new blogs. I explored to find Usha's blog and that was one great discovery.

5.What does visitors counter mean to you? Do you care about putting it in your blog?

I don’t have a visitors counter. Well, maybe I shall learn to put one soon.


6.Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures?

No, I have never tried to imagine my fellow bloggers, but when I read some good post by my fellow blogger. I do feel I should have been close to wish and thank him/her for posting one. Well, i have given a real picture of myself to my fellow bloggers through my posts.

7.Admit. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging?

Yes, I think it is beneficial to blog. Surely, who I am now is only because of all that’s gone before, It seems wrong not to be able to recall even the important events in their wholeness…I may look back one day, to read all and say “THIS was me,This is me"

8.Do you think that bloggers society is isolated from real world or interacts with events?

I think good bloggers are never isolated from the real world, infact they try to portray the real world out here through their experience.

9.Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it's a normal thing?
Healthy criticism is food for the thought and I feel it should be encouraged. I invite all kinds of comments.

10.Do you fear some political blogs and avoid them?
I don’t fear political blogs. I don’t mind interacting with healthy politics.

11.Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?

Social evils a good blogger should never write to encourage. I have read about one blogger who was punished for promoting racism. I think that was right.

12.Did you think about what will happen to your blog after you die?

My son knows about my blog, I think it will remain with him. I am giving it to him in MY will. …. My spirit may write after I am gone….boohoo.

13.What do you like to hear? What's the song you might like to put a link to in your blog?

I generally don’t like to hear to a song when I read or write. I would not mind some light music that would enthrall me.

Now I tag LiL mizfit and pradeep . Will you both please take up this tag.