life being fair?

I've heard people say, "Heaven & Hell are what we make". There are heaven days, there are hell days. But we often hear people complain about their hell days. Not very often do we thank or be grateful for our heaven days.
There are days we hate to meet certain people. But for all other days, are we happy to meet everyone?
I've started to realize that just because I hate to meet someone, it does not mean they would vanish from my life. So, to successfully survive, why don't we look on how to live harmoniously?
Like it or not, it does not feel good to change for others. Then how can we expect others to change for us?
I do not believe in ideal situation or ideal world. So, we do not always get back what we do. Why expect & be disappointed then?
"Letting go" is easier said than done, but looks like the only way out.
How difficult can it get?

As a kid, I had a lot of questions to ask. I felt uninterested if someone did not have an answer.
Now, I think, if I have a question, I need to look for an answer. I cannot expect someone to find one for me. I do not think I will be convinced with that either. But life is not always simple. Complexity may be difficult & annoying, but that gives a sense of achievement.

Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.-- Shari R. Barr

Atheists

I am back after my trip. Seems like I've not written forever!
We saw a lot, ate a lot & drove a hell lot :-)

Each place I saw, I'd never seen before. I did not know such places exist. Life was everywhere, even in the desert-only we have to take the trouble to look in deep.

When I saw all those Pueblo ruins in Northern Arizona, I could not help wonder how those people lived in such arid conditions. Mind you, they built houses almost 1000 years ago. They lived as a community. At least 10 people slept in a room. Maybe that's what kept them alive- being together. They cultivated in those barren lands. Some years, they received rain, some none. Their life expectancy was short, say 30 years, but they did fight to survive that long. I could not have managed for a couple of days, I think.

There is beauty in that. Beauty in the way they lived, beauty in the way the mountains are formed, beauty in the way the wind howls across the desert, beauty in the red painted deserts, beauty in snow, beauty in the way people are.
Wherever there is beauty, I often sit to wonder who its creator is. Maybe Nature, maybe He who everyone calls God, or maybe Nature is God. I do not know.

But there is beauty in everything, including our fingerprints. I know only a very few things in life. There are thousands I do not know, millions that I only imagine of, billions & trillions that I cannot even imagine of! But those exist. Sometimes, we see them; other times, we oversee them.

So, to be an Atheist, you should neither see, feel, touch or sense all these beautiful things. If not, you can ponder over the fact: who created it?
I once called myself an Atheist. How dumber could I get?

A journey of 2000 miles begins with 1

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

Yay! I will be on vacation for four days starting tomorrow! Strongly recommend you take yours too!

Bon Voyage, travel souls.

you can drive into The Grand Canyon!!!

This guy has practically driven down an unpaved road with his 2wd rental car into GC (as we all call it passionately).
Amazing! Took me by surprise.
Right when I thought I had covered a considerable part of Western US, here comes a guy with a website to show me all those places I seldom knew existed!
At least, some more reasons that I should keep travelling :-)

whats with the reduction???

I recently received an email.
Excerpts:

"hi...

new yr. wuz gr8....

10 days sem hols in house....

really gr8....

i went 2 XXX 4 a wknd....only 2 buy XXXXX... (XXX added for identity issues)

stayed @ frnds house....

thats it 4 now.."

This email had me staring at it for a while.

Points to be noted:
was is no more style- use wuz!
you no longer have friends - you have either frnds or frenz! And huh, talk to da frenz, ok?
If your email/letter has only alphas, you are from the 90's. In case you didn't notice alpha-numeric is in town!

Some additional vocabulary:
enuf!
cm! - short for come (**&%&^$)
jz - just(*^%*$)
tym - so difficult to type 'time', is it?
And yeah! the very famous 10x. 10 x? what is 10 x?
Its not 10 x hon. Put it together: 10x is thanks, see!
Oh God!
And yeah, add a similar explanation for 10q too! (sigh)

Looks like English has taken a wild turn these days. I don't know who the culprit is.
Is it messenger? Maybe a little!
I think I would attribute this to the SMS culture in India. (Oh! I didn't mention this is happening in India; apparently, people in US have more time, or so it seems). I heard a lot about the SMS revolution in India. Growing like wildfire!!!
These college-goers have their own slang & it continues till they get to work. Fine, hon. Lower a notch, would ya?
The slang is here to stay, it seems. Its like "the thing" in fashion now!
Give me a break. (heavy sigh)

If I Could

If I could
I'd protect you from the sadness in your eyes
Give you courage in a world of compromise
Yes, I would

If I could
I would teach you all the things I've never learned
And I'd help you cross the bridges that I've burned
Yes, I would

If I could
I would try to shield your innocence from time
But the part of life I gave you isn't mine
I've watched you grow
So I could let you go

If I could
I would help you make it through the hungry years
But I know that I can never cry your tears
But I would; If I could

If I live
In a time and place where you don't want to be
You don't have to walk along this road with me
My yesterday
Won't have to be your way

If I knew
I'd have tried to change the world I brought to you to
And there isn't very much that I can do
But I would
If I could...

Oh baby... mummy wants to protect you
And help my baby through the hungry years
It's part of me
And if you ever... ever need
Sad shoulder to cry on
I'm just someone to talk to
I'll be there... I'll be there
I didn't change your world
But I would
If I Could!

-Celine Dion

I just came across these lovely words; And paused!
Could not agree more. My mommy's the BEST!

Inspiring thoughts from a cancer fighter!

If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.
Martin Luther King, jr.

These few words were quoted in her blog. I do not want to link it to her blog, I don't know why.
Some people rock! And you move!

Next time I want to wail about my toothache, I will think twice.

Camera Panning technique

This is something I've never tried with my camera. But seems interesting. Will have to try it soon. I don't think this is going to be as easy as it looks, though.

When nature & age conspires

As a kid, I was known for my speed. I never knew to do anything slow. When amma asked to me join yoga class during my college days, I told her, "Yoga is too slow for me, ma! I'd rather run for a mile". Well! She never forced me into it after that (just let me get into it when I had the right attitude I guess). That's one of the million good things she did for me :-)
Yoga did not come into my life until maybe a couple of months ago. I have done asanas before, not as Yoga; But just to check if my flexibility is still ok.

Age has caught up with me now. I do not know if that is the reason, but I love Yoga now. I am trying to get it as a part of my daily life. Other benefits apart, how much more relaxed & confident I feel? The feeling is intense. I have joined for a Hatha Yoga class now. Why would I even do that? I hated Yoga; mind you, not just "disliked" it. I really don't know.

I do not regret why I did not learn it earlier. Some things are meant to be just the way they are. Guess, my learning Yoga is one such thing!

Also, I've often heard elders say, "When you really want to learn something new, nature will work its charm & some opportunities come in search of you". Strange! Strange, but true.

I've joined a Yoga class now. A few years earlier, I would have seen it strange for me to get into Yoga. Now, its becoming a part of my life.
I was known for my short temper. It used to be my identity. I've lost it to a certain extent now. And I still feel myself. Is that Yoga's charm? I don't know.

Now, I firmly believe that there are so many mysterious things in this world that we do not know. I've started believing in miracles. I've begun to believe that good people do exist & everything that happens is for good.

"Just because I close my eyes, it does not mean that there is no Sun."

Ignorance is bliss! yes! But knowledge is better! Life feels a lot better.

I talk like this to amma & she calls me a "paati". Well! What can I say? She is is a woman of the 21st century.