walking home with a stranger...

Strangers... unnamed faces on the street.
To that girl who’s walking a few paces behind me,
I’m just another face that’s going somewhere.
I turned to check on the traffic before I darted across the street
And she caught my eye... we smiled quickly.

Without much thought, I waited, as she ran over.
What kept me there for a stranger, I cannot tell.

But soon, she’s there, hand outstretched – I’m Nancy, she said.
We continued walking... together this time
With every step, a war raged in my head.
The fun loving child and the precautious adult in me fought hard
As I chatted away with this smiling girl.

About a block from home, we split paths
She went her way, as I went mine...
Walking that last block alone, I could not help smiling
I’ll always remember “that day, when I walked home with a stranger.”

Moon dance

With its swish-swash lullaby the sea cradled her,
She lay on the soft sand watching the moon,
Watching the moon through a fan of palms,
As they swayed to the breeze, in tune with the sea

She caught the gentle rhythm,
The rhythm of the starry night,
She got to her feet, prancing on the shore,
Like she was one with the humming sea and the dancing leaves

The moon and the stars watched her over,
As sea and girl lulled and swayed,
The child was at home,
With the cradling sea and the waving trees

A child of the night she seemed to be,
Slumbering gently...
In the embrace of the dusk and the swish of the sea

long absence! :)

It's been a long while since I got a chance to put something up out here..! I've been gone 2 whole months, I realised! The summer's rolling by and I've been up to quite a bit..! I was home to Ghana for about 3 weeks, last month.. spent a great vacation with family, Rolland Garros, sight seeing, shopping, the good food and the love and pampering that only home can give :)
In the time that I was there, my mother really kick started her new blog. Its a food blog.. filled with the yummiest "college student oriented" recipes.. food that can be made with the minimal provisions and utensils, she claims.. fit for a dorm life! Do visit sometime.. you'll find her at http://www.lata-raja.blogspot.com/
I spent most of my break so excited about her new blog that I quite forgot my own..! Clicking pictures of her recipes, and getting to be the first one to lay hands on the food, kept me happily busy enough!
Now I'm back to uni for summer classes... I'm truly being kept on my toes with 10 credit hours.. Trying to balance classes, assignments and tests with tennis and friends is quite a handful!
One of my friends sent me this mail and told me she thought it would be a good one for my blog.. and sure enough, it was something that deeply moved and touched me.. thought I'd share :)
I'll be back with some of my own musings and thoughts soon.. but for now... here goes!

When God throws a brick at you... it’s time to slow down

A young and successful executive was travelling down a neighbourhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door!
He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, 'What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?' The young boy was apologetic. 'Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do,' He pleaded. 'I threw the brick because no one else would stop...' With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. 'It's my brother,' he said, 'he rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up.'
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat.. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. 'Thank you and May God bless you,' the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: 'Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!'

You were never promised days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but there’s strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

So slow down and make the most of each day... before somebody has to throw a brick at you!

planting a potato garden...

This was something that found its way to my mailbox this morning.... the one thing I take back from it, is that, if you set your heart on something, there's no way you cant accomplish it!

An old man lived alone in Minnesota. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation:

Dear Son,

I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden, because your mother always loved planting time. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren't in prison.
Love, Dad

Shortly, the old man received this telegram:
"For Heaven's sake, Dad, don't dig up the garden!! That's where I buried the GUNS!!"

At 4 a.m. the next morning, a dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden without finding any guns. Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what happened, and asked him what to do next.

His son's reply was: "Go ahead and plant your potatoes, Dad.. It's the best I could do for you from here."

Moral:
No matter where you are in the world, if you have decided to do something deep from your heart you can do it. It is the thought that matters; not where you are and what the constraints are.

Seasons of Life..

One of my numerous email forwards again!

Seasons of Life!

There was once an old man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent each one of them on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree which was a long distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer and the youngest in the fall. When they had all gone and returned, the old man called all of them together to describe what each one had seen. The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent and twisted. The second son said that it was covered in green buds and was full of promise. The third son disagreed; he said that it was laden with blossoms that smelt so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The youngest son disagreed with all of them; he said that it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
The man then explained to them that they were all right, because they had only seen one season in the tree's life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season. That the essence of who they are, and the pleasure, joy and love that come from that life, can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons were up. If you give up when your winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer and the fulfillment of your fall.
Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season... Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come by.

Aspire to Inspire

Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly

Happiness keeps you sweet, trials keep you strong. Sorrow keeps you human, failure keeps you humble and success keeps you growing.

Face your days with a smile and enjoy your seasons as they come!

Greet each morning with a bright smile.. your attitude makes life what it is!

Have you ever had those mornings, when things go downhill from the minute your feet swing off the bed onto the floor? One of those days when the monotony of life gets you down in the dumps? We all go through it... I have had days when everything from the weather, to classes, to the people I meet set me off into a grumpy irritation - and how..! I've realized it is usually a mood that I can't kick all day once it sets in.
Coming to think of it, it probably isn't the people or weather that get us down, we bring it on ourselves. Maybe it is our own mind set that allows us to fall into a phase of moodiness. People say there are a lot of factors within us that affect our perception and ideas. Attitude is a Number One on that list according to many. I was amongst a group of friends last week and one of them was fretting about the workload awaiting her the next day and she managed to paint her day blue even before it was there.. Someone told us then, about how your last thoughts in the night are your first thoughts the following morning. So I say, hit the bed with a smile of satisfaction of having accomplished something good in your day. That way we would probably wake with the same satisfaction and optimism the following morning - enough positivity to drive the day upwards!
It is so important to find purpose in your days. Wake up knowing what you want to make out of your day. Being aimless is one of the biggest pull down factors in most people's lives.
A teacher once told me to watch the kind of people around me. It matters... for optimism in your life, you need people around you who pull you up and keep you jogging, not ones that would be comfortable indulging in the pessimism they are keeping up all around! To me, the best and simplest way to keep up and running is to wake up with a big smile that tramples over any sogginess in my day!
So tomorrow, despite assignments, stress, wintry gloom or barely edible food, wear your attitude like its your best dress and flaunt through the day giving it your all! Keep smiling!

Slow Dance...

When I opened my email inbox this morning, i found this there.. Its a beautiful poem...

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly
in its erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun
into the fading night?

You better slow down..
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?

You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last..

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not seen his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,'Hi'

You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.

Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

step out of the well!

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL :
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less from people.

Nails in the fence...

I received this on my email a few weeks ago..!

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence He said, 'You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. ' A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.

So to all my friends and family out there.. just want to let you all know, you're truly cherished!

beautiful...!

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty.
He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.
Prof: Is God good?
Student: Sure.
Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student: Yes.
Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm?
(Student is silent.)
Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?
Student: Yes.
Prof: Is Satan good?
Student: No.
Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From...God...
Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student: Yes.
Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.
Prof: So who created evil?
(Student does not answer.)
Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?
Student: Yes, sir.
Prof: So, who created them?
(Student has no answer.)
Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.
Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.
Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.
Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof: Yes.
Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.
Student: No sir. There isn't.
(The lecture theater becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)
Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it .
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)
Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?
Student: You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light..... But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?
Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?
Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?
Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life - just the absence of it.
Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)
Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?
(The class is in uproar.)
Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain? (The class breaks out into laughter.)
Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain,sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.
Student: That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive.

*the student was APJ Abdul Kalam