Love

The breeze is strong.

The smell of the ocean is overpowering but delicious.

As she walks she feels the wet sand beneath her feet.

Something makes her stop and she looks over her shoulder and watches as the tide washes away her footprints.

Alone in that moment she realises, the past is but the past, erased by the tide and the path ahead is still to be walked...

In the ocean breeze she can hear his voice. He is telling her to be careful, be safe. She looks around.

A smile. And a shake of the head, she walks ahead.

Ahead in the cottage the lights are on and she can hear her favourite song. Her feet begin to tap.

An achievement and a celebration.

He really does know it all :)

SMILEEE

There is nothing as simple and honest as the smile of a child.

Photo Courtesy: Ken Carl

I have always loved being with children for a whole lot of selfish reasons. They make me happy with their uncomplicated chatter, they hold no malice, they love chocolates and sweets, cartoons still fascinate them, they help you find joy in simple things and they allow me to never grow up :)

If I ever get stressed at work or saddened by events in my personal life I run to Latika Vihar. Its one place where you can drown everything out and just have fun! I paint, I dance, I run around or I can just sit and read out stories to anyone who cares to listen. I can remain quiet and let the children tell me their stories.

They know no fear, their imagination has no boundaries and their love is without limits. I love children because with them I can believe in pixies and fairies again. I love them because without knowing they make the real world better.

I wish and pray that one day every state, every city and every country will have a Latika Vihar. Because sometime just the thought that a place like this exists is enough. I hope for this not just for the creative development of the child, but I hope for it for us, the adults who have forgotten what life truly is about and how simple it really is to smile.

Unexpected.

Unexpected, out of the blue.

Silent prayers were washed away by spoken words.

From the sidelines an onlooker in my own life

I am angry.

I understand.

Sometimes that which makes no sense, is truly the only path to take.

I wish I had said the unreasonable

I wish I had pushed the door instead of waiting for the window to open

If you had more faith

or we more strength

I am angry.

I understand.

I wish I didn't.

Friend's Speak: Invictus

The poem below was shared (read out) from 'saat samundar paar' by my friend as he felt I needed a little inspiration. As soon as I heard this poem I absolutely loved it. It ‘re’-reminds me of the undying human spirit and in our capability to endure, fight and survive. It reminds me that at the end of it all how my life turns out and what becomes of me, is up to ME

Thanks Sood, you are the best 'annual' buddy one can ask for :)

INVICTUS by William Earnest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Unanswered questions

Unsaid words

Images that stay

Smells that linger

Unpredictable, volatile

Subdued, subtle

That's me, That's my life...

24 hours in a day and every hour a different colour…

From the burnt orange of the morning to the immense black of the night

From that golden morning tea to the deep crimson of the wine at dinner

24 hours: endless words that my heart whispers to me

24 hours: my head fights for supremacy

24 hours: the smile stays

24 hours: the fears don’t subside

24 hours: a song stays stuck

24 hours: deliberations, discussions

24 hours….

My life: A canvas in which together we fill colours…

Many people I know think I am too optimistic, sometimes unrealistically so, and as always they have their reasons...

"You have had a good childhood",

"Acchi education mili hai",

"You have always had adequate money",

“You have never really experienced real pain",

"You don’t understand rejection"...

I usually shrug it off, you know, ‘to each his own’. But then sometimes, in life's rare moments I don’t feel like shrugging it off. After all I am human; I need the distance to close. Sometimes the ground beneath my feet too can get unsteady.

Sometimes I want to be selfish because; sometimes I need that hug or that encouraging smile.

There are moments when I need that shoulder to lean on.

Sometimes I don’t want to be the one holding you, I want someone to hold me. Sometimes I need someone to be my reason to smile, to be my strength...

Just sometimes…

And then there are moments when the only reason I want to share my pain is to let that someone who is hurting know that I understand, at least partly.

I want to tell them that though at the moment the pain is overwhelming and may never truly disappear, life will move on and it will be beautiful. And that YES it is definitely worth the effort and that everything may never be the same but it will be more than okay, one day.

I want them to know that it is okay to hurt. It is ok to be angry. It is ok to sleep with the lights on, but it is not okay to stop living. It is not ok to stop laughing and it is not ok to stop believing....

Believe life is beautiful.

Believe true love exists.

Believe people can change.

Believe in the greater good.

And no, I am NOT an optimist because life has been smooth, I am NOT an optimist because I have never had my heart broken, I am NOT an optimistic because I don’t know what loss is.

I am optimistic despite knowing and feeling the loss, the heart ache and the tears...

I have had my heart ripped out and stomped upon more than once.

I have been made fun of by those I called friends several times.

I have been the 'odd-one-out' for years.

I have lost more than a friend or a lover.

I have felt unwanted, been a failure.

I have disappointed and have been disappointed and despite it all I smile.

Despite it all I believe.

We all face challenges in life, we are all pushed and shoved and tested but we must never forget that as human's what we have is our spirit - to fight, to hang on, to love and to live.

You have one life, one life alone, and it’s your decision to make it what you want. It is up to you whether this is 'the end' or a 'new beginning'.

Believe what you want but the truth is life never stops.

Pay your tribute and the move on.

I am not heartless, I feel pain but I also realize that moving on is NOT about forgetting, it is about accepting.

Accepting that some things were never meant to be.

Accepting your mistakes so that you can rectify them.

Accepting your weakness so that you can see your true potential.

Accepting what you are so you may become who you want.

Accept the loss only then can you move on.

Accept that there will be days when you will not even remember the who, the what and the why and accept that there will be days when everything will be so fresh and real, as if you are reliving the moment all over again.

Accept how you feel only then can you heal.

Accept and don't feel guilty

Accept that the joy will return and that NO-ONE DESERVES IT MORE THAN YOU....

Lyrics: Sweet Child of Mine...

One of my all time favourite songs... the best love song ever written...

This would work! Anytime :)

GNR SWEET CHILD OF MINE (courtesy http://www.lyrics007.com)

She's got a smile that it seems to me

Reminds me of childhood memories

Where everything

Was as fresh as the bright blue sky

Now and then when I see her face

She takes me away to that special place

And if I'd stare too long

I'd probably break down and cry

Sweet child o' mine

Sweet love of mine

She's got eyes of the bluest skies

As if they thought of rain

I hate to look into those eyes

And see an ounce of pain

Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place

Where as a child I'd hide

And pray for the thunder

And the rain

To quietly pass me by

Sweet child o' mine

Sweet love of mine

Where do we go

Where do we go now

Where do we go

Sweet child o' mine