Category: Family and Society

Posted in Family and Society, Life, Personal Musings, poetry

Calm of the Earth

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Patience, grasshopper,” said Maia. “Good things come to those who wait.”
“I always thought that was ‘Good things come to those who do the wave,'” said Simon. “No wonder I’ve been so confused all my life.”
Cassandra Clare

There is nothing more calming than watching colours burst through the earth, children kicking ball in the backyard and the barks of rambunctious pets joining in the midst. To note this event happening in own backyard is a thought pleasing to the mind and soul. Gardens have always been a part of my childhood. From the photographs of the toothless days in the lawn to the high school practice and science projects in the backyard, the backdrop for all the best friends meet and above all, the place to regain the spirit when one feels that things are in a downhill. Of all those memories, it is the latter that are most heartening. Little wonder why then, wanting my own splay of colours and green foliage was an immediate after settling in our new quarters.

“The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter.” Paulo Coelho

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Growing a garden from scratch is a test of patience, fortitude and hope. Juggling between settling in my new job, house and managing the chores along with starting off a brand new garden from few flowerpots along the gate involved quite a bit of work. As my target was primarily a flower garden, the lawn had to be squared off, followed by purchase of a few flowerpots and a couple of half-grown plants to get them to bloom for the summer. Then was to get the right packet of seeds, right compost mix and yes, to make sure the birds or insects didn’t get the seeds first. It took time. The bare network of the garden I had envisioned wasn’t ready until the next summer.

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” Aristotle

With spring in the air, watching the new shoots coming up through the ground, it gives an immense sense of satisfaction and hope that this summer would see another riot of colours, better than the year before. Like the garden, our lives too have plenty of shoots often read as hidden opportunities and the risks to be taken.

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Whether the latter were right or wrong, only time and hindsight would tell us. But to bear fruit, the benefits don’t come in a sequence. Like the seeds breaking into flowers, each chance of life may bear it’s beauty much later. The secret is to be prepared, of patient bearing, eagerness to labour and the realistic hope that things will get better eventually. As the garden teaches us, for every leaf that falls; new life is getting readied for the next season.

The Seed-Shop
Muriel Stuart

HERE in a quiet and dusty room they lie,
Faded as crumbled stone and shifting sand,
Forlorn as ashes, shrivelled, scentless, dry –
Meadows and gardens running through my hand.

Dead that shall quicken at the voice of spring,
Sleepers to wake beneath June’s tempest kiss;
Though birds pass over, unremembering,
And no bee find here roses that were his.

In this brown husk a dale of hawthorn dreams;
A cedar in this narrow cell is thrust
That shall drink deeply at a century’s streams;
These lilies shall make summer on my dust.

Here in their safe and simple house of death,
Sealed in their shells, a million roses leap;
Here I can stir a garden with my breath,
And in my hand a forest lies asleep.

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Posted in Family and Society, Life, Photography Art, Reflections, Stories Around the World

Being Civilized

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller

The last couple of weeks or even months saw subtle to drastic changes in the world around. From being quarantined to social distancing, restricted movements, early school holidays and “work from home” days or few spending more “at-home” time. Throughout all these weeks, numerous thoughts, worries and emotions have been flitting through the mind. The worries of being affected or quarantined to the economic implications of the changes brought about and the trouble in keeping the domestic front active as well as purchase of essentials. All in all, these weeks required plenty of common sense, restraint, social consideration and etiquette.

“It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) that those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” Charles Darwin

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Though the initial impact based studies showed it was the outlying ages who were primarily at risk, as documented by epidemiological and disease experts; later it was the chain of transmission that was under focus for it caused more harm. Technical details and contact tracing were done. Then the most difficult part was convincing the need to restrict and make an effort to break the chain. One of the lessons learned from the society where the epidemiological disease curve had flattened out, was the collective effort of those who were part of the chain.

When each and every member of the social strata, be it the young or the old, the healthy or those with underlying diseases came together to support each other; the curve began to flatten out. Each one knew the role they played and strove to protect the other. It was the humane concern that underlined their activity over the next few weeks.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King Jr

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Being civilized is defined not by how many degrees one has or the per-capita income alone. the civilized society is defined how each member of the herd contributes to keeping the network strong, safe and protected for all. When one vested group sticks tot heir interests of their own, it harms the social fabric. While the harm may seem to be to one side; on the long run the harm caused may directly or indirectly affect all the social levels. The worth of the civilization lies in how all the members face any crisis on their respective fronts. For that is what makes the human different, from not being blinded by their inherent and primal instinct; but to bring together and forward their social structure as a whole.

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“Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.

But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.
A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said.”

We are at our best when we serve others. Be civilized.”

Ira Byock, in his book The Best Care Possible: A Physician’s Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life (Avery, 2012)

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Posted in Family and Society, Life, Personal Musings, Stories Around the World

Parts of the Whole

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

Staying put in a particular place has not been in any of our list. From sharing a routine covering the regular places either of work or on the household front, to enrollment in centers for the pursuit of own hobbies, visiting with friends or family and sharing the regular weekly cuppa with close friends for a laugh and more; entering the adult phase opened a whole new world outside the neighbourhood. With the present lock-down scenario, “staying in” invokes a whole new meaning. Even working from home, doesn’t help as one eventually misses the camaraderie and kinship on the professional front. As the sense of being stifled was growing strong, a sudden call from my colleague dampened down the unrest a little.

“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” Booker T. Washington

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Being in the locked down, or “locked in” phase ( the latter resonates to the mood appropriate for the present), one learns to appreciate social relationships. Recalling the previous week before the “work from home” sessions began, the usual “coffee break” involved gentle ribbing or exchange of new ideas and neighbourhood stories. All in all, there was a feeling of connectedness between all of us at work. Whether own colleagues were best of friends or casual acquaintances, meeting them were one of the parts of the day that had to be there. Though video calling and snap chats are there, it isn’t the same as seeing them face to face.

“Everyone has a purpose in life and a unique talent to give to others. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals.” Kallam Anji Reddy

These past few days have taught us that each person that become a part of our lives, are important in their own way. The nod from the employee who mans the elevator tot he clerk who sits at the front reception and observes the routine punching in are just few of the many people who add an essence to each day.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
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In fact, everyone that we meet has something special to teach each one of us. Such a network of inter-connectedness is what keeps us sane when facing a crisis situation. One doesn’t know how much the other is a part of their lives, unless we try to live without it. As learnt through the days spent during the lock-down, one needs to be grateful for every little gift, chance, blessing or person that across their daily lives.

“WE ALL NEED TO BE NEEDED”

Lonely tree was growing among hot sands of dead desert. Prickly sands covered the Wood. The Sun mercilessly burned its bark. But the Tree kept on living in spite of all.
One day a Hawk flew over the desert. The Hawk saw the Tree and sat on its branch. He looked around the desert and said:
— You are a strange Tree, why do you keep on living among these dead hot sands? Who needs it?
— You, — the Tree answered.
— Me? — the Hawk was surprised. — I don‘t need you.
— But if not me, — the Tree told, — you would have to sit on the hot sand instead of my branches. If not me, someone, seeing you sitting on the tree alone, would say that nobody needs you, too and would ask you what you live for. Sitting on my branches you, Hawk, think that I need you. The Hawk thought about it and had to agree with the Tree. If there was no Tree, the hawk would feel himself alone and useless among this vast desert.

“None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.” Mother Teresa

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Posted in Family and Society, Personal Musings, Quotes, Reflections, Work

More than Exist

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

While working in the first job opportunity after college, my brother had to move out to the new city. Over the next couple of months as the call duration and frequency to home decreased, my parents’ radar went into full frequency mode and it had grabbed yours truly. After all a couple of calls, the instinct sense that something was wrong was pretty strong. Whether it was by His Grace that a work travel opportunity had presented itself to his office or just a matter of chance; making the visit was an eye-opener. The short phone conversations and the decreased frequency of calls wasn’t just due to work stress but the unhappiness in doing something which he never wanted to. Though it took plenty of courage and risks; he did get out of the mess and went on to another office doing the advertisement projects that he had trained and wanted to.

“Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action.” Theodore Roosevelt

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We all get stuck in those unexpected ruts. Full of promise and hope of what was once good, mayn’t seem so a couple of months later. That is when it is time to call a temporary halt to reexamine the situation and find a path out. The tussle is between the surety of the present and the uncertainty of the next that causes one to choose the former. Yet in the long run, it isn’t just existence that drives one person forward, but the courage to take the path to do what one loves to do.

“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us even in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.” Henry David Thoreau

The inner spirit has to stay strong. When things may go downhill for a time, take a break and choose to do something about it. Even though it may be a late attempt, but it is way better than to just exist. It is that spark in each of us, that gives the glow and a special meaning to the gift of life, time and love that we all have been fortunate to be blessed with.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
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Credo
by Jack London

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark
should burn out in a brilliant blaze
than it should be stifled by dry-rot.

I would rather be a superb meteor
every atom of me in magnificent glow
than a sleepy and permanent planet.

The function of man is to live
not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

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Posted in Christian, Family and Society, Personal Musings

From the Centre-point

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

With the advent of Google Maps, finding a new place may seem to be like a piece of cake. Practically speaking, at times it may be so, while at other times it make be like running around in circles or trying to locate the nose by going around the occiput. No matter how techno savvy one may be, to locate certain local landmarks one needs to still refer to the good old map. Interestingly even in Google Maps what stands out are the highlighted places enroute. Wile the hand-drawn maps may focus on the local highlights of importance based on historical, size or accessibility; google maps makes it a bit more personified depending on the local places of popularity, shopping, theatres, emergency services (police stations, hospitals) and the like. Yet each zone of the map lays importance on what lies in it, most times smack in the middle of it.

Ever tried describing your residence to someone, like when inviting colleagues home for dinner. Keeping own home in the centre, one tries to map places of easy accessibility, popularity and well known landmarks to guide one to own abode. In short, maps guide others to ourselves. Extrapolating these maps to own inner being, have we been able to follow directions and reach the essence of our own inner mental, spiritual and emotional health.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:01)

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The Christian Faith lies in using the Word of God to find our inner spiritual essence. It strengthens our faith through troubled and joyful days. It guides us in finding the path through the various uphills, curves, downhills and narrow turns that life often unravels bit by bit. Yet to read these maps, one needs sufficient understanding, insight and prayer to discern His Word. Keeping the principles of Christian teachings to own heart is extremely important.

To read, comprehend and go by these maps is never easy. To understand the roads, one must be willing to explore the available options in the best possible manner. What may appear to be an easy way out may tend to be a long drawn difficult path to walk on, like a short narrow path of flaming coals as compared to the wide stretch of road curving through the other side. We all need these maps in various phases. At times, they help us to find a way out; other times they are needed to help us understand ourselves and His Teachings in a better manner. For to live and experience His Grace and His Love is a blessing in this short span of time that we are here on Earth.

“Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.” (Psalm 48:10)

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Posted in Christian, Daily, Family and Society, Random Thoughts, Reflections

In Disguise

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

Suffering from osteoarthritis, an elderly lady made her way out of the train and found herself in front of a flight of stairs with no directions leading to an elevator in sight. As she got prepared for the tedious journey up the stairs, a station attendant arrived and lend a hand. Imagine her surprise when she reached above and saw a wheelchair waiting for her. As we saw from the platform across, she was assisted till the main station entrance.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'” (Mathew 25:40)

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While getting stuck in traffic, imagine the fiasco created when a car stalls with a flat tire. While fist-waving with blaring of horns were started by some, two others stepped out of their cars and assisted the driver in changing the flat. Whether it was done to ease their comfort of travel or simply helping a fellow traveller, that extended support of actions gave the day a better feel.

Arriving at the departure gate and waiting at the airport in the check-in luggage queue, when an elderly couple had arrived with their crying grandchild in tow, the support extended by the airport officials as well as fellow passengers in quietly allowing them to move ahead soon, gave an added touch to the meaning of “hospitality, humaneness and kindness”.

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2)

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Whether these helpers were doing their job or lending a helping hand, they were the cloaked angels of many. Being hospitable doesn’t mean simply a warm welcome when there are visitors but by radiating warmth and a welcome feel in our day-to-day activities. It is when one chooses to help those who we don’t know, is when the real feeling of warmth seeps in for all.

Essentially we are on similar lines or pages, though it may be on different curves, tangents or views. Each of us have our own baggage of personal, professional, social, physical, emotional and mental issues. Though the baggage may be light for some, heavy for others; it s always there. Being nice or doing good, doesn’t require all of us to hang on a banner and light up the lights. Rather it involves, simple acts of kindness and hospitality. Angels don’t simply come as radiant or winged beings, but also as weary travellers, hungry or hassled and tired. In those moments, when we become angels for some or be served by angels, we become closer to Christ and experience the true warmth of His Peace, His Love and His Grace.

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Posted in Christian, Family and Society, Life, Personal Musings, Reflections, Stories Around the World, Work

One Pair to Many

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

During the initial phases of my career, there were many roadblocks, of which one stays prominent in the mind. This instance was when a project had to submitted within three days, instead of the stipulated one week timeline. With the project being allotted to three colleagues, time was too short to complete the work in a satisfactory manner within three days. During the coffee break, the rest of us were informed. What happened then was those three pairs of hands were joined by another four pairs, the latter having near about met their own deadlines. Suddenly the three day deadline was not an impossible feat to achieve.

“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.” John Holmes

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Many instances one feels that things mayn’t be accomplished. Yet looking back, at the end of the day, one discovers that it was possible after all. The “hows” of the happening may be because of additional pair of hands, tackling the situation in small bite-sized portions or simply Divine Grace. Most of the times, it is the latter that often helps one face the impossible days.

As the story of the “Stone Soup” goes, each of us needs to just bring what one has at hand to make the final soup. When what one has at hand is submitted to Him, it would be multiplied in a manner beyond expectation as long as one places complete faith and trust in Him. The scriptures teach us of the feeding of five thousand people, all from a sparse fare of five loaves and two fishes. When these items were surrendered to Christ, He had increased it and thousands of hungry mouths.

““Bring them here to me,” [Jesus] said.” (Matthew 14:18)

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Such is the outcome when one surrenders their efforts, talents and services to Him; it will be accepted and increased beyond own expectations or imagination, making the impossible possible. All these are possible, only when one is willing to bring what is in their hands to Him and enlist His Help, His Grace and His Mercy. With all this, the feat of achieving the impossible, but possible through Him, gives a feeling of warmth and lightness, filling one with peace and happiness from within.

“Stone Soup,” an old tale with many versions, tells of a starving man who comes to a village, but no one there can spare a crumb of food for him. He puts a stone and water in a pot over a fire. Intrigued, the villagers watch him as he begins to stir his “soup.” Eventually, one brings a couple of potatoes to add to the mix; another has a few carrots. One person adds an onion, another a handful of barley. A farmer donates some milk. Eventually, the “stone soup” becomes a tasty chowder. Though this tale illustrates the value of sharing, but it also reminds us to bring what we have, even when it seems to be insignificant. (Source:vk.com)

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