Tag: mental health

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

On the Search

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

Watching the raindrops hit against the window panes resulted in one of those work-from-home days being that one of deep introspection, beyond the daily routine of life. Reflecting on the happenings of the outside world, especially in the society around us; it feels like each of us is on a hunt for something.

Being human, we yearn for many things. From hoping to feel complete with a successful career, the “good life” as deemed by the society and the hope to be with those who make us smile. In the quest for all those and beyond, we forget a couple of things. Society is defined by us, who we accept as ours and those we choose to believe in. It is man, we humans, who make up society. So each of us have a place in it, for it is right so, when the true society is defined by all of us being a part of it. There will be many voices around us, but the choice is ours to make and listen to. The choosing and the listening depends on us; our inner beliefs and dreams.

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Caught up in the fabric of the modern society, what one never must forget is to always be human, always be kind. It doesn’t have to be anything big, but something as small as lending an ear, or giving each one of those we love adequate space to not be crushed but near enough to catch when one accidentally trips. Letting the gleam of the silk fabric surround us, doesn’t give one any comfort for the cold rainy nights. Each of us need the other. And so does those around us, need us.

Resonating through each day gifted by time and life, is the feeling of being happy and content. To feel so, doesn’t equate to pure perfection or sunny days around the year. One learns to pick up the shattered pieces of the clay pot and make it into a mosaic for the flower garden. For that is life, to be content and happy lies in being comfortable in our own skin. In all the never ending search for the something better, we are bound to mess up. When the going gets a lot more tough, it is time to reach out for support and reach within to redefine ourselves. Each search needs to be defined to an end, to the real purpose. As far as quests go, being truly happy and content take the lead any time, any day.

“This life is what you make it. No matter what, you’re going to mess up sometimes, it’s a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you’re going to mess it up.
Girls will be your friends – they’ll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything – they’re your true best friends. Don’t let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world.
As for lovers, well, they’ll come and go too. And baby, I hate to say it, most of them – actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can’t give up because if you give up, you’ll never find your soulmate. You’ll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn’t mean you’re gonna fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don’t, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life’s a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.”
― Marilyn Monroe

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowartsSource:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Posted in Christian, Family and Society, Reflections

Remedy of a Kind

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

An unfortunate accidental brush with the hot skillet, lead to a speedy escape to the cabinet in the washroom, wherein the hunt was on for the red capped tube among the toiletries. After washing with running water and applying a thick salve of toothpaste, the sting from the burn had significantly come down. Giving an internal whisper of thanks, that tube of toothpaste had become a lifesaver of sorts. This ready remedy had saved a trip to the town clinic.

“The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Prone to making mistakes, some of our errors are due to lack of sight or erratic movements, often termed as “being clumsy”. Though sometimes, those mistakes are quite painful to bear and deal with it. Each of us at some point throughout our lives have felt pain. When the pain is physical, we reach for that salve; yet when the pain becomes more of an emotional or inner turmoil, to lessen the pain is no easy feat. One needs plenty of courage, inner strength and time to heal through those wounds.

Every now and then, sin infects each of us. It may leave a stinger behind as it’s mark or cause the rash of inner unrest and troubled thoughts which may precipitate in a couple of days. Facing the after-effects of the latter makes us enter the slow though vicious cycle of pain and grief. Pain of this sort, happens on two fronts. First is when we bring it forth onto those around us and second is when we bear the effect of it, as a consequence of actions, which have happened towards us whether they be direct or indirect. Either way, we deal with the pain and disease of sin, causing it or bearing the brunt.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…” (Ephesians 1:7)

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Surprisingly the balm for this sort of problems are always found in His Word. As the Scriptures teach us, the vicious cycle and effect of sin, isn’t easy to break. It tends to leave the burn behind, making the pain and their reminders affect us then on. By the gift of His Love and power of His Grace, we get healed from the effects of sin. Though for this to happen, one should learn to identify the burn of the sin. When we believe in His Word, the sickness brought on from sin and its vices, are removed by His Healing Power and the restlessness within is squelched. To experience the healing salve, we tend to identify the pain and the fact that it’s there. Then we address the problems.

While the pain may recede by the power of His Love in a couple of days; other situations it may take weeks to months to heal from it completely. Whether it may take a lifetime to learn to recognize the burns, teat and address them; the need to do has to arise from within. For His Love always awaits us. It is we who need to start on that hunt for the remedy, as we chose to treat the pain by the power of His Grace and His Mercy. But taking the first step, lies in our hands alone. Unless one does so, the experiences and the richness of life then on, will not be an experience of reality but a much awaited and anticipated dwam of sorts.

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

Source:Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Posted in Life, Personal Musings, Photography Art, poetry, Random Thoughts

Solace of “Doing Nothing”

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

As a part of the management policy, employees are required to take at least twenty percent of their entire leaves (both annual and casual) each year. Which is why, three of my colleagues had to take their leaves, though they weren’t requiring any break from the regular. While one of them had enjoyed a short break with family at a getaway; with school for their kids, two of them were kind of stuck in their towns. Yet after their allotted leaves, on return, there was a positive spark in their eyes. To the often phrased query of “what did you do during your leave”, their response was thought-provoking, especially when the words were “we did nothing”.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

For some of us, the very act of doing nothing, may relate to sheer idleness. And as the famous adage goes, “An idle mind is a devil’s workshop.” Yet the day off, meaning a day of doing nothing, is primarily meant to be away from all the problem solving, completion of tasks or a break from the social life or business of the day. While there is comfort in the daily routine, every now and then each of us need time off, to just “not think”.

“Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.” Maya Angelou

None of us, are indispensable, specially as far as social and career life is considered. Amidst all this chaos, taking a breather is necessary for maintaining he inner balance. Sometimes, one doesn’t need to do or think, but just go with the flow and experience the calming effects of the life around us. The best holidays would be one where one learns to just appreciate the wind dance with the leaves, dance on the water, smell the dew as well as enjoy the breeze in the hammock. These quiet moments of doing nothing, help us face the turbulence that time may take us through later.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Today I Am Doing Nothing

It’s a plan in itself,
Not an open invitation for suggestions
To go on long walks, or dancing,
Or paint-balling, or take a drive
Down to the beach.

It doesn’t mean I am free
To do one of the hundreds of tasks
You decide are more important,
In an attempt to fill my day
With a different kind of meaning.

Today I am doing nothing,
Because I have become lost,
In a world where doing something, anything
Is so expected of ourselves and each other
That simply doing nothing is viewed
As a waste of time.

We so rarely have opportunity
To have the conversations in our heads
That determine who we really are,
As we watch the moments floating past,
Lying under the stars.

Today I am doing nothing,
Please understand that what I desire,
Is silent doorbells, unknocked doors
And that the phone doesn’t ring
As I curl up by the fire.

– Nigel Finn

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Posted in Life, poetry, Random Thoughts

To Rest, Free

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

Weekends are precious. At times it is so because one tries to squeeze in the dues from the week before or catch up with family and friends who have been neglected for a while, or to catch up with own personal stuff. Though at times, weekends are more precious because it’s one of the days when one tries to simply do nothing. To a point, my husband and I try to fit the weekend in the last category. With the children kept busy till lunch; the post lunch session includes an hour or two of their favourite cartoons or movie, while as adults we resolve to just lie in the yard, free of any thoughts or plans.

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” John Lubbock

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Trying to stay “thought free” for a hour or half every weekend does wonders for the soul. To contemplate or think about nothing, while one is still alert is an art in itself. While an idle mind mayn’t be a bad workshop, to be free of thoughts for a while is on a totally different plane. Each of us have plenty of inner worries that often tend to surface when the hands stay still and the mind wanders. To still that wandering mind of worries takes effort and plenty of faith laced with hope.

“The most valuable thing we can do for the psyche, occasionally, is to let it rest, wander, live in the changing light of room, not try to be or do anything whatever.” May Sarton

To rest and feel free is a wonderful gift to experience. To relax doesn’t require one to be kept busy or watch plenty of visuals. One of the best ways to de-stress would be just to lie in the hammock and watch the sunset or to close the eyes and feel the smell of dewy grass. All these provide rest for the psyche. Still those wandering unbidden thoughts and instead, just do nothing but lie still. Those moments of stillness are quite enough to rejuvenate one for the never ending chaos and cares of the current times.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

The House of Rest

I will build a house of rest,
Square the corners every one:
At each angle on his breast
Shall a cherub take the sun;
Rising, risen, sinking, down,
Weaving day’s unequal crown.

In the chambers, light as air,
Shall responsive footsteps fall:
Brother, sister, art thou there?
Hush! we need not jar nor call;
Need not turn to seek the face
Shut in rapture’s hiding-place.

Heavy load and mocking care
Shall from back and bosom part;
Thought shall reach the thrill of prayer,
Patience plan the dome of art.
None shall praise or merit claim,
Not a joy be called by name.

With a free, unmeasured tread
Shall we pace the cloisters through:
Rest, enfranchised, like the Dead;
Rest till Love be born anew.
Weary Thought shall take his time,
Free of task-work, loosed from rhyme.

No reproof shall grieve or chill;
Every sin doth stand confest;
None need murmur, ‘This was ill’:
Therefore do they grant us rest;
Contemplation making whole
Every ruin of the soul.

Pictures shall as softly look
As in distance shows delight;
Slowly shall each saintly book
Turn its pages in our sight;
Not the study’s wealth confuse,
Urging zeal to pale abuse.

Children through the windows peep,
Not reproachful, though our own;
Hushed the parent passion deep,
And the household’s eager tone.
One above, divine and true,
Makes us children like to you.

Measured bread shall build us up
At the hospitable board;
In Contentment’s golden cup
Is the guileless liquor poured.
May the beggar pledge the king
In that spirit gathering,

Oh! my house is far away;
Yet it sometimes shuts me in.
Imperfection mars each day
While the perfect works begin.
In the house of labor best
Can I build the house of rest.
-Julia Ward Howe

Source: She Wields a Pen: American Women Poets of the Nineteenth Century (University of Iowa Press, 1997)

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Posted in Daily, Family and Society, Life, Personal Musings, Reflections, Stories Around the World

Priceless in More Ways than One

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

One of the most treasured possessions in the family chest is the watch my grandfather had given my brother for his graduation. Those days with the economic slow down hitting hard, this graduation gift had meant a lot of saving, toil and loss of the daily pleasures which may have affordable if not set aside for the watch. Looking through our grandfather’s eyes, his days had echoed the effect of the Great Depression and the feel of not having the benefits of today. Each effort for a better tomorrow included certain sacrifices from both our grandparents. In comparison to the days of the present, every help or sacrifice whether it be in relative terms or not, as long as it is from the heart; it makes a difference for all.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

“Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else.” Mitch Albom

None of us really don’t know the extent of the priceless things that we have been blessed with. Reflecting back, each one of us have been showered with infinite Grace and blessings, many which may go beyond than what may have been expected. Underlining these blessings, lie hidden hours of unending sacrifices and priceless sequence of events, made so by giving their all to ensure their best. The truth is the one realizes the priceless treasures that each of us hold, a bit too late. Beyond the physical world, to feel the immense selflessness, love and warmth of human nature, it is those that are priceless that matter the most.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

She paid the highest price.
The seller stood behind the store counter and stared absently at the street. One little girl went to the store and literally stuck to the window. When she saw what she was looking for, her eyes sparkled with delight. She went inside and asked her to be shown the turquoise beads. “This is for my sister. Can you wrap them beautifully?”, asked the girl. The owner looked in disbelief at the baby and asked:”And how much money do you have?” The girl pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, unfolded it and poured a handful of little things onto the counter. With hope in her voice, she asked: “Is that enough?” There were only a few small coins. The girl proudly continued: “You know, I want to make a present to my older sister.” Since our mother died, my sister takes care of us, and she does not have time for herself. Today is her birthday and I am sure that she will be happy to receive such beads, they will be very suitable for the color of her eyes.

The man took the beads, went deep into the store, brought the case, put the turquoise in it, wrapped it with a ribbon and tied a bow. ” Hold on!”, he said to the girl,” And carry it carefully!” The girl ran out and skipped toward the house. The working day was drawing to a close when a young girl crossed the threshold of the same store. She put on the counter a case familiar to the seller and separately wrapping paper and an untied bow. “Were these beads bought here? How much did they cost? ”
“BUT!”, said the owner of the store, “the cost of any product in my store is always a confidential agreement between me and the client.” The girl said: “But my sister only had a few coins.” Beads from real turquoise, right? They must be very expensive. We can’t afford it.”

The man took the case, with great tenderness and warmth restored the packaging, handed it to the girl and said:“She paid the highest price … More than any adult could pay: she gave everything she had.” Silence filled a small shop, and two tears rolled down the face of a girl clutching a small bundle in her trembling hand …

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Posted in Daily, Life, Quotes, Reflections, Work

The “Nailing” Point

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

“Diz ſagent uns die wîſen, ein nagel behalt ein îſen, ein îſen ein ros, ein ros ein man, ein man ein burc, der ſtrîten kan.“
– (c. 1230 Freidank Bescheidenheit)
(Middle High German (positively formulated):”The wise tell us that a nail keeps a shoe, a shoe a horse, a horse a man, a man a castle, that can fight.”)

With a hoard of activities being planned for Christmas, little wonder then that unless prioritization is done, no task will reach their finish point. In hindsight, one realizes that despite the prioritization, necessary things are left undone. Which highlights, what may be necessary mayn’t be important then but pays a heavy price later on.

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000
Source:https://vk.com/public75290000
Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

The trip to the family roots, attending the recital, cheering at the junior league match, quick rush to the doctors’ for the routine physical checks, following the prescribed or set medication, servicing the four wheeler on time, drawing the building plans with an eye on the future possibilities are all just few of the many instances wherein “what is necessary to be done” is foregone for “the mood of that time”, botched up planning or deeming the “necessary as trivial”.

Over time, one goes through many situations wherein the failure to contemplate the various possibilities or correct the then perceived as minor defects, may eventually lead to a more grave sequence of events with appalling outcome. The root problems lies in the indifference to what is the necessity than what is simply the other important task at that point of time. True that availability and possibility for the necessary task may seem slight then, but that balance of scales is always a relative concept. At times, when the fingers are burnt, the consequence will then be felt as terrible and priceless.

“Neglect breeds mischief…” Benjamin Franklin

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000
Source:https://vk.com/public75290000
Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Hindsight is indeed unsettling, for once these chains of defaults and causalities are tended to, going back to the normal way may be difficult. But as they always say turning to the right path at some point may be better than going on the same, reparative steps have to be taken as soon as the errors have been realized. For a stitch in time o save nine, knowing that the “stitch” is necessary isn’t just enough but getting down and doing it is more important. No matter how small they may seem, it is the simple things that matter quite a bit. And these are the few, but pertinent facts that one discerns as the years mature.

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost,
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost,
For want of a horse, the rider was lost,
For want of a rider, the message was lost,
For want of a message, the battle was lost,
For want of a battle, the war was lost,
For want of a war, the kingdom was lost,
For want of a nail, the world was lost
‘The Want of a Nail”
– T. Rundgren
Warner Chappell N.A., Ltd., 1989
(“Rundgren” Variation)

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547
Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Posted in Daily, Family and Society, Personal Musings, poetry, Random Thoughts

Let Bygones be Bygones

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

“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” Lauren Destefano

Although the first week of the last month of the year has started, the world around me still echoes a bit of the autumn; with the splash of colours, cold winds and rains still adorning the landscape. As the trees reach their near bare point and the faded colours slowly come down in numbers, the end of autumn echoes the inner part of letting go.

“You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have.” Jim Rohn

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

All of us have our own set of circumstances. Amidst them, each one of us have felt the good, the bad, the difficult, the trying and the anxious parts of life. While good memories bring a sense of warmth, contentment and nostalgia; there are those memories which have them but are tinged with regrets, poignancy and a certain amount of remorse. Each one of us have had “those moments”. Sometimes on a later date, they may echo the regret and the sadness, other times they bring to heart the joy and happiness of those days.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

As one goes through the remembrances of those negative parts, one must not forget that one was lucky to experience them all. No one is guaranteed happiness. One has to make the best of the worst, better their days and learn from the regrets. Just as autumn shows us the antithesis of spring, one needs the “downs”, not just to learn from them but to appreciate the “ups” as well.

“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.” Stanley Horowitz

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Autumn

The thistledown’s flying, though the winds are all still,
On the green grass now lying, now mounting the hill,
The spring from the fountain now boils like a pot;
Through stones past the counting it bubbles red-hot.

The ground parched and cracked is like overbaked bread,
The greensward all wracked is, bents dried up and dead.
The fallow fields glitter like water indeed,
And gossamers twitter, flung from weed unto weed.

Hill-tops like hot iron glitter bright in the sun,
And the rivers we’re eying burn to gold as they run;
Burning hot is the ground, liquid gold is the air;
Whoever looks round sees Eternity there.
-John Clare

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments
Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments