Tag: people

Posted in Family and Society, Personal Musings, Photography Art, Random Thoughts

In Our Own Way

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

With the situation running along the same lines as in the previous months, all this sudden realization of the little things in life have given us plenty of food for thought. Slowly as the social strata get back into a semblance of an order, the reality is still unsettles remains strong. As each one of us embolden ourselves to face these small but significant challenges, we learn new things not just about others alone, but concerning ourselves as well. Of them, the most important thing, is to learn from the few experiences that life takes each one of us through.

“It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.” Dale Carnegie

As one journeys through, we learn to understand the silence in a better manner as well as to read between the lines and a glimpse into the souls around us. The art to speak soft, approach slowly , spread the warmth around us as well as to share the pain in the eyes of those around us; once learnt from life, then become her priceless gift to us. To not just know the bitterness of loss, but also to experience the joy of gaining is how time teaches us the value of each hour that we breathe the air around us.

The inner circle that we choose to live in, is not measured by beauty, wealth, education or fame alone; but by kindness, sincerity and love. While one may falter every now and then in keeping the circle of our choice, over time being true to oneself becomes easier and as learnt and discovered is a wiser way and option to hold onto.

“Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” Helen Keller

In our own way, doing small and simple things helps one to being whole. As universal love has taught and showed us, being grandiose never bears more fruit than just being ourselves, simple, kind and of the intent to share the joy and love with the world around us. Being kind, is no less beautiful and is the crux to finding own happiness. For no matter what comes and goes, these are the things that one yearns for in life. To share the simple joys, being happy and at peace within; one doesn’t have to journey far but start from within. At the end, being true in our own ways is what matters the most, in life across the aeons of time.

Posted in Daily, Personal Musings, Photography Art, poetry, Random Thoughts

Peril of the Chase

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

An unexpected turn of events lead to an intense manhunt for the “hardware store”. Unfortunately the regular route was marred by pieces of fallen trees, repair barriers on the road as well as plenty of water logged areas, all courtesy of the rains due to the cyclonic effect. While driving around, we had reached back to the starting point not once, but twice. Whether the told directions were wrong or our Google guide was sifting us through the varied routs, all we knew was that we were in a big circle. Eventually we did find the shop, to get the distilled water for the invertor; but being caught in that loop was one of the nightmare we wished that wouldn’t repeat.

“The thing I’m most afraid of is me. Of not knowing what I’m going to do. Of not knowing what I’m doing right now.” Haruki Murakami

Ironically we do chase a lot of circles in life. Some of the chases may seem meaningful then, bu then lose their appeal as one gets closer. Other circles entice one, but one gets mired in their trap, sinking faster than quicksand. Some circles are those that lead us downhill with it’s subtle turns; driving ourselves to the breaking point. Whether the latter is the end-point or not; only circumstances, time and ourselves can tell. Yet the best circles are wherein we have a little of the best things of life, in doses such that we get to sweat it out as well as enjoy the feel of life. The catch is in what one defines as the “things to achieve in life”.

“Oh what we find, when we stop searching. Oh what we feel, when we stop forcing. Oh what we receive, when we stop fearing. Oh what we become, when we just love.” Creig Crippen

All of us have a chase to do or encounter. While some hunts are worth all the effort, other mayn’t be so. The trick is knowing when to stop, review and reconsider. Doing so will help to redirect oneself, especially when the path is way off the intended course or causes more grief and sorrows, that the flickers of happiness that we want at the least. As life always says that she isn’t made of glitter alone. The pretty things lie in her simplicity and her riches are aplenty for all.

As we cry and chase the baubles, one should make sure that if the price of it is worth the effort or not. For these meaningless novelties may fade away, losing their charm and luster; leaving behind a void made of nothing but emptiness. To be caught is such a bind, is devastating not just to the mind and heart, but also to the soul. On the other hand, when one stops by the road once in a while to just see, feel and observe, the joys of living as such are ascertained and experienced for sure. And the chase for the latter is what brings those special smile on the faces around us as well as in the soul. The question lies in what are we waiting for, and the answers lies with us alone.

Of The Boy and Butterfly

Behold, how eager this our little boy
Is for a butterfly, as if all joy,
All profits, honours, yea, and lasting pleasures,
Were wrapped up in her, or the richest treasures
Found in her would be bundled up together,
When all her all is lighter than a feather.

He halloos, runs, and cries out, ‘Here, boys, here!’
Nor doth he brambles or the nettles fear:
He stumbles at the molehills, up he gets,
And runs again, as one bereft of wits;
And all his labour and his large outcry
Is only for a silly butterfly.

Comparison

This little boy an emblem is of those
Whose hearts are wholly at the world’s dispose.
The butterfly doth represent to me
The world’s best things at best but fading be.
All are but painted nothings and false joys,
Like this poor butterfly to these our boys.

His running through nettles, thorns, and briers,
To gratify his boyish fond desires,
His tumbling over molehills to attain
His end, namely, his butterfly to gain,
Doth plainly show what hazards some men run
To get what will be lost as soon as won.

-John Bunyan

Posted in Family and Society, Personal Musings, Random Thoughts, Reflections

Minute that Counts

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

The mandatory requirement to touch base with the company headquarters’ to update the central team about an ongoing project, lead to a lot between us colleagues to send one among us to the field office to give a review of the updates. Whether fortunate or not, the short straw was that of yours truly. So after a fortnight gap, the familiar route was taken and a lone figure saw itself at the main office waiting to clock in and touch base with the head office. For once, there was no hustling for the lift, a disarray of feet scrambling in to push the glass door across, punch in the codes and the like. With time on hands, it felt good to exchange a couple of words at the reception and interact live with another human face. Truth to be told, it felt real good to see another set of life-size smiling eyes behind the mask and exchange a flurry of words and compliments.

One of the things that this past couple of months have taught us is the precariousness of life and human relationships. In the hustle and bustle of the modern era, we not have just forgotten to smell the roses but also, to recognize their scent.

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

In the course of conversation, a pertinent thing that struck out was that many a time we never used to really connect with the other person. Each time one is running around the clock, short of time; we forget the little things done for us. When was the last time time we talked to the doorman who held the elevator for us in the morning rush or the colleague who had covered for us when the clock was ticking away ? Or the regular cafe server who had ordered the regular cup of joe in a jiffy ? Or the security guard who had guided one to the reserve the best parking space in the lot? While these things may seen quite small or inconsequential, they were the things that made the day bright. How many times did one thank or acknowledge the doers of these bright moments?

Sometimes all it takes is to appreciate someone for the little things that they had done. While it mayn’t seem to be a quite important thing then, later on looking back; these small little acts had helped to make a dull, tired or quiet day into a better or happier one.

“I drop kindness pebbles in still water everyday, and I watch the effect they have on other people’s lives. My favorite kindness pebbles are compliments.Drop a compliment and watch the ripple affect that it has in your life.” John A Passaro

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

To say an honest compliment or just lend a hand doesn’t take much effort. All it requires one is to pay attention to the world around them and note the little acts of kind gestures done right under our nose. Still on the page of sifting through memories, one incident that stuck in the mind was seen during my initial days at work. Throwing an office fundraiser for the local town, in the wake of the floods; we had to put in an impromptu garage sale and a variety show. A chance encounter resulted in one of the daughters’ of our building security employees displaying her art work. With her beautiful oil work on canvas being a quick sell, her talent got noticed by the local art school who had later sponsored her to the art school she goes to today. Those paintings had graced the walls then, only because her father had shown her work and was duly encouraged to make them a part of the venture then. Those kind and meaningful gesture had lead to a chain of events, lighting the lives of others and changing them into new turns.

“Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.” Germany Kent

When the chance ever strikes, no matter how busy one is; to just take a minute and render a n appreciation or simple compliment, would result in an array of smiles. Learning to appreciate others’ is how one experiences happiness in their lives. One never realizes how much one may miss out on them. Not taking one person around us for granted is important. For just as we appreciate those around us; the same goes when we are appreciated too. To make small but significant difference in another lives, is something more priceless that no money or material wealth can solely replace. Pass on the chain and share the greetings and smiles with the feeling of warmth in the daily world around us.

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 Reflections, Stories Around the World

Little of Reality, the Why and the Truth

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

With a little extra time at hand, thanks to the hours saved by missing out on the daily work-school commute (though one definitely misses them), reading those “snippets of information” makes one realise the gargantuan foundations laid not just by science, but also by reality and history. Embroiled in the fiasco of the present crisis, it looks like science and history have reinforced their teachings once again.

“Science taught…. without a sense of history, is robbed” I. Bernard Cohen

Reading up on these historical and scientific articles, one would understand that a lot of science is born from how one chooses to perceive reality. Take for instance, the fact that one has repeated bouts of morning coryza symptoms, on opening for that breath of fresh air. Some of us just pass it over, while few of us blame on the timings and the like. Yet a distinct set of people chose to ponder the whys and hows of it. So the options lie in not opening the window, or opening it another time. When the people who had the “whys” observes their hard facts, it led to the concept of “allergies”. Broaden it and includes not just the usual “hay fever” but also dust, pets or even upholstery fabrics as allergens. Record this over a length of time, and it leads to the study of allergies and the start to overcome them.

“You don’t get explanations in real life. You just get moments that are absolutely, utterly, inexplicably odd.” Neil Gaiman

Point of interest to note, is that one has to address. Just like the person with the “whys”, one needs to brood on their failures in life too. Success too requires it’s fair share of the “pats on the back”, but learning to address the falls helps one to get past them and back on our feet withe next single or couple of attempts.

Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma
Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma

As the spider says to try, try again; to do so, one needs to choose to inspect the facts, remove the inner emotions and face the hard reality. Once we join the dots and map out the course, each of our journeys will have something extraordinary and exceptional to offer, in the course of our own.

“If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” Albert Einstein

Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician and scientist, now known as an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures. Described as the “saviour of mothers”, Semmelweis discovered that the incidence of puerperal fever (also known as “childbed fever”) could be drastically cut by the use of hand disinfection in obstetrical clinics. Puerperal fever was common in mid-19th-century hospitals and often fatal. Semmelweis proposed the practice of washing hands with chlorinated lime solutions in 1847 while working in Vienna General Hospital’s First Obstetrical Clinic, where doctors’ wards had three times the mortality of midwives’ wards. Despite various publications of results where hand washing reduced mortality to below 1%, Semmelweis’s observations conflicted with the established scientific and medical opinions of the time and his ideas were rejected by the medical community. Semmelweis could offer no acceptable scientific explanation for his findings, and some doctors were offended at the suggestion that they should wash their hands and mocked him for it. It much later that Joseph Lister and Louis Pasteur discovered that it was ‘germs’ (bacteria) that were responsible for the Puerperal fever. Source: Internet

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

 

Posted in Daily, Family and Society, poetry, Stories Around the World, Work

Trace those Bytes

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

The ten minute coffee break during the morning office hours serves as an interesting session for not just coffee alone, but an interesting exchange of words or ideas, catching up with colleagues on non-office talk and intercepting snippets of information. Considering the latter, those bits of news may hold a ten-percent truth or just pure nonsense. Which is why, for any piece of information; print is the best. As far as the verbal pass-it-on goes, always consider the true source.

“The only thing more frustrating than slanderers is those foolish enough to listen to them.” Criss Jami

Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma
Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma
Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma

The thought to always trace the source of any news is important. As early as Aesop’s fables tell us, one’s character is defined by the daily lives they lead. Pole do change, the bad habits get thrown away for developing better ones but the essence of one stays almost the same or better if considering a positive change. Like if one knows that a colleague has the tendency to hype up things, take those details said at a lesser face value. Just like a wolf won’t eat any oats, know that the horse won’t eat red meat either. So for any source of news, look for the face and facts lest the one gets trapped in the mire of lies, confusion and errors. Knowing this and doing so, will help maintain their sanity especially when the news rendered is weird and disturbing. With this, office or even social life will definitely be handle-able during tired, dull or dreary days.

A tricky old wolf once entered a farm,
And seeing oats growing, he put on his charm,
So, calmly pretending that he meant no harm,
He spoke to a horse in his stall.
Sir Horse, I do hope you are comfortably fed,
But in case you are hungry and famished instead,
There are oats by the ton in one field, he said,
And I ate none so you’d have all.

Now the horse knew quite well that the wolf hated oats
And cared nothing for horses — or cattle or goats,
And in fact was well known for attacking their throats,
So he couldn’t resist ridicule:

Sir Wolf, he said, Don’t think me over-suspicious
Were I to suspect there was something malicious
In your lying claim you find oats delicious.
BEGONE! Do you think me a fool?

Aseop’s fable: (The Wolf Fails to Deceive the Horse)
MORAL: Before you believe anything, consider the source

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

Posted in Life, Personal Musings, poetry, Quotes, Work

Through the Tenor

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

The morning work drive doesn’t fail to impress one each day. Yet there are those days when nothing fails to incite a response. Guess it is one of those times when the inner tenor is unbalanced and everything seems murky.

“The emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it…” Nicholas Sparks

Some days the music lives up to its beats. Some days it doesn’t. Some days one feels like dancing in the rain; other days we crib about the mud and the splatter on the shoes. Some days we live for the thrill of our work, though at times we long for a change of job. The truth is, we all have our own moody days and that’s okay. For working mothers, it is okay to miss a nutritious breakfast and make do with sugary cereal or just milk. Some days it is okay to get the laundry done at the dry-cleaners or just splurge on that expensive massage. Some days it is okay for dads to just hang out at the pub or just go for game night at a friend’s place. Some days it is alright for kids to enjoy a weekday movie and get up early for their homework.

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

As nature shows through the tenors of the sea or the whine of the tempestuous wind, each element of life can be affected by the sway of the inner mind, circumstances of that moment and the feel within. One may feel happy a minute and melancholy the next couple of hours; but that is okay. Each of us need to experience our moods, listen to them and feel their cry. For only then, one can learn to get back on the balanced footing. It is okay to cry and laugh; scream and sing or stamp and dance.

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

Being human, emotions are always a part of us. Not letting it control us completely is what is important. Just like how fast they come, they will be gone too. Yet it is through these turn of moods, one discovers the passion of life. Life on an even tone is bland. We need all the stuff that goes to give the special essence of life’s potpourri. And that, my dear readers, is what brings the momentum into our lives and the spring in our steps.

“The sea has its moods. Sometimes it is melancholic and morose, other times fierce and feisty. But always passionate. Even when calm, one can sense the depth of the sea’s passion.” Jocelyn Murray

Moods
by Jack London
Who has not laughed with the skylark,
And bid his heart rejoice?
Laughed till the mirth-loving heavens
Echoed his laughter back?
Joyed in the sheer joy of living,
And sung with gladsome voice,
Lays that were cheerful and merry,
And bid his heart rejoice?
Who has not frowned in the gloaming,
And felt the skies grow black;
While o’er him spread the dark mantle
Of sullen, solemn Gloom,
Whose mutterings broke the silence
Like echoes from the tomb –
Like echoes of lost endeavors –
Reproaches from the tomb?
Who has not cursed in his passion,
As Anger’s stinging lash,
Biting and smarting and racking,
Fell on his naked back?
Felt in his veins feverish tumult,
The strife, the savage clash,
As when hot steel, leaped from the scabbard,
Meets steel with crash on crash?
Who has not wept in his sorrow,
And looked in vain for morn;
Waiting with hopeless yearning,
The sun from out the bourn?
Heard from the world the sad sobbing
Of Faith and Hope forlorn?
Known that the sun had forever
Gone down into the bourn?

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

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