perceptions – Page 2 – Sugar And Spice… Among Other Things

Christian, Family and Society, poetry, Reflections

Shades of Red

Posted on October 18, 2020October 18, 2020 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

Gazing out at the fiery evening sky brings to mind the words of Francis Bacon, “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Reality wise, it mayn’t be so. Even as the sun rises or sets, we carry over the fury to the next hour, knowing or not. Only when the dust settles quite late, does one realize the futility of holding onto that strong emotion of “anger”. Truth is then, at the moment of restless and fury, that anger was what felt right.

Certain scenarios in life justify expression of “anger”. Own credit transferred to the senior or colleague, inability of the other person to listen, the same error going on complete loop are just a couple of many scenarios that eventually trigger the anger wire. Sometimes it is this anger and injustice that keeps the inner flame burning, allowing one to move on. Yet this “anger” can cause one to combust and burn own self to embers. Such is the power of anger. Contrary to what most say, as per the writing as by experts in this field, often express the opinion that anger should never be stored away or stewed away. It needs to addressed and expressed in the right manner. And finally it needs to settle down, so that one regains the normal balance of own.

“26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27)

Like the two edged sword that it is, anger needs to be used in the right manner and also let gone back into the folds of time. Dragging these shades of red, over and over again, makes one lose out on the brilliance and vibrancy of the other colours around us. True that being humane, things happen and one feels the anger. One needs to acknowledge, address it, reason it, use it to better own self but never to feed it, so this beast consumes us from within. If and when this anger festers, give vent to it in private, journal it and pray for strength and patience for the soul to calm down. For taunts and rebukes never help but self-destructs. Hold fast and hold true to the soul, for this phase of “anger” shall too pass. As the anger fades into the night, the next morning shines clear and bright, for a better tomorrow.

How Clear, How Lovely Bright
A.E.Houseman

How clear, how lovely bright,
How beautiful to sight
Those beams of morning play;
How heaven laughs out with glee
Where, like a bird set free,
Up from the eastern sea
Soars the delightful day.

To-day I shall be strong,
No more shall yield to wrong,
Shall squander life no more;
Days lost, I know not how,
I shall retrieve them now;
Now I shall keep the vow
I never kept before.

Ensanguining the skies
How heavily it dies
Into the west away;
Past touch and sight and sound
Not further to be found,
How hopeless under ground
Falls the remorseful day.

Daily, Personal Musings, Photography Art, poetry

Out of the “State”

Posted on September 21, 2020September 21, 2020 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

When in the mood for a stress release, the all-time favourite is to lose own self in books or literature of any kind, from novels to online reads and the like. Though on some days, it mayn’t work, among the options of Netflix, Spotify and so on; one of them is to observe the toddlers and above at play. From trying to make buildings to antics of monkeys to get the kite stuck in the low branches of the tree or the swing, the tedious hours gets a fresh turn. As far as perseverance is concerned, children to do know quite a bit about it, especially when the cookie jar is placed way up the top shelf or the aren’t in the usual place. They don’t stop till they get those delicious crumbs on their dress.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Socrates

Bad days will come, but how long they stay, the impact they leave and their effect, all depends on own thinking and state of the gray cells within. If and when those “bad times” govern our thoughts, all hell breaks loose. And when they don’t get the upper hand, the rays of light filter trough the breaks among the black clouds and eventually the brightness stays on and spreads ahead. The point lies in how eager one is to get the cookie jar. When one falters, learn to pick up own-self with help and inspiration from the world around us. Eventually we do get to it, no matter how hidden or how high the jar is placed. It all boils down to what, how and when we think and in doing so, just believe and charge ahead.

“It’s All In A State Of Mind”

If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t,
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It’s almost a “cinch” you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost,
For out in the world you find
Success begins with a fellow’s will;
It’s all in the state of mind.

Full many a race is lost
Ere ever a step is run;
And many a coward fails
Ere ever his work’s begun.

Think big and your deeds will grow,
Think small and you’ll fall behind,
Think that you can and you will;
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you’re outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But sooner or later, the man who wins,
Is the fellow who thinks he can.

-Walter D. Wintle

Daily, Family and Society, poetry, Reflections

Add them Up

Posted on August 22, 2020August 21, 2020 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

For one to realize the frailty of life versus time given to one, scanning the first few pages of the newspaper is enough, or just listen to the morning news hour. For some who thought they had time, there wasn’t any. Whereas others have been blessed with a second chance, good or bad, only time knows the final outcome. Through all this one realizes how blessed one has been. In fact, these thought bring out the true meaning of what “we have never realized”.

One never realizes how blessed one has been with a job or any form of employment, till the day the wages stop coming and the money is out of hand. One never knows the gift of a family, unless they come back to an empty set of rooms with no voices, but only those of the media. One never realizes how much they were blessed with their own path to walk and friends to visit, until they are forced to confine within. Instead of realizing the simple gifts of time and life as a whole, we crib that theatres are shut, malls are out and we are all stuck.

“Life’s not about expecting, hoping and wishing, it’s about doing, being and becoming.” Mike Dooley

True that life may put one in a bind at times. Yet for every things there aren’t just one or two but many sides which can be explored. While we crib about what we may have missed out on, learn not to lose out on what we have right now. if one had to truly measure up the gifts we have been blessed with, the list made would put out the “so called better things” out with a whiff. As time shows us how fickle she can be with life, let each day be a highlight of the gifts that she offers us, put to use and not left behind in the chase for the perceived better.

How Much Would This Cost?
Courtland W. Sayers

One midnight deep in starlight still
I dreamed that I received this bill:
…………..In account with life:
Five thousand breathless dawns all new;
Five thousand flowers fresh in dew;
Five thousand sunsets wrapped in gold;
One million snowflakes served ice cold,
Five quiet friends; one baby’s love;
One white-mad sea with clouds above;
One hundred music-haunted dreams
Of moon drenched roads and hurrying streams,
One June night in a fragrant wood;
One heart that loved and understood.
I wondered when I woke that day
‘How much this would cost if I had to pay?’

Family and Society, Personal Musings, Photography Art

Of Import

Posted on August 15, 2020August 14, 2020 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

Hindsight is often a painful thing, but in retrospect a gift in disguise. Unfortunately, the latter bit is well appreciated years later.

The things that matter most must never be at the mercy of the things that matter least.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

What one needs to remember that the thoughts running through, song whistled or felt in the morning, doesn’t mean much in what is it. Instead it holds a special place for it gave wings to fly for the whole day.

Whether it be a big house or a small one, as long as it is a “home”, it is indeed a blessing to feel so.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

If it follows that one is alone or by self for now, or enfolded by family and friends, more than the style or way we live, embracing life as a harmony of sensations. Of the sparkling moments evened out by the more mundane, dull or unsavoury ones; life is to be lived and felt as a whole.

More than the words that float about us around us, unless one deeply knows who they are from within; life along with her best parts and gifts may be lost in the wind.

More than that, over time, one realizes that we are a part of a bigger fabric. Each of us holds a special song, a tune or a turn; part of a special thread. This is felt by the heart and soul living within each of us. All this is what makes one, every now and then, be able to thaw out the iciness and bring in the gentleness in the world that surrounds us. As time refines us, one realizes that these are the things that really matter the most.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Life, Personal Musings, poetry, Quotes, Reflections

Solace of the Rain

Posted on August 5, 2020June 1, 2020 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“ Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Vivian Greene

There’s something about rains that brings out the liveliness in each one of us. Whether from the smell of fresh earth, the sound of the raindrops hitting the windowpanes, the cool air around each of us, the warmth of the hot cup of Joe to the maddening rush at the market, the splash of the tyres against the puddles and so on; the rains brings out a number of emotions and memories in many of us. With the monsoons still going on strong, the rains bring back memories of childhood, of paper boats to bigger sailboats; games of stepping into the puddles and the walk back from school, getting drenched and later warmed with hot chocolate and biscuits.

“I love when rain falls like wet curtains, layer after layer of perfectly shaped individual drops. It’s so easy to think of rain as a collective unit, one consistent and omnipresent mass. It’s so easy to forget that each raindrop is falling alone to meet the earth for the first time. So too are we. Always falling alone, but part of something so much bigger, so much more beautiful than we could ever be alone.” Tyler Knott Gregson

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

As the childhood days get left behind; rain brings out a range of emotions in an adult with the hassles of downpour running foremost in the mind. Yet amidst the clamorous thoughts, these rains remind the adult mind of the earth being washed clean and given a new lease of fresh life.

Rains brings to focus of new beginnings, days of freshness, rivulets of eater forming their own stream, the coming together of the various animals under the shelter to keep dry and above all, fills up the streams for the joys of swimming. Rains, one of the elemental pillars of nature brings with the joys of the rainbow.

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” Ashley Smith

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Let’s live, love and wonder,
Let’s believe, remember and regret,
From happiness to cry, laugh heartily
Let’s live, so as not to grow old in our hearts

Let’s just admire the
Fields, the sky, the silver of the dew,
And if it is difficult, still do not give up –
Go ahead without lowering your head.

Let’s be sincere in communication,
Honest in words, deeds and deeds,
Let’s believe, holy, without doubts
To live in waking life, openly, not in dreams!

Let’s honestly admit
In your mistakes, envy and lies,
Let’s live, love and admire –
Spread your wings with your soul!
Rus Svyataya

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Life, Personal Musings

The Bend

Posted on July 2, 2020July 2, 2020 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going. “

Entering into the “adult phase” of life, the above phrase is something that many of us may have come across. Juggling between university, work and life in general, these words may make their first entry. If not then, maybe while family life and professional life get into their respective modes. Through these words and by general advice, the point highlighted is always to brave against the tide, use own resources or talents and charge ahead.

True that all this is important but a certain undeniable point is, how to deal with it. More importantly, how does one learn to live through it.

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road…Unless you fail to make the turn.” Helen Keller

Source:https://vk.com/englisharoundtheworld

Sitting back and reflecting, each sunrise to the next holds its own events. Some of these may be classified as occurrences, others as routine, few as challenges which may be easy crossed as a test of mettle while others may be classed as “unavoidable and certain hurdles”. Undoubtedly the classification is something that varies from person to person. In due process, when one tends to classify many situations as “tough” it is time to sit back and take a deep look into our lives, as well as to remember that one is never alone.

Getting a heartbeat is a miracle, living it is a blessing.

If and when “the tough events” happen, the difference lies if one is willing to reflect back and decide whether the situation is really tough, or is it a state of own mind. If the factors tend to the latter, it is high time to take a breath and go for a run, joining in with the rest of the world around us.

“Maxim 36: When the going gets tough, the tough call for close air support.
-The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries” Howard Tayler

Eventually things will settle down. All one has to do is to hang in there, and not let those “tough situations” get to us.

Source:https://vk.com/englisharoundtheworld

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma

Source:https://vk.com/englisharoundtheworld

Life, Personal Musings, Reflections, Stories Around the World, Work

Over-Turn

Posted on June 24, 2020June 24, 2020 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

Whether it be work from home or not, breaks are always a must. Which is why there is always time for a “break”. There is something special about holding that warm cup. More than just a routine, it brings out a fresh perspective with each sip. Be it coffee or tea, herbal, green or black, with or without milk, each cup has something in it.

“There are mornings when everything brims with promise, even my empty cup.” Ted Kooser

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://vk.com

Like the cups that hold within it, so do we people, hold something within each of us. Different situations may have different hues and flavours, but we do put something in it. Interestingly whatever these cups hold in them, do spill out. That cup can bring out a smile, or push one into sorrows. When a cup spills over, what is in it is what comes out. Knowing that, let’s try to put something worth, so that even though the cup may tip over, it brings a smile on the faces around us.

You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee?
“Well because someone bumped into me, of course!”
*Wrong answer.*
You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup.
Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea.
*Whatever is inside the cup, is what will spill out.*
Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It’s easy to fake it, until you get rattled.
*So we have to ask ourselves”what’s in my cup?”*
When life gets tough, what spills over?
Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility?
Or anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions?
You choose!
Today let’s work towards filling our cups with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affirmation for ourselves; and kindness, gentleness and love for others.
Source: Internet

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments