Tag: philosophy

Posted in Life, Personal Musings, poetry, Reflections

Will to Go Ahead

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

Thus, here comes today, the entry of another month. Reflecting back on the happenings of this month past; none would have expected this year would turn out so. As the pandemic still goes on across the world and lock-down still continues, the start of another month is filled with trepidation and fear. Though hope still lingers that things would wind down, deep within one expects such an event to be quite distant.

When such feelings come on ahead, it would be the best time to reflect on His Love and the annals of history as documented over the centuries. As history always teaches us, kingdoms rise and fall, civilization stays and moves on; changes do come and go. Whether one gets to see the end of it, we don’t know. Yet what one does know is that all these things too shall pass.

“Every new season of your life will be an opportunity for you to learn and grow. Don’t celebrate the good without celebrating the bad because they both work together to prepare you for the next season of your life.” Theresa Lewis

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As we comes across various issues and events in our lives, be it big or small, simple or huge in magnitude; as long as we grow the courage to tackle them, one shall overcome and live through them all. What one must always realize is that each day is a gift and a blessing of a kind.

One of the biggest gifts one has learnt through this pandemic, is that life is definitely unpredictable. Each of us may have felt that fact before this event of now; though this pandemic brings this feeling to the forefront as an alarm to awaken us each morning. Time is precious and so is each moment in life. None of these things are reversible.

“The best is yet to come.” Frank Sinatra

Learning to live each day, doing our bit is what one should try to do in their best capacity possible. Keeping both family and work, ourselves and our loved ones; giving each of them a share of our time, helps one to realize the beauty of each day. Once we learn to live with this understanding in mind; one will discern the fact that the hidden blessings of the present is what will give the glimmer of hope and light for the future.

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HEARTWORK

Each day is born with a sunrise
and ends in a sunset, the same way we
open our eyes to see the light,
and close them to hear the dark.
You have no control over
how your story begins or ends.
But by now, you should know that
all things have an ending.
Every spark returns to darkness.
Every sound returns to silence.
And every flower returns to sleep
with the earth.
The journey of the sun
and moon is predictable.
But yours,
is your ultimate
ART.
― Suzy Kassem

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

The Flight to Catch

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

“All our sweetest hours fly fastest.” Virgil

Every now and then, when school isn’t there between the turn of the academic sessions, we take a day off in the middle of the week. Nothing exclusive or exciting is planned. With the weather being nice, we just pack off a picnic lunch, couple of snack meals and then head off for a local park, hill top or just the beach. The purpose was always to just set the ball rolling and have some downtime with the kids. For the impromptu rainy days, it would be spent outdoor with paper boats, in the tree house or just a family camp-out in the fields.

We started this trend once we realized that each of us have our own tight morning schedules. With the kids being in school and we both, as parents having our own work environment, the family ground was just reduced to evening hours, domestic chores, dinner and Sundays. The effect was the feel of drifting away, even though evenings were there. Which is why, when things are light, we all pack off to make our own memories. For while our independent days are important with a mix of choice and necessity, these special days are occasions for us o bond better with each other, help us find our even footing in the paths of life and keep us connected for the later days in life.

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Reflecting back on own childhood days, the personal cache of recalls not relate to travels alone but also of the impromptu baking or art sessions in my mother’s studio, going for long treks, camp-outs and the days on the farm especially during summer. Those days never had any fancy restaurants, social media applications or instant transfer of media, commentary or comparisons. Those days were spent on the moments. As the wise of those days knew, that was the gift of life and time.

All of us have our own hectic schedules, whether as students, professionals, part-time employees, entrepreneurs, homemakers and the like. While some of may be able to prioritize between friends and family, sometimes the distribution of time is way off the ideal for our own personal balance. While one may try to shorten everything to what is necessary and important based on social requirements; know that time is of a fleeing essence. It may be there one minute, but gone the next. Realization of this little fact works wonders in helping us balance out and regroup the priorities in their required manner.

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Man only lives once, but creates memories and moments, meant for lifetime. When those of regret linger longer, it tends to wipe out the best parts of life, besides draining one internally. Looking back on those moments, when one tries to set their priorities right, the days become sweet, full of life, rich with laughter and treasured moments.

“Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.” Margaret Peters

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. “That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide. “He’s a fine looking boy”, the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.” Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. “What do you say we go, Melissa?” Melissa pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes.” The man nodded and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart’s content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. “Time to go now?” Again Melissa pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.” The man smiled and said, “OK.” “My, you certainly are a patient father,” the woman responded.

The man smiled and then said, “Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa. She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get five more minutes to watch her play.”
Source: Social Media (via The Internet)

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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.

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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.

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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?

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

Rein in the Fist

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

Though the holiday mode has started, with travel to tourist places restricted; it is the woods and the farm fields that have occupied most of the spare childhood hours, thus making the work at home option feasible for a few days. Which is why while making my entries in the excel spreadsheet, a sudden clatter of metal and cries of pain forced to make a rush to the pantry where I caught the young one with his hand stuck in the jar of crisps and in the mute howling phase. Like the monkey who trapped his hand in the jar, a couple of minutes he lit off before I could settle the scene and deal with the fiasco.

Reliving those moments over the pre-lunch tea session, the morning incident reminded me of the monkey’s hand which had caught in the jar for the fistful of cookies were too big to come out through the mouth of the jar. Just like the monkey, we adults too grab whatever our fists can hold, resulting in biting more than one can chew and staying stuck in the big jar of “life” getting stuck knee-deep when retreat would have been feasible.

“So the unwanting soul sees what’s hidden,
and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants.”
Lao Tzu

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Growing up, the stress was often laid on being successful, making something profitable out of life and the ventures that we do. As we mature, one experiences the profits and gains and basks in their glory. Eventually one may lose sight of the more important things in life, realizing that their hold on those things have been lost. Once when one realizes that the really important things in life have been lost, then those material profits and gain become completely worthless.

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.” Socrates

Defining when to rein in the profits and close down the run for amassing more, or just to continue on, rests on what one considers important close to their heart. Greed is one of those things that can infiltrate any stage of success silently, grow therein and create complete unrest in a subtle manner, such that one realizes that the profits gained were meaningless in context of the damage wrought.

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One should make most out of any venture, trying for it to be a success on all fronts. Yet the highlight is to rein the urge to confine all the glory to one, amass more or just hoard the rewards. By letting go a bit of that fist, one can enjoy a bit of the reward then instead of losing out to a worse predicament later on. Also one could grab less or just a handful and share it out, so that rewards enjoyed around would life a lot more fun, happy and joyful; just enough to fit into each of our fists.

The Greedy Mouse
A greedy mouse saw a basket full of corn. He wanted to eat all of the corn so he made a small hole in the basket. He squeezed in through the hole. He ate a lot of corn until he was full and was very happy. Now he wanted to come out. He tried to come out through the small hole. He could not. His belly was full. He tried again. But it was of no use. The mouse started crying. A rabbit was passing by. It heard the mouse’s cry and asked, “Why are you crying, my friend?” The mouse explained, “I made a small hole and came into the basket to eat the corn. Now I am not able to get out through that hole.”

The rabbit said, “It is because you ate too much. Wait till your belly shrinks.” The rabbit laughed and went away. The mouse fell asleep in the basket. The next morning his belly had shrunk. But he wanted to eat some more corn. He forgot all about getting out of the basket. So he ate the corn and his belly was really big again.After eating, the mouse remembered that he had to escape. But obviously, he could not. So he thought, “Oh! Now I will go out tomorrow.” The cat was the next passerby. He smelt the mouse in the basket. He lifted its lid and ate the mouse.

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Posted in Family and Society, Personal Musings, Reflections

Abstract to Doing

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

“Abstruse”. From Latin abstrūsus, which literally means “concealed.”
Means difficult to understand.

With the entire nation going into shutdown for almost a month, office hours translates to completing the current projects by the deadline, working from the temporary home office from the family homestead was the only available option. With my better half stuck in the hospital campus, keeping the children busy and entertained falls on the shoulders of yours truly with occasional help from my in-laws. While the initial few days saw unwarranted help and support from the “screen” as popular animation movies and cartoons; “boring” soon came into the regular conversation. Which is why the green board in the family room is sporting the word “abstruse” for the moment.

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Ameliorate. Means “to improve something”. Began as an 18th-century alteration of “meliorate,” the latter likely influenced by the French word améliorer (“to improve”).

With the spare time on hand as the daily commute is no longer there, the children have begun their “read and enact” lessons. To be honest, the initial days were more of a reading session while as of now, it is costume session where superman helps to eliminate the super-bugs in the vegetable garden. To keep their interest piqued, the green board sports a new word or a phrase on a daily basis.

Between the drama sessions, tree house encampment, ball games and home art; there is plenty of things to do to keep the young ones busy for now. As for the hours saved by the lack of commute, the benefits are seen in no longer being a part of the ranks of “tsundoku”, the set of recipes being experimented on, impromptu artwork gracing the shed-converted-to-studio and the sudden fits of castaways.

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As each of us go into “lock-down” situation in our respective places, there have been many alterations to the social calendar. While some which have been done away with won’t be missed, certain events which have been looked forward for have been lost out. The sudden uprooting of the daily routine, unprecedented job cuts or being laid off, salary deductions, loss of income, basic amenities and the like, all create an immense amount of mental pressure and stress.

Through all this, what may be salvaged should be given complete effort whereas, those wherein the situations can’t be changed, one has to review their options and make the changes as necessary. To rewind back and change the course of time is a feat which science and technology haven’t achieved yet. Instead what one can do, is to deal with the present scenario, appraise the resources at hand and move ahead. Life always has its’ own sudden curves. The way we handle those sharp turns changes the journey as time moves on .

Tsundoku (Japanese: 積ん読). One who acquires reading materials but lets them pile up in one’s home without reading them. Also referred to books ready for reading later when they are on a bookshelf.

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Posted in Family and Society, Life, Personal Musings, Photography Art, Random Thoughts, Stories Around the World

Correct the Curve

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

With the option of working from home for a couple of days a week going into effect this month, somehow we had ended up being in-charge for my niece and nephews along with our own. The reason being that the social isolation, especially from parks and grounds, would be best observed here with us. Thus with their school break starting here, home now equates to managing a playground while working in shifts. So when cries of “he took my car” versus “the girls broke into our tree-house” , it’s like holding the court at home.

Along the way, while trying to be fair, one realizes that one doesn’t need to take sides to meet out their version of justice. For while they may be in the wrong, it mayn’t be a truly wrong thing at work. For it’s all about relative thoughts.

“Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.” Paulo Coelho

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Putting the concept of “righting the wrong“, sometimes focusing only on the person who did it doesn’t serve the purpose. All of us make mistakes. While at times, it may be a willful default that needs a severe addressal; other times it may be just a wrong turn of events or the never ending situation of trying to do good but falling out along the way. For instance, the pair of children who broke the window pane during their ball game, need to know what went wrong. But meeting out harrowing punishment, verbal or emotional doesn’t help to teach them. Instead dealing with the situation without trying to pull down the morale of anyone, but not wearing those blinders help to bring out the right thoughts of behaviour, consequence and actions in those young minds.

“The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself.” Maya Angelou

Being just, is not about me being right and the other being wrong. It involves being able to listen to others’ with respect along with their versions, claims and opinions; keeping the facts in check and seeking for the evidence. To right the wrong, corrective measures doesn’t require one to always highlight the wrong doer; though they should be able to comprehend their mistake. For education with wisdom and insight is meaningless. For society to move ahead, it’s not just literacy, progress and strong work ethics that matter, but also a civic sense and the insight to strength and teach the future in a manner worth emulation and imparting the right morale, ethics as well as the code of social and personal conduct.

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A young man saw his primary school teacher on a wedding. He went to greet him with all the respect and admiration. He said to him: “Do you remember me, Teacher?”
The teacher said: “No, please introduce yourself.”
The student said: “I was your student in the 3rd Grade, I am the one who stole the watch of a child in the classroom. I will remind you but I am sure you remember the story.”

One of the boys in my class had a beautiful watch, so I decided to steal it. He came to you crying that someone had stolen his watch. You asked us to stand so as to search our pockets. I realized that my action would be exposed in front of the Students and Teachers. I will be called a thief, a liar and my character will be shattered forever.
You asked us to stand and face the wall and close our eyes completely. You went searching from pocket to pocket, and when you reached my pocket you pulled the watch out of my pocket, and you continued until you searched the last student. After you finished you asked us to open our eyes and to sit on our chairs. I was afraid you will expose me in front of the students. You showed the watch to the class, and gave it back to the boy, and you never mentioned the name of the one who stole the watch.
You never said a word to me, and you never mentioned the story to anyone. Throughout my school life, none of the teachers nor the students talked about me stealing the watch. I thought to myself you saved my dignity that day.

The teacher said: “I can’t remember who stole the watch that day, because I searched the pockets of all of you while my eyes were also closed.”

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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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