Tag: philosophy

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

More than Exist

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Credo
by Jack London

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

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

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

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 Christian, Family and Society, Personal Musings

From the Centre-point

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One Pair to Many

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Personal Musings, Photography Art, Reflections, Stories Around the World

Seasons, Phases and Shades

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

“I don’t know what lies around the bend, but I’m going to believe that the best does.” Anne of Green Gables

While attending the biennial workshop held as a part of the company policy on updating their employees, many of us signed up mainly for the chance to visit another interesting place. In fact the venue itself was one of the appealing factors of this time’s workshop. Based on the recommendations of the previous city visitors (though it was three years old) we had decided to visit the local famous haunts. To our surprise, while most tourist places had stayed on(or even updated), some of the local popular places like the delis, square gardens as well as city walks had changed quite significantly.

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

While the entire week went in a whirlwind of various sessions, trips to the local areas, experimenting with new dishes; our experiences were a little different from the previous accounts we were told. Though our experiences were different, it was a lovely stay for the season we were in.

“Even seasonal situations can bring with them lessons that last a lifetime. If the love doesn’t last, it prepares you for the one that will.” Mandy Hale

Each of our days brings in a lot of scenes, flavours and experiences. Our own experiences may be seen in a different light by others. While one may have a good memory, the others may share a not so good or sad memory. To pass judgement too quickly based on a single happening would be to deprive oneself of the whole picture.

Source:https://vk.com/englisharoundtheworld
Source:https://vk.com/englisharoundtheworld
Source:https://vk.com/englisharoundtheworld

Each event or person has their own phases. While one phase mayn’t turn out to be well, it doesn’t mean that it is a lost cause. Instead give it some time, for then one would discover that things weren’t so bad but an interesting experience  seen so in the due course of time.

The Seasons of Life 
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to not judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.
The second son said no – it was covered with green buds and full of promise.
The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfilment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree’s life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are – and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life – can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall. Don’t judge a life by one difficult season. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Posted in Daily, Family and Society, poetry, Random Thoughts

Paint it Silver

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

hile pursuing his studies in law, my cousin had lost his two friends to a freak accident, courtesy of drunk driving. Ten years down the lane, with a promising career and family he was on a happy track in life. Unfortunately taking the temperamental nature of time and fate, he had been the unintended victim of another drunk driving collision in the routine evening hours. By providence, he had gotten away with a fracture, bruises and abrasions; yet the damage cost was substantial. It is in those stark moments that one realizes how fragile life is.

“There are moments when I wish I could roll back the clock and take all the sadness away, but I have the feeling that if I did, the joy would be gone as well.” Nicholas Sparks

Source:https://vk.com/comeshome
Source:https://vk.com/comeshome
Source:https://vk.com/comeshome

When things are really looking up for some of us, there may be a sudden boom and crash. The sequence of negative events may leave a drastic impact and can result in a downward spiral. It is in those falls, that one must learn to recoup and brace oneself to minimize the damaging sudden impact. In those depressing moments, one must learn to paint their own silver lining.

As the darkness ebbs away, the light of the silver will shine through for the better days. Just by squaring our shoulders and facing the difficult days with a strong, courage, stubborn will and strength will pave way for an inner warmth. Whether “the better tomorrows” may be in near vicinity or not, one may never know. Yet what one can do, would be to brighten their own dark days and bring out an inner smile for the day.

“It’s being here now that’s important. There’s no past and there’s no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can’t relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don’t know if there is one.” George Harrison

Source:https://vk.com/comeshome
Source:https://vk.com/comeshome
Source:https://vk.com/comeshome

The Vow

No matter how deep the sadness or wide the pain,
I vow to live for a brighter day will come again.

No matter how many mistakes I’ve made in the past,
I vow to live and in the future avoid them, surefooted and fast.

No matter how many tragedies beyond my control take place,
I vow to live and stay my course within this race.

No matter how poor or rich I may ever be,
I vow to live and aspire to search for the dignity in simplicity.

No matter how much a lover may pierce the inner core of my heart,
I vow to live for like spring I’ll get a new start.

No matter how isolated and alone I may feel,
I vow to live and do something for someone else to heal.

No matter how hopeless my situation my appear,
I vow to live and reflect until my viewpoint is clear.

No matter what happens in this life – good or bad
I vow to live, do my best, and just for living – be glad.

– By Malcolm O. Varner

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts
Posted in Life, Personal Musings, poetry, Reflections

Balance in the Wind

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

“ You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” Cayla Mills

Juggling through home and professional life is never easy, especially with family, kids and pets. In most situations, if the two adults and kids do their bit of the share, things fall into line. Yet what happens when the children are too small or physically challenged or here are not two, but only one pair of adult hands. Initially one may be able to tackle the situation, but later, one may feel quite defeated. This was experienced by a close friend of mine, with her husband transferred to another project for two weeks, a toddler with a cast (courtesy of a misjudged jump), one child sick with chickenpox and a deadline project on her work front. Like these, many similar situation may be experienced by us at certain points in our lifetime.

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

During those initial parts of the difficult days, it may be mentally and physically possible to cover all aspects alone. But when the going gets more tough, taking a step back and moving ahead may help things work out in the long run. While circumstances may get more trying, cribbing would never help. Instead deal with what ever is possible, as for the rest get help or prioritize the more important aspects at that point or course of time. Remember that the trees survive through the cold of winter as well, the hot rays of summer and the cold winds laced with thunderstorms of autumn. Though they may lose their leaves, flowers and branches; they still stand tall with their roots going deep. As the start of spring rejuvenates them, thy grow back. Likewise we too need to go deep into the roots of support system of friends, family and neighbourhood (we all have them for no one is an island), the tough times will gradually fade and life gets back to the normal (if not the same) footing.

“ Life is, at times, tough. And all we need to do is to prove that we are tougher than it.” Sanhita Baruah

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

The Oak Tree

A mighty wind blew night and day
It stole the oak tree’s leaves away
Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark

But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around
The weary wind gave up and spoke.
How can you still be standing Oak?

The oak tree said, I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two
Carry every leaf away
Shake my limbs, and make me sway

But I have roots stretched in the earth
Growing stronger since my birth
You’ll never touch them, for you see
They are the deepest part of me

Until today, I wasn’t sure
Of just how much I could endure
But now I’ve found, with thanks to you
I’m stronger than I ever knew

– Johnny Ray Ryder Jr

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