relationships – Page 16 – Sugar And Spice… Among Other Things

Daily, Family and Society, Life, Personal Musings, Quotes, Work

The Hurry of Today

Posted on February 15, 2019December 7, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

God made time, but man made haste. ~Irish Proverb

“Take it slowly.” These are the words often heard by those of us who have used crutches or a walker at some point of time in our lives, may be after a fall, fracture, surgery or the like. One of the after-effects of walking with support either crutches or a walker is that we walk slower with every step being a necessary one. If we try to hurry we tend to fall, have sudden pain due to excessive strain or increase our duration with the supports. The hardest part is when we feel we will left behind because of the supports we use to walk. Yet when we introspect we realize that those who support and love us, would make their steps slow, small and easier so that we can keep up with them. This brings to mind what Bruce Failer quoted, “The simplest consequence of walking on crutches is that you walk slower. Every step must be a necessary one. When you hurry, you get where you’re going, but you get there alone. When you go slow, you get where you’re going, but you get there with a community you’ve built along the way.”

Being always in a hurry to get somewhere or do something, we forget how to enjoy the life that the Lord has given us. In the constant pursuit and wait for something new to happen or do, different from what we have today; the question then arises, “When will we be happy today? When will we enjoy the things of today?”

“Just be patient. Let the game come to you. Don’t rush. Be quick, but don’t hurry.” Earl Monroe

Source: https://vk.com/slideshowarts

In the haste of hunting, we neglect the fact that what’s here and now, in our hands can disappear so quickly. Time flies to its’ own tune. The present will elude us with we living in a different time frame; between the past and the future, ignoring the present. This habit stems from the fear that we mayn’t be able to achieve anything if we don’t hasten. Contrary to that thought, the beauty of life and our surroundings don’t believe in haste but using time for their own. As Lao Tzu said, ” Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

Learning to live in this hour, not constantly dwelling on tomorrow or the day after or about what will happen in a month will make us more fruitful and happy in the day. True we need to envision what the future may entail, but if we look forward with constant anxiety and foreboding, we will forget to live for today. Constantly waiting for something and thinking about the future make us sick, lifeless, worried and dull, besides losing the ability to rejoice and cherish moments of the present.

Source: https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Life, Personal Musings, poetry, Quotes

From the Heart

Posted on February 14, 2019November 28, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“It is not that we have so little time but that we lose so much. … The life we receive is not short but we make it so; we are not ill provided but use what we have wastefully.” Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Over the centuries as the standards of living have drastically improved and man has progressed in the spheres of science, art and literature; the only commodity that hasn’t been yet controlled is “time”. The fascination with gaining control over time is depicted in the attempts at inventing the time machine, fictional stories of time travel and the scientific conceptualization of time. Yet this is the one thing that man often squanders away, thinking it will be there again and again.

“They lose the day in expectation of the night, and the night in fear of the dawn.” Seneca

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

During the time we have here, doing what we want from the heart really matters. What the world thinks about doesn’t really come into play as long as we don’t step on someone’s toes, do no harm and live by honest principles. There is no absolute grade to measure the right and the wrong, as it all eventually boils down to perspective. Taking control of our allotted to do one’s heart’s content is what matters to our existence.

Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet. Sarah Louise Delany

If you can warm someone, so warm up.
If you are able to forgive someone, so forgive.
Remember, life consists entirely of people,
Whose planet Earth is in a handful.

If you want to go home, come back.
If you have something to say, so take it and say it.
Look, even the snow just falling down,
Decorates with itself all the backyards of the soul.

If you have someone to stay with, stay forever.
And be true to yourself, as the last of days.
If there is at least one person next to you,
Give in to him everything, you will be stronger in this.

And when there is no strength from bad news,
And when it beats intermittently in the chest …
If you can warm someone, so warm,
If you can forgive someone, so forgive.

V. Yakimov

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Daily, Life, Personal Musings, poetry, Quotes

Warmth Around Us

Posted on February 10, 2019November 28, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Everyone smiles in the same language,
Happiness knows no frontiers, no age.
No difference that makes us feel apart
if a smile can win even a broken heart.”
Ana Claudia Antunes

The beauty of living lies in the inherent sense of happiness within as well as the balance of our personal nature while interacting with others. In due course, we realize in the dark rainy days there are times when we still feel like the sun is shining. The reality is that the warmth around us is enough to drive off the sudden chill within. What we later realize is that warm people were around and they had given off a part of them to thaw the cold. It’s best to be around them for they are what make the dreary world a much better place to live in.

Source:https://vk.com/public752900000

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. Henri Nouwen

To sum up, the warmth around us that drives away the chill of winter can be found in these lines of poetry which I had chanced on, in my social network pages. These words are too beautiful and need to be shared to ward off the sudden cold that engulfs us from time to time.

There are warm people, like the summer sun
Like a gentle breeze, like a sea tide.
They warm to the very bottom,
And their word heals, as a gentle motive.

There are warm people, like native hands,
Like the light from a childhood favorite window.
They will calm down in moments of dashing,
Support and say that they need you.

God bless you, good people!
In response, I send my warmth.
Let your life be filled with light
For bringing goodness into the world.
-Rus Svyataya

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source:https://vk.com/we_live_a

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source:https://vk.com/we_live_a

Daily, Family and Society, Personal Musings, Photography Art, Quotes, Reflections

Finding the Harmony

Posted on February 7, 2019November 28, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.” Rabindranath Tagore

In the chaotic existence of the days, as we come across many people and numerous interactions, there is one set of people that I admire the most. They are open to all ideas, listen to entire narratives with infinite patience, kind to many but rarely allow others to interfere in their lives. They look for the truth by themselves, gathering their world bit by bit and at times with gentle subtleness, not paying attention to the surprised and condemning views of those around them.

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity. From discord find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

These kind of people are so rare being many-sided and beautiful. They are open to others, but they will never knock on doors where they are not welcome. They live in harmony with themselves, as their heart tells them. Usually they are considered insane, but these people love life, and she reciprocates them, giving them their best gifts. Harmony is the word that centers around these people.

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.” Thomas Merton

The peacefulness and concurrence with each other cannot be born in a day. For harmony to be attained it needs each one of us to be aware of the expectations and requirements that encompass us as we adapt in our own particular approach to life. To be in concordance with others will happen when we are in agreement with ourselves, living consistent with our most profound feelings of what is genuine and what matters most. The joy of life can be seen exemplified through the quiet power of harmony. When the state of harmony is balanced, one often discovers that life blossoms even through the tired, difficult, bleak and lonely days. All we need to do is find and synchronize the rhythm within to the thoughts, desires and dreams in our mind. Though this may seem difficult, it is never impossible to do so.

“The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace. A persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well-being that places harmony in one’s life.” Peace Pilgrim

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source:https://vk.com/we_live_a

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Christian, Family and Society, Life, poetry, Stories Around the World

Making of the Family

Posted on February 6, 2019November 16, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

The institution of marriage is one of the most sacred things of life. For two people to trust each other and share their lives, requires a magnanimous amount of courage, love and sacrifice. This journey involves the active and equal participation of two individuals, “give and take” from both sides and sharing of both sorrows and joys. Marriage then on leads to family.

Family is the place where a person should always be comfortable, understood, supported and heard. Family is the one place where one can hide from the whole world. Family has no envy, rivalry and controversy. Each person is understood almost without words. Family is where happiness lies in just being together.

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. Richard Bach

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Being part of a family involves strength,respect, understanding and most of all love in order to flourish. Unless mutual effort lies in everyone’s part, family can never be complete and whole. Society has its’ own share of happy and broken families. Yet as long as we can help it, giving a try to keep the family going is a must. If all avenues and paths fail, then its’ time to break off the unit.

Below is a poem I found on one my social networking pages. Unfortunately it doesn’t have a title nor the author’s name. Yet these simple lines bring out the sweet essence of family.

Real happiness nests in simple:
In the way he comes from work every evening,
How she fills their home with comfort,
And how together they are every Saturday evening.

How she worries, whether he ate at dinner,
How he wonders what she is writing about,
How she permits not to turn off the light,
And how he agrees to turn it down.

How they make plans for the day and for the year,
How they sometimes do not interfere with each other,
How everything, in general, is going slowly
In one easy circle.

What is so wonderful about it? … It’s life! …
Here the pots rattle and the floorboards creak …
Yes! … but it is here that it is possible to love
And to read each other – to the last page …

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source:https://vk.com/we_live_a

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

Address the Irritation

Posted on February 4, 2019December 5, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?” Rumi

We all have our own set of vices. One of the most frequent one that we indulge in is “irritation.” In the everyday life, ranging from the pigeons that spoil our car and the windowsill with their droppings to children who badger us with their queries (besides needing us to repeat things a hundred times), colleagues at work with snide comments to elderly who are hard of hearing or household chores piling up to less personal time for oneself; we are annoyed by someone or something at a given time.

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

“Feeling irritated, restless, afraid, and hopeless is a reminder to listen more carefully.” Pema Chodron

It would be futile to address every irritation, for at times it may not be possible to do so. Instead reflect on the factors, sequence of events and reasons behind them for it would help us deal with “the irritation” better. To quote Carl Jung, “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”

The real art of countering them lies in knowing when to keep quiet or feign ignorance and when to react, to kill the irritation. Yet continuously addressing “the irritation” can wear one down. Instead practicing self- restraint can go a long way in making our day more pleasant and circumstances less trying.

“At times a person’s actions irritate us but not his words. At times a person’s words irritate us but not his actions. At times both words and actions are irritating. See the suffering behind these, ignore the irritation and practice kindness.” Anonymous

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Christian, Daily, Family and Society, Life, Stories Around the World

Of Candlemas and New Beginnings

Posted on February 2, 2019January 23, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

With Candle-mas service and celebration all over the world, the end of the Christmas season has been officially marked. Candlemas (or Candlemass) is known as the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus and the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple as based on the Jewish custom. It falls on February 2, which is traditionally the 40th day of the Christmas–Epiphany season. For those who of us who haven’t removed the Christmas decorations on Twelfth Night (Epiphany Eve), Candlemas is the day when one can take them down.

Source: https://vk.com

In pre-Christian times, this day was known as the ‘Feast of Lights’ and celebrated the increase strength of the life-giving sun as winter gave way to spring. Later during the Christian era, this date marked the presentation of Christ to the temple. It was the day of the year when all the candles, that were used in the church during the coming year, were brought and blessed; thereby marking it as the Festival Day (or ‘mass’) of the Candles. In those days, candles were important not only because there was no electric lights; but were thought to be of protection against plague and illness and famine. As the years progressed; on Candlemas, the service is led by prayers and the candles used are blessed; serving as a symbol of Christ, who referred to himself as the Light of the World.

Source: https://vk.com/veruj

Falling almost in the middle of Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, Candlemas is considered to be time for fresh start. Each country has their own set of customs, celebrations and service. One can decide to honour this day by the beginning of doing something new, breaking an old habit, spending quality time and care for dear ones or devoting energy, time and steps for self-improvement.
For This is a simple way to make life a little better for one and for those touching our life in one aspect or other.

Candlemas Verse

When New Year’s Day is past and gone;
Christmas is with some people done;
But further some will it extend,
And at Twelfth Day their Christmas end.
Some people stretch it further yet,
At Candlemas they finish it.
The gentry carry it further still
And finish it just when they will;
They drink good wine and eat good cheer
And keep their Christmas all the year.

– From Colonial Williamsburg, 18th century

Source: https://vk.com