Sunny

Sunny yellow flower

Rise from the ground and swing my way

What do you see

I zip zap around you

Been too much to handle already?

You could get used to this.

Monday musing

“The smartest, most interesting, most dynamic, most impactful people … lived to figure it out…. Sometimes, the only way to discover who you are or what life you should lead is to do less planning and more living— to burst the double bubble of comfort and convention and just do stuff, even if you don’t know precisely where it’s going to lead.”

– Dan Pink in his Weinberg College commencement speech

Easy does it

Being in Mumbai, I’m seeing the monsoon reclaiming it’s tenure here for the next 3 months. This quote could help draw out similarities in life and nature.

May be sometimes all it takes is to be gentle and easy on ourselves and others. Change takes it’s own time just like nature takes it’s own course.

Zeal – Keeping up with it

Zeal is an important characteristic in life. I think it’s very strongly linked to things or activities we are passionate about.

While I have several things I’m passionate about, travel is an important one of them. It’s enthralling to open up to new experiences, culture and people. Plus explore new places and cuisines as you go along. So as I sit and watch the planes take off, it feels great to keep up with the zeal in life as we go along 🙂

Youth – A double take

“I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity” – Albert Einstein

Youth. Its that extraordinary time in one’s life time. Best described as the time to try out different things or experiment to see what life has in store. Personally i think its the phase where one is finding their true self. Separating the chaff from the grain, dissecting what we know as real.

However all said and done, if i were given an option i wouldn’t go back and change anything. In fact i avoid looking back in to the past as there is so much more to do in the future so why waste time. But, i have met a lot of people who keep thinking or wishing that if they had chance they would go back and change certain aspects of their life. To me, we just need to savor each day as it comes and the decisions we make will play out for the good 🙂

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Waterfront – A view to enjoy

I love watching water bodies. So lakes, rivers or the sea – you name it and it works for me. I mentioned only watching because I’m dead scared to venture in to any of these. Not really sure what drives my fear of these, but I wouldn’t try my luck at least for now.

Sometime in life I hope to do some scuba diving to explore the reefs and sea life. While that’s one of my long shot items to do in this lifetime, I will only start with extensive training to move on to that. For now, I enjoy the views as much as I get.

The photo above is a view of the harbour near the gateway of India in Mumbai. The sea was fairly quiet and a good number of ferries were doing the rounds on this sunny day!

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Virtues – Sharing is caring?

We’re prone to sharing. I think it’s one of the unique virtues that’s based on the most important human elements. We are keen to go out to the world and say, ” Here I am. This is me. I’m alive, breathing and can make a difference. I want to share the experience with you”.

But I wonder how many people are actually good at sharing. While someone maybe good at sharing things that matter such as knowledge, goodwill or donate a significant portion, there are others who take up the opposite approach. They may share gossip, detrimental news or cultivate bad habits. I don’t think there is a fine line of demarcation where one understands the difference when in a grey area. However when it comes to culture and the arts and even religion, sharing is the key to keeping the same alive.

Maybe on a economic level sharing as a virtue resonates closest to socialism. I don’t know how effective it could have been for some countries but it’s clearly not played out well for some. As Winston Churchill said:

“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”

Personally I feel it’s a virtue most of us could do a lot of good with sharing. So here’s to another cup of tea!

Unwind – Tuning back

Like the tree blowing in the wind. I’m taking the easy way out for today. There are varied approaches people take to de-stress. Popular methods include listening / playing music, travelling, watching movies, hitting the gym, cooking or creating some work of art.

For me, there are three approaches that work the best:

1. Music – My eternal love. In a retrospective mood, I listen to some of the older tracks. No matter what mood I’m in music is an instant lift-me-up. A playlist is in order for now.

2. Reading – Being a voracious reader I can devour any magazine / book / website. My kindle serves me well 🙂

3. Photography – Random clicks, candid shots and capturing nature are some of my interests. I think there is no dearth of interesting images one can capture if they have the eye for it.

So those are some of the top ways I unwind. It’s time to stretch those limbs now 🙂

Travel – More is less

Travelling has to be one of my top favorite things to do. I think travelling is such an enriching experience. Not only are you thrown out of your comfort zone, you’re also pushed beyond your boundaries. We’re more acceptable to change when subjected to sudden plan upsets. More agile, if i may use the word.

I read somewhere that if one has the money to spend and needs to choose between an expensive gift / holiday, then they must choose the latter. We pick up so much more in terms of culture, experiences and memories to relish. Plus for a photo freak like me – more chances to click pictures! I don’t think there is a line i would draw to the extent i wish to travel. In my case, more is less!

So here is a photo i clicked to capture the western ghats near mumbai 🙂

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Sunsets & Sunrises – Moving On

Sunrises and sunsets. The normal day begins and ends with those. At the end of it, i wonder do we long more for what’s gone by or wait for what’s coming. When the lonely owl makes noises at night, is it because it doesn’t want the darkness to fade away. Or rather when birds sing in the morning, are they welcoming the day or happy that the night is over?

From the little bit of all that i know, i’m looking forward to the next day. As they say, it all gets better with time.

 

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