Xerox - My perception

Swaram and Salangai...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Swaram and Salangai - by GOWRI RAMNARAYAN

An article worth reading and sharing.

Simbly Stereotyping!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 31 May 2013 18:27:00 +0000

As per my friends, Indians use either of the two accents when they speak English. It’s either an Indian Accent or a Mallu Accent. There is a common belief that Malayalee’s English accent is poor and others laugh at them when they speak English. Initially it was very hard for me to understand what made my accent stand out from others, but after a lot of bullying and ridiculing by close friends and acquaintances I realized that I indeed had a Mallu Accent. I consciously made an effort to distinguish 'Lorry' & 'Loree', but at last I realized it was there in my blood. Now a days it has become a common trend to ridicule Mallu accent. But people don’t realize they too have a regional accent, but believes it’s just that Mallus who have an accent. After all these years in Chennai, I have realized it’s neither Lorry nor Loree, its simbly Laary and neither auto nor oto, its aato. Now that I can’t go back and ask my parents and teachers to correct my accent, I feel it’s about the people how they accept it. Language is a medium of communication, if others can understand what you say, who cares about your accent. Even if we Indians decide not to be racist based(biased) on region/religion, such silly accents make u feel that you are not an Indian but a 'Mallu'.

P.S: The Union Cabinet approved classifying Malayalam as a classical Language.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-24/india/39501011_1_malayalam-classical-language-cabinet-nod

The Beautiful "YOU" !

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:32:00 +0000

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.

Nothing is more important in life than being ourselves. But often we live someone else’s life. We live the life our parents wish for us or as our neighbors expect us to or the way society tells us to behave. And we end up sacrificing our happiness. Satisfaction comes from living our true self. A great life grows from an authentic one.

We feel obligated to do things that we don’t have time for ourselves and the things we love. As a result, we feel anxious and frustrated. With so many outside forces competing for our resources, it’s practically difficult being ourselves. People pleasing is the biggest factor that adds to the struggle in being ourselves. We utter a NO when heart whispers YES and vice versa. In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take, the relationships we are afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long to make. The goal in life is not to be successful by someone else’s standard but by your own authentic heart’s measure. Everyone has a different destiny and life path. You never really can know what that is for others.

"Love the fool in you, the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. This shields us from the adverse effects of being so mature."

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”

― Marilyn Monroe

Have faith and stay strong!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:05:00 +0000

Great things happen when you believe. You just have to believe that what happened has just happened and you can't change that. So just dry the tears and hope tomorrow will be a better day.A better tomorrow shall emerge based on faith and hope.Things happen to you to make you realize your true potential, strength and will power. Have faith and stay strong!

let us all unite!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:41:00 +0000

“The soul of man has been given wings, and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow, into the light of hope, into the future, that glorious future that belongs to you, to me and to all of us. Look up. Look up.”

- The most inspiring and hope filled statement that I have ever heard. The face that says “I’m just like you” but brows speak a million extra-ordinary things. The mustache says “I may not be perfect, but I try” and the eyes shine the light of a man’s sorrow and a boy’s innocent curiosity. He still remains the people’s favorite for all these reasons and not just because he was an entertainer. None other than Charlie Chaplin, the great.

Follows the speech at the end of his movie called The Great Dictator.

I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an Emperor, that's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that. We all want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone.

The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.

We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in;machinery that gives abundance has left us in want.

Our knowledge has made us cynical,our cleverness hard and unkind.

We think too much and feel too little.

More than machinery we need humanity,more than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness.

Without these qualities life will be violent and all will be lost.

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say: do not despair.

The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass and dictators will die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people and so long as men die liberty will never perish.

Soldiers: don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you as cattle, as cannon fodder!

Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men,

machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts.

You are not machines!

You are not cattle!

You are men!!

You have the love of humanity in your hearts.

You don't hate, only the unloved hate.

The unloved and the unnatural.

Soldiers: don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty!

In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written:

- "The kingdom of God is within man."

Not one man, nor a group of men, but in all men: in you!

You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.

Then, in the name of democracy, let us use that power, let us all unite!

Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security.

By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie. They do not fulfil their promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people.

Now let us fight to fulfil that promise. Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness.

Soldiers! In the name of democracy: let us all unite!

Amidst all the chaos, how fast things are moving, how divergent perspectives are becoming, I want to invite you to watch this video in the spirit of a community that I'm sure looks forward for making the world a better place to live.

An emotional love letter !

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:18:00 +0000

I never thought this day would ever come. But for some reason this is what I have been wanting. I know I am taking this decision purely based on my selfish desires and my well-wishers’ concern. You've been with me all these years. We've held each other closer than anything else in the world. I've cared for you more than anything else. And you have given me such pleasures that are beyond explanation.

Initial days of our relationship, we were shy to hang out in public; unsure of what my future could be with you. I did hide my relationship with you from the world and even denied a couple of times when we were almost caught red-handed. Except a few, no one knew about us. Though friends were not so supportive of our relationship, we went ahead. We were careful; we fooled around parents and the well-wishers. We gradually progressed into being much more than a casual affair. We became partners in life’s tough journey. I carried you through some tough times and you reciprocated the same. And till date I am thankful to you for all those memories.All those days and wonderful memories where you have comforted still remains fresh. We've laughed, cried, drank, sang, danced, played and slept together. We have been each other’s’ best friends and the worst enemies. We have been each other’s’ best lovers and the worst dates. I've shared some of my most magical moments with you over a better part of my life.

And now, it’s time to say bye and move on. I have been meaning to tell you this for a long time but I couldn't do it. Though I still have the occasional urge to hold and kiss you from time to time, for my well-being, we should part ways. Thank you Gold Flake Kings for everything. I will never find a love truer than yours.

Love,

Sam.

Airport - A hub of emotions!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 12 May 2013 14:17:00 +0000

Airports can be sad places when loved ones depart, and joyous when they arrive. Narrating a few observations made when I went to see off a friend who is travelling to India for good. Watching the hugs and tears, an hour or two in an airport waiting area is always an interesting human study.

Toronto Pearson airport is reasonably huge and chaotic. Unlike many other airports, visitors can accompany the travellers till the departure gate. People from different ethnicity and race, people who speak different languages and people with different destination occupy the place. Though everything about people seems different there, there is one common thing in all of them- EMOTIONS.

Amongst all the people around I was able to notice a few people around. First was a huge family with people of all age group. Sharing some lighter moments they walked towards the Gate and before the traveler, a lady who seemed to be in her early fifties could hand over her passport and boarding pass to the security officer, she turned back to the young lady standing behind. There were no words exchanged .They just hugged each other and the very next moment tears rolled out of the mother’s eyes. She forgot everything around and started crying over her daughter’s shoulder. For a moment the consoling daughter patting the back of her mother seemed to be the mature mother and the weeping lady seemed to me like a teenage girl. This is exactly why we need to express emotions. Brings out the real individual in us and makes us feel better.

Next thing that I noticed was about an American couple who were in their thirties. While accompanying my friend towards the gate I just passed by them. They held each other in their arms and for minutes they just remained hugging each other. They expressed the purest form of emotion. The hug expressed everything. No words were required for them to communicate. The hug said a thousand I LOVE YOU ‘s.

And after I saw my friend waving hands from inside the gate, I turned around with the intention of leaving home. There stood a couple glancing each other. For some reason I thought its just two of them but then I realised that their kid was crawling on the floor. I was about to conclude that they were lazy to pick up the kid but suddenly I noticed that they were communicating something though they didn’t speak to each other. The lady was travelling leaving the husband and kid alone. Then I started guessing the situaion. This might be the first time he is going to stay home alone without her.

Smiles,Hugs,Kisses,Flowers,Tears and Embrace.Airports are such a hub of emotions

Memories!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:20:00 +0000

We come across a lot of people in our life.They come into our lives, be a part and induce a feeling of fear about missing them. What about those emails and texts that still remains ,never been able to delete, because we don’t want to. Why is it that these people keep coming in our lives.It still amuses me the way people are a part of our life.The way they come back after a long time. It`s ironic that the same factors that conspired these meetings may one day take those people away from you. But when i go through my mail archives, I whisper to myself - "Great memories!"

The history of one-finger-salute !!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:20:00 +0000

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victoryover the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future.

This famous weapon was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as “plucking the yew” (or “pluck yew”).

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, “See, we can still pluck yew!”

“PLUCK YEW!”

Since ‘pluck yew’ is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to ‘F’, and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute!

~SaMeera~

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 05 May 2013 04:38:00 +0000

“Trust Me. Things are gonna be alright.” – Sam told Meera as he held her in his arms. Meera emphasised her concern again. ”I know I won’t be able to convince my parents but at the same time I don’t want to lose you.” A feel of being attached to someone or something in life passed through his nerves as he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. For a guy with no emotional attachment to anyone or anything in life, a drop of tear shed for him was worth more than anything valuable that he has come across in life. Sam heard his own inner voice whispering – “If you let her go, regret is gonna hunt you down.”

It was never too hard for Sam or Meera to get close to each other. Sam was always an easy going person with a lot of ideologies and beliefs. He strongly believed that if there was someone in this earth who can be labelled the most unfit for being in a relationship, it was himself. Meera in contrast was a reserved person who doesn’t speak more than what is really needed. Sam and Meera differed from each other in all possible aspects - Character, culture, religion and language. Their differences and curiosity over each other’s differences brought them closer. Amidst all their differences they went ahead getting close to each other day by day. And finally one day they were in each other’s arms. Sam spent the most meaningful phase of his life with Meera. Clock ticked so fast till then and suddenly everything came to a standstill for Sam. He never expected Meera to shift from Bangalore to Chennai. With a heavy heart, Sam saw her off.

Though he expected the distance to creep in to their relationship, he never expected long distance relationship to be this hard. Talks over phone ended up in fights. Slowly the feel of insecurity crept into his thoughts and this propelled heated arguments among them. All those reasons that brought them closer have started becoming a reason for their fights. They both knew it’s high time they take their next step. And one fine Sunday evening Sam rang up Meera and before Sam could say a hello Meera Uttered those words and hung up.

Today even after years, Sam misses who he was with her. Sometimes he misses who he was when he first met her. How much fun he had and how romantic it was. There is a lot more to it, but those words from Meera still remains fresh in his ears – “Trust me. Things are not gonna work out between us.”

************No man is rich enough to buy back his past.*************************

Sagiyae!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 03 May 2013 23:08:00 +0000

Adayamudiyatha yaekam nee.

Aazhmanasil thaakam nee.

Ennai valarthuvidum oookam nee.

Ennai sinungavekkum vetkam nee.

En kanneer thuli nee.

Ennai sithiravathai seyyum vali nee.

Ennada Rascalaa! Mind It!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:14:00 +0000

Home – this is one word that describes Chennai perfectly. Indeed this is what Chennai means to me. My love for Chennai started at the age of 8 when I shifted from Kerala. I still could remember the day when I got down from the iconic MADRAS MAIL and since then the beauty of Chennai has gone increasing day by day and now Chennai has become an integral part of my life as a nurturing mother, a skilled teacher, a naughty sibling and a passionate lover.

Close to two decades Chennai has been tutoring me with great knowledge on almost all possible subjects. Time spent at tea shop benches taught me politics. Traffic signals at Shollinganallur and Porur taught me patience. Beach to Tambaram train journeys during peak hours taught survival strategies. Last but not the least the climate has nurtured the attitude of overcoming pain and agony.

I still debate with my friends who prefer Bangalore to Chennai and the points that I put forward are

1. Multifaceted with filter coffee and Suprabhatam as well as the coolest pubs and multiplexes.You can attend a Kutchery and a jazz concert and have a heavy metal band play in a pub. People understand music.

2. ECR, Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram (I needn't say more)

3. We have a lot of beaches that no other major Indian city has. Marina Beach and Beasant Nagar- the heart & soul of Chennai.

4. In almost every crime indicator Chennai scores better than other metros. This is especially true in the case of women.It is not just petty crimes; even terror attacks are almost unheard of. In general, Chennai's law enforcement is more rigorous than most cities in India. Same could be said of communal riots.

5. Diverse career opportunities. Apart from being a major software hub, Chennai is also a major automobile manufacturing hub and a good place to get jobs in wide range of professions from medicine to electronics.

6. The cost of living.

7. There are dozens of temples with ancient historic value if you are of that sort - Mylapore Kapaleeswarar temple & Triplicane Parthasarathy temple - both centuries old treasures.

8. The center of south Indian Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam. The smells, sights, colours and the sheer love for art my city has. The silk cotton crowds, beaded jewellery and south indain girls. The steaming coffees, kasi halwas and vazhaipoo vadais - A feast to all six senses.

9. Satyam Cinemas - Name a place that offers an equivalent movie experience, steaming dosas on a bar stool and an unparalleled, creamy cold coffee. Simply the best place to watch movies.

10. The city, often associated with idli, dosa, vada and filter kaappi (coffee), has also emerged as one of the important destinations for investments and outsourcing, so much so that it is even being touted as the Detroit of South Asia and has been ranked first in terms of the top 50 outsourcing hubs in the country

11. Stella, Ethiraj and MOP. The tip of tongue tamil, the kurta-jean costume and the scooty whizzing around Nungambakkam.

12. The murukku sandwiches, the golas,Badam Gheer and Marwari girls. It’s our own mini version of Paris for fashion and Italy for food- Sowcarpet.

13. Wanna drive on a lane that is traffic-free as in the US, then take a drive down ECR driveway.

14. It’s always good value for money - Saravana Bhavan, French Loaf, Murugan Idly Shop,Idly Vilas, Hot chips ,Andhra messes and Kaiyendhi Bhavans.

15. The calmness you can still find irrespective of it being a metro. Try the Theosophical gardens or even the streets around Kotturpuram.

From Mambalam to margazhi season, From Adayar to Andhra mess, everything associated with my “singara Chennai” is just awesome. The loud chatter, the constant honking, the noisy crowd, pavement-driving and Filter Coffee – Missing all these Awesomatic Aaromalaes!!!!

Expressing Emotions!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 14:31:00 +0000

“Emotions operate on many levels. They have a physical aspect as well as a psychological aspect. Emotions bridge thought, feeling, and action – they operate in every part of a person, they affect many aspects of a person, and the person affects many aspects of the emotions.”
-John D Mayer

Emotions control your thinking, behavior and actions. Emotions affect your physical bodies as much as your body affects your feelings and thinking. People who ignore, dismiss, repress or just ventilate their emotions, are setting themselves up for physical illness. Emotions that are not felt and released but buried within the body or in the aura can cause serious illness.

You cannot change or control your emotions. You can learn how to be with them, living peacefully with them. The more anyone tries to control their emotions the more they resist control, and the more frightened people eventually become at what is seen to be a “loss of emotional control”.

Symptoms of Repressed Emotions

It takes a lot of energy to keep emotions repressed and buried. If you keep emotions buried for a long period of time, you lower your overall vibrations, and lower vibrations lead to illness and an accelerated ageing process. Buried emotions create fatigue and depression. The following are some major symptoms of buried and repressed emotions.

Depression without an apparent cause
Speaking of issues/interests rather than personal matters and feelings
Pretending something doesn’t matter when inside it does matter
Rarely talking about your feelings
Blowing up over minor incidents
Feeling your anger not at the time something happens but a few days later
Troubled personal relationships with family, friends, acquaintances
Difficulty accepting yourself and others
Laughing on the outside while crying on the inside

Effects of Repressed or Buried Emotions

Repressed or buried emotions can cause major difficulties in the physical body and energetic systems. They affect all your relationships, and they especially affect your ability to grow spiritually and shift your level of consciousness.

When you have repressed emotions, your behavior and reactions to events in the present moment are really reactions to past events as well as the present. This has a negative effect on all relationships in your life. You cannot be fully present with those you love in today until you have released your emotions from the past.

Each human being is very human, and that means each one of us is born with a full range of emotions.

Feel the feeling! Don’t be afraid of it!

- Extract from a vibrational assessment report.

My dear friend ,

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:15:00 +0000

Every time I get stuck you help me out

My joyous moments you hear me shout

I just grin and you understand I'm really mad

You just show me your shoulder when I'm sad!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At times you get into my nerves

But that’s what life really serves

When cheeks gets wet of tear

I know you will wipe it my dear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s overwhelming when I feel your care

I always relish those moments we share

I know it’s me who gave you the toughest times ever

But you stood by me till my toughest times were over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For every word of yours I really didn’t pay attention

But you chose to shower me with all your affection

Your absence could make me feel weak

Absolute trust is what I would really seek!!!!!!!!!!!

As we grow old our lives will change but i wish our friendship still remains!!!!!!!!

Life is really Simple!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:18:00 +0000

“What is life?” I don’t really have an accurate answer to this particular question but I have a simple approach to what it is. Honestly, I never tried to find the answer to this question maybe because I know I am not that intellectual to find the answer. But my approach towards life is very simple. I believe life is very simple but many of us make it complicated by our thoughts and expectations.

Life’s biggest happiness lies in small and simple things. Nothing in life can give you more happiness then seeing the smile on someone else’s face and realizing that you are the one behind the smile. But when uncertainties abound, when opportunities are getting scarce, when choices made are becoming much more complex and critical, and when immediate decision is imminent, we tend to become very upset, not knowing what to do. We walk blindly and aimlessly. We refuse to sit down.

Why do we make it so complicated?

We live in a generation of building walls instead of bridges. We don’t call. We don’t invite. We don’t explain or even ask. No, we would rather just make our own assumptions because it’s the easy way out. We don’t admit if we don’t like something. We would rather put it all over our Facebook page. We are often too afraid to admit that we like something or even someone because we don’t want to be judged by others or because it doesn’t match up to the standards of society or our own community. We are so afraid of rejection that we don’t ask for what we want, we don’t tell the people we love them… because what if they don’t say it back? Are we really going to live in the shadow because our likes and interests might freak our Society? Just think about it, you could miss out on what could have been a beautiful thing because you were too afraid to take a little risk.

We always hurt ourselves by judging others, by expecting something from others. But is it necessary to judge someone else? We are not God, so how can we differentiate good and bad? So rather than analyzing someone else, it’s better to check our compatibility with that person and move on. Every individual has their own way of living, with their own ideas, beliefs, and thoughts to live with. Why make things complex by trying to change that person so we can be compatible?

We often overthink and overanalyze and finally end up nowhere. Life becomes so simple if we start looking into things with a simpler vision. When our intention is to climb up the stairs knowing that our destination is there on the top, we shouldn’t be calculating every step that lies ahead. Visualizing the next step alone will let us climb the stairs with less stress and a relaxed mindset.

We all want to be happy; we all want to feel good. And in order to make someone feel special, we try to give that person an expensive gift. But are these gifts really capable of making someone feel special? No. The best way to make someone happy and feel special is to give the gift of a smile.

“If you really want to know how rich you are, count what all you have which money can’t buy.”

So let’s do not make life too complicated by dreaming big, by hoping too much, by expecting the too much, and by ignoring those small things where happiness lies. Let’s make it simple by doing the basics rights, by welcoming whatever life will bring rather than getting disappointed and by learning from failure. Let’s spread the love and smile; let’s value relationships and celebrate those small surprises life throws at us.

Life is simple if we know that we are not alone.

Life is simple if we know that our family and friends are around to help us.

Life is simple if we know that the Lord God is right here beside us to help us.

Life is simple if we don’t make it complicated.

There is always a better way to live!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:16:00 +0000

How do we approach each day in our life? There is always so much going on in our lives. We’re always into a hell lot of things, there is a lot going on around us and these things just monopolize our attention. We can literally move through each day like a robot, going from one thing to the next, finishing task after task off our to “do list”, meeting SLAs taking care of all of our so called action items and having all of our attention completely absorbed by all the things we are doing. Before we know it, the day has gone past. On certain days, we may not have even had the time for our own personal needs. But, there is a different way to live. We don’t have to just do things the way we always did. We don’t have to live our life automated and get caught up in the same old routines. We don’t have to stay within our comfort zone and keep on doing what we know we are capable of. We don’t have to allow others to direct us and be their work horse. The best example of such an attitude I have seen in my friend Kanagaraj when people used to direct him what to do and how to do. Without even thinking for a second he used to reply – “Tell me what to do, but not How to do.” This is one best way we can portray the confidence he has in his potential.

We don’t have to be afraid of failing. We don’t have to play a certain role or subject ourselves to conventions that limit us. We don’t have to have millions of things always running through our minds of all the things we need to do and take care of. There is a different way to live. We can choose to live in a better way. We can be totally connected to the people around us and really engage and experience things in the greatest ways. We can accomplish what we desire and watch as life unfolds for us in the most amazing ways. We can look at anything and everything around us with a right attitude and discover what it means to really live our best life. If we start looking at everything around us from a different perspective and see things in a new way, there is a different way to approach life.

Though living different is not something that just happens overnight, there are changes that can make immediate impacts. The most important thing we need recognize that there is always a different way to live. There has to be a planning for this.

We need to ask ourselves the toughest questions. Am I on the right track? Am I on a path that will lead me to fulfilling my dreams? Am I fulfilling my purpose? What is the one thing I have always felt I should do? It is okay and expected that we will not have all the answers, but it is still important we ask ourselves these questions and find the answers. Filling these blanks of our lives will be a journey altogether and eventually we will discover ourselves and our true purpose during the journey.

There should be something that we love or we are passionate about. We should have a sense of appreciation and gratitude for both the little and the big things in life. In our daily duties and tasks, we should notice something great that we appreciate or we are fond of. It might be the job, family, friends or nature. Whatever it is we should keep on appreciating that.

Enjoy Ourselves. By enjoying what we are doing, we unknowingly pour our passion and energy into whatever is immediately in front of us. If we aren’t enjoying what we are currently, we still lack the brutal force to hit hard against the wall that we are bound to break.

Unplug and Unwind. Being busy with our action items and jumping from tasks to tasks, we need to take off our time for things that really chills out our mind. Any of us remember the last time we have done something crazy and people around us called us nuts? Be a kid again, be enthusiastic and be relaxed. Focus on Giving. Giving always gives us pleasure. Whether it is time, money, attention or kindness, as we move through your day, we should be focused on how we can give to others and feel the pleasure every time we are able to give. Having spent half a year in Mexico and being amongst people who greet you with a smile and wishes every time, I realized that Giving a smile to a stranger can give us a deep sense of pleasure.

Let go and let things unfold. One theory that I always rely on is that “Go with the flow”. Trust the current and it will take you safely to the bank that we deserve. Always we should realize and accept that life will unfold just as it is supposed to. We shouldn’t resent anything that comes our way. We need to look for the lesson that we are supposed to learn from every challenge.

Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.

Time to move on!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:12:00 +0000

“Time to move on” Ever wondered what this really means? For most of us, to move on is just to leave behind our thoughts and emotions and adapt to the reality that life serves us. This is where most of us loose our self identity and confidence. One way of interpreting “to move on “is just to quit trying or try quitting. Either way it’s going to be one way forward, just to succumb to pressure and dance to the tunes that life plays through someone else. Instead why don’t we try to take forward all that we have learnt and those positive aspects which helps us sustain. Personally having faced this situation I always wondered what makes us say so. Is it the thought that we are done with what we used to be or is it the glimpse of better prospects that we foresee? How many of us have the guts to say the latter? But most of us knowingly or unknowingly move on just because of the greediness towards a better prospect. People refuse to admit it as they are not ready to let down their self portrayed image. Having said all these, ideally moving on is all about decisions. In fact life is all about making the right decision and moving on. So the decision that we take while standing on the verge of go or no go situation decides the real impact.

Most of us try to escape or past by moving on but the fact is that the past just moves on with us and keeps haunting us. This is when TIME comes into play. If we really stand by a decision and wish to move on without taking our haunting past forward, we really need to forgive and forget. As quoted by one of my favorite author “When you start abandoning your old beliefs or values, you may be stuck at the threshold for some time. Before moving on, you have to clear away your cherished beliefs.” This is one way of moving on with dignity. In case of relationships, if we burry the pain within ourselves, it stays with us, but if we experience it and deal with it we will find it moving on after some time. From birth we hold on to things and behave as we will cease to exist if we let it go. Yes we are emotionally attached and to depart takes a remarkable amount of strain and pain. If we start realizing that the appropriate decision is to move on with dignity rather than pointing fingers at each other, that shows the real maturity.

Another view to this moving on concept is that we should proactively recognize the circumstances that await us. We should be able to spot out the situation and decide even before we are victimized by our circumstances. Most relationships end abruptly with arguments and arrogance towards each other. When we really head towards a heated moment our thoughts cease to obey us or we really stop considering our thoughts for a while. In such situations we shoot out words even faster than reactions. After a while though we regret, our ego doesn’t allow us to apologize to each other. Slowly hatred creeps in and situations change. We require time to heal our pain where words could have healed. It’s quite natural to feel angry, frustrated, or confused for a while, but the real reason is that we haven’t moved on. People might advice to take a break, share your feelings and all crap but fact is that there is only one thing that can heal – “TIME”.

In times of emotional crisis, there is always an opportunity to grow and learn. Just because you are feeling emptiness in life, it doesn’t mean that nothing is happening or that things will never change. Treat this period as a time-out and sow the seeds for new growth. If we do so we understand ourselves better and rejuvenate ourselves with a remarkable strength. To move on, we need to analyze and understand what really went wrong.

Learning from our mistakes is the key to not repeating them again.

Faith can Move Mountains!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:09:00 +0000

FAITH – The greatest force that God has entrusted on us. Every person has the FAITH Element in them. I challenge a person who says “I don’t have faith” because the words “I don’t have faith” itself has the answer in it. He stands by his faith that he doesn’t have faith. I might not be able to prove literally that faith can move mountains but if we explore the phrase a bit philosophically, we can observe that the mountain here can be understood as any obstacle that comes our way. Be it personally or professionally, we all have a lot of mountains to climb. When we speak about mountains here, the size of the mountain dynamically seems to vary based on the depth of faith that we possess. For a person with Faith and hope, he foresees the solution to the problem whereas to a person who lacks faith just keeps staring at the mountain. A person who lacks faith tells God how big his obstacles are whereas a person with rock solid faith tells his obstacles how big his God is. Faith is an amazing phenomenon that determines a person’s way of approach towards life.

Faith nurtures love. Faithful people are always trustworthy. Trust in turn is the core element that holds any relationship together. A person who values relationships brings peace and harmony to his family and society. Faith brings success. The best example is what we Indians are today. The freedom and rights that we enjoy today is because of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s faith in Non-Violence. If faith brings success, hope and will power are the by-products. A prominent aspect that determines the flow of our lives is decision making. A decision that we take today will determine the path and goal for tomorrow (which people with little faith and self belief name it DESTINY). A man who has faith in his own decision tastes success much earlier than others.

In contrast, lack of faith can be lethal. For example, a person who loses faith in a judiciary and law becomes a potential threat to the society. As “justice delayed is justice denied!” – The lack of promptness in law enforcement causes a person to lose faith in the system and no surprise why we have a lot of armed revolutionaries. Every extremist or a so called naxallite will have a story to tell on what grounds they have been forced to lose their faith in the system. The point is that lack of faith can be due to many reasons. Faith can be nourished only in a steady mind. The thoughts of a man with an unsteady mind always oscillate between the “yes” and “No” in case of faith. Faith and trust keeps relationships together and there is no wonder why we have growing number of orphanages and old age homes. Every youngster forgets to be a faithful child when they grow up.

In one sense, Faith is not under our control. We cannot choose to believe something. One's parents, culture, and society may apply various pressures to have certain faith and beliefs. Faith is influenced by many things, such as environmental factors, but what is most important is our view of the available evidence. Faith demands a reason or evidence. Ever wondered why Darwin’s theory remains a theory and not a fact? Just because we demand evidence. If Darwin had produced a solid evidence of evolution, we wouldn’t have had it as just a theory rather it would have replaced the first chapter of Genesis. And if there is something that is proven with impeccable evidence or happens to be the same throughout, faith becomes involuntary and we don’t have control over the faith anymore. Faith varies with age. Kids never question the logic in a fairy tale or any bedtime story narrated to them but a grown up questions even the simplest logic screened in a movie.

The phenomenon of faith can be explored and explained in many but faith is the greatest force that can move mountains. Our faith on the proven scientific fact that earth rotates and revolves is moving mountains.

The pursuit of happiness!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:05:00 +0000

“The pursuit of happiness” – My thoughts and beliefs contradict with this title. There were times when I used to feel guilty of not being happy-Kind of feeling sad for being sad. But for the past couple of years, I just happened to figure out a new mind set and the best way to approach happiness. And that is not pursuing happiness, instead making happiness pursue you. The most important reason being the fact - What You Chase, Runs Away. One of the most important things I’ve realized is that the more you pursue happiness, the more it eludes you. You chase it and it runs away. I personally feel and promote that happiness is not something to pursue directly. Rather, it is an end result of a certain way of living and a certain way of thinking. Of course the destination goal is happiness, but you achieve it by pursuing the contexts that create it, not by pursuing it. So if you ask me “Are you happy?” the honest answer I can give you is “I don’t know, let me think about it”. Then I look back at my life, evaluate my living and realize that I am happy.

Most of us tend to consider that achieving status, fame, power, success or a huge income will make us happy. In fact, chasing these things has a lot more chance of turning life into a rat race: we eventually win one of them, we feel good for a while, and then we get used to it and then start expecting even bigger dose to feel good again. Human mind has an incredible ability to adapt to changes in our social, economic and professional status. The real influence is that we become happier by doing more of the things that makes us happy. This is the true influence because it’s not about achieving; it’s about living life the way we want. We push hard to make more money, buy a big house and earn a reputation by doing things they don’t really enjoy and we don’t really find meaning in. Truth is that we end up less happy than the people who simply spend their life doing whatever they enjoy doing. Happiness comes to us only when we create for ourselves a lifestyle in which we do the things you love doing. The bottom line is that – our Life and lifestyle has to have elements that we are passionate about rather than just growing up and reaching the top of any hierarchy.

No matter how well we design your lifestyle, we are only human and we have a lot of acquired tendencies to make ourselves miserable. Usually, we make ourselves miserable for really silly reasons like disappointments, expectations, ego, stress and anger. The fact is that most of us live lives of extraordinary luxury compared to the lives our ancestors who lived just a couple of centuries ago. Yet we make them seem difficult and tough, in thoughts. In my experience, the number one way we make life seem hard is by imperatively asking too much of ourselves and of life. We think to ourselves that we must be perfect, that we must be appreciated by all, that we must get everything we want and, the epitome of all ‘musts’, that we must be happy. Therefore, we make ourselves unhappy. If we learn to let go of such expectations and we will see dramatic improvements in your overall happiness and well being-Because expectations always serves us disappointments. Combating our expectations can gradually change our thinking patterns. And as we do so, we develop more emotional and practical freedom.

Happiness will pursue us if we use the right ideas and principles to guide our life. If we do what we enjoy and let go of our expectations, our mind will reward us for this by triggering a good dose of happiness. That’s a way of mind telling us that our life is on the right track.

"Happiness is like a butterfly.
The more you chase it, the more it eludes you.
But if you turn your attention to other things,
It comes and sits softly on your shoulder."

-Henry David Thoreau

Regret!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:01:00 +0000

It’s my fault and I am paying for it!! - Not literally what I want to convey but the real essence behind it - REGRET. Regret is an emotion that results from a comparison between an actual outcome and a better outcome that might have occurred had another option been chosen. Big or small, we all regret for something. Had it been the other way – this is how we face regret in our day to day life. I still feel I should have selected a career which was very much relevant to what I qualified in. But all my regret fades away when I see my colleague with a master’s degree and still working in a field irrelevant to his qualification.

Do you regret? The answer for this question lies in another question – “Have you made the right decision?” yes… We need not regret if we make right decisions. Often we blame our fortunes and complain that we never got the chance. But the fact is that we were not ready to make the choice. There is no such thing as a life without any regrets. But regrets shouldn’t overcome us as regrets can interfere with your present happiness, restrict your future, or kill your motivation to move forward. We forcefully regret for two things – words and deeds. Words though are often forgotten, the scars that words leave behind are enormous. We don’t really understand the depth of hurt that we impose on others. Little cautious thought before speaking always serves us and our character better. In fact silence has its own ability to help us not to regret later. I have often regretted my speech but never my silence. Regret for deeds again is all about making the right choice. During a period of regret we can justify what we did but it’s not easy to justify what we didn’t do.

“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” –Sydney Smith

Regret is often a mix of anger and grief. We start blaming our fate. We start asking ourselves a couple of questions-why on the earth did it happen to just you? Why the hell were you shortlisted for all this misfortunes? And then we start blaming ourselves. If we wouldn’t have done that, things wouldn’t have turned out this way. And finally, we put the blame on everyone and everything around us. We feel as if the whole world is conspiring against us. But seriously, what do we gain from these thoughts? - Misery, demoralization and captivity in our own sick thoughts. In fact anger propels the thoughts of regret by depriving us of our rational thinking.

Regret stays as long as we don’t forgive ourselves. Forgiveness is a powerful catalyst to take us forward from regret. While regret holds you back in the past, forgiveness helps you to move forward. The mistakes that we made were a part of who we were then. We knew nothing better or else we would have made a different choice. These mistakes help us grow. We should forgive ourselves and move forward. When we make a mistake, always there is something to learn. Learn and grow. When we keep our focus on gain, we won’t feel the loss.

One fact that can overcome regret is to let go of the past, and focus on a better future. Concentrate on now. By shifting our passion into a new relationship, a new skill or a new adventure, we overcome our past. By forgiving ourselves and learning from our mistakes, we positively move forward with a clear conscience.

Madras to Mexico!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 09:57:00 +0000

“Sir, Airport!!” the words that brought me to reality. I woke up squeezing my eyes to stare at the Chennai airport staring at me with all its might and majesty. It was a fifteen minutes sleep to compensate two sleepless nights at home. Not the thought of cultural transformation awaiting me , but the thought of missing my dear and near ones for a while. Lost in thoughts , I entered the airport and was surprised to see Binu, uncle and aunty waving at me. Though it was accidental that I met them there, I saw the virtual presence of my Dad and Mom in them. I got my send off hug from them and moved towards the boarding point where my friends and colleagues were waiting. It really felt as if I was moving through an emotional time machine because of the presence of my special ones. Mind just traversed through the good old days when I saw the local train passing by just opposite to the airport. Thoughts of those happy days just flashed in my mind when I realized that I was with my travel companions of college days. Thoughts of a two day air borne journey has started to tire me but when I saw the faces of my colleagues travelling along with me, I started realizing that it was not going to be that tiresome. After hugs and high fives, we moved towards the longue but just turning back towards the entrance made me feel jealous of my friends who travelled along with me. Everyone except me had their parents standing there.

Checked in our baggage and headed towards the security check where it was time for Sujai’s magical twist. The security personnel seized two bottles of unidentified gel like substance from his baggage. Sujai Had to explain hard to the Hindi speaking staff that it was just honey and pickle. After a struggle he rushed back to the check in counter and checked in the hand baggage too. Then it was time for some filmy glamour in the tale. All credits to Sujai for the delay in catching the pickup bus. Everyone were surprised by the presence of Shreya Saran in the bus with us. After the visual treat we boarded Jet Airways to Mumbai. A special mention to the Biriyani served and it was the last time we had a desi Biriyani. Reached Mumbai and completed the immigration. I was the odd man out to be questioned for an hour. The Invitation letter from the embassy never seemed to be enough to convince the staff that I was travelling on a strictly professional reason. After an hour of explanation I joined the other guys and headed towards the boarding pass counter. A long journey of 11 hours but it wasn’t that boring. The reason being Dhivya Murali and her chatter box entertainment. After 11 hour of journey, we reached Johannesburg and we never thought it was going to be that cold. At 4 degrees, without a jacket, it was really hard to withstand. Four hours of transit never seemed to be long with Kanagaraj, Sujai, Dhivya and Priya. Roaming around the airport and taking snaps alone covered a major portion of the transit time. It was time for us to board the South African airways Boeing to Sao Paulo. Then came the real twist in the story. Due to lack of cabin space , all of us were forced to check in the hand baggage also. Along with my clothes I had all my certificates, Travelers’ cheque worth 7000 USD, A Nikon D3100 and a 500GB portable HD. Unwillingly we checked in the hand baggage and started the next journey and after 9 long hours we reached brazil. Transit was not different from South Africa as we followed the same routine of roaming, photo sessions and mockery. Only difference was that we were able to login to some restricted wifi connection and update our Facebook status. Then boarded the last flight to the destination. The ambience was so different from other airways and finally we were able to spot some good looking American airhostess and free flowing tequilas. Yes we were heading towards the land of tequila. Mexican police greeted us with politeness as we were taken to a separate room and were questioned about our arrival to Mexico. As Dhivya and Priya went to get fresh, they handed over their bags and passport to us. Before they returned we ended up in the interrogatory procedure of the airport authority. The girls were roaming in airport for half an hour without having their passport and knowledge about our whereabouts. Finally they too ended up in the same room as us. After all the emigration procedures, we headed towards the baggage tray and found out that all the hand baggage checked in was missing. After a long struggle we were able to explain the Spanish speaking airport authority that our baggage is missing(The saddest part is that I received the baggage after two weeks and found that the DSLR and Hard disk were missing) We got a statement of complaint that the baggage are missing and headed towards the baggage check. All the rice and dhal went to the dust bin and it was well explained by Kanagaraj in Tamil. – “Paruppeduthittanga!!!” Based on the dos and dons explained by Alex Rajaram, we reached the apartments where we were supposed to have a room booked for each of us. And the fun at Mexico started with the conversation between our manager Chaman Sahu and Kanagaraj. The conversation as follows

Knock on the door and Kanagaraj opens.

Anonymous person : CHAMAN!!!!!

Kanagaraj : Sorry, he is in office.

Anonymous person : I am Chaman!!

Kanagaraj : Is It????

These kinds of conversations still continue and Kanagaraj continues to Rock!!! He still remains the undoubted live wire of Nextel Mexico Team.