Turning within

watch the mind for five seconds,

watch it watching itself

like an alert sentinel

realisation pierces through

the parallax of demands like a diamond cutter

shredding   shearing the flab   flak

of the unwanted  the unneeded  

convoluted ingrained patterns of

thinking    thoughts

the residue of purity   unadulterated consciousness

decants into a moment of

meaning that spotlights existence

and everything becomes clear

sharp like the crackle of fire

~Written in response to the Brendan's Earthweal Weekly Challenge : Deep Time

Resilience

Manya sat in the midst of papers, swirling in a sea of indigo files. She couldn’t hear the clock ticking but knew that each moment gave way to the next with speed of lightening. The Deadline would creep in, deadly quiet, and stand there, thin-lipped, hands on her hips, demanding her pound of flesh.

Manya stood up and stared out of the window. The red-tiled portico was unpeopled except for the aged gardener who was hunched over, picking tufts of dried grass lining the edge of the green lawn.

How she wished she could join him. Did he want a potted petunia for his garden? Or a gladiolus, may be? She would choose the best ones from her own select array and gift it to the man. Tomorrow. When it would all be over. She would gladly trade the coldness of the ivory tower, where she stood, to the greenness of the grassroots with which the gardener worked. Carefree. Shorn of inane responsibilities. Happy.

But then again, wasn’t happiness a bi-product of the mind, just as suffering was. It was all in the mind. What stood between her and happiness at that moment? It was her mind. Her imagined fear of a missed deadline.

The gardener stood up, stretched his back and made as if to wipe the sweat off his brow. He sat down in a huff, muttering under his breath for a couple of moments, and slowly proceeded to pick up where he had left.  

Manya looked at the clear sky. It was dotted with wispy white clouds. Clouds that predicted good fortune, she knew. The Deadline was inching, slowly and surely. Battling it, tackling it and nailing it, was the Hobson’s choice she would choose.

She turned around and found the indigo blue files staring at her. They were the same colour as the colour of the sky. She picked one and ran her fingers over its smooth surface. She was now holding a piece of the sky, her very own sky.

~Written in response to Rommy's Prompt - Weekly Scribblings #53 : Beautiful Words at Poets and Storytellers United. I chose the word Zuiun: clouds that predict good fortune. Word Count:341

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Routines

Life changes. One day cannot be exactly similar to the previous day. A person cannot be exactly same as he was the previous day. He has to undergo changes – some cells die, while new cells take their place, new thoughts take the place of old thoughts, new ideas take root in his mind. Change is the only constant in life, on Earth.

But what helps us remain grounded through the changes and what helps us deal with changes – minor or drastic is a routine. Routines keep us tethered to our moorings while our boat is rocked by a tempest. Routines are what power us to move forward and chart the choppy waters of uncertainty. Routines form our sheet-anchors when the world around seems to be changing colours a tad too fast for our liking.

Find a routine that is uplifting and stick to it. So you will be uplifted a little each day, no matter what changes are thrown your way.

Be Happy

As I leave for work, my toddler son touches my feet. He has acquired this new habit, watching me touch my parents’ feet and seeking their blessings everyday before I leave for work.

Touching elders’ feet to seek their blessings is an integral part of Indian culture, more specifically Coorg culture. When we were children, one of our primary duties when we are introduced to the elders was to touch their feet with both our palms and bring the palms to our heads. And they in turn would bestow their blessings and wish for us all the good things that the smorgasbord of life has on offer.

So, it came as a pleasant surprise when my son who is all of two touched my feet for the first time a few weeks ago. He then proceeded to touch my parents’ feet too. Three times and placed his hand on his head after each iteration. Like a true blue Coorg!

He has kept up with the practice and has not missed even a single day. And today was special – he touched my feet and also offered his blessings! Turning on his most serious version, he smiled and said, ’Be Happy!’ And his words made the rest of my day!  

Yoga day

Yesterday was the International Yoga Day, a day when yoga is celebrated for being the cornerstone factor in the lives of many people who belong to these parts of the world. And what better day than to share my love for yoga here.

Yoga for me, is a way of life. It symbolises a way to cleanse the mind of negative, unnecessary thoughts. It is also a way to achieve the fitness of the mind and body and go back to the discover the wealth hidden in our souls. It is a light that shines on the path that takes us to bring out the best, the kindest and the most compassionate forms of ourselves. It instils courage when it is lacking, strength when one feels weak and resolve in the hearts of the waivering. Yoga brings one closer to the self, when one attempts to control the mind and focus on the body. It brings one closer to understanding the meaning of 'present moment consciousness’.

As one performs varied asanas and becomes aware of the body in different postures, the mind reduces its tendencies to wander. It is more about being in the here and now. When the mind diligently, constantly follows the movement of the body, stills when the body stills,moves when the body moves, the mind becomes one with the body. This is exactly what the legendary Buddhist monk Thic Nhat Han talks about in his book The Miracle of Mindfulness, when he elaborates about how the mind becomes one with the breath, when the mind follows and the breath leads. It is in this sense that the practice of yoga is called yoga in the first place, for after all doesn’t yoga mean union? Union of the mind with body or mind with the breath (in case of pranayama)

Hope everyday is yoga day for all of us!

The joy of living

What brings joy to you? Is happiness a fleeting moment in a day full of chaos, fatigue and non-chalance?  Pretty heavy questions aren’t they!

I can say that my quest for happiness has led me to believe that happiness from external stimuli is transient. The moment the stimuli disappears, the resultant happiness disappears along with it. You buy that new jacket that you look so good in, people compliment you(rather the jacket). After a few months when the jacket has lost its sheen, or worse still, when you lose it someplace, you are no longer happy.

You buy a new house and love every inch of it. You protect the house, the paint, the light fittings, the fixture, the fabulous teak bay window, from the smallest scratch possible. One fine day, you have to move out, because you are moving to a new city and happiness goes caput! Happiness from the best accessories, the greatest of achievements, the best relationships – are all fleeting. They may last awhile – a few years, a few decades maybe. But at the end of the day, external happiness is what it is – temporary!

But internal happiness on the other hand, the one that comes from within, the one that is not ephemeral, the one that will stick with us even when the going gets rough- is remarkably different! The key to internal happiness lies in our mind.

So control your mind, programme it to be happy and you are done! Happiness is yours for the taking!Sounds easy? On the contrary,it is probably the most difficult thing attempted by man. The great warrior Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita says that controlling the mind is impossible and Lord Krishna concurs when he says, that taming the mind is akin to taming the wind.

Every time I find my mind thinking undesirable thoughts – fear, anger and so on, I try to stop the thought process on its tracks. How do you stop thinking a certain thought? By watching the mind. By detaching from it. The mind loathes being watched. Go on, try it! Watch your mind carefully and suddenly you find that thoughts no longer make a beeline into that cramped up cerebral space like they always do! 

Another easy technique that I follow is to take a moment and watch my breath. Watch your breath -as you inhale and exhale. Concentrate on the breath as you inhale and the stomach rises. Concentrate on your breath as you exhale and the stomach falls. Repeat this process five times.You will find that the thought has broken free from the rut. You are free to think something nice and happy- afresh. Resort to this process whenever you feel dejected, angry or even afraid. Repeat as often as you can, as frequently as possible and you will notice a remarkable change in your attitude, in your feelings. You will find a general sense of well-being taking over. 

You will also find then that happiness need not necessarily be a destination at the end of the road. It can be a beautiful jouney.

Here’s wishing everyone true, lasting happiness. Always.