Monday, March 23, 2009

Do not procrastinate... Live and Love every moment..

In one of my earlier blogs, I had written about living the present moment.. Though this article that I came across today, is about procrastination, it seemed to have relevance to what I wrote in my earlier blog..

There is a saying ( "Subhaashitaani") in Sanskrit, which reads as follows:
na kaSchith api jaanaathi kim kasya SvaH bhavishyathi
athaH SvaH karaNeeyaani kuryaath adhya eva buddhimaan


Which means:
"No one knows what will happen tomorrow to us or to others. And therefore, the wise man does today itself, what is to be done tomorrow. "

A perfect advice against procrastination. Often we tend to postpone things either due to laziness or because it is either difficult or undesirable. We also take things for granted and often go through life without expressing our love and appreciation to others until it is too late. We get caught up with our day to day duties and forget to express our love and appreaciation to our partner. Even towards our children, we fail to express our appreciation and love then and there. Even the mundane things like finishing the work at hand should be done immediately lest they become too burdensome later if accumulated. Above all, today or present moment is in our hands, where as, tomorrow is not in our control. Tomorrow we may have some other urgent matter to attend to and this work which could have been easily finished today, may even be forgotten.
Past is gone, present is here and future may not be there. So, live every moment of life with joy; try to accomplish your duties with all your efforts and with postive attitude; cherish every moment with your loved ones!

Great words of a great man..

These thoughtful and inspirational words of Einstein, are very appropriate for the times we are going through...

" Let's not pretend that things will change if we keep doing the same things. A crisis is a real blessing to any person, to any country, for a crisis brings progress. Creativity is born from anguish, just like the day is born form the dark night. It's in crisis that inventive is born, as well as discoveries, and big strategies. He who overcomes crisis, overcomes himself, without getting "overcome". He who blames a crisis for his failure and poverty neglects his own talent, and is more respectful to problems than to solutions.
The true crisis is the incompetence crisis. The problem of people and countries is the laziness to find solutions and a way out. Without a crisis, there are no challenges, without challenges, life becomes a routine, a slow agony. Without a crisis, there are no merits. It is in the crisis where the very best in us emerges, for without a crisis, any wind becomes a tender touch. To speak about a crisis is to promote it, and not to speak aboutit is to exalt conformism. Let us work hard instead. Let us stop, once and for all, the only menacing crisis that represents the tragedy of not being willing to overcome it."

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

My world, My Mom...

Mther
"A little girl, asked where her home was, replied, "where mother is." ~Keith L. Brooks"
All along the years as I grew up, I never knew about the tradition of Mother's day. Mother's day came to my notice only the year I got married and moved to the US. I thought it was yet another hype created by the western world.. Years went by, and my transition into motherhood has shown me a whole new definition and light..

I have loved my mom more than any one one else in this world.. She is a very dedicated mom, an efficient home maker, who stayed at home to bring up my sister and myself, and take care of the family.. With my father's tiring touring job, she always provided all her support in taking of the family and managed the household efficiently. She is a very simple and a thoughtful person. She is a mother of all ideals.. As we grew up she was a strict disciplinarian. At the same time, she has always been my best friend, with whom I could sit down and talk about many things - may it be studies, books, movies, music and so on..
She was born as the youngest of six children, and was brought up in Mumbai. She got married quite young, and then moved to Tamil Nadu. My paternal grand parents had a huge extended family, and as we grew up, our house was always flooded with the members of this jing-bang family visiting us almost all through the year! No matter haw many guests visted us, she always treated every one with utmost respect and hospitality. Well, with a huge family, it is not always smooth..there are times when she had to go through some rough patches. But still, she always remained calm, and was an epitome of patience. It is this quality in her that has earned her so much love and affection from her friends and relatives to this day.

She has always been my mentor, and all I am today is because of her. To me, she is a gift from the divine authority. As I write this blog, I feel as if there is so much to write about her, and I have no words to express. At least, I am happy that I am able to express to the best of my abilities, and post this blog as a gift for her for this mothers day, for her to read! It is just all about making a Mom feel so special! Today, being a mom, I know how much I love my kids. When my kids wished me with a big hug and bright smile, and a cute hand-made card on this special day, my joy knew no bounds! It is not that my kids don't love and hug me the other days.....For the simple reason that however hyped it may seem...it is occasions like this that give us the chance to stop and think, and feel and express our love for our mother. And confer love and gladden a heart. I know this now, because it would make me happy to be thought of as a mother by my children and to be made to feel special by them. Its not just about one single day. Its about love. The love that is consistent and steady but needs some upliftment and richness every once in a while to stand out...to break the mould of routine and sameness and be elevated to the annals of cherished memories. I hope I can always give my mother that!

I Love you amma!! and I wish you a very Happy mother's Day!!!!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

"The child is the father of man..."

No matter which part of the world we are, the life of a mom, I guess is the same!! All have the same chores, responsibilities to carry out, and of course, the same set of complains, and instructions to the kids!
I wonder how and when our lives were taken control by those little ones who come on board in our lives, even though we, as a parent, are under the impression that we control the life of our kids! I wonder how and when our priorities changed? I wonder how and when did this transition happen? The entire process is so well stage-managed by nature, I would say.. For every parent, and that too, for every mom Kids are precious gifts! We cherish every stage in their lives, and admire their growth and development at every milestone. And as they grow, we gradually tend to forget most of the things they did during their early stages, and we just tend to remember the recent past...And as they grow, we gradually get caught up with more responsibilities.. Well, nature made this process so hectic and handsful to parents that we don't have the time to think about it!

But, the fact is that children actually change the outlook of our lives, and make our lives valuable and more meaningful. In a way, they try to bring out all the good qualities from with us, trying to prove that positive feelings, and postive reinforcement is the key to success, harmony and happy life. As I respond to some of the cues that my child provides me, I realise that parenting, aside of being a joyful experience can also be a growth experience. May be that's the reason one said that "The Child is the father of man".....

In this modern age of globalisation, technology and busy world, the emotions of the parents are fragmented. We tend to focus more on the intellectual advancement, and often forget to balance the emotional needs. Children act as pivot, trying to balance and support our emotions. After a long day of work, the very sight of our tiny-tots at the end of the day brings out all the happiness from within us.. No matter how tired I am, I try to gather all my strength, and try to pull myself out of the routine, and spend time with my kids.. No matter even of we get upset with the kids for any small mistake they committed, the kid's anger is just superficial :) Within their little heart of hearts they always adore their parents! It may be surprising.. Most of the times my 7yr-old darling, at the end of the day, tired from the hard work at school, will be fast asleep before even I could go and tun off the lights in his room.. I tuck him inside his comforter, and slowly whisper "good night" in his ears.. and surprisingly, even in his deep sleep, he would reply back " good night.. Amma.."....This is what brings us happiness and awakens the true emotions from deep within...
So, the happiness and success of kids, in a way, reflect the harmony and success of their parents..Children actually charge the parents' emotions, and act as the driving force to lead our lives!






Precious gift!

Today morning I woke up to hear the great news from my father! He conveyed the wonderful news that my sister(Sri) and my brother-in-law(Ashok) are blessed with a baby boy!
Me and my sister have always been very close. We were inseparables while we grew, and we cherish every moment we have spent together. And now, when she is blessed with a beautiful baby boy, I am very happy for her and her husband.

We are very thrilled and greatful to this new arrival. And for the first time, I have been promoted to the status of "Periamma"!!! And my 3yr old daughter Ramitha has been promoted to a BIG SISTER for the firt time!!!

Our best wishes to Sri and Ashok, and wish them a life filled with happiness with the bundle of Joy!!