Category: Life is beautiful

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone…!

Dawn3 Comments

It’s amazing to do reflection and I used to do this as a kid sitting on my study table. The table was a huge one and those days it was made of teak wood the expensive one. In front of the table was a window and I always used to get carried away by nature, sometimes clouds, sun rays, birds chirping or even the cat who is looking for its prey.

“We don’t learn by doing, we learn by reflecting on what we have done.”

The mind has no limitation and so does the heart, I always felt we are only guiding this body in one or the other way as if this mind and heart as a huge responsibility to carry them to their destination.
In this world if I relate then I feel we take them until they leave this body here and move to next journey after catching the flight called death ;).

Life should have changes, should have ripple effects or else it’s boring. That’s how I have felt. If there is nothing new then its not fun and probably that’s the reason when everything was good in India with my job, I felt that I need to take that one way ticket to an unknown destination. Today I feel good about that decision because that one step helped me to take many more such steps in life to keep going.

“Life is about trusting your feelings, taking chances, finding happiness, learning from the past, and realizing everything changes.”

We are responsible for our actions and I do believe if your heart agrees with your decision then its matter of mind to make sure things work as per the heart. I guess that’s what is my guiding principle. When heart is not happy then what the hell mind is going to do? The monotonous routine and I get bored with that.

“Change is the only constant in life ” ~ Heraclitus

Today as I am coming back after a farewell meet, I asked myself – do you feel that you took a quick decision to leave? do you think you had a smooth job and a continuation and you just dropped it? My heart without taking any time to think spontaneously said, I am happy that I have something new to look forward to. I did my best what I can give and if I don’t have anything more to give then it’s better to move on to somewhere else.

I need change and only I can bring that to myself hence a very timely decision I feel. No matter how old one gets its the craving for learning is what keeps you young and heck yeah I want to learn more and be young too :). As I said, mind and heart are the ones who don’t age. It’s the body that these heart and mind are carrying.

Time for a new journey with new sightseeing and adding new stories to life. I welcome this change in my life and embrace it with love.

“Making a big life change is pretty scary. But, know what’s even scarier? Regret.”

As I embark on my new journey, I am taking lot of lessons learned from my previous journey and going to miss the people to whom I touched and who have touched me as well.
This journey has taught me about so many things, about people, their emotions, their reactions, sometimes how people mix profession and personal life, and sometimes you just learn how things work and how things doesn’t work because we don’t think from heart.

I talk to my heart at times
It’s good to be happy and nice
But then there’s a place and time
When it hits the peak of love
You know it’s time to say goodbye
You good until you’re welcomed
Or else you get kicked sometimes

I think change is good, it brings happiness, new beginnings and hence it keeps it exciting.

Should all acquaintance be forgotten and never brought to mind?

“You can’t truly understand something until it happens to you. The meaning of life is discovered in the experience.”

~ Dawn

Advertisements

Even I can fly..!

DawnLeave a comment

20110911_df1_20110723_1021_018-022 mistle thrush taking off from wire along bridleway to north 1-5 of 5 (montage @7fps)(r+mb id@1024)

Before budding,

and during flowering,

Many transitions,

phases and emotions

processing through.

After flowering,

while withering,

petals falling with,

 fear of heights,

many emotions,

wrapped in mind,

gulping humiliation,

mental torture,

fear of ambiguity,

the discomfort coats

of life.

The time came,

from kneeling I stood up

threw away the coat,

of fear and discomfort,

didn’t let worry to reside in,

yet the freedom is far away,

but the very thought of it,

brings the sight of joy,

and feel the pain of kayak,

yet at the end of it,

Even I can fly,

Spreading my wings high.

~ Dawn

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile…!

DawnLeave a comment

Today is not a day of ‘Remembrance Day’ or ‘Veteran’s Day’ or even ‘Poppy Day’, yet we all agree that for soldiers who are day and night on the borders protecting us and letting us live peacefully is something we forget to thank everyday!

Being raised in National Defense Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla Pune, I feel extremely proud for the people who willingly decide to join the forces because of patriotism and in this they lose their life too. Yet, the craziness of patriotism takes them beyond death or any such fear. I have huge respect for them and when I say this my heart and eyes fills with tears out of love for them and their families.

“Born to fight, Trained to kill, Prepared to die, but never will!”

I too have family members who are in army such as my late uncle Narayanan Nair and now his son my cousin Abhilash Nair who has been posted at difficult areas and when I say difficult it is at the borders of Siachen where it’s piled with snow and due to the huge mountains even getting any help such as food and other grocery materials is difficult and takes months to reach. Sometimes it’s the weather and at times the firing is taking place and it’s not safe for the army to deliver food and water to these forces who are at the border keeping us safe.

Siachen Glaciers

“Soldiers sacrifice their life for their nation. It doesn’t mean that they don’t want to live”

I know my cousin had to go through difficult times in life at this young age, when his dad was not well. One can only imagine how tough one has to be to focus at the border and not think of your ailing dad. He used to apply for leave and it used to get rejected because of the duty that he was in.
I am sure my cousin had gone through times when he must have felt like to leave the job and be at his father’s service but then there’s always that bigger service we end up with when it comes to your country and its people.

Kargil Area

It was tough for him when he used to get notified by his family that dad is at his last stage and then some miracle would happen and he would get discharged from hospital. He did take leave and come and spent time with his ailing dad. But in going through all this pain he didn’t lose his focus and dedication towards his work and he did a great job. He was returning back to work from his leave and only to hear that his Dad has left this world. It pained me as he was my uncle and I can only imagine what he must have been going through. That’s the life of a soldier no matter what happens at home your duty is to serve and he did a good job on that.

My Cousin Receiving ‘Best Soldier’ award

It was such a proud moment to hear that he was awarded “Best Soldier in Kargil Brigade“.
It’s not easy when one hears that they son or relatives or anyone to that matter is posted in Kargil specially after the 1999 Kargil War where lot of people died from both sides. It’s a sad feeling. Yet my cousin went there and did his job fearlessly with all dedication. I salute him !!!!

“Appreciation goes a long way as a motivator”

I am sure his dad is not here in this world but he is watching him from far and blessing him.

May my uncle rest in peace and my cousin keep rocking !!!

“Life is about creating your own happiness and before you know it, blessings of love will find their way into your heart” ~ Brigitte Nicole

Jai Hind!!!

~ Dawn

Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters…!

DawnLeave a comment
Have you ever come across a moment where you are desperate and wish for things to work in your favor? Yes, I had that moment today.
And I would like to share one of the experience here with my readers.

This was in the 1997 year when I newly migrated in Toronto, Canada. As part of an immigrant I went through the initial struggle and that time I got a job of a Cashier in a Swiss Restaurant which was part time on minimum wage.
This is that time when I was struggling to meet the ends as the moment you land you have bills to pay for your stay, phone, grocery etc. I remember no matter what but I always made sure the rent money is secured and available in my bank account because I was worried about two things here, first insufficient funds fine those days was $25 and that insufficient could be .50 cents or a $1 but the fine is straight $25 out of your account. Second, if I am late on my rent I won’t have a roof on top of my head.
When you are alone in a country and nowhere to go then its really tough because you can’t even go to anyone asking for help in need.

“The trouble is, you think you have time” ~ Buddha

It was one of those moments when I was short of $5.00 in my account for the rent cheque to clear. And I was literally worried because I know the date when the rent would go from my account and there was no salary or deposit that was going to go into my bank account. I was literally panicking because something like this has never happened but this time I had to purchase the bus pass and $84.00 was used to for the monthly bus pass and probably that caused all this. But those days banking experience that I had in Canada was really different than what I used to have in India. I never had to pay a service charge to my bank for keeping my money. It was considered as a favor that I chose them to save my money. Hence $5.00 service charge was something that might have done this, but anyhow I was short of $5.00 for my rent cheque to clear and I was calling all kinds of Gods if they ever existed or I was begging the Time to be on my side and believe me I was asking for that help from my heart and without knowing who would understand my sad situation because I am praying and requesting in my mind and heart.

“If you don’t believe in miracles, perhaps you’ve forgotten you are one”

People do believe in miracle and yes, I also somehow believe in that. As I was stressing inside my heart and mind that ‘if there’s a God or supernatural powers then you should help me, look at my situation’!
And in few seconds or minutes I heard the mail slit on the door of apartments where postman slips in your mails, a sound came and I ran towards the door.

I saw an envelope near the door and quickly opened it to see and guess what? You won’t believe it because I couldn’t believe it either at that time. My ask for the Time was to help me with $5.00 as I am short of that and the envelope had a cheque for $10.00.

I don’t know about you, but I was on cloud nine. It’s unbelievable that you ask for $5 and you get $10? I couldn’t believe my eyes and hence I looked at the letter that was enclosed with the cheque and it said, this is the interest of your rent deposit.

Mind Blowing!  I said, Canada I love you! Because when I went to rent this place I forgot that I had to deposit the first and last month rent and this is part of their security as they don’t know if we will give them the rent every time and on time. And look at their decency, they give you interest on the amount that we have kept with them as deposit.

“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you have lost it, you can never get it back.” ~ Harvey Mackay

It was winter time and hence I just grabbed my jacket, muffler and my winter boot and rushed to catch the bus as the monthly pass allows you to travel to and fro n number of times. I deposited this cheque into my bank account and with great relief came home and slept peacefully.

The rent cheque got cleared and my bank account was with $5.00 balance in it.

I do believe time do test us sometimes but yes, this time do work with us for us sometimes too 🙂

~ Dawn

Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.

DawnLeave a comment

Have you ever felt this way every? Where you have a lot to write and share about but when you sit to write, you are thinking which one to write first. Because there’s so much going around and mind is running at a speed to all those topics while the visuals are seen on the screen of your mind which stay for seconds and they pass on to the other.

“Absurdity is the ecstasy of intellectualism” ~ Criss Jami 

The fact is that everything is so fast and changing by seconds. We don’t even enjoy or reflect on something that has just happened to us or even experienced by us. What’s the fun in that if we don’t enjoy? If we don’t slow down to taste that feeling then what’s the worth of all our effort?


The other day I was thinking about how much I used to write letters, the handwritten Inland Letter. Yes, I remember writing letters to my aunt, my grandma, my cousins, authors, poets and my penpals. My inland letters to them used to fill in all sides meaning it has 3 pages and I remember almost every time I had more stuff to write and it used to go outside of my letter too and I used to use the space outside of sender’s address area :).
Yes, that’s how much I used to write and probably because I like to write and share my letters used to be such that everyone has expressed that they felt as if they are talking to me in person. The way I look at it today is that those days we used to reflect and think and then used to write which made lot of sense and when we think and reflect we have better ways of expressions.

“We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience” ~ John Dewey

I remember because of my letter writing habit and skill, my Mom used to ask me to write a letter to her best friend who was our neighbor for quite sometime and then later they moved to another state in India as part of job posting. All my Mom had to tell me was you need to write a letter to my friend, and then she might share one or two points that she might have received from her friend’s letter. Based on those 2-3 points entire story was created by me and then when I read out the letter loud to her she would beam with smile and happiness. She would say this is how exactly I wanted to write to my friend and you have very well expressed that closeness in this letter and she used to be so happy.
My Mom had a weakness, when it comes to letter writing she was very lazy. I remember she was lazy in writing letters to her Mom and Sisters, hence when I started writing letters everyone connected through my letter and got the updates from our side of everyone’s well being.

“To write is human, to receive a letter : Divine” ~ Susan Lendorth

I always felt letter writing is a gift in true sense. I used to spend hours and hours for the people whom I am writing and it shows my affection and closeness for them. When the other end receives my letter they get the exact feeling and warmth that I had packed for them in that letter through my words of affection, care and companionship. I walk with them through that letter sharing my journey and making sure they are also enjoying their journey which I used to get back in their replies.


These days it’s all about emails and hence the thoughtfulness and warmth is lost. It looks very formal and business like, where instead of bringing people close the distance is getting wider. I miss those days and hence, I have decided to take this letter writing seriously and believe me whoever leaves an address to me I will write a letter to them.

My gift to you – a hand written letter where you will find a human sharing stories.

“Very often a change of self is needed more than a change of scene” ~ Arthur Christopher Benson

~ Dawn

Life should not only be lived, it should be celebrated…!

DawnLeave a comment

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Born and raised in a country where more than 22 languages are spoken and at least 9 recognized religions are practiced, I was a privileged citizen of India.
I enjoyed every festival luckily only because I was raised in National Defence Academy Pune, where people from all around India live and share their culture, festivities, food and clothes. This is where I learned about humanity.

“The past makes us who we are, celebrate it”.

Twenty years ago when I decided to take off to an unknown journey to Toronto Canada, I had no idea where I would land up but here too I was lucky. I landed in the month of April and by the time Christmas came I had a family here in Canada. I call it luck because knowing people in a country where you have no idea about the people, culture, weather which you have never felt before and then the loneliness all surrounded with early darkness by shortening the day – this was all new to me specially when I have never stepped out of India to experience this.

“Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know” ~ Pema Chodron

Meeting Carol on the phone while selling her a Visa card turned out to be a friendly gesture. I somehow felt the closeness or was I looking one for? No idea, but while talking to her she recognized me that I was not from here yet she loved that I speak British English and not the Canadian or American English. I spoke about India and she spoke about husband’s love for Saree. I decided to get her a saree as a christmas gift and she too took that seriously.

Before it was Christmas she came home with her husband to get Saree as her gift. More than the gift, it was her visit to make sure if there are such people who talk on the phone and make friends for real.
I helped her wearing the saree and gave some of the jewelry that will go with the outfit and makeup. She was so thrilled and to her husband Stuart I gave some roti (Indian bread) and potato sabzi along with Indian mango pickle as for early dinner.
Both of them were mesmerized by the Indian hospitality and the next question comes to me is enjoy your Christmas with family. When I heard family, it gave me the chills as my family is far away and how am I going to enjoy anything with them? Stuart, immediately guessed and invited me to his home in Milton, Ontario.

“Life is what you celebrate. All of it. Even its end.” ~ Joanne Harris

I am coming to pick you on Christmas Eve morning and I will drop you back home on boxing day :), you are now part of our family. That day and then until Carol lived I celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas as part of Carol and Stuart’s family. It was good to be part of Canadian family as it taught me about the culture, food and festivities and the way of celebrations which is different. I consider myself to be lucky and today I have my own family in Niles, California and feels blessed.

A tradition, celebration and loads of memories that I am reflecting upon today and want to say live life with happiness and joy as at the end it’s these memories which will give you much happiness and peace in life.

“I have a handful of close friends, and I have my family, and I haven’t known life to be any happier” ~ Brad Pitt

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

~ Dawn

Freedom of choice is more to be treasured than any possession earth can give…!

DawnLeave a comment

choice

These days we see so many incidents, messages, tweets, videos in social media talking about ‘stand up’!
Yes, I don’t want to mix this with the usual tech industry norms of ‘stand-up’ meeting.

Standing up for self and for others is basically asking defend and be strong. This is what I teach my kids because I always have this fact behind my mind that one day I will be gone and kids will have to face this world all by themselves.
We all know how this world is and it’s not easy to live in. My thinking used to be that as we move forward in life we will be more intelligent and will be more human but that’s not the reality.

“Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door” ~ Charles Dickens

My son is a big fan of Katy Perry the American songwriter and singer, since he was 5 years old. He loves her songs and he sings them as well. Since then he has been after me to go for Katy Perry’s concert and not only this but he would also check if she is performing anywhere. Years passed but he would come and tell she is performing in London or Costa Rica, can we go and I had to tell him it’s far and expensive to go for a concert in those places.
Finally, it happened and Katy Perry’s tour was announced on the 101.3 radio and I got excited about it only because I could imagine my son’s excitement if he would know about it.

I went ahead and booked the ticket even though it was way too early. His excitement and happiness had no limits and at the same time he thanked a million times for this opportunity to watch Katy Perry’s live concert.

He also requested if possible can we buy her t-shirt at the concert and I said sure!

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything” ~ Plato

The concert was good, we all enjoyed it as by now we knew all the songs that Katy Perry has sung and more over those who have attended her concert know that she is a great performer and entertainer as well. We bought t-shirt and my son was so happy and excited that he was ready to wear the t-shirt to his school and let the world know that he finally did attend Katy Perry’s concert.

I was really happy for him being a music lover I know the excitement of attending the concerts as I do all the time.

He went to school wearing Katy Perry’s t-shirt and couple of kids teased him why he is wearing a t-shirt that has a girl on it. We got to know all this only when he returned that afternoon from school. What I saw was a strong person in my son. He clearly told them he is a big fan of Katy Perry and he likes her and hence he is wearing the t-shirt. He also said, I support her, don’t you support your mom and/or sister?
I was amazed at his stand! However, I didn’t like when I heard his friend was nagging about this as why he wore that t-shirt. I felt this should be reported to the office, because no one should tell anyone what they should do. It’s everyone’s individual choice.
I was reading few quotes to my son on the internet and I showed some of Martin Luther King Jr. quotes which spoke about standing up for self and for others. I told my son, today what you did is for self and I am proud of you.

“Our children have to be educated in the values of equality, freedom of choice and democracy” ~Ehud Barak

Couple weeks went by and as I was folding the clothes from the laundry wash, he sees the t-shirt is washed and the response comes, yay! I see my t-shirt seems got washed, nice and clean so I can wear this tomorrow to school!
I was surprised and happy too!
I was surprised because last time when he wore that t-shirt he had an incident at school and now he is again going to wear it and I was nervous again things will be different. So, I asked my son, ‘are you sure? You want to wear this even though you know what happened last time?’

stand-up-for-yourself-at-work-home-school-teachmama.com_

My son’s response was cute, ‘I don’t care what anyone says. I like Katy Perry and I will wear the t-shirt again.’

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

This made me feel very proud about my son. It could be a small thing but this is important step in life, to stand up for self. One should have the freedom to choose what they want and not others to choose for them.

His best friend asked again, why you are wearing that girl’s t-shirt and my son had an answer for him.
‘Would you support your mom, sister and your girl cats?’ If your answer is yes, then this is for Katy Perry and I support her!’

It is very important to have that freedom to choose for self. Today he stood for himself and I am sure he will stand for others too!

“There is no such thing as freedom of choice unless there is freedom to refuse” ~David Hume

~ Dawn