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“Creativity takes courage”

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I was going to write today about my nostalgic feelings after watching the movie Rocketman as it brought back so many of my childhood memories. This man Elton John, who brought so much of happiness to people’s life through his music, was actually suffering and was never loved. It made me very sad and inside me I was sad and was reading every article and information that I could get on Elton John.

“The function of art is to struggle against obligation” 

There’s a period where you suffer through and then a period where you compose yourself and express it so its out of your system and today exactly that’s what my plan was, until!!!!

I read a post on my facebook which one of my friend posted it about another Kathakali artist whom I know as well. This friend is an artist besides a tech professional and often goes to India and within Bay Area to perform Kathakali, an art that originates from Kerala. Originates doesn’t mean that you own and no one else can learn and master it or be creative with an art.

The post that was shared was from 2016, however this friend shared it now and apparently I know the artist about whom they posted about is from northern India and loves Kathakali form of art and he learned and he performs all over the world. Part of his performance he has achieved lot of name and fame for his performances and he has got lot of rewards and one of them is from the Ministry of India as well.

“Art is not always about pretty things. It’s about Who we are, What happened to us, and How our lives are affected” ~ Elizabeth Broun 

When I read it was about this person getting the Ministry award and bunch of Kerala folks criticizing the artist and claiming that he is not doing Kathakali but something else.
I mean a form of art no matter where it originates, but if someone else masters it how can you get jealous? How can you not promote the artist for loving your art and appreciate his effort? Thats basic human instinct! But you being an artist yourself? How can you not support your fellow artists no matter whether you know them or not… they are artist and what I believe is true artist they always support other artists. Because they know the effort that one has to put in and in return they don’t get much other than appreciation.

“The job of an artist is to offer a sanctuary of beauty to an ugly world.” ~ Jeff Goins

I was really disappointed to see something like this shared in social media.
Why can’t we human be human and not be jealous and selfish?

Disappointing!

“Never speak from a place of hate, jealousy, anger, or insecurity. Evaluate your words before you let them leave your lips. Sometimes its best to keep quiet.”

~ Dawn

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Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. … !

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I want to wish everyone a very happy new year 2019!

This is my first post in this year and I hope I can be more active this year as last year I changed to a new job and it needed more of my attention from process implementation and leading for team to adapt it. Hoping this year things will much aligned so I can spend time in writing and doing my exercise.

As the year was ending, things seemed like working for me as I thought so… with related to work, colleagues and at family front. New job didn’t make me stressed in fact I enjoyed the way I could give my sincere time to the job that I chose after 6 years of comfortableness. It gave me a change of experience with work, new learning, new beginning and meeting different people from different domain. I am enjoying this change, one should always be a student only then we will be open to learn and accept that we don’t know everything and even if we know something based on our learning and experience, it should only bring humbleness.

“You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call a ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” ~ Mary Pickford

One thing is clear that for new beginnings you don’t have to wait for new year, you can make new beginnings anytime and its all up to you and your willingness. If there’s a will there is a way- and I do believe in this quote.
Since my new beginning started last year…by the time Christmas holidays came up I was totally exhausted and this break was much needed. Visiting Vegas was more or less a relaxation as there was no set agenda as I have been making frequent trips to Vegas previously and this was after a five years gap.

“Food is the ingredient that binds us together.” 

Santa Barbara was something I was looking forward with some more relaxation and more time with nature. Exploring different restaurants was one of the key activity, and so did visited different cuisines such as Indian restaurants Tamira and Bibi Ji – I won’t say they are Indian restaurant but it is more or less a fusion for West. There was another place which I found it cool called Public Market, initially we thought its a grocery shopping place but we were looking for Empty bowl gourmet noodle bar and it took us to this Public Market place which has many different cuisines serving food and I felt that was the best place where all kinds of people came together to eat different food under one roof – I loved the food and the concept of this place, something worth visiting at least for once.
I am a foodie and hence this was an amazing journey to explore some of those things.
New Year is here and frankly speaking I have no new plans and resolutions because I don’t believe in those. If you need to make a change you don’t have to wait for the year to start, it can be done anytime and that You can decide!
For me, this new year is more to be cozy and be home and I blame it all on the weather and the holiday times… where it spoiled my routines with late nights and late waking up and breaking all rules…! I know I will roll-up my sleeves but will wait until next week.. 😉

Until then I wish everyone a good day, month, and year with new hope, aspirations, love and peace!

“Live, Love, Eat”

~ Dawn

Not every sorry deserves an “It’s Okay” in return!

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It’s so true that one person has to be courageous and come out and then others automatically gain the confidence and courage to come and share their story.
Yes, I am talking about the #MeTooMovement that has taken like a huge storm and I hope its just the beginning.

workplace-adversity

As I was reading news and on social media about women being harassed at work place or even looked at as a piece of meat, it just gives you to reflect about so many things that has happened in your own life.
Women has the toughest job to do and that is if she doesn’t want to be dependent on anyone financially and she takes up a job in a company – then its basically means you’re on your own. Because if you complain then the response is ‘you better stay at home’.

I know there are many women who have been home makers for this reason. When a woman at work is harassed by her manager and she tries to stop him many times and yet he never stops. It reaches to a point where your colleagues ask you if you’re okay because you keep going into you manager’s room who keeps calling you in his room for 1 on 1s and you end up going each time because each time he says its about the project and this stress you share at home, it’s not necessary that she will get a support from her loved ones saying, lets talk about it or do something about it. They will still let her go to that same workplace, to that same manager and its that same environment where she is being sent.

“We have to have the courage to tell people when their behavior or the way they talk makes us uncomfortable.”

Financial support is something a woman tries to do for her family where her thinking is mainly to support her husband and family. When a husband doesn’t have a job or has a business which doesn’t bring in much income the support system is on the woman. At such time when she is being harassed by her manager at work, what options she has: tell at home and see what they suggest? If there is no suggestion then you know what it means, or you change your job, but whats the guarantee the next manager is going to be good? You’re taking a chance but until you find another job you’re stuck with the present manager because your family depends on you.

“At the end of the day, don’t forget that you’re a person, don’t forget that you’re a mother; a wife and a daughter.” ~ Indira Nooyi

Women will suffer for her family and why only women? Because women are raised that way from the beginning. They are taught you’re born strong so do all the hard work and yet any issue comes just be quiet and move on because women are supposed to not complain and if it’s about men then oh! no!!! never complain about them because women are such a piece of meat that they will be blamed but men won’t be blamed and the bad name will come to the women.
She shared with few friends and they said, ‘Complain it to Human Resources, but then no idea if the next manager wants to hire you because this will be in the system. They might keep the manager because he is an employee and then they might fire you as you are a contractor”.

“Show respect even to the people who don’t deserve it; not as a reflection of their character, but as a reflection of yours.” ~ Dave Willis

Here the harassment from the manager and no security or help from husband – both are men and what should this woman do? If anyone has an answer then do comment!

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

~ Dawn

There is no certainty; there is only adventure ;)

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happy traveler waiting for the flight in airport

While growing up I never thought I will leave the place which I call as home and hence the thought of blind date with the world is something not even came in my dream.

But as I started going to college and started reading things the curiosity bug bit me too. I often thought of just going to some place and keep traveling because at the end of the day what do you need – something to eat, a safe place to sleep and stay and then keep moving.

“The biggest  adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams” ~ Oprah Winfrey

I had many times discussed this with my school friends about dreaming of living in a place in a small hut where in the backside of the hut we have some vegetable garden with veggies and in front of the house are the hot springs where we cook most of our food and eat and sleep under the sky gazing stars and my Moon.

I know dreams are so beautiful and when someone says go live your dream – that’s really an action which once taken then you’re on your own.

I also took such a blind date with the world and it was in the year of 1997 when I took a one-way ticket to Toronto, Canada. I had gone through the process of immigration where I got my Permanent Residential visa and I headed to this blind date with Canada where I have no friends and/or family. I will share the journey which now I look back and feel good about taking that blind date with Canada because it changes my whole perspective about how I look at world now.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” ~ Jawaharlal Nehru

I remember I had only clothes in my suitcase as I had heard its very cold in Canada and so I landed in the month of April assuming it will be spring and may not be cold. Surprisingly, it was still snowing that year and I had my mixed feelings towards that. It’s beautiful how nature itself deals with all these seasonal changes and how people adapt to it too.

traveling

My journey was a struggle in the beginning because when you land at any place which is not your home, you start your bill from that moment. Not only that, there’s a strangeness in the beginning and also cultural shocks which makes you to be more cautious. I somehow made use of the newspaper ads which helped me to get the rental basement space for me even though the job was still far from me. I have met many people during this struggle time and to be frank only Indians took advantage of my situation. Others, they offered help without expecting anything in return. I am not sure if I should call that out but that’s one of the experiences which happened not once but number of times.

People tried to convert me to Christianity, so they can get money from their institution and to me they suggested we will help you with the job, which was totally incorrect, and I am glad I didn’t fall for it. One thing I knew that there are no free lunches so some of the proverbs that I learnt in school did actually help me from not making mistakes.

“Life is an adventure, it’s not a package tour.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

But then in all this, you tend to find yourself safe in the custody of your race and people and that’s what lead me to suffer. The moment I freed my mind from that, I felt a relief and freedom from all tie-ups, taboos and everything. It’s all about your mind believe me. I decided to move out of renting in someone’s house and went to rent a one-bedroom apartment where I had my freedom and independence to live. It not only gave me my space, but it also taught me how to not look to lean all the time.

I found a small job as a part-time cashier with minimum wage, but again it was the mind which said this is not what you came here for and so I decided in 4 months I need to move on from here. And believe me sometimes you go to make your decision from your mind and not heart, because only then you can do things that your heart wants.

One after the other jobs and finally I ended up in a Bank and it completely changed my life, from an HR field to technology field the merge was amazing, and the transition was such that I figured out my actual interest which is people and technology that enables people to do things. I guess the blend of this helped me to move from one company to the other and one place to the other, and now I am in California, USA.

I think we should all blind date with the world, so we understand people and life better. Sitting in a comfort zone can make anyone do anything that they feel is right but actual life is in traveling and understanding the life of different people. So, I love this blind date which made me to marry to traveling :).

It’s true that blind date is not always about happy ending, because many ups and downs are there which occurred in my life too because of meeting wrong people at the wrong time and place but the better lesson you learn and move out from there. Because life always gives you another chance and that’s up to us to see and grab it.

“Life experience is what defines our character, even if it means getting your heart broken or being lied to. You know, you need the downs to appreciate the ups. Going on the adventure or taking that risk is important.” ~ Nev Schulman

As I was getting comfortable with my date in Toronto, I decided to do another blind date with San Francisco, in California USA. Let me tell you, it was not a very happy one. I feel when there is a change, it does bring some turbulence, but one got to hold on to it and stay strong that’s what I did. Initial days I didn’t like US. It was something like I started comparing between Canada and USA. Everything I related it that way, whether its people, place, behavior or even the process in banking etc. I realized I was missing Canada very much because it was my first blind date with whom I fell in love, so the first love is always there as special in my heart. I guess no one will understand that because that journey I had taken alone and every corner of the place, city, people have made an impact on me. It is difficult to not be connected with a place where I started from scratch and built my home finally.

Over the period, I went back to visit and be at every place that I lived in, walked around and worked around and after that when I came back to California it was kind of be at peace.

“Life would be pretty boring if I didn’t explore. It’s about letting my ears take me on an adventure to soak in everything I can.” ~ Trombone Shorty

I would like to go for another blind date and I am just going to go for that soon!

~ Dawn

Alone you can do so little; together we can do so much ;)

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Mini-Foam-Soccer-Ball-Back-Side-BalloonsAndWeights.com_

Thoughts have been going around in mind since the world cup season started but then I couldn’t find time to jot it down.

Besides engaging myself at work, these days giving time to read. Reading is like spending time to reflect and I am sure those who write would agree with me that it is important to reflect and read because that helps 😊.

Having said all of that, my main topic is about the game. Indeed, last time I was cheering for Brazil, Spain and then we all know what happened. But hey, that didn’t let me lose hope this year I cheered for Brazil and I wished for Argentina to make it to the finals and play opposite to Brazil, I did support Spain and with all that has happened I did support Croatia and was really happy to see they won the match against England.

soccer-field

I have friends all over the world and the beauty about this so called ‘diversity’ is that you change jobs, you meet new people from different parts of the world and it’s an engaging experience. I have so many friends from England and felt sorry to see their reaction when they asked me ‘Why Croatia?’

Yes, it is hard to justify anyone when you are not from one of those countries who is participating in the world cup. I feel I am above all those barriers. To me its people and as I watch and read about these players my support and cheer goes to those and main reason to be with Croatia is because of the captain of the team Modric. I sincerely felt that match they should win because of their performance on the field.

“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up” ~ Babe Ruth

Anyway, I was more here to share my thoughts in the form of poetry, when I thought of soccer and golf:

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Happen to be a fan of soccer as a kid and played in the rain too

Eleven players on a rectangular field with spherical ball

Run and chase around without touching the ball with hands,

Only to put the ball in the oppositions goal to score a point,

You use your feet to strike or pass the ball around,

When you make a goal against the opposite team,

Depending who scored highest will win,

If they are equal, then it’s a draw and if not,

You get extra time to play or penalty shootout,

To make things even with your opponent,

Isn’t that something we all would like 😊,

When we are losing, or struggling an extra time can help,

Soccer the rough game we play by kicking and heading,

Running and chase to get the ball and put it in others post,

For all this one does some tricks, kick and play foul too,

Like a punishment a colorful card is given to you by referee,

What a fun game which originated as a kick ball.

The I saw this club and ball sport called Golf,

The players will use various clubs to hit the ball

Into series of holes on a Golf course in as few strokes,

This one needs usually has progressing 18 holes,

For some recreational ones have 9 holes,

Each hole on the course must have a tee box,

And putting green with actual hole or cup,

Each hole on a course is unique in specific layout,

Golf is played with lowest strokes called stroke play,

Or lowest in the entire round called match play,

Some say it originated from Romans paganica and

Some say it originated from China chuiwan or is it the

Cambuca or chaugan or kolven, wherever it originated,

The rule is to play with all fairness,

I often looked the two balls and wondered…

How two balls make the world go crazy around

Some with teeing ground and some with rectangular field

One is individual and the other is the team sport

All I know soccer is fun even if you kick one another!!!

Concepts

That reminds me the weekend is busy with finals I am excited, are you?

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships” ~ Michael Jordan

~ Dawn

The wounded recognized the wounded!

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Living in the city can be so different than from the remote villages, one can never imagine.

There is no electricity in the house at night, oil lamps made of brass is used and nature at such times is so quiet and dark that one can only be speechless. The cricket noise and sometimes you will hear the noise in the grass which could be of a snake who is finding its way to you.

All that is scary and adventurous especially when you are visiting during school vacation.

“A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in” ~ Robert Orben

The little girl Asha, who is only 5-6 years old is scared of all these creatures be it snake, insects because some of these ones she has never seen in the city and the variety of spiders you get to see in the rain-forest areas, and their names are more or less the knowledge that she takes from here to her school to share with her friends.

Life in the middle of greenery can be happy until one morning she saw some rashes on her hand. It looked like a rash on the skin which if broken can spill the water and be infectious. She ran to show this to her mom.

Asha: Mom, look …look what happened here? Its red and I feel like itching, but I am scared.

Mom looks at it and talks to her sister (Aunt) Leena.

When Aunt Leena looks at it her immediate reaction –  oh this is spider poison. This is easy to cure once we show her to the village spider physician who practices Ayurveda medicine.

Mom is not much impressed as she doesn’t know if that will help Asha.

However, they plan to take her to the spider related issues treating physician.

Asha along with Aunt Leena goes to see the Ayurveda physician.

The physician of course was an elderly person with grey hair, unshaven slight gray beard with aged grayish eyes, skinny staring at Asha. Asha got scared at first and she hesitated to be in front of him, so she stayed behind her Aunt Leena.

Aunt Leena gave the details and pulled Asha with her hand to show the rashes.

The physician holds the hand and checks with holding his glasses and says yes this is spider bite and I can give her some medicine for which she needs to take shower and come in a towel. This seemed like Ayurveda with some magic.

Asha was scared and whispered to her aunt, ‘you also come I am scared to go alone’!

Aunt Leena said, ‘you should be fine he is going to treat you and give medicine’.

Now, Asha goes to this place where it’s all covered with coconut leaves as a shed and she goes in there with a towel wrapped and finds this physician is waiting for her.

Asha as always cautious and nervous in front of strangers, sat there as the physician asked her to do so. He started chanting some mantras and as he was chanting his hands were touching Asha on her head, shoulder and then her stomach and below when Asha got uncomfortable and started crying to raise her voice enough to be heard, because at this time she feels she is all alone.

The physician gives a stern look at Asha with his grey eyes and splashes some water and then lets her go.

“One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them” ~ Aldous Huxley

Asha is all scared and comes home with her aunt Leena and the moment she gets in the house she runs to her mom and holds her and starts crying.

Asha’s mom asks what happened, what did the physician say?

By now Asha stops crying and tells everything in detail that happened to her.

Asha’s mom gets furious, and she goes out of the room scolding her elder sister Leena,

“Is this how they treat here? I thought he is a respectable man in the community and this is how he treats small kids?”

Aunt Leena when she heard the story, got so angry that she straight went to the physician immediately without thinking for a second time and broke that treatment shed and called off his son to stop this business. She yelled at them saying, “I will let everyone know in this village what you do and how you treat people”.

By saying that she broke the shed and walked out of the place.

That was the day and the spider treating physician’s business was never seen or heard ever. After that incident his shop was closed forever. Asha felt that spider is less scary than the physician. She still can see his face and that picture of the shed where she was sitting and the physician sitting in front of her staring in to her eyes.

“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.” ~ Dave Pelzer

We always respect people who are elderly and hence people wouldn’t talk openly about such molestation and abuse that might be still happening around the world. It’s still a taboo and many places it’s the elderly age that inhibits to expose them because they fear what other might say or think about them.

“She is still a prisoner of her childhood; attempting to create a new life, she re encounters the trauma” ~ Judith Lewis Herman

We should be able to share things with our near and dear ones otherwise there is no use of calling loved ones anymore.

If loved ones are the one who are taking these kids, then they need to be extra careful no matter how well you know the person.

Protect your kids from these vicious animals because this puts a life-long impact in the minds of these children who are molested, the spider bite can always be cured but the mental trauma is something that keeps haunting.

“If the sound of happy children is grating on your ears, I don’t think it’s the children who need to be adjusted.” ~ Stefan Molyneux

~ Dawn

They should tell you when you’re born: have a suitcase heart, be ready to travel…

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This morning I read Shweta Nanda’s article on empty nest. I applaud her to acknowledge something like this and not shy away because of the celebrity status quo.

Some of her call outs in the article made me think that may be for homemakers sometimes it’s more difficult than the women who have career outside. Homemakers focus, and dedication is all around the home and associated with it and hence when kids go away the void is bigger than what the working women can feel and that is because working women share some space with outside world whether it be with work and with colleagues and friends.

“You will never achieve what you are capable of if you’re too attached to things you’re supposed to let go of.”

Homemakers have to start from the scratch and that itself is a change which could be challenging, one can feel that more in the article.

I also read in her article about “life is flawed, there is no such thing as a soulmate and nothing lasts forever is so empowering.”

This statement made me a bit sad or should I say I still want to believe there is something called soulmate and yes when nest is empty one can plan life with their soulmate, it could be traveling, a peaceful walk/hike or even spending time together doing similar tastes of hobbies. But given that kids have gone and now your partner is also not there then definitely its individual choice that one needs to make and for a working woman she may have many options by choosing a job which gives more travel opportunity or travel to different country and work there as long as you want to stay there and move on to next and so on.

But yes, when you hear nothing lasts forever that kind of gives you freedom and hence it is empowering.

“We have nothing that is really our own; we hold everything as a loan.” ~ Nicolas Poussin

All this tells me is process for detachment and this doesn’t have to be until the kids leaves the nest. It can start early by teaching your kids to be independent early enough to manage their own things with parental guidance.

I often think of those moments where kids will go away, and my heart should not cry or depend on them. Of course, as a mother you will always care for the well-being of your children but when children have left then we should allow them to lead their life the way they want as by now we have raised an adult who will make the decision that is appropriate for them at least.

Basically, it ends up with a task completion of raising kids and let them fly and we move on with another task which should be nourish yourself that gives more happiness and contentment in life.

“If you depend on others to make your dream come true, it may not ever happen.” ~ Dawn

~ Dawn