Just Do Your Work and Keep Walking. Keep living.

“Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kada chana – You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of actions.”

BHAGAVAD GITA

Even when the times are tough, keep the spirit of living alive. You will come out shining! :)

“It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.”
~ Dalai Lama

Good day to you.

P.S. I guess by now you must have figured out what is in the picture, haven’t you? ;)
I took this photo (including the header pic) when I was back at home in Himalayas. :)
It was so much fun writing this post, really. And giving it a special meaning made me even more joyful. Also, the editing (inverting colors and B&W) was fun too. :D

Hope you enjoyed it too!

“Tom” & “Jerry” Memories

This is for you, my friend “Tom” @Moments Clicked (
http://momentsclicked.wordpress.com/
)

Location: TiruvallaKerala, India. Her camera, my eyes, and a great time together.
(Dated: March 2nd, 2010 – Yes, 2 years ago!)

“If it’s not fun, you’re not doing it right”
~Bob Basso 

:)

It’s so good to be back here, and posting, on WP. Will update more very soon! :)

I’m Happy and Thankful!

I have been quite busy lately. But through this short post, I wanted to thank you all for the birthday wishes. Your responses to the last post (as well as to others) made me immensely happy. Loved them! :)

I hope you all are having great time. Good wishes to you! Will update soon with some photos.

I also noticed the addition of two brilliant new themes (Sunspot & Triton Lite, cool names, right?), but changing from this AWESOME Twenty Eleven is so hard. Hehehe. But may be later I would change my mind, or may be not! ;)

:)

My favorite flower photo so far – (just felt like sharing again!)

A post without a photo is so boring, isn’t it? :)

The Exceptional Colors of 8th March, 2012

What’s today?

- Holi – The Festival of Color(Check out my last year’s post: Let’s Fill Colors!)

- International Women’s Day (IWD)

- Three of my friends’ birthday!

So, I was thinking what’s common in all of them, and which photographs should I include here so that this post is worth of all of those special things. I found something – Colors! :D I hope you understand how and why.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white!
Let the colors splash to make our lives bright!
Colors are many, natural and artificial!
Spread the colors that show our divine!
Join hands to bond one and all!
Let Holi make life, a celebration!”
- Jay Gurumurthy

Balloons! ;)

Go on, take one and enjoy! :D

A flower blooming in the wild grass -

“Follow your instincts. That’s where true wisdom manifests itself.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

And the most special one – The Best Woman in this world – My Mom! :)

Click here to see these small mirror things.

“One is not born a woman, one becomes one.”
~Simone de Beauvoir

Best wishes to you all!
:)

“My master and I – Boredom” by Paulo Coelho

This article relates to a topic or shall I say a word which I have mentioned in my “About Me” section. How could I have not shared this?  :D

Hey, do yourself a favour. Give it a read. :)

…………………………………………………………

Boredom is a Pattern, not a Reality

We are sitting in a garden in a French town.
Deep down, people complain, but they love routines – I said.
– Of course, and the reason is very simple: routines give them the false sensation of being safe. Thus, today will be exactly like yesterday, and tomorrow will bring no surprises. When night falls, part of the soul complains that nothing different was experienced, but another part is content – paradoxically, it is for the same reason.
“Evidently this safety is completely false; no one can control anything, and a change always appears at the moment one least expects it, taking us by surprise and with no chance to react or fight.

If we are free to decide that we want a uniform life, why does God force us to change it?
– What is reality? It is that which we imagine it to be. If many people “think” that the world is like this or like that, everything around us crystallizes, and nothing changes for some time. However, life is a constant evolution – social, political, spiritual, on whatever level it may be. In order for things to evolve, it is necessary for people to change. As we are all interlinked, sometimes destiny gives those hindering evolution a push.

Generally in a tragic way…
– Tragedy depends on the way you see it. If you chose to be a victim of the world, anything which happens to you will feed that dark side of your soul, where you consider yourself wronged, suffering, guilty and deserving punishment. If you choose to be an adventurer, the changes – even the inevitable losses, since everything in this world changes – can cause some pain, but will soon thrust you forward, forcing you to react.
“In many oral traditions, wisdom is represented by a temple, with two columns at its entrance: these two columns always have names of opposite things, but in order to illustrate what I mean, we will call one Fear and the other Desire. When a man stands at this entrance, he looks at the column of Fear and thinks: “my God, what will I find further ahead?” Then he looks at the column of Desire and thinks: “my God, I’m so accustomed to that which I have, I wish to continue living as I have always lived.” And he remains still; this is what we call tedium.

Tedium is…
– Movement which ceases. Instinctively, we know we are wrong, and we revolt. We complain to our husbands, wives, children, neighbors. But, on the other hand, we know that tedium and routine are safe havens.

Can a person remain his whole life in this situation?
– He can be pushed by life, but resist and remain there, always complaining – and his suffering will be useless, will teach him nothing.
“Yes, a person can stand for the rest of his days facing one of the many doors he should go through, but he must understand that he has only truly lived up to that point. He may continue to breathe, walk, sleep and eat – but with less and less pleasure, because he is already spiritually dead and does not know it.
“Until one day when, as well as his spiritual death, physical death appears; at that moment God will ask: “what did you do with your life?” We must all answer this question, and woe betide those who answer: “I remained standing at the door.”

……………………………………………………………

Original article can be found at: Paulo Coelho’s Blog-


http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2012/03/03/boredom/

I have read almost 60 percent of his writings. Great reads, all of them. :)

PS.
The photograph has nothing to do with this post. I just liked it for its colors, and have shared it before in one of my July posts.

Not Edited & Not Framed

Same mountains (very very far away),

different day,

different light,

no editing & and no framing! (Edited & Framed)

:D

Again, like the last time, let me know what you think. I would love to know! :)

. . . Landscape . . .

 I loved the clouds, so here is one more -

. . . Portrait . . .

Date of photography - February 18, 2012

As you sit on the hillside, or lie prone under the trees of the forest,
or sprawl wet-legged by a mountain stream, the great door,
that does not look like a door, opens.
-Stephen Graham

Sharing Something Essential (with Flowers!)

I really liked an article which I read months ago in a newspaper’s editorial section. Sometimes, you think something a lot and want to write about it, and then suddenly, somewhere, you find it and that matches your thoughts word to word. Has that ever happened to you? :)

This article is something which reflects my thoughts, almost. I didn’t change anything in this article as it was already perfect. Have a read :)

Change Attitude, Not Lifestyle

There are many who believe that to turn spiritual you have to change your wardrobe, diet and lifestyle and adopt a sombre and boring pattern. This does not appeal to those who continue in their materialistic ways. A few inspired ones change everything except their thinking! They fail to benefit, get frustrated and give up. Rare is the wise one who focusses only on ‘attitude’. And succeeds!

You have a fundamental choice in every situation, at every moment. You can be unhappy and complain. Or you can be happy and cheerful. It has nothing to do with the world or what it presents. You could have the best of things and still be miserable. You may have nothing and yet be deliriously happy. The difference is in your attitude.

In life, everyone is denied a few things. But all of us have been blessed with millions of gifts. If you focus on what you do not have, you will be unhappy. If you choose to focus on the things you have, you are grateful and you develop an irresistible desire to share, contribute, and give. This makes you happy. The most precious things come for free, which you do not even consider! Hence you live life feeling deprived and deficient when, in fact, you could be totally fulfilled and abundant.

An object is red in colour because it reflects red. It gains what it gives and loses the other colours it takes. So shift your focus from ‘what can i gain’ to ‘how can I add value to others’ and success will be yours. Besides, all selfish people are unhappy. To the extent you turn unselfish you will be happy.

Do you have conflict with the people you love most? Do you blame the ‘other person’ for it? Maybe it has to do with your attitude. Do you have expectations of your family members? Do you make demands on your spouse and children? This is not love. It is attachment. Love tainted with selfishness is attachment. You only love yourself. You claim to love because they happen to cater to you in some way. This causes conflict and untold suffering. In the end you lose them. Attachment is the single most important cause for breakdown in relationships. Physically hanging on to spouse and children does not make for meaningful relationships. You need to earn their love and respect. Shift your stance from ‘hanging on’ to ‘letting go’ – from binding them to releasing them from your clutches; from focussing on your happiness to enabling their fulfilment. Accept them for what they are, not for what they can do for you.

The world and all that it offers is temporary, fleeting, passing. Understand the transient nature of the world while living in it and you will be happy. Transact with the world, enjoy it, but always remember that it will pass. Give it the right value, not the exaggerated value you have for it now. Begin the search for the permanent. The journey itself becomes thrilling. Then you will experience true happiness irrespective of what you have or do not have.
So change your attitude, not lifestyle. Your life will change from drudgery to revelry. From mediocrity to Excellence.

Source: Change Attitude, Not Lifestyle by Jaya Row (THE SPEAKING TREE )

I read it once in a while, it inspires me! :)

Have a peaceful time. You deserve it. Here’s one bunch of lovely flowers for you -

:)

Gandhi Quotes

Yesterday, I wrote a little about Gandhiji in my post “Bapu for me“. Well, not just “about” him, but mostly on my thoughts about him and his philosophy and teachings. I wanted to share some of his quotes too in that post but couldn’t for some reasons. So thinking of doing it today.

Some of my favorite quotes of Mahatma Gandhi-

  • Gandhi’s Talisman:

“I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?

Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away.”

- One of the last notes left behind by Gandhi in 1948, expressing his deepest social thought.

  • A ‘No‘ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes‘ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.
  • A religion that takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to solve them is no religion.
  • An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.
  • As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves.
  •  Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.
  • I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won’t presume to probe into the faults of others.
  • I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.
  • In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
  • It is easy enough to be friendly to one’s friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business.
  • Let everyone try and find that as a result of daily prayer he adds something new to his life, something with which nothing can be compared.
  • Man can never be a woman‘s equal in the spirit of selfless service with which nature has endowed her.
  • Morality which depends upon the helplessness of a man or woman has not much to recommend it. Morality is rooted in the purity of our hearts.
  • My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God. Non-violence is the means of realising Him.

Learn and apply. Love and live. :)  

Majestic Evening Sky

  It seemed to me as if there was a forest fire behind the mountain, but it was just… a light show, all natural and totally WONDERFUL! It lasted for merely ten minutes or so, but it made my evening (22.07.2011).

:)