Bye 2011, Hello 2012

12 Photos, 12 months and a new year around the corner. 


Wish I could sum up and tell you everything that happened in my 2011 in just 12 photos. Not an easy thing, but these photos certainly hold a special meaning in my heart. 


I have no resolutions for the new year. All I know is that I am very proud to be the person I was in 2011 and I know in my heart that I will be just a better 'me' in 2012. 


Just some things, I find myself thinking with the advent of the new year, a new chapter: 


* I will nourish my body, my soul and people around me. 
* I will find ordinary more beautiful. 
* I will hear more stories of success, commitment and strength. 
* I will truly prioritise between the 'real' friends and the 'social' friends. 
* I will look for more ways to be inspired and creative than ever before. 
* I will be a little easy on myself. 
* I will take more chances and laugh at myself more than I do. 
* Something that never changes - I will love more. 
* I will remember “The best answer for a fool is silence.”
* I will start a "Love Series" on this blog. 


At this point my spirit can be defined by one of my all time favourite poems, by Maya Angelou - so fierce and majestic. Grabs me every time I read her work...and more so, she ignites my old love for writing poetry. May be that's also in store for 2012. ;) 


   Still I Rise 
  
  You may write me down in history
  With your bitter, twisted lies,
  You may trod me in the very dirt
  But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Wish you all a very Happy New Year. Welcoming the new year is one thing and living it up for next 364 days is another. The latter is the challenge and the excitement that I am looking forward to. 

Welcome 2012, It'll be just awesome to meet you. 

Silence and coffee

Isn't life a bit like this too ?

In order to be as free as I possibly can in my own imagination, I can't take positions that are closed. Everything I've ever done, in the writing world, has been to expand articulation, rather than to close it, to open doors, sometimes, not even closing the book -- leaving the endings open for reinterpretation, revisitation, a little ambiguity. I detest and loathe [those categories]. I think it's off-putting to some readers, who may feel that I'm involved in writing some kind of feminist tract. I don't subscribe to patriarchy, and I don't think it should be substituted with matriarchy. I think it's a question of equitable access, and opening doors to all sorts of things. 

~ Toni Morrison

( One of my favourite authors )

How do you wake up ?

Remembering and reading Anne Frank

And finally I twist my heart round again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside, and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and could be, if there weren't any other people living in the world. 

~ Anne Frank

Mediterranean Cafe Ristorante

Location: Mediterranean Cafe Ristorante........and around.

Cafe & Coffee series

If I skim over my life, a good portion is captured by Coffees, Cafes and chats. And my love for the cafes and coffee...

So I decided to capture those million ( not figuratively ....) cups of coffees here...in the series coming up called 'Cafe & Coffee'. 


And what a way to share life.

Serendipity

"Serendipity" - fortunate discoveries by accident 

How beautiful....truly one of my favourite words. 

P.S - check this out. 

Serendipitous ?!

Just some life moments...

Psst.....I have not posted anything here for a long time again. Are you still here ? For now, just bringing some life moments and will be back soon. Promise !

"Patience is passion tamed"

Marvelling at these victorian structures with beautiful details, takes me back to the times. Really does. Patience must have been a great virtue in those times. As Lyman Abbott once said " Patience is the passion tamed. " 

In personal life, I tend to get impatient with minor things - project should have finished earlier, why a task hasn't been completed yet and soon that will spiral into anxiety. 

Well, these beautiful structures from past standing tall till today are a good reminder to convert that impatience energy into patience and then passion ~ which will certainly result into something very fruitful one day. 

Brand New Day, Brand New Life

That's exactly what I believe in everyday. Everyday is full of tremendous possibilities and hey ....don't mistake my passion for a mere motivational talk. 


I speak from my heart and soul - if you were able to touch it, you will stay otherwise I will just have to say " It was nice to meet you but I am busy for better people in life. People who will take me to another level and with whom I will learn to fly."


So here I am ...again. Feeling rejuvenated. Finding and manuevering the paths to find the direction...but hey atleast my destination is crystal clear in my mind. 


What's your story ?

Blur and Break

I am a little bit blur at the moment but still finding some beauty in that..... I don't have anything to write, I didn't even feel like writing ( Sorry !) - so just taking a little break and will be back very soon......

Let other people sparkle

Asking for help seems to be a sign of weakness, giving compliments means acknowledging that other person is better than you, asking for feedback seems such a vulnerable task. It indeed is easier than what it may seem like.


We can't and we don't live our lives alone. We share, We embrace. And it's so much more fun that way.


When we help someone rise up, when we help someone shine, when we put that spotlight on someone - we say to ourselves that we are greater than the meager ego and we rise above in true sense. Believe me - it's the best thing we can do for our self esteem.


I believe we all get our brightness from various sources - from the buddhist monks chanting, from the Indian priests reading the mantras, someone stranger who is passing all the love to the universe, someone meditating and praying to bring peace, someone hoping for success.


There is so much positive energy around. It just takes some self realisation and acknowledgement to harness that energy. So let's try to acknowledge someone's beauty everyday....and in turn open our hearts to receive some of that ourselves. 

Summer days and beauty around....

Do not believe...

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.  


Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.  


Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.  


Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. 


Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.  


But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.  


~Buddha

F and L word

“Faith makes all things possible.... 
Love makes all things easy.”


- Anonymous

What do you do when you face a confronting situation ?

A few years ago, I used to retreat in. I would simply go quiet, really quiet but my mind will be in a huge turmoil. Confusion, uncertainty, disturbance.

Over time I realised, it wasn't in anyway making me stronger or better. It was eroding my energy.  The situation would keep worsening ( because I won't muster the courage to face and resolve it ) and I would keep hiding from own conscience.

This was one of the things refraining me from living life fully, from living my life the way I envisaged !

Over time, I taught myself to take small steps, build references to reinforce the belief that "tackling a situation, coming out and fighting it ( and this doesn't mean arguing like hell for sure...!! ) makes the situation far better than hiding in your shell".

It could simply mean saying ' Sorry ' to someone, giving them feedback or just telling someone something to protect your honour and harmony.

We live more fulfilled lives and get stronger when we stand like a wall and face the world.

Be clear in your own conscience and that's all that matters. People will judge you anyway, but dealing with a difficult situation will certainly make 'you' much stronger as a person.

I can vouch for that.

A house v/s a home

A small 'house' can be a 'match box' but a small 'home' with lots of love and positive energy can be a 'magic box'.

You are valuable

I think sometimes we become too entangled thinking about the person we want to become that we forget who we are at this moment, and what a waste of this creation !

Indeed it’s great to dream and aspire but without forgetting that we are already great who we are. We have lived on this earth and have become a beautiful person – whoever you are, believe that you are beautiful.

And yes don’t let anyone make you think anything else about you. Refuse to listen and believe in those who try to insinuate the idea that you are not valuable or are any less than them.

Life is valuable and so are you - and it’s your responsibility to appreciate it because if you didn't, no one else will.

Stay beautiful !

( P.S - This beautiful bride is my dear friend Danielle, who is indeed beautiful inside out )

Something profound..

I heard something profound today which I wanted to share with you all. This statement is deeper than what it may seem when you first read it. It was -

"We are all where we are meant to be."