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. 

Serendipity

"Serendipity" - fortunate discoveries by accident 

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

P.S - check this out. 

Serendipitous ?!

"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. 

Summer days and beauty around....

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 )

Change the course of life

Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans. - John Lennon

.....or living life created by others for you or just living for others. 

It has been a few months since I left the corporate world. Whilst I used to enjoy my job, I wanted to break the shackles of 9 to 5 routine. I am loving my life so far, filled with absolutely everything that I enjoy and most of all - the flexibility of doing what I want to and when I want to. Like floodlights suddenly came out in a groping darkness. 


The other facet is like a riot has broken out. I have been facing other challenges since then - time management, discovering myself, discipline etc.  It's like weeding out thing after another which I didn't realise existed. But it's a self exploration journey to see what works for me. 


I am not sure why but people around me seem to have the perception that if you are not in a drudging,routine job and not paying homage to your boss everyday - you are not 'working'. You are not doing something worthwhile. Isn't living the way you want to, worth a while ? 


And let me tell you - I like to be my own boss is the biggest reason. 


I enjoy freedom, intelligent conversations, adventure, solitude, reading, arts, creating things, meeting interesting people, discovering myself, new challenges. 


Sometimes I spend hours explaining that it's like coming out of oppression of the corporate world and taking in charge of my own destiny, creating it myself. 


I love that I can create my own routine, fill it with things I always needed time to do. I love the variety of things I can get involved in.  To me, it's ultimate freedom and I am proud that I am brave enough to change the course of life when I want to. 

Merry Christmas !

The definition of the word 'tradition' is "handing over, passing on". Passing on something valuable - some great memories, meaning and beliefs. 

             Celebrating Christmas with a special family has certainly made me realise the true meaning and spirit behind festivals and traditions. In short, it's about having faith in an activity or action and bonding with the ones who you love. Having some fun together. Going back in history to reminiscence. Spending some time together and building memories. 

 

Appreciating each other and showing love. Hugging and sharing a meal together. We can make it as religious as we want or simply take joy in getting together with loved ones and having fun. 


That's all festivals are !
Hope you enjoy all the coming days just as Christmas is celebrated all around the world. Merry Christmas ! 

Do you suck the energy or pass some on?

I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.  ~Ancient Persian Saying

Attitude is really the key to a happy life. 

To those endless opportunities that we may miss while we are busy whinging and whining. When I was growing up, dad always reinforced how simply looking at the brighter side will mean attracting the same abundance. 

And I believe it's true. 

While we are busy complaining, dreaming about what we don't have ~ life's clock keep ticking. We attract negativity, and everything seems to spiral down. We receive love when we stand with open arms, open eyes and open heart. Childlike innocence in heart keeps the life so vibrant and alive. 

I truly believe that "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" and it's upto us to look at what we want to look at. 

I feel blessed to have such a husband, also my crtique who quickly brings me back to the positive state if ever my hormones kick in and I start to get jealous, envious or negative. It's more important to recognise that state and fix it rather than forcing not to ever feel any of those emotions. 

I am happy at this point, and I will be happy with what I get in future which will be even better.

Life to you ! 

Multi-cultural Multi-coloured society

The beauty of living in a multicultural society is that you learn so much from different cultures and it helps you to become a better person. I learned the importance of knowing the art of living life, love for water and wine from Australians, poise in daily life from Japanese, inseparable family bonds from Greeks and Italians, their love for food is inspiring too.

Several of my interests have unsurfaced due to exposure to the different people from different walks of life and I think it's extremely enriching.

I learned things like how one gets inspired from music and create some extraordinary versions of food dishes, how one can lose a limb to shark and still go in water again to pursue their true passion, I learned how people can spend their whole life perfecting that boat or plane that they started building from scratch, how people finally make it after several knock-backs, how love is shared with people from all walks of life and how to embrace differences, and truly how to live everyday and realizing what's really important in life.

With the gorgeous sunlight trying to peek in my lounge room, I enjoy my banana cake in this moment....and ponder over how lucky I am to be surrounded with these lovely people who I share my precious life with.

A little window to my life...

I never liked reading blogs where people discuss their uninspiring mundane tasks during the day - whether they took their dog out today for a walk or not, whether they have had 'that' dress yet or not. 
You got my point ! 

But I recently realised that sometimes when people write those seemingly mundane things a little bit more in depth, from their heart, giving a real window to their real lives - it makes reading them so much more meaningful and exciting. As a reader then I have an opportunity to learn and to get inspired from their lives. 

So I have decided to open a little window ( actually a small door !) to my life too...my life as an artist, to my life as an immigrant, my life as an Indian, my life as an Australian, to my beliefs, to my journey as an amateur photographer, to my home, to my recent love for cooking,  to myself....

Why ? So that I can learn from you and can make my journey a bit more meaningful by offering something more to your life. 

It's risky, but I am an open book already - so what's more to fear ? I will give it a try for somone out there who might be reading this....

Some moments from Diwali...

Japan in Australia

'Matsuri' or Japanese festival was recently held just around the corner where I live.  

Beautiful Japanese girls in their beautiful kimonos, 

Japanese Art groups...

Lovely handmade ceramics... ( I loved it !!!!!!) 

Competition of painting the Japanese Umbrellas....

Amazing display of strength and skill at Taekwondo performance.....

Origami...( got more inspired to learn ... I have been planning to do this for a while !)

Of course..the poise of Japanese beauties... 

Japanese Calligraphy... or Shodo

..lots of laughs..

...and these drummers group called 'Taiko' were simply spectacular.

I just could not get enough of their performance and music. What a thunder they brought to the air...magical !! 

That's another reason I love Australia - so many people from variety of backgrounds adopt this country and make it their home...and as a result make it so exciting and colourful. 

We learn and grow together, eat different food, share each other's stories, exchange the experiences and live a rich life. 

Thank you Australia !