Found but Lost

I found her one day,
enjoying the warmth of life
loving the feel of freedom
eating the fruits of her labour;
lost in her own world.

I found her again one day,
looking for something
searching her retinue
emptying her bags;
lost in her loss.

I found her yet again one day,
confused in herself
finding her identity again
solving her life's puzzle;
lost in her lost world.

I found her again & again,
more confused than ever
bewildered with events
begging for some familiarity;
lost in a strange world alone.

Maybe I will find her again one day,
enjoying the warmth of life
loving the feel of freedom
eating the fruits of her labour;
lost in her new world.

Words - Are they important?

Communication is 7-10 % words , 25-30 % tone and rest is body language. The percentage may vary a little but I think we all understand that words make only a small part of the actual communication. So, are the words that important? If gestures, actions and touch could say it all , what was the need to develop languages?  Off late the question has been bothering me a lot as I have used the same statistics endless times in my sessions. But going through them now I realise , tone belongs to words - tone isn't non verbal. Therefore, words even by these stats constitute a big 35-40% of communication.

Remember Boyzone's song - "It's only words and words are all I have to take your heart away". Words have a taste , a power that makes people your enemy or friend. Words can hurt , words can heal, words can change the world so in other words - words matter. Still we choose not to speak about the things that matter the most to us - to the people who matter the most to us, of the feelings that matter the most to us. Because speaking makes us feel vulnerable, maybe that's why we all wait for the others to speak out first. Ironically, this is what makes us  the most vulnerable - not speaking , it keeps everything bottled inside and we become an emotional volcano. Ready to burst anytime and making each moment till then an agony. Words win world, hearts and people and may end up doing just the opposite, it is this power that makes us afraid.

Don't we always or most of the time hurt the people we care about - our friends and families -  by not speaking about what they mean to us and what we feel. We assume they understand us and we do not need to speak. But given the power of words , this is the group that should never be deprived of words of care, wisdom and love. Sometimes a few words convey what our endless actions can not. Making you and your stand clearer than any other means. Read this a few days ago - "Sometimes hearts are broken by words left unspoken". So take chance, it is really a sign of power when you can let go of your fears and speak.

Words do not make the complete communication, but they are an essential component of the same. Sometimes that first 10% , without which the rest 90% of communication becomes meaningless.

P.S - Sometimes words are better left unsaid, other times those unspoken words could have made all the difference. So think, choose with care but speak out , you owe it to yourself.

Oh Life, you are

Woke up early, it was raining but still bright,

a thought came from deep inside...

Oh Life, you are confusing at times,

and I wondered if I was right.

With your valleys and mountains,

Highs and lows,

tunnels and burrows,

New and old,

Oh Life , you are my friend or a foe?

You stand beside me , whenever I feel alone,

yet make me frown so near the crown;

you cry with me and share my misery

but laugh at me and put me down,

Oh Life, you are the teacher or a clown?

Some say you are the past,

some search for you in the future,

yet some find you in the present;

Still you remain elusive,

Oh Life ,you are a mystery or its solution?

You are the goal or the journey?

A part of a jigsaw or the puzzle?

A beautiful poem or the part unleft?

Or a manuscript in some long lost language?

Oh Life, Whatever you are,

I embrace you with whole heart,

And welcome you into my soul;

 with you, I feel whole!

I love rains...

I love rains...and have enough reasons both logical and illogical for it. But as they say you don't need a reason to love....you just do it! My love for rains is long standing and deep seated...may be I am a sawan (Rain) baby has something to do with it...or maybe not.

The feel of that first drop of rain on your skin is inexplainable, it seems as if a message from above has touched you, something divine and beautiful. The smell of earth after the first shower is a blessing , it fills a place in your soul that seems to be awaiting it year long. The first walk in rain is unforgettable, when the drops make you smile and sometimes hide your tears. It is as if it brings out all your feelings in open. The brightness of the first thunderstorm lights up the world around , as if god is saying Smile - "I have not forgotten you". Rain is so positive, it cleans the debris, the mess and clears your vision. Only thing is that you have to allow the beauty of it to reach your heart and soul. Rain teaches you to love life, and love the fact that you are alive.

I would say a person who has never played in rain when a kid, had a dull childhood , one who never got his/her clothes dirty after splashing in puddles has missed something wonderful in life. When going to school if your uniform has never gotten wet - there is a memory missing in your collection. If you never sat in canteen or open in your college sipping tea when it was raining hard you wasted your college life. If you never arrived late at home rueing that it was raining but were actually having fun in rain - you missed out being young. If you have never walked in rain holding hands with your loved one - take a look at your love life again. I have some very beautiful memories of rain each year of my life and hope to keep adding to my collection.  

Rain touches you at every age , open yourself to it and it will change your outlook towards life. But then it takes courage to go out in the rain as it washes away the masks you hide behind, ye sabke bas ki baat nai. Rain comes to clean the earth and your soul. Allow it do its work. You would feel lighter and better and happier. Enjoy rain,  it is wonderful to smile when it rains coz then you are smiling with god afterall rain is a gift from above, cherish it.

The practical people who keep warning me about storms, dreary days, logged roads, traffic jams - I am sorry but your words do not sway my feelings - I simply love rains and the changes it brings in my world every year. You be happy in your pessimist world , I am deep in my rainy duniya.And my wait for the year ends, monsoon has arrived.

Read the following quote - "Life isn't about waiting for the storms to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain". So -  Dance coz Life is worth it.

Criticise - you have nothing better to do

We all are surrounded by people who have nothing better to do except criticise the efforts of others or belittle their work or even show a disdain for anything and everything. They have only one goal in life - find out mistakes in anything you see. Remember the puzzle we use to play when kids - find out ten mistakes in the below picture. The critics never grow out of that phase in life. They are never a part of any  creative process because their minds, energy and efforts go into pointing the mistakes in others work. Imagine somebody who never puts in his/her soul into creating something but would very easily find time to look for loopholes. I really pity this set. How miserable this lot would be because there is nothing that is their own, they are always looking for negatives in everything, they are always putting others down, are rarely liked by anyone. What a pathetic existence! Poor them.

Amazingly these people always claim they can do it better, then why not do it! The other person even if made mistakes , had the courage to do the task. This is what the pathetic critic lacks - the courage to create , the conviction in his/her ability and above all their time that goes into creation. So they take the easy way out - Criticise other people. Attack befor they anyone questions you.

Isn't criticism a kind of mental torture , probably we humans are the most inhumane species on this earth. We always have scores of people who do their utmost to hurt others if not physically then mentally or emotionally. Ever heard of any other species attacking someone of their own just for the fun of it? You would not, this trait is entirely human. Only we hurt our own , only we put the fellow humans down, only we derive happiness in others sadness. This is ironical that we have lost so much humanity in the process of being civilised/sophisticated.

These critics hurt the new creators with their pathetic comments, snides remarks and rude gestures. In the process they affect the entire chain of creation. There is a set that says take criticism positively. I am fine with it as long as the critic is genuine about the mistakes as well as the appreciation. As long as the critic himself/ herself has been a creator. As long as the main motive of the critic is to help improve the creation and not put the creator down. In absence of these the critic is an undesirable component in the chain of creation.

Become a creator , then move up the ladder to become a critic . But do it only to improve others. Else keep your mouth shut.