World Peace or World in Pieces ?

September 21st is United Nations International Day of Peace. 
Be it Valentine's day, Independence Day, Diwali, Holi or any other festival or any news update, social networking sites and the blogosphere are flooded with those topics.  I was wondering that I was not able to find a single blog dedicated on this topic.. nor, did I find a single word of peace on facebook. So, thought of trying my bit to write about it. I wanted to write about it not because I have so much to say about it and not because I have done something so good on this day to share and not because I have some ideas on increasing peace or anything like that... The only purpose of writing this post is just to spread a simple word thought of *peace* within my limited scope of this blog... because praying for world peace has to be a collective thought, to give it strength...


"Peace" has been a very common idea for most of us.. but peace is easier said than done... Because, Human being is manufactured that way. Anger, for instance, is an inbuilt quality in human beings. A year old kid will cry in anger if you try to take his favorite teddy away from him. And, as he grows, grows the greed, jealousy, and the feeling of supremacy within him. And, the world thus is divided into pieces... Taking into consideration the current events, the world is far from peace. Be it corruption, on going wars in Iraq, Afghanistan etc., Disturbances in Kashmir, the local daily news of murders and rapes, our daily news is more about crime, corruption and war...  


 So, How can world exist in peace, when the world is actually living in pieces???


In Lao Tzu's words, ‎"If there is to be peace in the world, There must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, There must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, There must be peace between neighbors. If there is to be peace between neighbors, There must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, There must be peace in the heart."  And, if there is to be peace in the heart, there must be a mind willing to seek for it...

"Let There Be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me. Let There Be Peace on Earth, the peace that was meant to be! With God as our Father, brothers all are we. Let me walk with my brother in perfect harmony."

Amen!

My dear friend - Lost & Found

Alone I was waiting for you... Waiting for you to come back.... And you did come back...
I missed you dearly and solemnly. I remembered the first day I met you and hugged you. It was a fine evening on 15th of May, 2009. And, I just could not stop cursing the bad world outside which separated us. For a few days, I thought it was your demise and I will have to move on. I thought I lost you forever.... I never knew that every single snap and every favorite song and movie would seem like a painful reminiscence...  But my happiness knew no bounds when you came back... my friend, my guide... my dear DELL Inspiron Laptop.... !!! I lovingly named you "GRACE" and by His Grace, you did come back to me... Thank you.


Yes, Finally, My dear laptop came back to me after a long struggle... It was stolen from my room. I cursed myself for the fleeting second that I kept it reachable for the thief...  


Lessons that this episode taught me are:
1) When you lock your room, for God's sake don't put the keys in the window. It's more than foolish to do so...It's like putting your hand in the mouth of a hungry lion and asking it not to bite... 
2) S*** happens.
3) You just need to get a grip...
4) Nothing is immortal.
5) Gyaan is easier to give than to implement.
6) Don't worry of what happens next.. Even if nothing happens, at least you'll get experience..  (kyon darein Zindagi Mein Kya Hoga, Kuch Na Hoga To Tajruba Hoga)
7) The above point might sound like optimistic nonsense, but it is not. And, yes.. I still support the 5th point. ;)
8) Police and Court proceedings take a lot of time... you just need to have patience. (You might be wondering how police and court came into picture... Yes, the thief was caught by the police with my laptop bag and its belongings. When I went to the police station to take my belongings, I was told that I have to hire an advocate to claim that it's mine.)
9) You might want to kick the Judge and ask him "Are you NUTS???", when the only question he asks to give release orders is "What do you call laptop in Telugu?" and delays your case because you are clueless of what he is asking... I mean, how on earth is it a related question?.. Was he trying o be funny? It's not funny and that too when you are waiting for around 5 hrs, outside a magistrate court (which resembled more of a fish market) for a Lady to call your advocate's name and your name in a rather grumpy voice!! So... You might want to kick him... but you cannot! because he is the "honourable judge" and calling him nuts would be "contempt of court".
10) You always rely on friends and family. Nothing much you can do without their support. "I can do it all by myself" feeling is crushed and you need people around you, who are there for you... As the new airtel ad's song goes.... Har ek friend zaruri hotha hai.. :) :)

Ages in Marriage

Evening walks, though I go for one very rarely, are a delight. In the busy parks, you get to see children playing and shouting there sweats out, old aged people having a slow walk with serious discussions, and youngsters jogging hard to keep themselves fit. I prefer walking slowly, observing the strangers in the pleasant weather. On one such evening I encountered a couple.

He brought an ice-cream for her as she sat on the bench in the park. She took it with a big toothless smile. The smile reached her spectacled eyes.. :) He looked at her lovingly as if saying to her "Did you see happiness in my eyes??, It is nothing but reflection of your happiness, my dear!" I boomed with an unknown happiness as I framed out this sentence from their expressions. "O-How-sweet-of-them" feeling inside me reminded me of the video below...

Remember when I was young and so were you
and time stood still and love was all we knew
You were the first, so was I
We made love and then you cried
Remember when

Remember when we vowed the vows
and walked the walk
Gave our hearts, made the start, it was hard
We lived and learned, life threw curves
There was joy, there was hurt
Remember when

Remember when old ones died and new were born
And life was changed, disassembled, rearranged
We came together, fell apart
And broke each other's hearts
Remember when

Remember when the sound of little feet
was the music
We danced to week to week
Brought back the love, we found trust
Vowed we'd never give it up
Remember when

Remember when thirty seemed so old
Now lookn' back it's just a steppin' stone
To where we are,
Where we've been
Said we'd do it all again
Remember when
Remember when we said when we turned gray
When the children grow up and move away
We won't be sad, we'll be glad
For all the life we've had
And we'll remember when....

It could have been a love marriage or...an arranged marriage.. That is not important today. What remains important is, at one point of time in their lives, they were strangers.. And, today they are most important for each other... 

I was still looking at them, "ice-creams in their hands, enjoying before it melts, looking at the reflection of happiness in each other's eyes"...They are loving, they are living.... 

While coming out of the park, a few Q&A within me...
Was their journey comfortable or tiresome and frustrating?? - Well, it can be both. It could have been both... The more important question is, is the journey taking them to the destination?
"What does love mean?" Love doesn't mean anything. Love is. It is the state of existence. 
"Is love sweet or sour?"  Love is neither sweet, nor sour. When you expect it to be sweet, it turns sour and when you are willing to accept the sour love, it becomes sweet. But it is neither. 
They say with ages in marriage, love grows... because as they grow old, the desires fall off, the expectations too... they just need each other for each other... 


A life lived with love for and with your close ones is a Love story in itself...

The Tale of Bird and its Nest

There is an old tree, on the highest branch of which lays a nest. That nest was built with a lot of hard work and dedication by a bird couple, so that their two eggs can grow up comfortably. Mother bird with a heart full of love hatched its two new eggs. The Father bird guarded the nest. When the two nestlings came out, father bird used to go far in search of food and the parents fed the baby birds with their beaks. Parent birds were the only vision, only hope, only guidance for the babies.The ways of world were beyond the sight of the baby birds. 

Soon the babies had their feathers growing. They turned into fledglings now. Even though they could not fly, they hopped here and there near the nest. The mother bird watched them from behind, taking care that they are not hurt. She made loud noises, to warn the babies of the danger. Parent birds taught the baby birds how to find food and what to eat. They taught how to fly.

The baby birds are young now. They now know how to eat, and how to fly.  They were eager to move to new world, try their flight and be free now.  Parents hesitated to let them free, but knowing that they need freedom and exposure to a new world, they let the birds leave them. The first little baby bird was extremely eager to fly, It had the thoughts of the new world and was beaming with joy... It jumped from the nest and flew into the air. It was not worried about the consequence of flying so fast. It just flew by, happy and content with its freedom. The next little bird was so shy and timid. It slowly stepped out of the nest, flew to the next branch and looked at parents. They smiled and encouraged with claps of flaps. It flew away after sometime as parents showed a way to its new nest.                       

The parents looked at both of them as they flew by. They are proud of the choices that are made by their babies. But, the nest is empty now. They miss the noise in and around the nest. Only question in their minds is "Will the nest be visited often with the same love and care???"

Copy - Paste "Anyway"

Just happened to read this poem by Mother Teresa while surfing. Felt the need to share it... :)  

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.



My readers may say that it is not an "Original post",  "Copy-paste" anyway... ;)