Life just isn't

When i was in school,i used to write into a diary- all that i found beautiful and motivating. While skimming through it today, i thought of sharing the following excerpt,which i think i wrote from the book- 'chicken soup for the teenage soul'.Here it goes:-


Life isn't about keeping score.It's not about how many people like you and it's not about what sport you play.It's not about your shoes or your hair or the color of your skin or where you live or go to school.It's not about your grades,money,clothes or colleges that accept you or not. Life isn't about if you have lots of friends or if you are alone,and its not about how accepted or unaccepted you are.Life just isn't about that.

But,Life is about who you love and who you hurt.It's about how you feel about yourself.It's about trust,happiness and compassion.It's about sticking up for your friends and replacing inner hate with love.Life is about overcoming ignorance and building confidence.It's about what you say and what you mean.
It's about seeing people for what they are and not what they have.Most of all,it's about choosing to live in someone else's way that could have never been achieved otherwise.

Keep Shining!

What's in the gift box?

I am bored with all the books around me all the while. Exams are not exactly a treat,especially when you have three ,all in five days.
But the good thing is- my friend Ina's birthday is near and so is Aarav's.Aarav and i have been in a relationship for almost a year now.I was wondering about what to gift him.What will do justice to my feelings for him? I loved some of the ideas i got and i want you to tell me what you think of them.

1. Write a book. You don't have to be a writer to do that.
Some interesting incidents,feelings that were not acknowledged,your courting period,anything. Anything about you two that's just yours,unforgettable and lovely.You can use your picture as watermark,love quotes at the bottom of each page etc. When you are done with that,get a copy in print.It might not be simple,but worth the efforts.No?

2.Get a customised on-desk calender - One that just has date and months-january1 to december 31.What a beautiful way to get your love acknowledged, every morning, day after day.

3. Make him/her a card - Nothing beats the warmth and affection conveyed by a self made card.Use crafting materials(hand made paper, laces,sparkles) and your imagination .

4. Be a little thoughtful : What is it that your friend/beloved likes? Books? To paint? Dance? travel?Decide a gift accordingly and let them know how much you care.

Don't just spend money.Gift wrap your love.


Keep Shining!

Monkey menace..really now ?

I stood in the balcony,watching the evening unfold as kids go cycling about the building's parking,some of them playing badminton and some elderly people taking a walk.3 adult monkeys crossed over the boundary wall to the adjacent residential enclave,where the others of the group were wandering.

The picture shows how the two enclaves are separated.
One of the two baby monkeys was limping.It walked slowly,often pausing to stroke its leg before taking another step. Its leg was bruised.Half of the leg looked reddish brown.I wondered if it was because it hurt itself somewhere or because of some ruthless being.
The latter option seemed likely.
It climbed one balcony and lay curled there.I saw the white Voltas A.C he stepped on to reach the balcony.And i knew that the wound was bleeding.

I did not know what to do for the poor thing.I felt helpless and angry.

The plight of monkeys is hapless.They are scared out of the complexes (temporarily,though) after being pelted upon by pebbles or sometimes being hit by the bamboo sticks.I feel sad at their wretched condition.We had contacted MCF once, a team tried catching monkeys(for shifting them to some forest area) but had success with just 4 of them.

Monkeys climb on trees and rooftops. And that doesn't help.

Okay,i know,they have raided urban cities, our residential areas,offices and markets.And since i live in fringes of forest area in the state, the presence of monkeys here does not really surprise me.But there is a way to deal with a problem,and i do not see beating them mercilessly as one.

I know they are always hopping around, climbing the trees, our rooftops and at times,our balconies too.What else is expected out of them? Sit on chairs with legs crossed? Sip with a straw? what? They are just being monkeys. And we should not cease to be humans.

To everyone who has to deal with increasing monkey population in cities,i just want to say-on your part,just take precautionary measures.Don't leave doors open.Don't feed them.If you fear an attack from the monkeys,just carry a stick to JUST SCARE THEM away,if need be.Otherwise,Live and Let live.

What do you think about the issue?

LIVE

I want to LIVE
and not just breathe through,
I want to smell d roses and bathe in d moonlight
and not just rush through.


I want to touch lives
wherever i go,
Giving people my best in life's drama,
my onetime show.

I want to smile
in happiness and in pain,
play with pups,sing on rooftops
and dance in the rain.

I want to play the game
as a winner,
One day at a time,neither months or years
Burying yesterday's regrets and tomorrow's fears.

Oh yes,i want to live
and not just breathe through,
to Smell the roses and bathe in the moonlight
and not just rush through.

WonderFULLkids

Two out of three..not bad.
I lay comfortably on the couch, holding Rex (my stuffed bear) and reflecting upon how the day had been.Only one practical exam remained,major two being over... but that's least of my problems.
A little tiff with a close friend..and a little disappointment in a college seminar was, well, a little too much.
I felt like just lying there,not doing anything,not even talking to anyone. I decided to go out for a walk and stood up reluctantly. I hate this feeling. Imagine not wanting to talk.I feel unwell when i stay silent.
"Hae-llo di"... I turned around and saw Ayesha rushing forward. 'Hae-llo', she said again,wrapping her arms around my thighs.well, that's the highest my 4 year old cousin can reach. I smiled and bent over to hug her.
She started off,as usual and continued incessantly about her A grade in drawing class that day, how a baby monkey (we have lots of them in our residential complex) took away her skirt(which was hung for drying) and kept trying to get in it etc etc.
I looked at her tiddly frame, her inculpable being, her ebullience,while completely absorbed in her ramblings.She then cajoled me into playing with her.I could feel worries alleviating.
Unadulterated joy.
I love kids. I felt so relieved and innervated.Their energy,enthusiasm is so infectious..The other day,i saw a some 1 year old at a grocery store, barely able to walk on his own.He pointed towards the mirror and said,"see ba-by" and kissed himself in the mirror.
Cute little things.

Its wonderful what thriving on simple joys in life can do to you. Being with kids is one of them.