SUNRISE --- BREATH OF LIFE

 

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Words are not enough to express its beauty.

Let these pictures speak for themselves.

(Big thanks to the internet and to the wonderful people who photographed these outstanding pieces.)

DO WE KNOW OUR BLESSINGS

 

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Scruffy, our newest addition to the pack, is a rescue dog who has found his forever home with us. One of my favorite things to do in the house is to sit beside him on the marble floor by the doorway stroking his fur while looking out on the garage and to the street outside. Out on the street it can be so quiet and busy depending on the time of day. But sunset is my special time with Scruffy.

A thought struck me....  Does Scruffy know his blessing? I wonder.

Looking down into Scruffy's eyes I see an affirmation to that. He looks back at me with love and devotion etched right there in his doggie eyes. Love for his forever home. Content and happy. Yes, Scruffy knows and shows it in his doggie ways - the language of his heart and soul.

Do we know our blessing?
In good times it can be so easy to say yes. In bad times, do we even recognize it?

Sitting there with Scruffy leads me to different threads of thought. One is about blessings. Life is truly tough and it tells us in so many ways. I struggled with mine and so did mom before me. But she taught me one simple lesson with this..........

'Look for the blessings. No matter how you feel or whatever you are going through... blessings are there for you.'
 
I didn't always understand that. What I could understand about life was that life is mean, hard, unforgiving, unmerciful. Because it was all that to me. My heart broke into pieces and my soul wearied from the solitary struggle. Yet Mom's words kept haunting me like she was herself pushing me to look for the ... blessings.
 
One day I stood by the window (always my favorite spot), took a deep breath, closed my eyes for a bit second and then opened it again. I saw how pretty blue the sky was... how gracefully the clouds glided by... how so green the leaves on the gently swaying tree tops... how nice and gentle the breeze blew... and how it all gave me joy!

Then it dawned on me what a blessing was. That made me happy.

The next day I was ready to grab another dose of happiness. But things began to happen. Problems, disappointments, frustrations, worries and anxieties, loss of strength courage hope and even of faith.. all came hurtling down on me like a comet at loose careening through space. I hurt and cried.

But mom, bless her soul, pushed even harder.

Once more I stood by the window, took a deep breath, closed my eyes,  and opened it again. I felt tears falling down my cheeks,  I sensed the beating of my lonely heart,  I felt life throbbing through my veins,  I saw the day unfolding still with all of its glory,  I sensed the presence of the Divine......  I was alive! My tears rolled down even more but this time.... with praise and thanksgiving towards a loving and merciful God, my God!

I finally knew what blessing was.

A divine gift ....  to lend us strength, courage, hope, faith, love, joy, inspiration. To help us see beauty where we thought none existed. To see ourselves as an important part of this universe. To see God and His great love for us. A divine gift to reaffirm our importance in God's eyes and heart.

Mom was right. We need not search far and wide for our blessings. It's right there in our day... within us and without... in our lives. All that we need to do is ..... stop -- look -- and listen!

Have a great Sunday, friends. See your blessings with a grateful heart.

DEVI'S PEARL (A short story)

Devi sat on the shoulder of the gravel walk with legs dangling nonchalantly over the ledge. The promontory was just a couple of yards high from the main park below. The park almost deserted now as people hurried to get home. Brushing away sweat from her eyes, she looked out to the far horizon now dotted with gray clouds. Far out to the right much heavier clouds gathered threatening rain. 'I have to head back soon, too' she thought. Yeah, it was rather late in the afternoon for a walk usually done early mornings… but no reason this time, none convincing enough anyhow, shrugged Devi picking herself up.

Shaking off imaginary dust from her pants, she started walking back up the path. It was a short trek to the main road but the park designers put in a rough gravel walk winding around trees that gradually thinned out when it got to the big gate. Doesn’t make walking easy, she mused. She thought, oh yeah, mom would always say life is not easy. She got this so wired into my head even before i could set eyes on goals and even before i could set foot on that journey pushing those dreams. When I finally left home to seek my own fortune, it was then that I came face to face with the ‘not easy’ stuff —because there it all was before me --disappointments, bum situations, hard knocks, and jerks. In turn I got bruised, torn, and shaken all over. How often did I cry “enough!!” – and frantically hit the panic button with a thousand screws askew --and burned wires sticking out of my frazzled brain. Geezz…So this is what mom meant!

Devi halted, steps faltered her heart grew heavy as thoughts flashbacked through the years. Feeling a heavy lump in her throat and eyes going moist, she uttered 'scars take long to heal alright'. She lifted her eyes, released the sigh and blinked away the tears. Yes when you have had a life like mine, you'll know everything revolves around – pain and struggle. It’s the fierce battle for relief that hits the button to push harder. No other way to do it-- and when all that doesn’t work still, then you also cry harder and hurt even so much more.

Cold winds started whipping up leaves on the park grounds. Hair wildly flapping in the wind, she intuitively looked back to check on the cluster of dark clouds formed earlier. Now they were much darker and heavier heading in her direction. The sight jarred her thoughts back to the present; Devi now quickened her steps and hurried down the path till it brought her to the main gate. Finally out into the open, she quickly ran towards the waiting shed as heavy clouds broke into unrelenting rain.

Rain! 'Into each life some rain must fall' — not original but another piece from Mom’s list. She missed no chance to hammer that into my head—making sure I understood very well what she meant--- At fifteen?! Ugh! --When all that I had in mind was that cute boy next door-- Tall and lanky, thin lips always curling up into an eternal smile, and gorgeous blue eyes. Blue! Girls went gaga over him—never mind if he was a GI baby –somebody’s souvenir of a long gone ugly war. He was cute! But then I grew older and outgrew the boy (well, who doesn’t!) and yes the rains did come. In fact, it poured buckets-- I got fired from my second job, got kicked out of my flat, friends thinned out, was betrayed by a boyfriend, mom died and an only brother in that same year, dad joined them a few years after, and money dwindled all too soon.

Devi looked down to her soggy shoes as old forgotten memories continued its parade. Drenched, she thought still looking at her wet shoes-- nobody can stay unaffected by it— none can survive untouched by it all. Life makes sure of that and spares no one. We all get our share of pain—in different measure but it falls on everyone absolutely. We all get unmercifully drenched. Soaked wet down to our feet!

The rains still pounded on the pavement heavily without letup. 'Darn', she thought, peering through the thick curtain of rain, 'what’s taking the shuttle so long'. Distracted, she strained through the thick rain to the other side of the road down to a low-lying bush which caught her eye. Small and sitting squat on the ground, yet with its tiny lavender blooms bravely holding on to its stalk under the pounding rain. Amazing, she mused, and so pretty-- a ray of color, hope and courage on a bleak silver gray and heartless canvass-- So much like life, isn’t it? She mused.

Blooms! Take time to smell the roses. Yeah, it’s not original-- again I know, but Mom said this, too. She said that at one time in our life, there is that precious moment or one unforgettable person which and who will always stand out in one’s memory which is akin to the sight of beautiful red roses in gorgeous full bloom just taking one’s breath away-- always remembered, never ever forgotten!

I remember this one rose moment....

Who says that banners and streamers welcome you into the workplace-- that 24-karat smiles greet you on every floor the Sup takes you to meet the corporate family as they call it. Well, maybe one or two then there are the quick smiles, half smiles, quarter smiles, and no smiles. But I hate most the eternal smirk. Ugh! It cuts you up more like a double-edged sword. To a naïve just-fresh-out-of-school young girl of twenty-two, this is akin to the ugly withered witch in the dark cold deep forest who’s out to steal my basket of red apples. Did I get that all mixed up... was it snow white or little red riding hood? He-he. So the Sup and I got through all the floors and cubicles and then back to my first-ever corner desk when the clock struck lunch. Hurriedly, she mumbled where the canteen was and then melted into the woodwork. Must be related to Cindy—Cinderella if you want to know.

Anyway the room suddenly felt so desolate as I stood there glued to my shoes. Panic! -- heart thumping I grabbed for my bag and ran to the ladies’ room. Empty! So glad for it heaving a sigh of relief. The place was impressively very clean. Maybe I could…??? So I got out from my bag the sandwich mom packed for me this morning, moved the stool at the make-up counter closer to the open window, sat down and ate my lunch. I was starving. A quarter off my sandwich when the door opened and a girl came in. She may have noticed the sandwich in my hand but said nothing. Instead, she said “Hi!” --showing a nice set of pearly white teeth. She washed, dried her hands, and then looked in the mirror checking her make-up. I remained quiet so embarrassed because she obviously knew what I was doing there. Then she turned to me and said “The view is truly fantastic from that window. New here?” and smiled. Not waiting for me to reply, she headed for the door and added “You’ll be fine; it's okay. It’s only that way for some few days. Then it'll get better.” Smiled again, opened the door and stepped out closing it softly behind her. Never saw her again but I never forgot her since. Although I was told that people in the big city rush and hurry all the time unmindful of each other, but not this one, she certainly took time for me. Will never ever forget her.

Oh but of course there's more-- snippets in the most unlikely places and situations although remotely connected to my own pain and suffering —yet providing so much immense wealth of pleasure and inspiration despite the restive ripples seen on the surface of life so to speak. So much like a pool of calm cool waters refreshing and resting my soul and spirit. I guess one just has to learn to seek out these treasures which almost always are hidden beneath the hassle-and-bustle of life’s endless grind and hard cover-- to see pearls where others may think none exist. And appreciate it! I guess this is what Mom meant.

The heavy downpour now had trickled to a light drizzle and Devi slid out of the shed deciding to walk home. The comforting thought of hot chocolate nudged her to quicken her steps. But for one brief moment, she looked back over her shoulder to the tiny plant -- lavender blooms still upright—and Devi smiled. Ah yes, nature and people – brothers, too, in the same landscape of life. And grinning widely now, Devi whispered to the wind “Mom, I found myself another pearl!”.

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I don't usually do long stories. Did this for a friend. But this will be the first and last. Lols! Hope you enjoyed this special ride. Thanks for dropping by for this one.

EVERYTHING HAS ITS SEASON

I received a lovely picture in my inbox this morning from Parthasarathi, of a garden oozing with lovely blooms filling the ground like a magnificent floral carpet. I wanted it on a piece I was writing yet couldn't get it here unfortunately. So I searched for something similar and found this.


Imagine living in a place overlooking a garden such as this and to have the privilege of gazing out to its exquisite beauty for endless hours all day long. Wouldn't that be simply wonderful? But flowers too have their seasons, don't they? All of God's creation has its own time for being and living. A time for happiness, sorrow, sadness, joy, anger, disappointment, love, live, die.

Everyone and everything has its season. Thus the wisdom of learning how to savor moments, the times of your life, and appreciate the blessings God so wisely showers upon every person anywhere in the world would make every thread of life and moments so precious -- such a treasure.

Treasure -- that's what we have right here in our hands. But it's not the kind which we oftenly stubbornly seek to further material gain, prestige, or fame. These things don't connect to our inner core. If I may use the language of my brother, 'it's superficial -- skin deep.' It will wear off or tire you down.

The real treasure I so speak of lies where we are centered in our hearts. Whenever we see or touch or feel or appreciate or live... beauty - truth - joy... and feel it engulf our whole being down to the very core of our existence, that is our treasure.

But as we may want it to last a lifetime, it won't and it can't. Because it has its natural flow of life -- just as we are born, live, and die -- it stays in its own time and season and then passes on.

But if we have listened well and paid attention, we can hold on to its memories and remember the moments long after it has gone. Everything has its season, that is true... but memories are timeless. Memories are for all seasons.