Blog Marathon Post 2. Acceptance and Balance

This is the crux of that perfect balance we all seek in life. It may sound a little complex, but trust me, it is about developing a knack. It's a skill which can be developed, and takes similar amount of effort as any other skill requires. However, it does demand a more than normal awareness :). You cannot be in balance and not aware. Ignorance and the associated bliss, if any, do not apply any longer.

Once you have the acceptance that you are where you need to be, and there is no where else that you would rather be, a magic happens - you suddenly become totally available to the moment called NOW. This availability puts you in the driver's seat of your present moment and then subsequent future moments. Lo and behold! You are in charge of your destiny! Now your choices help influence your journey. The freedom that we talked about in the last post, is now evident everywhere. The trust which has brought forth this acceptance, deepens.

From this beautiful place, arises Balance. Balance is usually something that becomes invisible the moment it is achieved. It becomes like the invisible hand, whose effect is seen in the harmony and fulfilment achieved in life, but if we go to look just where is this balance, we cannot find it. In balance, the polarities are transcended and we can see a harmony settle in, which is not lethargic, but full of enthusiasm.

So summing up since yesterday, Trust is the foundation on which Freedom can be brought forth, which leads to Acceptance, which makes way for Balance. With me so far :)?

Disclaimer: All image from the Internet. No copyright infringement intended.

Blog Marathon Post 1. Trust and Freedom

I have come to understand that Trust and Freedom are synonymous to each other; one cannot exist without the other. Without trust, freedom is empty and without freedom, trust is futile.

When we trust implicitly, we instantly become free from the bonds of being right, critical, or judgemental. Now everything is as it needs to be; there is no opposition. With trust, we are instantly released of the need to weigh every possibility, and use our judgement to exert control over our lives.

Some may ask here, trust in WHAT? Well, I say, in EVERYTHING. Without Trust, we cannot be alive. We trust that the next moment our breath will come in and we will continue living. We trust in Life when we go out of our homes that it will go on in the evening (if you have ever battled the traffic, especially Pune's, you know exactly what I am talking about!).

Once we make friends with the process of Life and trust it completely, we are put in touch with a perspective which is all-encompassing and our ability to see the big picture increases exponentially. It's just like the difference between looking a the sky from within a small window and standing under the sky and looking up at the stars. The sky remains the same, but the experience of looking changes.
Freedom means different things to different people. Some crave physical freedom - to be able to travel anywhere, take a break, move to a different country etc. For some, freedom means being free of their situation - debts, obligations, even relationships, among other things. For me, freedom was always about making the choices I wanted to make. The fact that there were external restrictions, like money, time, or people, was, well, restricting. But as time has gone by, I have understood that freedom is not something that we can possess.

Freedom is simply the ability to be aware of all the possibilities and then choose the ones that appeal most to you, without getting stuck in past patterns/memories and also without getting trapped into dreams of the future. This is true freedom. Everything else is conditional. More travel may require moe money, better relationships may require work of your social skills, and so forth and so on. Of course, it is not easy. Or it is totally easy. Depends on your belief. But that is a story for another time :).

So how to experience this freedom? Simple. Choose to be free. Make it priority to experience true freedom. Then trust that what you need for this experience will come to you. Now let it go. Do not get attached to the desire to feel the freedom. Most of us get stuck here.

So here it is - my view on two most important aspects of living - trust and freedom. It may be said that they are two sides of the same coin, but I feel that they are not even that different. For me, they are the same. At least, that is how they have become for me.

Disclaimer: All image from the Internet. No copyright infringement intended.

A Cup of Coffee on the Wall

Taken from a friend's FaceBook wall

I sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in a neighboring town of Venice, the city of lights and water. As we enjoyed our coffee, a man entered and sat on an empty table beside us. He called the waiter and placed his order saying, ‘Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the wall.’ We heard this order with rather interest and observed that he was served with one cup of coffee but he paid for two. As soon as he left, the waiter pasted a piece of paper on the wall saying ‘A Cup of Coffee’. While we were still there, two other men entered and ordered three cups of coffee, two on the table and one on the wall. They had two cups of coffee but paid for three and left. This time also, the waiter did the same; he pasted a piece of paper on the wall saying, ‘A Cup of Coffee’.It seemed that this gesture was a norm at this place. However, it was something unique and perplexing for us. Since we had nothing to do with the matter, we finished our coffee, paid the bill and left. 

After a few days, we again had a chance to go to this coffee shop. While we were enjoying our coffee, a man entered. The way this man was dressed did not match the standard nor the atmosphere of this coffee shop. Poverty was evident from the looks on his face. As he seated himself, he looked at the wall and said, one cup of coffee from the wall. The waiter served coffee to this man with the customary respect and dignity. The man had his coffee and left without paying. We were amazed to watch all this when the waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw it in the dust bin. Now it was no surprise for us – the matter was very clear. 

The great respect for the needy shown by the inhabitants of this town welled up our eyes with tears. Coffee is not a need of our society neither a necessity of life for us. The point to note is that when we take pleasure in any blessing, maybe we also need to think about those people who appreciate that specific blessing as much as we do but they cannot afford to have it.Note the character of this waiter, who is playing a consistent and generous role to get the communication going between the affording and the needy with a smile on his face.Ponder upon this man in need….he enters the coffee shop without having to lower his self-esteem…he has no need to ask for a free cup of coffee…without asking or knowing about the one who is giving this cup of coffee to him…he only looked at the wall, placed an order for himself, enjoyed his coffee and left.When we analyze this story, along with the other characters, we need to remember the role played by the wall that reflects the generosity and care of the dwellers of this town.

Response to Wishing Wednesdays by Preeti Shenoy

In response to Preeti's prompt, as a part of her Wishing Wednesday series.

The one thing that I wish everyone would learn is.................

As a professional Tarot reader, this is the crux of everything I have to make my people understand. So simple, yet so difficult... All of us, including me, forget from time to time. "This too shall pass" has been a part of my reality check process for a while now.

May you too find comfort in the arms of change, for otherwise how else will we grow and flow?

Image taken from facebook, one of my friend's post.

Magic Exhibition and Sale

Everyone's Invited!

5 Qs and my honest As

Latest and last prompt by Preeti...


And here is my response:

1. If you had Rs.50,000 to just blow up (you have to spend it on YOURSELF. Giving to Charity or buying gifts for others not allowed), what would you spend it on and why?
A: 50000/- will be spent on a relaxing holiday on a resort (I can never have enough of these), complete with spa appointments etc. OR on a reading with Sonia Choquette. 
2. Name three of your closest friends (not family or spouse) and say why you love them.
A: My closest friends:
1. Shipra - We never need to tell each other long stories about our lives - its mostly understood. No assurances are needed, no judgement enters, and we know that we cherish our friendship beyond everything.
2. Manisha - For bringing so much joy and wisdom and guidance in my life every time I meet her. And even when I don't. She simply sends so much my way just by existing in this world.
3. A (he doesn't want to be named): For simply being there without judgement, and putting me under a microscope when needed and still enjoying my company. Oh, and the fun that we have together is, well, just too awesome.

3. Name three books which have profoundly affected you and which you would recommend to everyone to read.
A: These were my life changers:
1. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
2. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
3. Enlightenment: The Only Revolution - Osho (Commentary on the Ashtvakra Geeta)
4. If you know for certain that you can never ever fail, what would you attempt to do?
A: Start my workshop. Right now.
5. What is THE ONE THING that you want very very badly?
A: I really, really want to experience silence - when nothing moves and there is no hurry to accomplish anything. 

Knock, knock...who's there?

As per Preeti's new Tuesday prompt. Here goes:

" The table is set perfectly, for 'tea for two'. (and the piece of cake is ready too).  I am really looking forward to this. There is still a good half an hour left for my guest to arrive as per the  text  I just got. Suddenly the door bell rings..............  "


....and in comes my long lost, and a little forgotten (please, pardon the Gemini in me), friend from the other side. She is everything I am not - respectful to all elders (deserving/undeserving), dedicated of her duty in the household, self-starter, serious, yet can induce laughter when occasion demands, studious, diligent, marvel in the kitchen, phew...the list is endless. She had disappeared a few years ago among rumors of forced marriage, where she apparently went on a "family" honeymoon...


Years have changed her. Her eyes are that of a stranger. So what is she doing here? My guests are going to arrive soon...how will I tell them that the tea-party is cancelled, as my friend of 18 years, even if she was absent for the last 5 years of them, takes precedence over every and anything. She would not have come if there was not something absolutely important for her, if things had not become too much for her to bear. 


I am about to ask her how has she been along with a thousand other questions racing through my mind; but before I can say anything, she smiles, tilts her head in the age-perfected manner, and says,"Thanks for inviting me tonight, I am Shivani, your friend Hitesh's date for the tea-party. He is coming here from the office; he gave me your address and asked me to reach here directly. I must this Alice in Wonderland theme tea-party was a totally wonderful idea. So different form any other New Year parties I have ever attended. So tell me what made you think of this? I here you are a writer...."

Her remaining words became merged into each other to form a kind of static noise. I am sure my impression of a dumb, mute person spooked her, for she is till date not too comfortable around me. This after knowing the reason of my state of shock that night. I was taught the meaning of the word doppelgänger in style. Because any other explanation is just too bizarre, right?