To toil is easy, To see joy is hard

A lot of us struggle and toil endlessly every day of life. There is a sense of accomplishment in struggling from dawn to dusk as if every ounce of energy was used productively. This is easy to do. Just rush through the day in a half awake state.

The key to life is to see joy and beauty everyday, in ordinary things despite everything! For this one needs to be intensely awake every moment and face life fully. Not an easy task and done by a rare few.

Anondo Dhara Bohiche Bhubone

An immortal song by Tagore urging us stop wallowing in our petty miseries and wake up to the endless outpouring of bliss.

Anando Dhara Bohichhe Bhubone 
Dino Rojoni Koto Amrito Rosho
Utholi Jai Ananto Gogone
Anando Dhara Bohichhe Bhubone
(Joy and bliss flows through the universe
Day and night so much ambrosia of life overflows
Through endless skies.
Joy and bliss flows through the universe)

Pano Kore Robi Shashi Anjali Bhoriya
Shoda Dipto Rohe Akhhoyo Jyoti
Nittya Purno Dhora Jibone Kirone
Anando Dhara Bohichhe Bhubone
(Sun and moon drink in this divine offering it
And stays glowing forever their eternal light
Everyday the earth is replete with the light of life.
Joy and bliss flow through the universe)

Bosiya Accho Keno Apono Mone
Shartho Nimogono Ki Kaarone
Chari Dike Dekho Chahi Hridoyo Proshari
Khudro Dukkho Shobo Tuchho Mani
Prem Bhoria Loho Shunno Jibone
Anando Dhara Bohichhe Bhubone
(Why are you sitting all on your own?
Preoccupied within yourself for what reason?
Look all around with an open heart.
Brush away your little sorrows
Fill your empty life with love
Joy and bliss flow through the universe)

A beautiful rendition by Rezwana Chowdhury Bonnya on YouTube

Today's News - Free flowing filth into our lives

There was a time when I caught up on the news first thing in the morning. This has changed over the last few years because of motherhood duties taking a higher priority. During this time, my day started off by peeking out of the window. The sunlight of dawn, the clear sky and the sound of birds welcomed me to a new day. After a hiatus, I have started catching up on the daily news again.

Top news on CNN
    Cleveland abductions; Abortion doctor; Jolie mastectomy; Victim of 'sexually depraved monster';   Prison guards hit with feces; Sergeant faces sex assault allegations; How a man becomes a monster;

Top news on BBC
    US kidnap accused to plead innocent; QPR striker quizzed over gang rape; My life as a 'plus-size' model; An old-fashioned spy scandal; US man dies dribbling ball to Brazil;

Everyday I am startled, shocked and left shaken by what the media brings to me. Each one of these a blow to my psyche. Not a single news to lift my spirit and belief in humanity.

All around me, I see goodness and beauty. My eyes see the innocence of children, the outburst of life in spring. My ears hear laughter and chatter of friends, the song of birds, music from the wind chime. I feel the love of a beloved, the love of a parent for a child, the joy of a grandmother.

I refuse to believe that the world is full of such filth. I refuse to wash my spirit everyday in this sewage. I will rely on what my own eyes see for real, what my ears hear for real and what my mind and senses feel to form my opinion of the world and not what the media spews at me.

That soft space within

When I am in the midst of pure natural beauty
When I watch birds soaring in freedom
When I snuggle next to my sleeping child
When I think of my sweet grandmother
When I read a beautiful poem
When I listen to soulful music

I take a deep breath and enter that soft space within

A perfect union disrupted by loud humans

A bright and sunny early April afternoon, I stood on the pier that juts into the Toogood pond in Unionville and looked around. A pair of Canadian geese caught my eye. They were taking turns dunking their head into the water for what seemed like a few minutes. I realized in an instant that this is a mating ritual. Very soon the male was on top of the female. The male biting the female's neck probably to steady itself amid the throes of an intense sexual union. I watched in complete stillness.

All of a sudden two nannies and toddlers arrive at the scene and immediately start dropping pieces of bread into the lake to attract the geese. The mating pair tried to continue on, but with the nannies screaming "honk honk" and "bread bread" there was little hope for them. Their union was abruptly terminated. The male dismounted and tried very hard to steady himself.

A feeling of distaste and sadness engulfed me. A perfect union of nature was disrupted by intrusive, insensitive and loud humans. I walked away quietly with the bad feeling lingering for a long time after.

A Bad Marriage

Domestic life with those who don't agree with you, is like dwelling with a cobra in the same hut. - Tirukkural 890

You will be bitten, poked, prodded, wounded day after day. Your spirit will suffer from daily blows of harsh words, criticism and disapproval. If you can't distance yourself from the cobra, may you find solace in things that you really love. Otherwise you will wither like a plant deprived of water under a merciless sun.  

Rich in sunny hours and summer days

“Many a forenoon have I stolen away, preferring to spend thus the most valued part of the day; for I was rich, if not in money, in sunny hours and summer days, and spent them lavishly” – Henry David Thoreau, Walden

This is how I feel every day since I began working part-time. The sunny, quiet afternoon hours are really the best part of the day. I walk around lazily looking at whatever catches my eye. Everything slows down as mother nature enjoys a nice afternoon siesta.