As we approach to the new year eve, even in the loudest of music and elegantly dressed men & women our minds are flooded with memories of the year that just slipped away. These flashes of high intensity that completely turn our lives upside down actually end up defining who we are. The thing is each one of us is the sum total of every moment that we’ve ever experienced with all the people we’ve ever known. And it’s these moments that become our history. Like our own personal greatest hits of memories that we play and replay in our minds over and over again.

We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this new year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential that lies within us and others.

Many of us must have endured a long and painful difficult 2014. And sometimes in the midst of these storms, the future that we are trying to build may seem beyond our reach. But this milestone should serve as a reminder to all of us that the future is ours to shape and to now aim higher than ever before.

As we pray for the new year 2015 to bring all the rewards of love, contentment and success; let us also understand that there will always be times when we may feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate... and so let us pledge that if we are shattered in the journey we will come back even stronger, we shall be more than our scars.

Friends, sometimes the one thing you need for life is the one thing you are afraid to do. For instance,there are some who said I should have fought harder or longer than I did for my marriage, but in the end fighting for love that was already gone felt like trying to live in the ruins of a lost city. I had to step over the false belief that there will be a verse, quote, phrase or talk that will magically make me feel content & complete.It made me finally realise that I left without ever leaving. This type of journey is the scariest road one will ever travel. However, it is the road God will never let you travel alone as God will Himself travel with you.

Just for a change, this year just this year, try to make a promise to be a little better human being than you ever were. How would your life be different if…You stopped making negative judgmental assumptions about people you encounter? Let today be the day…You look for the good in everyone you meet and respect their journey. With others, try to do less correcting and more connecting ; less tugging and more hugging and comprehend the difference that you would care to know less and know to care more.

Let our new journey be about letting go and learning to let in; getting along and moving on..I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with more openess and acceptance. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.

May we remember why we came to Earth . In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours. They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, we are needed here, that is all we can know. And though we meet resistance, we more so will meet great souls who will hail us, love us and guide us, and we will know them when they appear.

So cheers to a wonderful you, your beautiful family and your new journey of love, compassion, success and prosperity in the year 2015 and beyond!!

Stay safe and blessed,

Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care...

These words of Rosevelt endorses the essential basics of a good leader... Be Empathetic.There are many organisations or leaders in an organisation who are all focused on their profitable goals and in the journey makes the organisation a skeleton of trust , conviction and unhappy employees.

Organisations are made up of people not machines, and people have feelings. Leader have to reach out to people to understand their needs,challenges and the inner purpose that drives them, then with his/her expertise weave the link and set the right tone between people's expectations and organisation's goals.

When I was a young merchandiser, I was lucky to have been nurtured in the hands of an empathetic leader. My strengths were identified and brushed for more productivity; my areas of improvement were coached and because I was heard, I realised the importance to speak up and make a difference. Thus, early in my career, I learned the power of empathy to break down barriers and open doors.

Empathy gives you greater awareness of the needs of your employees, it facilitates you to create an envoirnment of open communication and more effective feedback, it empowers you to resolve the problems in greater interest of the organisation.

What holds back the leaders to make empathy a fixture in today's business world is still linked with the ruthless phrase "its nothing personal, its business". The excuse that most of us make for not being empathetic is obviously the reason that the expression or recoginition of any type of emotion in the workplace is still reagarded as being a form of weakness. True empathy is a combination of both emotiaonal and logical rationale that goes into every decision.

However, the clear distinction of leaders who excel in leading is the focal point where they understand and strongly believe that their leadership is not only to direct all energies towards achieveing goals but also on fulfilling the collective purpose of creating something meaningful.

Lack of empathy in leadership can lead to critical issues like poor employee morale, lack of trust in leadership and customer retention in an organisation.

As Jason Boyers said "if we were to keep our business relevant and our customers happy, we must embrace empathy and let it be the force that drives us forward".

God is closer to you than you think....

13th November 1999...... It may be of no significance to the millions of beautiful souls in this world but it was "THE" day of my life. Yes, I was married on this day to the man I had once loved with all my heart and an honest confession that this love has defined my life. Everything happens for a reason and may be today, yes today I realize that we were not made for each other. Because all I remember today is not romance or care but the long nights when I cried endlessly to find the answers to the withering of what once was bloomed with love. I had faced horrors during the 12 years of my marriage... I don’t know which tore my soul apart. The terror I felt the first time when I witnessed such things, or the numbness that came after it started to become ordinary. I was silly and naive who continued to hope day after day that things could someday get better when really it was decaying.

During these years, I had felt the cold and darkness coming, I knew that this fairytale will have a tragic end but every time I wanted to free myself, I found as if being dragged behind a carriage and cannot let go or turn the course aside. I looked at my two adorable sons and thought I would someday be able to save my marriage for their well being. But now I realize that he knew what he would do and just walked over all of us... the three of us. I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now, I can still see the dark circles around my eyes sinking deeper and deeper and my skin resembling a fresh corpse, cuz' my soul had suffered and it had started surfacing. Just like those who say time heals, do not know that outwardly it does, but the havoc it wreaks inside is beyond repair. Those supposedly healed scars we carry with us around, they become our life defining secrets.

And then I accepted that the love that I had so long clung to, has gone forever. With all the lessons it taught me, I remain in debt for the strength it had given me... my two extra-ordinary sons. One masters academics while the other paints my life's canvas with a million colors that I never knew ever existed in this planet.

The story of our life can be told in a thousand different ways. I realized that I am a divine project and so instead of telling my story over and over as tragedy, I have chosen to call it an epic. I have gathered the boldness and courage to call it beautiful instead of calling it ugly.

And you know why?

Faith, love of family, friends, respect at work, enough money to raise my kids, time to pray, play, hug , laugh , forgive and forget, health, food, clothes and the list of things to bow with gratitude goes on and on as compared to the few tragedies I faced in life. So I retraced my steps and went back to the purest place in my heart… Where God lives. I found my way again because I know God is opening my book and I’m the next in line to be favored by Him.

Friends, with this piece of writing I hope to sweep away the terror and the sadness of my life and to have my heart made pure again by God's grace. And I also want each one of you to dream your dreams and surely God shall pour overflowing grace and divine power upon your life to make your dreams come true. Amen.


Stay blessed!!

Wise men had written that hearts and promises are meant to be broken. Yet you have to live and love because this is why you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart, and when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, you have lived the purpose and have given an oscar winning performance on your divine script.

Once upon a time, there lived a young princess surrounded by magic of love and care. She once cried endlessly because her doll was stolen from her backyard, she thought she would never heal her heart. But she was wrong. She soon found her solace in adventures of her teen. She then cried endlessly because her best friend was moving to a different place, she thought she would never heal her heart. But she was wrong. She soon found focus in her career. She then cried endlessly because she earned low grades, she thought she would never heal her heart. But she was wrong. She soon found dreams of her prince charming. She then cried endlessly because her prince walked over her, she thought she would never heal her heart. But she was wrong. She soon found her commitment to raise her kids. She cried endlessly when her kids moved on in their lives leaving her alone., she thought she would never heal her heart. But she was wrong. She soon found her conviction to celebrate her life. But now she was not wrong but was too late as she was just left with last few pages of her divine script.

This little princess of my story had done her best and continued to move on but through the journey she lost a piece of her heart, a fragment of her soul, a purpose of her existence and that was just not what God had scripted for her.

Life will hurt you but you have to realize that you are the value that God added on this earth when you were born. The world will tell you a thousand things, your name would be dragged in the mud a hundred times but you have to celebrate the value that God has inculcated in you. You are beautiful, you are sparkling. You are here to make the difference, so while accomplishing life's challenges dont ever lose that very spark , that very light, that very grace that defines you.

Dont let the burdens of your journey give way to anger, resentment and jealousy as this all doesn't change the heart of others-- it only changes yours. Remember that once diamond was nothing special, but with enough pressure and time, becomes spectacular, You are that diamond!! and dare not lose your originality in the testing times of fate... Value, love, respect , celebrate yourself as it is when you value yourself, you are letting the world see another masterpiece of the creator.

Love you all!!

There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.Human beings are born in relationship and the lives we lead right from infancy to old age are anchored in relationships. It is in relationship that we grow and achieve adulthood and die in the final peace that comes through dying in a trusting relationship with God.

I feel that one of the biggest tragedies of mankind is not to value people, relationships when alive ... we take every smile, every word, every deed of our loved ones for granted till they are actually gone.

A month after my 16th birthday,I fell ill with some renal infection. The doctors had prescribed antibiotics to be taken 8 hourly. Somehow one of the doses became due at 3:00 am in the morning. Obviously, this task was taken by no other than my darling Dad; we both had a heart to heart chat for a while but then I soon fell asleep. To keep himself awake, he sat to watch some video recordings of his favorite cricket matches, then woke me up at 3:00 am and gave the medicine. At 9:00 am, he walked to my room with the breakfast; he told me about how he managed to be up the whole night and I felt very special for all that he has done for me. But, as we humans are never satisfied on what we have, I experienced the very demanding side of my personality.

After finishing the breakfast with me, he said " sweetie, now you go to sleep and I'm off to office. Take your liquids and I'll try to come home early ." My rude and mean reply was " Oh, you are worried about your office when your daughter is not well. And now I know, you were not up the whole night to give me medicine, actually you never get time to watch your cricket so you actually were awake to enjoy your matches."  He smiled and walked away.

Today, I realise that he must have felt hurt and I should have thanked him with my love instead of my mean critical analysis. But its too late now, he is gone forever. I miss him when today I don't have anyone to care for me so much, someone who would sacrifice his sleep to feed me medicine on time, someone who would just smile and understand that even with these mean words all I meant was his presence around.

When you are in the final days of your life, what will you want? Will you hug the degree hanging on the wall in wooden frame? Will you ask to be carried to garage to sit in your expensive car? Will you find comfort in reading your financial statement? Off course not! What will matter then would be people.. if relationships will matter most  then, shouldn't they matter most now?

Value the people who will make an ordinary moment seem magical, the kind of people who brings out the best in you;treasure the people who will drop everything to be with you at any time no matter what the circumstances. And most of all cherish the people who will put you at the center of their universe, because that's where you belong.

We never know but what we say and the way we say could completely change someone's life. If we can learn from hard knocks, we can also learn from soft touch, people will never forget how we make them feel.

It is only with true love and compassion that we begin to mend what is broken in the world.It is these two things that can begin to heal all broken hearts.

Its never too late to pick up a phone or write someone just to thank or that you care. You never know that such unexpected gestures of affection from you may bring joy or hope for someone to live again, to smile again.

Cheers!!

I am not the only one who is obsessed—or writing…It may not be true that “the three most written-about subjects of all time are Jesus, the Civil War, and the Titanic,” as one historian has put it, but it’s not much of an exaggeration. Since the early morning of April 15, 1912, when the great liner went to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, taking with it five grand pianos, eight thousand dinner forks, an automobile, a fifty-line telephone switchboard, twenty-nine boilers, a jewelled copy of “The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam,” and more than fifteen hundred lives, the writing hasn’t stopped.

But today Im not writing about the movie Titanic but using this largest ever built ship, widely admired for its triple-propeller design, and declared by the press to be “unsinkable” as my theme to express the value of human relationships and words.

In a world where vows are worthless. Where making a pledge means nothing. Where promises are made to be broken, it would be nice to see words come back into power and relationships breathe their virtue.

I left every royalty of my family name to keep the promise of togetherness that I made with the man I had loved so much. I spent the glorious, beautiful years of my life making babies with him and building a home. Alas, someone from either of us failed and togetherness withered away. My life was a fairytale and I always longed for a happy ending.. But all fairytales have rules, and perhaps it’s their rules that actually distinguish one fairytale from the other. These rules never need to be understood. They only need to be followed. If not, what they promise won’t come true.

But like every fairy tale, I am also gifted with priceless possessions... my two adorable sons! I made a promise to always stand by them, to hold them up when they’re about to fall, and to always keep them safe. I never believed there was a strength out there for me. Until I had them. They changed everything. And I never want to live without them. I love them more than I ever thought possible.

Linking Titanic again... the success of this movie was also its superb talented cast. God has written your story and its beautiful, it may be tragic for some but a conviction for many to keep promises and that life must go on. Your story also has a unique cast... your selfless parents, true friends, wondrous siblings, amazing children and a beautiful partner. The events may shake you, drown you but the experiences will be intense making your life story a timeless classic and an epic masterpiece.

Pain of the past never goes away, you just find a way to deal with it. And in the future....... all the promise it holds.... that's what keeps you moving forward, and out of the darkness.

Remember the last words of dying Jack :"Rose, listen to me. Winning that ticket was the best thing that ever happened to me. It brought me to you. And I’m thankful, Rose. I’m thankful. You must do me this honor...promise me you will survive....that you will never give up...no matter what happens...no matter how hopeless...promise me now, and never let go of that promise."

Friends, to be born is the best thing that ever happened to each one of us... we should be thankful and make the Creator proud of His creation by leaving this world a little better than we found it.

With all my respect and love,

People of our time are challenged to comprehend the meaning of "celebration". We end up being amused or entertained and call it as "celebration".

Celebration is an active state, it is to feel happiness around and cherish life. When we walk down the memory lane, our childhood was the time when we had celebrated profoundly. I remember buying a pair of red shoes, I was bringing my fairytale beauties Cindrella, Rapunzel and Red Riding Hood to life. I even slept wearing these red shoes and walked proudly like a princess.... a celebration of my fairytales.

The other day, I saw my little champ playing piano with happy moves and trying to make his own composition. The notes didnt sync methodically but the music was a celebration of a toddler's proudest possession ... PIANO.

I have fondest memories of my elder son watching " Lion King" daily at his lunch time when he was in grade 1. He was celebrating his appreciation for "Simba" while learning the lesson of good always winning over evil.

As we leave the wonder years of our childhood, we substitute celebration with amusement & entertainment. We may go for a movie even now but sit there to criticize the director or the actor or give our perspective to the story line making the entire movie experience a business report or a thesis. We forget the days when watching movie was like meeting our favourite stars, laughing , dancing and walking out of the theater with our hearts smiling.

Have you ever thought that why the lessons learned in childhood are hardly forgotten? Its because children take joy in their work and celebrate their wins, celebrate themselves for everything they do. And sometimes as adults we forget that's something we should continue doing.

Give the fullness of your brilliance, play your heart out; life is made up of moments and it is for these moments that we give our lives. And we are not here for that long, we'll all be dust before you know it.

Celebrate God by choosing happiness over suffering; by taking the power to love what you want and love it honestly and by taking the power to make your life happy.

Celebrate yourself with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you, with laughing aloud with friends, cuddling with your kids, with long walks hand in hand with your partner, and with being breathtakingly committed to your goals.

Cheers to an EXTRA ORDINARY YOU. 

don't let your failures define you. It's who you are that matters..

Today I was at a government office to apply for change of my marital status "Married to Divorced" . At the Information Desk, I was welcomed by a decent man who seemed to have all the information that any visitor would need from this office. As I asked him to guide me through my work, I experienced a very different human behavior. There are words we could not say, words that no one might be longing to hear yet we utter them to complete our tasks.

 I said " I am here to change my marital status; back to my father's name". I could see the man struggling to choose what is right over what is best  in selection of his words to continue this conversation. He hesitantly answered " may I know the reason of change, is it divorce or god forbid a young death" . I answered " Divorce". He then continued with the procedure. Around the same time, a lady in her late fifties ( looked more aged beyond her years) approached him with a similar question. I immediately turned to listen as how would he attend this lady. Here he questioned " is it because of death" and the lady replied " No, divorce after 33 yrs of marriage and now im 59". The man replied "do you still want to go through this hassle of name change" and the lady said "yes, I want to live and make my own identity. I gave my youth to this man and his children, now I want to see what I can give to myself".

Friends, we all dream for fuller lives, healthy relationships but when we fail, we start blaming ourselves till we brutally kill our own existence. No matter how hard it is for you to decide whether to leave that person who had played a vital role in your life but has hurt-ed you, you have to do it with conviction- for yourself and for all that wants you to be happy. At some point you need to stop looking out at others and start looking inward, at yourself, at your own accomplishments and your own failures. It's only when you begin to look inward that you can begin to have an effect on those out there.

Many a times you fail over and over and over again in life , only to succeed. You must make a decision that you are going to move on. It wont happen automatically. You will have to rise up and say, ‘I don’t care how hard this is, I don’t care how disappointed I am, I’m not going to let this get the best of me. I’m moving on with my life.'

I leave you today with a thought as why  are you going to choose failure when success is an option? why are you going to choose pain when joy is an option?

Remember always..instead of regretting about the past what's more important now is to change the present for the future.

                                 Cheers ..to a real YOU!

We all die... the goal is not to live forever, the goal is to create something that will...

Each day is an opportunity to make more beautiful memories

There are memories that time does not erase... Forever does not make loss forgettable, only bearable.

Eighteen years ago, I lost my Dad... the man who believed in my strength; I wish I could turn back time to be his little girl again but I know it can never happen to me again. I still remember tears rolling down my cheeks while I sat looking at my Dad lying breathless, helpless as death has embraced him forever. I was unaware of the intensity of my pain and trust me that very moment none who has lost his / her loved one could ever imagine the loss. It is when you wake up the next morning and see the sun rising , you realize that this sunrise and many more to come will still leave your soul dark and your home dull. It is when you sit for your dinner, you realize that the empty chair will never help you heal the loss. The pain gets deeper and deeper till it becomes part of your existence.

Yet most things are forgotten over time. Even the war itself, the life-and-death struggle people went through is now like something from the distant past. We’re so caught up in our everyday lives that events of the past are no longer in orbit around our minds. There are just too many things we have to think about everyday, too many new things we have to learn. But still, no matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away. They remain with us forever, like a touchstone.

Perhaps, I have yet not accepted the death of my father and so make attempts to keep him alive. I can see him smiling when I live through his noble lessons of life... I can see his teary eyes when life treats me hard and hear him demanding me to be strong and be his happy little girl always.

Friends, what I expect from each one of you is to come out of your pains and losses a little more stronger and a little more better. Let your loved ones in heavens beyond stars sparkle a little more brighter when they see you making this world a little better place than what they had left with you. When you are joyful, when you say yes to life and have fun and project positivity all around you, you become a sun in the center of every constellation, and people want to be near you.

Everyone wants to be excited by something magical and wondrous - to be reminded of how they once saw the world ... but most importantly it is all about how you would leave the world better than you found it.

All in all it is what makes life worth living!!

Each day is an opportunity to make more beautiful memories... aim for iconic, go for legendary!!

IMAGINE with all your mind, BELIEVE with  all your heart, ACHIEVE with all your might.

With my majors in English Literature, I always wanted to be someone known & acknowledged for her mastery in English language. But, the divine script had a different act for me. I started my career in textile merchandising and now it pulsates in my existence.

Over the years I found that merchandising  have many levels of ability of mathematical calculations,  building trust, enduring relationships and the power of words. I knew Im not good in numbers, it was always an uphill task for me to comprehend calculations but I knew I can always present my number sheet to audience with finesse using the power of words.  

One day my boss asked me to travel to Hong Kong for a meeting with buyers of reknown USA sports brands to win football business for Pakistan factories. He gave me a list of a variety of data that I would need to discuss with them; it ranged from export market value to analysis of all kinds. It took me 3 days to complete the task but then he asked me to prepare a coverage on our football industry. I could hear my inner voice screaming to convince me that " this is your game, play it well and win " . 

Friends, I spent a night redesigning the entire presentation; I transformed it from a mathematical business analysis to a real story of FOOTBALL MANAUFACTURING. The day I was leaving for Hong Kong, my boss asked me if Im all set for this big meeting and I still remember answering him " Ten days ago, all I knew about football is that its round in shape but today I know the value of this product".

The meeting was a complete hit, I flew back with huge orders and was the star of the organisation. 

I would have been an absolute failure had I spent my energies in mastering the numbers  for this meeting. I won only because my boss directed my strengths to win over my weakness. All through our lives we err by trying to work on our weaker areas and thus nurture the fear of failing. Why not appreciate our strengths and our weaknesses will become too small and too weak to  stop us from winning our game.

We should dutifully review our scales and some elementary pieces required to improve upon our weaker areas but we should focus, nurture, strive and encourage our strengths to transform our life into a masterpiece.

Your belief in yourself to win over our shortcomings will make you a legend like Mozart . Your fingers will be light on the keys of all challenges in life , they will even dance nimbly on the ivories of joy and love. Embrace your strengths and you will  end in a grand crescendo and immense applause.

We can all make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities a day to help realize God's plan. So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a spark of the Divine? Or do we pass up that opportunity, and leave the world a bit colder in the process? 

With respect, encouragement and tons of great wishes. :)

"Shake it off and step up"

There was an old mule. One day accidentally he fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer has evaluated the situation and thought to himself, that neither the well nor the old mule was worth the efforts to save them. Thus he decided to haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well.

So the farmer called his neighbours and together they started shoveling dirt into the well. The old mule was terrified and hysterical in the beginning. But soon one hopeful idea came to his mind – every time when a shovel of dirt landed on his back, he would shake it off and step up!

He repeated these words to himself again and again: "Shake it off and step up“. This way he could struggle the panic and encourage himself. After some time, the mule had stepped over the well‘s wall. Although terribly tired, he was the winner, he saved his own life. He decided to face his adversity positively and not to give up, and thus he won. What seemed like it would bury him, actually saved him, owing to his own confidence and efforts.

Some people will intentionally or unintentionally make efforts to bring us down but we have to keep moving and we will emerge as a winner, a savior for someone, a support and inspiration to a few more. The stories that we tell ourselves and each other sound remarkable, don’t they? They romanticize us. They sweep us off our feet. They persuade us to believe that if we dive head first into an intimate relationship, a big financial purchase, greasy foods, imported beers, or whatever it is that temporarily pacifies our worried mind from reality, then we will somehow find what we are truly looking for.Our obvious dilemma is that reality is not temporary. Reality keeps on coming. That intimate relationship will have our heart blissfully skipping beats until it doesn’t any longer. That big financial purchase will be fun and exciting until it isn’t any longer. Greasy foods and beer will comfort us until they don’t any longer.

Some people come into our life disguised as angels, and sometimes angels come into our life disguised as people. It is possible to see God anywhere. All it takes are open eyes and ears and the willingness to see miracles. They are everywhere. God is as available as we are. Having friends that inspire us to rise to higher and greater levels is an awesome gift. Surround yourself with people that inspire you to do better and inspire your friends as well. It is a profound truth that the people we spend time with, shape the path that we travel.

Like that old mule, struggle through the worst and emerge as a winner; some people will aim to shatter us but they are not stronger than the people who are sent in our lives as angels to walk us through all the thick and thin. We have to cast our faith in our God and make our world an Eden of happiness.

You can change the world – maybe not all at once, but one person, one animal, and one good deed at a time. Wake up every morning and pretend like what you do makes a difference. It does!

Cheers to a stronger you!!  :)

 

"To be what you were born to be and to explore your full potential each day is life’s only goal"

Recently, my sons developed craze for cactus plants and each bought one. The 13yrs old has the cactus plant in his room because he read on the internet that if cactus plant kept near laptops / PC etc, it helps reduce the radiation effect.Apart from the reason that his elder brother has one, the 6yrs old has the cactus plant because he doesn't like flowers.

Its the same cactus but it is approached and seen with distinctively different reasons. Similarly, what tests God put us through may appear painful to us but God has to offer us some beautiful insights into life through His tests and is probably preparing us for something more beautiful and vibrant.

As cactus is usually grown in deserts, its anatomical and physiological features are in accordance to support its life span which varies from 25 to 300 years. Similarly, humans are born to live through variety of experiences in life and so God has tuned every single human being with the strength to live and shine. We not only have to help ourselves but as we go along the journey, it is our duty to spread help, encouragement and love to our fellow beings.

I still remember, 25 years ago, I was walking home from high school in the pouring rain without an umbrella. I was just walking behind an elderly man who had an umbrella. As we both passed under the overhang to an apartment building, he stopped, turned around and handed me the umbrella. He said, "this is my stop and it looks like you need an umbrella. Pass it along someday when the opportunity arises."

We have to acknowledge the variety of facets that we are blessed with; each has uniqueness and power to pull us through anything and everything. Your soul always have the answers; your life's purpose is just under the surface waiting to be explored and realized. Don't cast your opinion about people and things as the world gossips about each of those... live wholeheartedly , look out for beauty and truth and you will be amazed by your discoveries about this world.

Cheers to a unique YOU :)

Believe in yourself....

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

This story was read to me when I was 12 years old; at that age it helped me get an A+ in Mathematics as I always believed I was not a number friendly student. It was then deep seeded in my subconscience and had helped me many a times to find out solutions than to give up. But I realised that this little story has the power that pulled me through all thick and thin. Had I been hostage to the facts of diabetese, I would not have lived a normal life, made babies, danced endlessly and ate fine food. Had I believed the weakness of being a lonely woman in a man dominated society essenced by mean interpretations of faith, I would have lost the pride of raising two fine little boys and the joy of their laughters. So to all of you, the living souls out there , no matter how hard life treats you, step out of your comfort zone, believe in your uniqueness and live a fuller and brighter life.

The ground coffee beans are unique. After they are exposed to the boiling water, they change the water and create something new, something more desirable, more acceptable, more useful than just being coffee beans lying in a bottle.

Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.the surest way to make more of your life is to become more aware of what’s in you- and to expand your definition of what’s possible.I’ve truly come to believe that if we can find the courage to do the things that make us feel most alive, we do not only do ourselves a favor but the world a favor too.

Till we meet again, Stay true to your deepest values and best ideals:)

Blessings be with you and your families  :)

You can't be it if you can't see it..


I grew up with the thought that "If you look at a tree long enough, it will move." We see what we want to see.

My younger son who is just 5.5yrs was chosen to act the role of a “KING” in his pre-school drama evening. He was very happy that evening because he had to start his rehearsals from the very next day. After two days his teacher called me that I have to prepare his costume for a “RAT” and not of a “KING”. Upon getting into details, I was informed by the teacher that during the practice, my little one chose to become a “RAT”. Like the teacher, I was also surprised as what made him take this decision.

The same evening, while I was cuddling with my two sons, I asked the little one if he has opted to play the role of a “RAT”. To my surprise he nodded in confirmation. His elder brother started laughing and called him silly. But the little one said in his innocent words “Mama, I sat on the throne with a hard face, nothing to do. It was so boring. But the kids who were playing the role of rats were dancing and they made the king and his son smile too. I decided to join them.”

My elder son made fun of him that your friends will call and tease you as a “RAT” , to which he replied “no, I am the rat like Stuart Little”

Later he performed in the drama evening as “RAT” and did his performance so enthusiastically that the entire audience giggled, smiled and clapped. He won as “The Most Cutest Rat” while the king was just a character in the play. He knew he will be a “celebrity rat” like his Stuart Little and he made it.

       

This entire event tell us that nothing controls our lives more than our self-image. We are what we think we are. If you don't think you'll see being successful, you won't. You can't be it if you can't see it. Your life is limited to your vision. If you want to change your life, you must change your vision of your life.

When James Carville was a kid he was obsessed with political campaigns the way other kids were obsessed with sports. During the 1992 Presidential campaign there was no greater superstar-whacko than Clinton's political operative, James Carville. With his shaved bald head, sharp facial features, and his deep Louisiana accent he seemed like a man out of the Twilight zone!

He's now considered to be one of the greatest political operatives of a generation. But, before he ended up on that fateful campaign in his early 40's he was dead broke, had won only a handful of elections, and had never even been approved for a credit card. On paper, he looked like a complete failure. By not giving up,he ended up in the White House.


"No one will ever accuse James Carville of taking himself seriously." - James Carville







Oprah Winfrey’s childhood was frightful and filled with horrible abuse and poverty. But, like most successful people, Oprah doesn't dwell on stuff like that.







"I don’t think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good." - Oprah Winfrey









I'll close with another quote by Michael Jordan..

"Some want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen." - Michael Jordan

Now go make something happen…
Believe in yourself and how your distinctive style can change the direction of the winds and make you a WINNER, a STAR and a WONDER.

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If you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it...

Often we are subjected to the strong perception built by so-called practical people that heart misleads and brain leads to right decisions. Somehow, this belief is accepted universally and we have all the logics to prove it right.

Sit back calmly and think if brain is what you all need to make a difference, to start afresh, to do the extraordinary or to succeed? Surprisingly, we all will find the answer to be a "NO". World's most successful people did not reach the top with their brains or skills alone but what took them to the top was their passion to make the difference. Your dream, your passion, your inspiration are pulsated in your heart. When passion and skill work together, the end result is often a masterpiece.

There are people who live in a dream world (followers of heart), and there are people who face reality (practical); and then there are those who turn one into the other and these are the people who make history, discover the hidden, innovate and invent and stand significantly successful in life. Neglecting passion blocks creative flow.  When you’re passionate, you’re energized.  Likewise, when you lack passion, your energy is low and unproductive.  Energy is everything when it comes to being successful. 

Its when you break down and no matter how many times you break down, the little voice inside you that says, “NO, you’re not done yet!  Get up one more time!” That’s the voice of passion and courage; what lifts you is not your skills or brains... what gets you going is your heart that believes in the power of your brains and finesse of your skills. 

If you find yourself working hard and loving every minute of it, don’t stop.  You’re on to something big.  Because hard work isn’t hard when you concentrate on your passions.Any lack in skill can be more than made up for by how hard you work towards a goal you care about.

There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart.If you are passionate about it, pursue it, no matter what anyone else thinks.  That’s how dreams are achieved.. that's how Oprah won millions of hearts, that's how Steve Jobs stood successful, that's how Einstein invented, that's how Mother Teresa served, that's how Gandhi made the difference and  that's how you will shine. When we focus on leading a passionate, meaningful life, we are also inadvertently creating a spectacular ripple effect of inspiration in the lives around us.  When one person follows a dream, tries something new, or takes a daring leap, everyone nearby feels their passionate energy; and before too long, they are making their own daring leaps while simultaneously inspiring others.

Try not to underestimate your heart and overrate your brains... be true to your heart and it will instill passion in your work and you will be SUCCESSFUL.Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.

To all beautiful souls out there, blessings to you, your work, your passion and all who will benefit from it:)