Just Reflecting

Hmmm . . . The perfect way to round off the year for me is in reflection. This picture called 'The beauty of the Desert' helped me do just that.

As I look back I see there have been situations that scorched me, times when it felt like there were sand dunes in every direction, and the oasis I longed for was nowhere in sight. Instead there were scorpions to battle with, a night air that left me feeling like a block of ice and sand storms that hindered my vision. With nothing but camels to ride on, progress seemed bumpy n painfully slow.

But in the midst of this I have had so many unexpected expanding experiences and breathtaking insights that have changed me within. There have been timeless treasures I have cherished and glorious encounters that have enriched me. Hidden truths I have discovered, still moments I have enjoyed, Unique joys n unseen beauty that I have savored, and many unforgettable faces and memories that I will always carry in this journey, often called Life.

In some ways, I guess that’s sort of what this picture/the last year portrays to me - ‘The beauty of Life’.
:-)

Dear Mister God this is @ina talking . . . Life is beautiful. You are beautiful.

Dark Secrets

Disclaimer: Not for the perfect Human.

There are some things in our lives that we are not exactly proud of, something’s we would rather that no one knew about, something’s that were plain dumb mistakes.
Are you with me?
Now they are in the past and that’s the problem. Our problem. We just wish they were not there!

We have played those moments in our mind a hundred times and wished n' wished we could have done that one thing, that would have turned that moment around but we didn’t and now we got to face it.

Soon these dark secrets turn into a dungeon cell that haunts us on our low days, or quiet moments.
Are you still with me?
Flash News 1: You are not alone.
Flash News 2: Your dark secrets can actually be your diamond stones.

What do I mean? It's not the best things that happen to us that make us or our life beautiful, it's the worst things that really bring out the best in us. So today, if we have come a long way it's b'coz of that very stuff that we hated happening.

And that's a time tested fact.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I am glad that I am not the perfect human. :-)

Blows my Mind

I had to get some stuff for myself. I have had to do this for a few weeks now but I had just not done *it*. I had the desire in my heart to get *it* done, I had the resources in my hand to get *it* done and all that was left was for me to actually get out and get *it* done. But No! I had/have not mustered the will to do just that!

Now if this was for someone else, say my family, my friend, I would have had no problems at all. I would have got *it* done as fast as I possibly could. But this was for me and that made me lazy. I do not understand it, but when someone else is concerned I somehow find myself pressured to do what needs to be done. Perhaps it's being a people pleaser, or about keeping a confidence, or something like that. But when it is me, just me and what concerns me at stake I don't care!
Frankly, blows my mind.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . You will go so far as to put within me all that I need to be, all I am meant to be but the will to be is mine to decide.

The Cost

I was having a discussion with a doctor, X who practices medicine in a small town. X was talking about two patients A and B who had come to X over the week. Both had suffered from a heart attack.

A was over 70 years old. X used up much of the hospital resources to try to save A's life. After prolonged treatment the patient A died. B came in later. B was young and was brought in by the wife. B was not treated, just given a pain killer and died shortly.
The reason?
A had money. B had none.

The explanation was simple. Medicine comes at a cost and someone needed to be willing to pay the price or else... the rest is history.
No matter how I look at this, I just can't take it in. But it's the truth. And it happens everyday, everywhere.

"Someone needs to be willing to pay the price..." The words echo in my mind. I can't help but think how miraculous the story could have been if that someone existed.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I'm willing to pay the price.

See with your heart

Mum and I took a walk and talked about various things. On one such thing we had entirely different perspectives. “See with your heart”, she encouraged me.

It took me awhile to grasp what she meant. But trust me, something that looked *disgusting* to me actually turned *beautiful* as I tried to see with my heart!

Could there be such a stark difference between seeing with your eyes/mind and seeing with your heart?

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . To see with my heart, feels like painting a picture into life. It is eye-opening!

Catch ‘em in the act!

As I sit here reflecting on my day, I’m amazed at how many people came along my way and helped make it plain beautiful. There was a friend who took the time to catch up on old laughs, a friendly smile from a new face, that young pal who came to me for some advice and in turn left me quite happy to be of help, an not so familiar acquaintance who put aside time to ask me about my day… in the closer circle, dad’s apt lil enquiring word, mum’s patient listening, an unexpected compliment… and then those special incidents, a really good news, a breathtaking surprise, listening to an old song that I used to love, a subtle sense of achievement… LBNTL my dog’s uncanny flattery!

My point, if I have one is this . . . There’s so many people, who do so many things, to make our day. Catch ‘em in the act and don’t forget to thank ‘em for it or just pass it on!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Caught ya! :-) You move heaven and earth just to make this one moment come true for me. Gosh! Thank you.

Awkward Discovery

I made an (awkward) discovery today. Quite a number of the young people I know and am surrounded by on a daily basis, get drunk. Now, to some that was common knowledge but to me it was *shocking*. It’s just that I feel strongly about something’s and this is one of those *taboo* things.
I found that they cheered each other on, competing for the title of who was ‘man-enough’ to handle their drink. Personally, I think it takes a lot more wit, courage and being ‘man-enough’ to keep away...
I could go on and on. But I’m going to stop.
Going to...
Just must say this though: To all of you, my young friends who do get drunk, please don’t. Don’t pass out on life.

You want to know what the awkward discovery really was though: I’m unable to look past the problem (drinking, here in) and see the person and accept them for who they are.
*sigh*

To my friends, who might be offended. I’m sorry. That was never my intention.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . sigh. You hear me.

To Know

In a conversation, X made this observation: 'Until I know what I do not know, I will not be able to know'.

Confusing? You are not alone.

X went on, 'You see, unless I am aware of what I don't know, I can't know it!’
In other words, until I know what infact I don't know I will not be *able* to know!

Does that mean if I don't know something exists then it does not exist for me?
I guess so...
And if it does not exist for me or according to me then how can I know it?
I just can't, coz my mind won't allow it...

Like for example, if I did not know a language called English existed then it does not exist for me. Right?
And how can I know it since it just does not exit according to me?

The point X was trying to bring out was this: You need to be told what you don't know, so you could make an effort to know.
Worthy point!

Also, X got me thinking about how my mind-frame could either help or hinder me from knowing. I have a very fixed notion about things built on years of experience, now that I’m grown up. What I don't know is often termed as not worth knowing by me. I could be skeptic.
On the contrary in a child’s world anything and everything exists. You could talk to a child about green eyed monsters or tooth fairies, everything goes. They all *exist*. And perhaps that's the reason they find knowing easy. Everything and everybody is given the benefit of doubt.

To know, I not only need to be told what I don't know, I also need to be willing to give myself a chance of knowing.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Traveling back on memory lane, I remember the time when I first came to know that I could know you. I was so surprised, even shocked. I’m glad you met me when you did. I doubt I’d give myself a chance of knowing you now.

The Flower

I was driving to a place in a hurry. I had to be there in 15 minutes. I was running a little late. As I drove past a florist I just felt that I had to stop and buy a flower for a friend, and give it to her on my way. This friends place was quite close but being late that was hardly what I wanted to do. I tried to silence the still voice within me but sometimes the still voice seems louder than thunder. Know what I mean?
This was one of those times.

So I stopped. Got the flower that I knew was my friends’ favorite and stopped by at her place.
She was surprised and thrilled to bits.

I decided to pat myself on the back for being good.
;-)

But between the still voice and me - I knew I was just the messenger, who happened to listen.

I found myself thinking aloud God's got a plan and as long as I just flow along, I find I am constantly amazed by what I can do!
True. :-)

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . no, reporting - What's on the agenda today?

From behind the glass window

I was in this high raised building in the city center. I pressed my face against the glass window on the top floor and watched. I stood in a comfortable place and the world out there looked a little cold. There was a heavy drizzle. People were hurrying by on the side walk. The peak hour was just going to begin and already vehicles were pilling up in the cross-section a short distance away. There seemed to be a chill breeze.

I could see but I could not feel what it would be like to be out there. From behind the glass window I was cozy and comfortable and in fact I did not want to venture out.

It made me wonder about how much I wrap myself in my comfort zone. I surround myself with known sounds, faces and situations. Many a time I watch safely from my hiding place when others venture out and try something new. But I dare not myself. I'd just rather cling to the familiar. It's hard and takes courage to make that decision to step out of my comfort zone.

But Life from within my comfort zone is a lot like life from behind the glass window. . .

I have this poster in my room with a picture of a dove flapping away that reads :
"It takes courage to push yourself to places you've never been before...
to test your limits, to break through barriers."
...Just thought I should put that down.
:-)

I did step out of the building finally. It was a small step.
It was worth it.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . When I am tempted to stay back, do remind me to step out instead.

The Mirror

Guess that the best thing about a mirror is that the mirror never lies. It shows me exactly as I look. My eyes, my nose, my hair - It's a reflection. I can't claim to be actually different looking, can I? No, don’t think so. Even if I did - well, no one will believe me.
Fair enough! :-)

The fact is the mirror excels at showing me as I look like.
However it is also a fact that the mirror hides who I am.

Life is a lot like that too. It shows us what things look like but not what they are. Undoubtedly they look that way and if we dare to think any different, no one would believe us. Can't blame them either.

But with life as with a person we need to see beyond what things look like and find the truth. And the truth does not always look like what we see.
And to get there we need to be guided by faith, vision, hope and love. All the four, most of all love is mystical.

Am I getting a little confusing here? I can't help it . . .

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . actually listening. I’m done with the talking bit. ; - ) That’s what I hear you saying.

Why?

I've found that w-h-y a plain, simple looking word can actually be quite daunting. What lies behind it many a time can never be explained.
Why? - Why did that happen? Why did I do this? Why is that the way it is? Why did so-and-so say that? . . . There are times I find myself trapped in it.

Sometimes I'm just plain afraid to ask the question because I feel I may not be able to handle the answer. Sometimes no matter how hard I ask the question, I never find the answer - It's daunting.

'That's just life', I've tried to say to myself.
But that gets unacceptable after awhile.
'Time will tell', I comfort myself.
But that gets shady after awhile too.

So I choose to be sorry for myself. To let my heart feel down. To let my mind be troubled. To even doubt my beliefs . . .

But something* stops me.

I look at the night sky and I see that if my tiny being was knitted together to exist in this vast universe then there must be an Intricate Designer. I feel the winds blow in a direction only they understand like someone whispered into their ear the course they ought to take and I realize there is a Master Planner. I find the birds and animals taken care of and the land coping despite our neglect and I know that could not be without a Loving Savior.

My spirit feels elated.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Maybe I'll never know why but it's gonna be okay. I'm gonna be okay.

* I call that something Faith.

Colour-Blind

Most dogs are colour blind. I have always felt sorry for them because of that. I realize my dog cannot see a rainbow in the sky or a bright flower or any of those colourful things we seem to take for granted.
Seems rather sad, doesn’t it?

Colour makes no difference to him. Colour does not decide the way he treats people. Colour does not make some more special than the other. Colour does not contribute to his judgment either. (he has a very good one, mind you!)

I'm reminded of one of my never-grow-tired-of songs also about colours by Phil Collins. It's called 'True Colours'. Show me your true colours, just like a rainbow... he encourages. I hear those words and think 'It's not always easy to see 'em in others let alone live out my true colours...!
But know something, for my dog, it is. He may not be able to see the rainbow in the sky but he does see the rainbow talked about in the song much better than I will ever do.

I began writing wondering what the world would look like if we could not see colour. Bleak, I thought to myself. But on second thought, maybe the world will be a much more beautiful and colourful place if we are all colour-blind after all.

Dear Mister God, This is @ina talking . . . I guess you are colour-blind. Wish I could live that way too.

Scary Stuff

You know what's the scariest thing to do?
Is it jumping of a cliff? or Is it standing on a stage before a multitude of people? or Is it writing this post? (!!) ;-)

It is giving myself a chance to be known and liked / disliked for who I am. To just be me!
Know what I mean?
We tend to hide behind plastic smiles and cold handshakes and talk about opinions never experiences, thoughts never feelings, knowledge never ideas or dreams and the like. And if we ever dared to try a monstrous thought such as "What if *they* disagree / criticize / judge / dislike me?" appears and ensures we play it safe. . . most of the time.

Let’s just try and answer that monster, shall we?
"What if *they* do disagree / criticize / judge / dislike me?"
Probably, I will have one less person in the world whose expectations I am struggling to keep up with. And if not - I will have one more person in the world whose friendship will truly be worth my all.

Hmmm . . . Are you beginning to see what I am beginning to see? Perhaps the scary stuff ain’t that scary after all.
:-)

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . If it ain’t all that scary to just be me then perhaps the really scary-stuff is to hide myself away.

A Tale Untold

"God made people good but they have found all kinds of ways to be bad." [Ecc: 7:29]

This is to the baby who never saw day light, to the child who was found dead in a dustbin, to the young girl who never knew her childhood, to the woman who was battered in her own home . . .

Her little body began to take shape in the womb,
The wonders of the universe wrapped into this one tiny being,
The beat of her heart is proof of a life unborn;
But prejudice breaks through the walls of her precious home,
Tearing her flesh and crushing her newly formed bones,
Deception seeks this form armed to destroy;
This is a life whose tale remains untold.

Her birth was declared softly in hushed tones,
The perfect being crafted from above birthed upon earth,
The sound of her scream calms her mother’s birth pains;
But hatred overpowers the protective arms holding her close,
Snatched from the tender breasts that nurtures her body,
Denial is given the opportunity to devour;
This is a life whose tale remains untold.

Her gaze follows the young lads running to school,
The mysteries of knowledge lay hidden deep within her soul,
The breath in her nostrils brings new hope each day;
But lust snuffs the light within her and kills her spirit,
Bought at a price she’s made to pay a vile cost,
Darkness fights blatantly to bring disgrace;
This is a life whose tale remains untold.

Her tear filled eyes tell of haunting memories,
The heavenly fairy tale was designed to come true for her,
The life she had she willingly gave in love;
But betrayal shred the very home she sought to build,
Hounded and battered by the people she trusted,
Division in slow sedation is causing death;
This is a life whose tale remains untold.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Words are inadequate, tears seem insufficient and emotions just fleeting. Voices that will speak the truth, Hands that will build hope and feet that will stand in the gap, Oh! How they are the need of the hour.

Still Alive

X and me where on the phone after quite some time. 'How are you?' I said. 'Still alive' was the reply. We laughed together.
‘Still alive’ - Long after our conversation came to an end, those words kept ringing in me. It’s an odd choice of words but I knew exactly what X meant. It was one of those Been-there-Done-that kinda moments.

Ever felt that way? I'm not sure how to elaborate on that but I'll give it a shot. It's like you were barely going on with life, not quite sure about anything, and you seem to have to drag yourself to do all the things you have to do. You feel like you are in this tunnel and have no idea what’s on the other side... It's all confusing, all upsetting and all frustrating. Make sense? If not, I understand! ;-)

I'm reminded of the metaphor that talks about a seed. 'Unless a seed should fall to the ground and die (Ouch!), it remains a single seed.' You see a seed needs to be covered in mud and left for awhile. It stays hidden in the ground not known, not seen - still alive. But the story does not end there. '... if it dies it produces many seeds'. [Math 12:24]
Behold! The potential which was in the seed all the time slowly begins to come to life. A shoot, a little leaf, and in time a huge tree stands in that very place. It's a marvel. Who would have thought or expected it?

The 'Still Alive' season, feels like the seed under the sand. (No, it’s not pleasant) But the good news is that the life that comes after that, yielded through this experience makes it all totally worth it. Trust me!
Like someone once said “You can count the number of seeds in the apple but only God can count the number of apples in the seed."

Dear Mister God this is @ina taking . . . No one understands the potential of the seed under the sand more than you. Through my eyes (or the eyes of the world) it looks insignificant, but I know you see something magnificent.

Bubbles

Something totally beyond my control had happened and there was nothing I could do about it. It made me sad and I tried to hide it. But my friend noticed, came over, stood by me and made sure I was fine. In fact she had me laughing in a while by being sensitive to the way I felt.

It reminded me of a concept I learnt explained by the use of bubbles (Yes, bubbles!) in a seminar on inter-personal skills. When you see bubbles in water, it's an indication of life beneath the surface. You can't see it, it's not obvious but it does indicate that something's there. So also in life we come across bubbles of different sorts. Some are verbal and others are non-verbal. A sigh, a slouching shoulder, a downcast face, a distraught mind, a statement like 'whatever!', a tear so on and so forth. They may or may not be obvious, but ultimately they convey that something’s not quite right somewhere inside.

Being alert to listen to bubbles and respond to them can be of good help. One, If I find myself sending out a bubble (a snappy reply for example) I know I gotta take Time-Out and set things right within me. (Must confess, it does come in handy!) Two, I have that unique chance to put a smile on someone's face by responding aptly. Like my friend did! :-)

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I guess these are the sounds that attract heavens attention. The soft, subtle sounds that many a time no one knows but you understand.

Being *The One*

Hypothetical Scenario #1: You are in an interview. You have been through umpteen already. You sit up straight and look into the eyes of the people whose hands will decide a lot about what you will be doing next. You mess up. You are not too happy about it. But then you find you are through! All because someone was *the one* who looked beyond your apparent weakness and decided to give you a chance anyway.

Hypothetical Scenario #2: You need something desperately and someone who you don't even necessarily know steps in at that perfect time and is *the one* who makes it all okay for you.

Hypothetical Scenario #3: You have been having a hard time at work. When someone stops by and tells you how you have been such a champ and how they have been meaning to tell you that for quite awhile. That someone, was *the one* who just made your day.

Simple hypothetical scenario may be (or may not be). But I know there have been so many people who in so many ways and at so many times have been *the one* in my life. They are *individuals* who have helped shape my life into all that it is today. Many of whom may never even know it.

Oft I feel I'm just one. But you know something, all it takes is *just one* to be *the one*!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . This is exciting! You see the potential of just one in the tapestry of life. No wonder you made me.

No Room for Real People

People! They are imperfect and at times unprofessional. They can be unpredictable and undependable. They have a way to complicate things and mess things up. They also come up with weird excuses and irrational reasoning. Added to that they are emotional beings and that always gets in the way of everything. . . Know what I mean?

Computers on the other hand, are a totally different thing. Perfection and professionalism is easy to achieve. Complicated stuff? In a jiffy any pro could get it all sorted out. Messed up? Just press ctrl + z. As for the excuses part, they simply have none except to blame the people who use them. And the same goes for irrational reasoning. Finally they can always be safely declared 'emotionally stable'.

The reason for my elaborate comparison? Living in a computerized world we spend all our time around 'em. We are so used to computers and the way they work. In fact we have been pampered (so to speak) and expect nothing less from life, *real* life. So much so I'm beginning to realize, that both in my own life, and the world in general we may soon (or are we there already?) have no room for *real* people, b'coz real people require much too much effort!
But *Sigh*. I miss real people, real conversation and real relationships. Ever felt that way?

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I am so glad you are real and you love everything *real* about me.

Just being there

"Mary had a little lamb... that followed her everywhere...” Remember that rhyme?

People (like me) love animals for many reasons. They don't tell you what you don't want to be told, keep your secrets till death parts us, don't judge, don't criticize, think the world of you and best of all excel at just being there. Simply put they embrace you just the way you are (and in fact for all that you are) and love to just hang out with you, like Mary’s lamb!
Pretty flattering, huh? :-)

I never thought that 'just being there' can make a difference. But it does. Most of the time people don't need our advice, our suggestions, our ideas, our opinions, our intuition into their problem or our experienced guidance. All they really need is for us to convey ‘I’m there for you' with a call, a card, a gift, a visit, a hug or jus hanging around!
To just be there can make a world of difference, if only we are willing.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Ya, I’m still talking. Think I'll stop and just hang-out with you instead.

My Best Friend

In whose eyes
I see myself as beautiful
In whose arms
I find myself at rest
In whose strength
I can run for miles
In whose confidence
I unlock my potential
In whose tenderness
I grasp the best in me
In whose trust
I discover true love
In whose words
I am all that I am meant to be.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Thank You.

S-O-R-R-Y

My friend passed by me pushing the chair I was sitting on carelessly and said 'Sorry'. A fraction of a second later, the same friend did the same thing over again muttering another 'Sorry'. I knew the right thing to do was smile and say 'It's okay'. But this was the nth time this was happening on the same day and I heard my mind scream "I though to say I'm sorry meant ' I'll do my best never to do it again ' ". I let it go.

But the screaming thought in my head began to speak to me. If 'Sorry' actually did mean 'I'll do my best never to do it again', then I must confess I'm guilty of not following my own convictions. There have been n power n times when I've said the word from the top of my mind without meaning it.

However there are exceptions. A friend X was once mad at me and did not want to speak to me. My friend Y was speaking to X over the phone and pushed the receiver into my hands saying 'Say I’m s-o-r-r-y'. I picked it up (a lil reluctantly) and whispered into the phone 'I'm s-o-r-r-y'. I meant it. I could hear a soft smile on the other side. The relationship was healed.

The truth: Sorry is a powerful world. Let's keep it that way.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I just kinda feel like you are smiling at this post. :-)

The Road of Good Intentions

"I thought I should call you", I said to my friend, and suddenly I realized I must have said that so many times and to so many people. “I thought I should…bla...bla...bla…” and yet it was quite a useless statement to make. The thought was not good enough. It had to translate into action to be of any good.

I'm reminded of a story I read. A man is paddling on this boat. The boat is called life and has two oars. One is called faith and the other Works. (Yap, the oars have names too!) If he pulls on any one he ends up going around in circles and heading nowhere. When he pulls on both he begins to glide on the waters.

Err...My point? Often times I stroll on (truthfully - live on) the road of good intentions. And the problem with that is it feels good but is heading nowhere, just like the boat! On the contrary is the road of good works, now that's the real thing! You see its one thing *to think*, * to want to*, and another *to do*.

I can probable sit and pen down hundreds of good intentions I've had that never translated into any action and you know what the really sad thing is: I'm adding to that list each day.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Guess you understand exactly what I mean, You know me inside out. I reeeeeeeealy need to live my inside out!

Live Life

A friend of mine X, was telling me how X took this walk on a really wild, windy and rainy day simply 'coz it was something X never attempted before! Made me think when was the last time I did something for the first time? Hmmm . . .

This morning I woke up before dawn (purely accidentally**) hearing the pitter-patter of the rain drizzling. Putting on my rain coat I took my dog and slipped out. We had hardly walked five minutes when the sun rose in all its beauty, breaking apart the grey clouds in gentle warmth and leaving me with a song in my heart. Seemed like we (God, my dog and me) where the only ones in the world witnessing this wonder.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . A sense of adventure, an open mind, a willingness to experiment and a BIG heart is all it takes to live life. May I never run short of these.

** Human accidents I've found are heavenly co-incidents.

IF

* If * is a word that can spark a revolution. I came to that conclusion after reading my favorite poem IF** by Rudyard Kipling about a few million times [Ya, I'm a lil (?) slow]. I must admit I dislike tearing words apart but I can't help thinking that if . . .

If = I + F = I + Faith

Then I + Faith is all it takes to spark a revolution in me (as the poet suggests), in my family, in my city, in my nation, in my world!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . History has been made by people who dared to dream ~ to be different, to make a difference. * If * they could do it so I could I, I hear you whisper. :-)

** The Poem:

IF. . .

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

- Rudyard Kipling

An ode to silence

It's said that a picture speaks a thousand words... so I’m just gonna let *it* speak . . .


Dear Mister God this is @ina talking . . . sometimes words just clutter me up, in silence I hear you loudest.

24 * 7 on Planet Earth

One of the papers I read had a caricature that was a pun of a local news channel calling it a 24*7 'National Disaster TV'. Pun though it might have been they had a point! We seem to be living on a planet earth that is prone to disaster 24*7 .

A couple of weeks ago I watched a documentary on the Russian hostage situation in a school that lasted for three days. Tears ran down my cheeks as I heard one little boy, a survivor who saw his dad killed and his friends die before him say with a glimmer of hope in his eyes "I wished Harry Potter would come and save us all... "

When I was a little child Batman was the craze. I watched the masked hero, in a long cape save Gotham city from its many villains and their wicked schemes. Batman is portrayed as the Mr. Average Guy who fights for the oppressed, speaks for the unheard and stands for the truth. At the end of the show I almost always caught myself wishing I was in his shoes.

I realize I could not be there for that little boy who lost his loved ones and a part of his childhood in the process, or there for that family of 12 huddled in the dark with nothing to eat for days on end, or there when the hurricane struck and whisked away an entire community.
But I am here, 24*7 on planet earth, given the opportunity to be a hero in my own sphere of life.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . 24*7 is a lot of time to spend it all on myself like I most often do. I may be an ordinary person but I sure want to live an extraordinary life. I must go the extra mile.

I wonder

I wonder what it is that makes blogs so interesting... Perhaps it's because you feel like you have been given an extra pair of eyes to see life through another’s viewpoint, or perhaps it’s the chance it gives you to tread upon the footsteps left by a stranger reaching for an unknown goal, perhaps it’s the enigma involved or perhaps it's just ‘coz we like to take a sneak peak into another’s life . . . ;-)

Whatever be the reason, the truth is our life is made up of a house of thoughts, feelings, beliefs, goals, dreams, hopes and a whole lot more… all of which comes out of *interaction*! And if *interaction* be it with God, people, animals or things plays such a BIG role in our lives we ought to make wise choices when it comes to what, when, why, how we *interact*. Like the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Editor I’m using . . . Perhaps, just perhaps our action can be a product of our inter-action, the *only* difference being we get to choose!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I wonder what life, my life would be like if I made better choices in the way I interact with You and those around me.