A Life Lesson

Just because situations are a certain way you should not let that affect you. It's important to be the best 'You' that you can be despite circumstances.

X said those words to me recently and it made so much sense.

I’d rather not go into the background of this situation but it has been something that I have been struggling with for awhile now and something that has caused me a lot of frustration simply because I feel things could be a lot better and I just did not want to settle for mediocre.

X words were said at a very apt time when finally I have given into circumstances and decided to be one of the many but am just not happy.

Infact, I have been trying hard to tell myself the exact same thing in N different ways and it just would not sink in. Hearing it from another voice just made something click somewhere within me.

Know what I mean? I have been frustrated and upset about a bunch of silly things and just having X speak those words into my life actually helped me finally "get over" things!

Am posting it so I’ll never forget. I think it’s one of the best lessons to learn in life.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I am awed at the fact that an apt word at the right time can mean so much. May my words be so too.

Time Out

I had a simply beautiful day. I went out with my team mates and friends today. We decided to take half the day off and drove across the city to the outskirts. We had a late lunch at a beautiful restaurant set on the coast. It was the perfect place to rest on a hot and sunny day.

We found ourselves a nice little straw hut sort of like a tree house. Around us was a lawn across which ran a little artificial stream with ducks swimming in it.

The food was good and we enjoyed the meal. Between we played a few games with each other and really got talking and laughing. Every moment was so special.

After which we went to the beach and strolled on the sand with the setting sun on one side and the blue sea stretching endlessly on the other.

The best part was we had not planned this day out and I was quite worried if we would really enjoy the day… All of us ended up having more fun that we ever expected!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I guess sometimes we just got to just trust you and take life as it comes… We might find it much more fun than we expect it to be!

Things that can make my day

All through this month I have been amused by how the smallest of things can make my day. I call them life’s little surprises!

Waking up to the song of birds.
Drawing the curtains to find my room flooded with the suns rays.
Watching the squirrels play on the bark of a tree.
Listening to the sound of water flowing.
Feeling the breeze in my hair.
Watching the sun gently slip beyond the horizon in a red sea.
Looking at the glow around the moon.
Rumbling of thunder at a distance.
Lightening that splits the sky in two.
Getting caught in an unexpected drizzle.
Feeling the strong winds ahead of a storm.
Catching a cloud drifting aimlessly.
Watching dark clouds slowly make their way towards me.
Seeing an eagle swiftly soar.
Hearing an old tune I loved to listen to.
Seeing a shooting star.
Finding a treasure I thought I had lost.
A call from a friend I have not heard from for long.
Receiving a parcel, a gift I did not expect.
Being hugged by a child.
Finding a chocolate in my refrigerator.
Bumping into someone who always made me laugh.
Getting a book I was looking for.
A smile from someone I have admired.
A wet kiss from my pet.
News from close ones in a distant place.
Finding an old photograph in my shelf.
Coming home to my favorite meal.
A beautiful dream.
Reading something that was just so apt for my situation.
Hearing words I wished someone will tell me.
Turning the TV on and finding my favorite show is on.
A beautiful old tree on an otherwise crowded road.
The signals turning green as I reach the crossroads.
A funny hoarding in a traffic jam.
A twinkle of the eye from a friend.
Hearing someone say "Bless you" when I sneeze.
A rainbow.
A stranger who is so obliging to my need.
Someone who turns up just when I need them.
A tree full of flowers.
The sight of migrating birds.
Dew on the blades of green grass.
The smell of sand after a heavy rain.
The quite feeling of knowing God.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . :)

A thought for the month

I have not spent any time reflecting lately. I just have had no time to think or feel. I am not sure if I am making sense here but it’s been like I am barely living. I have had so much to do at work that all I am thinking of, all I am doing is work. So much so that I have become like a machine….!

At the end of the month I look back and try to recollect a few cherished moments, a few people who I got to spend time with, a few things that made me smile perhaps and you know something…I actually find it hard!

I can’t keep doing this. I promise myself I shall not.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Am lost. Please find me.

The Feeling

I am not sure if this is true for everyone but I remember a feeling much better and clearer than I remember something I see.

For example, if you ask me do you remember so and so…. If I have never interacted with them then the chances of me saying yes are reduced by about 99% and if I had interacted with them but did not know them that well, chances are slightly better… But I would still recollect some moment with them but not essentially their appearance etc. And if did know them then I still find that the first thing I remember is the way they made me feel around them rather than anything else.

It’s amusing I guess – The way people make me feel or the way I feel around a person means much more than a lot of other things and is also the way I would probably remember them or in turn be remembered.

Hmmm…definitely worth a thought.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . No wonder I love to linger around you.

I’m Scared!

My little niece who is three has this amusing way of saying “I’m scared!” whenever she faces a new situation, or a new sound or a new person or sometimes a piece of ginger on the table! :)

We laugh at her times saying she is just being silly!

I was surprised to find myself recently saying to myself - “I’m scared!”
The first time I heard myself I chuckled. But soon I realized it was no laughing matter… I am scared!!

At heart I felt just like my little girl. No matter how much I saw of the world it always surprises me. New situations always make me feel like a fish out of water, and new sounds make me jump… a new person is a whole lot more complicated and yeah… sometimes something as small and harmless looking as a piece of ginger on the table can trigger a avalanche within.

Silly is it? I don’t think so… ;)

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I’m scared. Help me through this stuff dear God.

Being Honest

Hypothetical Situation: X opens up and tells Y something that is personal. Y reacts immediately and makes a sweeping statement about X that is critical. X shuts up immediately and something X would have liked to share with Y will never be revealed to Y. X will also think twice before sharing anything with Y again. Y on the other hand probably does not even know about the effect the statement had on X.

Ever been X or Y?

My best friend and I were talking about such a circumstance and she wanted to know how I would react.

Hypothetically I replied saying I may well have been surprised and let my displeasure known before I could have thought it over just as Y did.

We went on to talk about how if only Y would have respected X and what X had to say, patiently listened, agreed if need be and heard X out things could have been drastically different. Y would now have earned the confidence of X and better still X and Y would have together peeled of another one of those masks we hide behind and would have had a chance to really know each other.

As we talked on I could relate X and Y to so many situations in my life and people I have met. It is painful to not be able to share something about yourself with someone you love for fear of being judged and on the contrary it is blissful to be able to share something about yourself and be understood.

I wonder how many times I have been Y and how many times I have missed the chance to know X a little better. I remember the many times I have been X and the hurt that Y caused me. I choose to learn to be open and honest despite the odds cause I guess it’s better to be loved by some*one* for who you are than everybody for what you are not.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I need your help with this… Honest!

An Epic

A year long epic comes to an end today. I stand here with mixed feelings doing something I love to do - reflecting.

We started this as a small pioneering team. Stepping out into something that promised to be different; I still remember the day I was asked to be part of it. Reluctantly I agreed little knowing what I was taking on.

In the weeks that followed there was so much to do I hardly had any time to think. There were times I wondered if what I did made any difference; Times I wished I could just escape from it all; Times I was just so worried if was all going to work out okay;

I remember standing in church my heart lifted up to the one person who could understand me fully asking for the strength to go on…

But has the time went by we became one big happy extended family. I would call it some of the best days of my life as we learnt to laugh, share, and enjoy ordinary everyday life and take it as it comes.

The happy family however did not last for long. Each one had to move on due to personal reasons to other places and I found myself standing all alone smitten by the desire to walk away too. But deep within I heard that all too familiar voice say “stay”. And stay I did so the epic did not end there. Joined by some fresh new faces the story went on as we wrote it day by day.

Today we stand at the last page. None of the ones who were there when the first page was written are now here with me except one. But as I skip though the pages as I am doing now I find so many characters larger than life, who have helped paint every word on every page. I see my own character so changed and transformed.

I can’t help smiling and sighing as I write “The End”.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . What’s next I wonder. I feel a knot inside me at the thought of moving on but I know I must. Give me the strength to go on…

My Nephew

For the first time in my life I got to spend a day with a little 5 year old boy, my nephew, who I was meeting for the first time. Most of my interaction by chance has always been with little girls and I love to spend time with them.

But little boys scarred me! I just imagined them to be rough and tough and felt they would probably hate me! Weird, eh?

My nephew proved me wrong.

For no reason at all, and I must say again for no reason at all this little boy took to me. He just fell in love with me the minute I walked into his house. We talked and soon I was his playmate. We played with his cars, ships and building blocks. His favorite game was dinosaurs! We had a whole range of pretend dinosaurs who were being born, eating each other up and being born again… Soon my hair clips where also included in the family of dinos! :)

Gently he hit me, playfully. I smiled at him and he said “I am gentle with you because you are so gentle with me…!” ;)

Holding hands we went to sleep that night. I had to leave early the next morning and could not say good bye so I just left a little note with a chocolate to tell him how much fun I had with him.

He showered me with his affection and made me feel rather special just to be loved for no reason at all. Five year olds…! Wish we could love like them.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . No wonder you said we need to be like a child at heart.

Andrew

My family and I went out for a holiday last weekend. This post is about a person we met and grew to love and respect in a short time – Andrew.

Andrew is my brother’s cab driver. He picked us up late on Friday night and we made our way to the hotel. Andrew greeted us cheerfully and we planned our next day with him. He was going to take us to tourist place a few hours away for the whole day.

The next day Andrew came early in the morning. He greeted us again with that same cheer. He drove us to a place for breakfast and from then on he drove us over 300 kilometers, stopping by at all the places of interest. He took us around, helped us take pictures, showed us the places and was the best guide we could have got.

What was so amazing about Andrew is that he went above and beyond the call of duty and served us with cheerfulness and warmth. He was a cab driver who did his work with a 110% and took pride in doing it to his best. He did all that he did sacrificially, going the extra mile for us consistently.

We knew at the end of the weekend, Andrew was the reason we had such a good time.

So this is to Andrew, an unsung hero in his own realm and a person who has left lasting footprints in my life.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Teach me to go the extra mile as Andrew did with grace.

Gods Surprises

This morning my daily reading ended with the following thought: Has God ever surprised you? I smiled and could recollect a number of things that God has done in my life that come as surprises... I closed my book and forgot about it as I began to get ready for work.

My dad has this wonderful was of taking care of my vehicle. He makes sure I have enough petrol and my tires our fine every single day. I never bother about my vehicle because Dad takes care of it all so perfectly.

This week however Dad has been busier than usual. I drove off this morning little realizing that Dad had missed his regular inspection.

A few kilometers from my home my vehicle began to choke and struggle. I looked down at my fuel indicator and it said empty!!! I looked up and I could see a petrol bunk a couple of blocks away. My vehicle grumbled and made it all the way to the bunk. Just at the entrance it finally gave up but rolled smoothly right next to a petrol gauge!

It was amazing. The next bunk is about twelve kilometers away and if I had missed this one I would have been badly stuck on the road.

The words “Had God surprised you?” echoed in my mind. He sure has!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . You are exciting! :)

Keep Dreaming

What do you do when a dream you dreamed goes wrong or just does not work out?

You dream a bigger dream!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Give me the courage to keep dreaming.

Appreciation

Appreciation is one of the words I love in the English language simply because it opens one to a world of positive possibilities.

Know what I mean?

Appreciation can be made known in a zillion different ways. A simple nod, a look in the eye, a smile, shaking hands, a hug, by the use of words simple or poetic, gifts …

This morning I expected to be hear the words "Good work". Yeah, I know it’s not good to have such expectations but this I told myself was an exception.

I was disappointed.

It’s a hard confession to make because I always thought I was mature enough to handle such disappointment with a smile!

Anyway by the end of the day I also had to say goodbye to a friend who was moving on. As she bid farewell, her eyes filled with tears while repeatedly talking about a card another friend and I had given her on her birthday. I faintly remember writing a long note on the back and her tears said how much it meant to her. Honestly I never thought it could mean so much.

There is a time and a moment for everything and so also with appreciation. An opportunity once missed it may never come back and once given, there’s no telling how much it could mean.

As I write this I make a silent vow to myself to never miss up such an opportunity. Join me? :)

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . .”Good Work”, I hear you whisper in my ear.

I want to reach the sky!

I spent the afternoon with my niece who’s just turned three.

She sat on my tummy as we lazed on a deck chair and played silly games for hours together laughing and tickling each other. After a while we went for a walk, her little hands held on to mine and once again we played funny games with each other. Suddenly she stopped me and said “I want to reach the sky”. She simply meant she wanted me to throw her up in the air and catch her which i gladly did! : )

My favorite game of the evening was: She would walk a few steps away and come running back and fling herself at me in one big bear hug after which I would pick her up and twirl her around and set her down only to repeat it all over again!

I realized something as I said goodbye to her when it was time for her to go home. With her big eyes, the things she said, the way she smiled and the things she did, she absolutely made sure that I could think of nothing else but her every moment that I spent with her!

Actually felt so good to take my mind off my life and everything about me and be lost in my little niece’s world. Thank you darl. In a way I reached the sky too.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I guess sometimes reaching up to the sky is actually a lot simpler than we imagine it to be. ; )