Rolling Stone

I heard a knock, it was still dawn
The sun was just rising on the horizon
I staggered across, feeling cross;

An old man was at the door
Knotted hair, a knitted bag
A shabby dress, sparkling grey eyes;

He stood there his finger pointed
To the unkempt yard
“I can work a miracle”; I heard him say as I nodded;

The day passed, at eve we met
I stood still quite amazed
As he turned away, glad with the days work;

I heard his footsteps fade, his footprints never did
He had to be directed form above
But in earthly disguise, I saw just another rolling stone.


I wrote this poem about seven years ago, inspired by an old man who like the poem narrates turned up at our home one morning and worked for a day’s wage. I was cross to be woken by this rustic but he was a blessing I almost missed simply because the blessing came packaged in an ‘unattractive earthly disguise’. It made me wonder if I have missed many such blessings simply because I did not find the packaging attractive.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Keeping my eyes peeled open…I would rather not miss anymore! : )

Loving People

A friend who I thought I knew and love and care for, *did* something that was very contradicting to who I felt I knew her to be and it in a way makes it hard for me to just love her.

It has left me thinking about this one question: Do I love people for what they do? Or Do I love people for who they are?

Pause… Putting on my thinking cap…

When you actually think about it, it’s a little hard to differentiate between the two. In the sense that, who I am is reflected by what I do and what I do in turn reflects on who I am. But despite the parallels I believe there is a lot of difference between the two.

I for one would like to be loved for who I am rather than what I do or don’t do for that matter. True love, I believe is not based on actions but looks beyond that into the heart behind the actions. True love understands what to others is not understandable. True love, keeps loving despite the odds coz the person is more important than the deeds.

That reminds me of my best friend whom I have known since my childhood. There are days, weeks when we sometimes can’t keep in touch or be there for each other and sometimes we fail to *do* all that friends ought to *do* for each other but none of it matters to us. We catch up when we can and time together is always beautiful. Put simply we love each other for who we are.

Coming back to where we started… Do I love people for what they do? Or Do I love people for who they are? Guess it’s a choice I make everyday.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . If you were to love me based on what I do, I’m lost!

Flirting with Danger

A young man zipped passed me on a bike. He was weaving through the traffic way over the speed limit on a crowded road absolutely confident that he was in perfect control!

I think the biggest mistake that we as young people can do is think that we are always in control of ourselves. We put ourselves in harms way confident of our false sense of control over situations. Know what I mean?

I think I can’t get addicted. I think I can’t mess my life or my relationships. I think I can’t kill someone or get killed on the road if I ain’t careful. I tend to think I am somehow *above* these things and they will never happen to me and that thought itself put’s me in harms way.

But you know what the shocking truth is: Yes I can! I can do all that I mentioned and a whole lot of other worse things if I am not careful. Let’s face it. If I cannot hold my tongue when I ought to or my temper when I need to, I am not in control of all I do!

Life Pointer -> Enjoy life to the fullest, but be wise…! : )

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . May your hand of protection and guidance rest on this generation so we may be vibrant and wise.

A time to Dig

There are times when you need to dig into your deep. To get out the grime and dirt that has accumulated over the years and silence the flattering tongue that deceives your mind into believing that all is well within you. To gut out the silliness that roams within your walls and the subconscious thoughts that you did not know existed but raise their voice.

It’s a time that’s painful but necessary. It breaks you now but will be the reason to build you. It crushes you now but it will be the cause for your upliftment. It hurts you but brings healing from within. It steals you of your pride but leaves you with peace.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I could never get through these times without you by my side.

To my Friends

* Thanks for being there! : ) *

Dear Mister God this is @ina talking . . . You top that list!

Novelty to Normality

Cacti flowers are rare and amazing. They have rich colors and are very unique. It is usually quite a novelty. Back when we first begun having a few cacti plants, I remember mum waiting, and watching for flowers on our plants. The smallest bud would cause so much of excitement!

Now, it’s different though. We have a number of cacti, and they flower in turns. Sometimes we even have 3 different flowers at a time. They are still as bright, and beautiful and amazing as they were before but the novelty has worn of. Now it’s more a ‘normality’! We expect them to flower and don’t celebrate it as much as we used to...

Mum and I were just talking about that and realized how much of the novelty of life we hardly celebrate these days and instead just take it for granted. I tried spending the rest of the day remembering what was once my novelties... like the chocolate bar I had for breakfast, the strawberry milk shake that I gulped, the work I dreamed of having and this column I’m writing!
You know what, it changed my day. These things need to be celebrated. Every day if need be. :)

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . talking with you is another one of those things!

Wishing I had Super Powers!

I have been having this playful conversation with a friend about having super powers! I claim I can turn my friend X, into a frog, and X in turn plays along claiming a mystical green fairy, who is also a figment of our imagination will save X!!
:)

Yeah, it may be silly but at times I think it sure will help if it was true! No, not to turn my friend into a frog… (well maybe) but more for those moments when I feel helpless ... and just wish I had super powers to make it all okay!!

Kid’ish huh? Perhaps. But I’m sure all of us at some point of time wish there were things we could wish into being or wish out of being!

Still, when all my wishing seems to be of vain, I realize that God does have all those super powers and more. But if he should remain silent, or allow that something that isn’t all that good then there’s got to be something to it. Like recently I was very worried about Y, being in a lot of peer pressure. I prayed about it and wished it will just go away, till I had to be reminded by the still voice within me that Y, needed to go through that peer pressure to be able to face life as Y grew older and that Y would not be ready to take on the world unless those elements unpleasant as they seem, are part of Y’s life.

So here’s my conclusion to all the problems that I as a human cannot resolve without super powers: Just trust the one who has those powers to make it okay!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Perhaps I ought to be grateful I don’t have those super powers... I might end up with frogs for friends! ;) :)

Is it real?

A friend and I enjoy receiving beautiful pictures of nature via email. Sometimes it’s pictures of the four seasons in countries we have never been, or its pictures of valleys, mountains, waterfalls etc. Whenever we get these pics we share them amongst ourselves and a few other friends.

Oft the first question raised is “Is it real?”. In a world were anything is possible on the computer with graphics and animation, it is actually quite hard to believe that these pics are for real. And somehow the more beautiful the picture is the harder it is to believe that they are real.

While having one such discussion, my friend remarked, “Anything that’s perfectly beautiful, we just can’t accept it, can we? We have got to think it cannot be real!!”

True! It also applies to stories I read or hear. Like, the other day I read this story about a person who made it despite a thousand odds in the sporting field, and the first question that crossed my mind was “Is it real?”

I wonder what it is in us that just refuses to allow us to accept something that is beautiful, perfect, or extraordinary? I wonder…

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . guess that’s perhaps the reason we people ask you if you are for real too?!

On Branded Stuff

I found myself dressed in branded stuff today. I was quite shocked when I realized it because I am not someone who is very much into buying branded stuff but have been doing so lately for various reasons like the colors, fits and material.

My mother reads up about all the brands and would always give me advice such as X jeans do not respect human rights in third world countries and Y jeans are so much better in their policies so buy Y and not X. She herself follows these standards about buying anything from coffee that costs almost nothing to shoes or clothes or whatever. I also come from a country which has a heritage of wining it’s independence through boldly defying the norm and by boycotting products that did not respect human rights.

Today however we as a generation are hardly sensitive to such pleas even if we heard them. Comfort, looks and trends are more important to us than the ethics. I cannot boast of caring even half as much as my mum does or the generations before her about what X or Y factory does as long as X or Y is affordable.

Callous isn’t it? Just got me thinking. Some things need to be passed on from one generation to another.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Wake me up! Wake up my generation!

Etc…Etc…

I was talking to a friend of mine who has gone on a short term to another country primarily for work reasons. We were talking about the travel, the people, the sites to see, the variety of food and generally all those other things that make the experience complete rather than the primary reason of the visit which was work related.

“Have fun traveling, site seeing, meeting people et cetera I said!” And X replied overjoyed “The et cetera things are all I am doing!”

And that’s when it dawned on me… Somehow though our work is most often a primary part of our life/day, often it’s all the *et cetera* things that goes along with it that truly completes our life/day. Like for me, sometimes it’s waking up and seeing the blue sky or walking around my garden and catching a whiff of the flowers, or sometimes just sleeping late, or hanging around with my family or just eating a special meal ... et cetera!

You get where I am heading? I’m learning to stop wishing I can do some of those *et cetera* things by letting work come in my way, and instead actually doing them. Join me! :)

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Sure am happy you created 'et cetera' ! ;)

Biting into the Bait

The bait was all set up. It was covered with a large piece of fresh meat and I would think looked really tempting to a born predator. Leaves and mud was used to make the place look as unsuspecting as possible to the wild cat who was supposed to be the unknowing victim.

As time passed she finally appeared. Cautiously she approached her instincts at full alert. The smell of the meat was irresistible and was drawing her closer and closer till finally she was within sight of the bait.

I was routing for her. "No, don't, don't" I cried, at the top of my voice. Of course she could not hear me, through the television screen. She pounced on the meat and before I knew it was lost in the pit just below the bait, her trap!

...Okay, that was not a pleasant story and I apologize. The reason I narrated it however is coz it has a very apt life lesson to teach me.

I found myself caught in a similar drama recently. I was totally on the right (for once!) and X was on the wrong. X however decided to throw up a tantrum and be generally *bad*. And I *so* wanted to get back. I *so* wanted to prove myself. I *so* wanted to prove my point. I *so* wanted to...

But I knew that the right thing to do was to let it pass. Unfortunately... (!?) The bait was set and I like the wild cat just wanted to pounce on the meat. It was irresistible but not wise. Today somehow I did not bite the bait but I know there have been ‘n’ times I have and the outcome has never really benefited anyone.

So hey out there! Think again . . . it may just be a temper tantrum or an addiction of some kind. Like I said think again because once entangled it’s even harder to get out of it and it just ain’t worth it!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . I know you always route for me, help me not to neglect your call.

The Phone Call

Tring-Tring… Tring-Tring…

I am standing closest to this common phone that is used by a few of us. So when I hear it ring, I pick it up.
Me: Hi! This is xyz.
Caller: Hi! Can I speak to S.
Me:(Look around) Sorry, S is not available.
Caller: Do you have S’s cell phone number?
Me: No, I’m sorry. I do not.
Caller: (Pause) I see.
Me: Can I pass on a message?
Caller: (Reluctantly) okay. Can you tell S, that S’s dad passed away and there is someone waiting to see him?
Me: (Pause)!!!
Caller: Hello?
Me: What??!
Caller: Repeats himself.
Me: (Pause) Okay.
Hurriedly I put the phone down!

2 minutes later. I call back again…
Me: Hi! I just received a call from this number…
Caller: Yes, I called.
Me: Did you want to pass on a message to ‘S’ as in the ‘S’ with such an such sir name.
Caller: Yes.
Me: Can you repeat the message please…
Caller: Yes. (Repeats it)
Me: Okay. I shall pass on the information.

A little stunned I informed a friend of S, K. So K wisely (You will know why soon) called S and simply said someone is waiting to see you.

Shocked by the sudden news I found it hard to go on with what I was supposed to do. S however returned shortly and seemed hardly disturbed. I wondered why. And usually in such a situation my spirit would begin to pray for the person concerned but today I just was shocked and did not feel much more.

About 2 hours later however, the message…err… correct message came trickling to my ear.

S’s wife’s, mother’s mother had passes away and S’s dad came to *see* him and give him the news!!

:)! LOL?!

It really was not all that funny for me right then though! :/ But Gosh! Was I relieved! Not only that there was not much bad news but also that S never heard the misguiding message I received. * Thank God *
Apart from that I still dunno what to make of the whole incident except that communication can be so critical at times. And a G-A-P in that can cause a lot of problem!! And I mean a looot!

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . err… (Chuckle)!

Going back to my Roots

Over the last week, I got to visit the small village where my dad grew up for the first time. I have heard so many stories of his growing up days from him and his family and could only imagine what the place would be like.

We reached the little village around 10 in the morning and I was taken aback. It felt like we had traveled back in time … My dad was coming back after 24 years and even he was shocked. There were no roads except around the village. The houses were neatly aligned in rows with about 20 feet between them and looked like they were out of an old movie, with tiny front yards, and sloping roofs with tiles. The soil was like sea sand, loose and soft but reddish. I threw my sandals away and ran along the sandy streets just getting a feel of the place. There were not many people out at that time, perhaps the moms and dads where at work some place and the kids at school, while the older generation rested indoors till the sun went down a little...

The highlight of the little village was the church. All the roads led to the large red stoned beautiful church right in the center of the village, with a steeple that reached up to the sky having a big round clock midway. It was absolutely stunning. I have seen a lot of church buildings but none as beautiful as this one. It was built in the beginning of the last century and inside the windows had some amazing paintings. I walked around with my dad as he narrated the many events that took place over the years on those very grounds.

Dad had climbed up the steeple many a time when he was young but now it was closed as the ladders that went up was a little shaky. Dad however wanted me to get the full experience so we decided to give it a shot. The person in charge gave us the keys and we found a tiny little passage for one, through which we began our climb. Mind you, this steeple was exceptionally tall. There where seven levels and each level kept getting narrower. Dad led the way and soon we were heading up! On the third floor we found the mechanism for the clock. It was huge and ancient with a big round pendulum and a perfectly in tune tick-tock. On the floor above the clock was the large iron bell. Gosh! Though rusted and dusty, this bell has been ringing for the last two centuries 24 times each day, telling this little town the exact time from generation to generation!! As we climbed past the 4th level I felt like I was in a Famous Five Story book!! Creaking wooden panels on the floor, a narrow shaky ladder, up a dingy tower ...! :) Now we had pigeons flying in and out as well, through the large stone windows that gave us light and air. The view was getting more and more amazing. Finally we reached the top floor. Only one person could fit in the very top at a time since the wall was much narrower and so Dad encouraged me on. On one side, there was a small hole in which was a nest with a young pigeon and on the other side was the last stone window. I peered out and watched the tiny world underneath me! There was a cool breeze. Parrots flew way below me. The kids formed a line outside in the village school and they looked like ants in uniform! I could see this entire village and all the neighboring villages, perhaps even the other side of the globe! :)

Slowly we climbed back down and as we reached the last floor, dad picked up a pigeon feather and gave it to me. He said “That’s in memory of our little adventure”! The feather is safely tucked away in my little wooden box of treasures and the memory will remain forever in my heart. On my knees in that old church I whispered a little prayer, renewing a commitment I made over a decade ago. Before long, it was time to go.

Nothing had changed. To me it was a picture perfect village!
Still, I did not see a hospital, or even a tailors shop. No large vehicles, only cycles. No eating place or entertainment. I wish there was something I could do to plow back into that village that today created this wonderful family I am part of that is spread all across the world. I will.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Help me to always remember my promise.

The other side

Oops! This is yet another story from the roads I travel on!

We have been having a major half of a long stretch of the road I travel on daily blocked out for more than 9 months now. There where big posters on the partition apologizing for the inconvenience and asking us to be patient. One of them read “You have to put up with the rain in order to enjoy the rainbow”. I loved this one and it just made me smile no matter how bad the traffic got on that stretch due to the work taking place.

Finally however this has come to a close, more or less and this morning the ‘other half’ of the road was opened to us for the first time. Since there where big barriers I never got to actually *see* what was happening on 'the other side'. Rumor has it however that work went on night and day. The road which was about 20 feet now spanned for about 50 feet! It promises to be simply too good to be true!
Driving down it the first time, I caught myself thinking “I had no idea there was so much of work going on this side”!

It’s like that with life too I guess. We see the side of us that the world see’s and judges. But there is ‘another side’ to us which is constantly (night and day) growing with every new experience, changing with every new encounter, and expanding with every new opportunity. We may not always *see* it and progress sometimes seems (painfully) slow but the fruits of which we will enjoy, in time. We just need to be patient and not give up! :)

Dear Mister God, this is @ina talking . . . Enjoyed learning that lil lesson with you today.