What If

What if you slept
And what if
In your sleep
You dreamed
And what if
In your dream
You went to heaven
And there plucked a strange and beautiful flower
And what if
When you awoke
You had that flower in your hand
Ah, what then?

~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

2017 so far

Shikasta dil thay musafir – Shikast khaee na thee 

2017 – Please be kind! 

The Price of Love

Grief really is the price we pay for Love! Whether it is a loved one passing away, or a loved one far away!

I was remembering one of the most beautiful poems of E.E. Cummings, and I share it here with my readers:

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in

my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

– E.E. Cummings

 

 

Celebration of Life

I attended this beautiful Celebration of Life event, for a colleague’s husband, who had passed away.  What was beautiful about this event was that she requested all religions to say a word of prayer for her dearly departed.  I was honored to be asked to represent Islam.

I was very touched by all the efforts to bring all the religions under the same roof. As she chuckled and said to me, “Somebody’s bound to get it right, and we hope that we have ’em all covered!”

What was really beautiful was the way all prayers repeated peace and love for the departed soul.  This is what makes us all human, converging in the silent memory of God.  The loved ones gathering in memory of the departed is a touchy reminder of living our life fully, not getting caught up in the entangled web of life to forget those who matter most to us.

 

 

In life more than in death!

Of late my social media timeline has been full of people writing in the memory of their loved ones they have lost recently. Some writing poetic lines for their friends, some for their family.

It got me thinking – I wonder when was the last time they met or spoke to that person? Do we, in our lifetime apologize to those we hurt? Do we tell the ones we love how much we love them? And when we are aching to speak to someone, do we reach out to them? In the rush of our maddening lives, often times we tread upon those we care for most. There will always be time to make up, we might think. Life is so fragile and unpredictable, there may not be anytime! I would rather that my friends and family care for me while I am alive. I try and do the same for the ones who mean most to me. For the complicated ones we may have tread upon in the circus of life, maybe it’s time we reflect on making up in life, than regret in death! Every person deserves respect and everyone should be given a second chance!

I am reminded of these beautiful lines from my favorite Browning poem:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
..
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
….
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Truth be told…

Just read and could not agree more:

The short-term pain of accepting the truth is far better than the long-term pain of believing in an illusion.

Ah, what if

I was in school earlier today, to read a book to my 6-year old and gathered every other child whose parent did not turn up.  I guess, a working parent would understand this situation and can empathize better! Also, because I cannot go every Wednesday, the scheduled time for book reading with parents.  Its always a special day, for both me and my son, when I do actually make it.

We read many books, as I read out each child’s favourite who gathered around the table, but the one I liked most was about Mr. Bear who wanted to dance with the moon.  Mr. Bear was afraid to ask, because the moon is ‘so special’.  The book then shows you how little Mr. Bird suggests to him to try.  After all, how would he know if he never tried!

Wasn’t that a nice reminder to start my day with! We want all the wonderful things to happen in our lives, but sometimes, the sheer wonder of our awe-inspiring dreams make us hesitant to even try.  ‘Too good to be true‘, we check our thoughts.  But as wise little Mr. Bird reminds us, we should always make an effort and take the first step.  How else would we know it will not work if we never try? Moral of the story: it works when you ask!

 

Burning Bridges

We often burn our bridges – seems like the best option, in addition to sounding so fancy.  There are so many problems with this one though.  Life is too short, there are only so many ways to cross (often times one-way, no way (!) or dead ends) and sometimes you do not even have much options to fall back on!

A bridge well-crossed gets better over time. It may not always be the easiest thing to do.  It may not always be your first or your best choice.

Do not burn your bridges, there was a reason why they were built in the first place.  Do not push through, knock down or walk over – you hurt both people as well as your reputation!

 

Book of Answers

My sister was telling me about her little daughter who recently got a book from a friend, and now every time she has a question, she refers to the book which she calls, ‘Book of Answers’.  Ah, to be a child once again! I wish I had a book like that too.

And then it got me thinking – as my 6-year old would have said it – Kya hota agar meray pass bhi Book of Answers hotee?  (‘What if I had a Book of Answers too’). It would have made our lives so much easier! Have a difficult decision to make, pls go to page 5, para 30.  Need to decide which road to take as you stand on a bumpy fork in life, open page 12, para 67. Don’t understand the entangled web life throws us into, please open page 84.

But perhaps the constant battle between how we choose a reaction to our destiny is what life is all about – to live our challenges, and to make our own decisions so we live our answers! Right or wrong, whatever decision we make – we live it! And perhaps this is why our life, the one with multiple answers to a given question is far more interesting than any other book we would have ever lived!

(I still dont mind having a Book of Answers though, dear God!)

 

Of the ones who find their way back!

I was having this conversation with a very dear friend today – she was sad for someone leaving and I gave her my five cents on the subject – a belief which is growing firm with age. “Those who are meant to be with us always find their way back!”

“But I never had anyone return back to me”, she said.

“Then I assure you, they were never yours to begin with!” said I.