They often say a picture says more than a thousand words…and now here I hope that this would convey a little of something of what is on my mind… and I’m sure at some point in all our lives we would have come across.
Starting anew !!!
And then it’s a brand new day… 
Dear readers and fellow bloggers, it’s been more than a year since I last wrote. Finally, my sabbatical is over and I’m back. The past one year the last of pre-residency era and now, I have officially graced the gates of residency in paediatric medicine. So now, it’s back to the good ol’ days of night calls, back to back days of continuous emergency admitting and clinic days. But ad-mist all the melee, all I can say is that, ” it’s not so bad getting back to the old grind !!”. Time limits would be more than before, but the best thing is I am finally in the field that I really love and I have reached a part of my dream. 
“I keep turning over new leaves, and spoiling them, as I used to spoil my copy books; and I make so many beginnings there never will be an end. (Jo March)” ― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women So being back in world of blogging after a really long time, all I am going to say is that; it’s never too late to pick up from where you left off. Life is not all about promises unfulfilled; it’s also about going back and making sure that in the end, you have done your part. Time never runs out, until and unless we have decided that it has. “Beginnings could happen more than once or in different ways. You could think you were starting something afresh, when actually what you were doing was carrying on as before. He had faced his shortcomings and overcome them and so the real business of walking was happening only now.” ― Rachel Joyce, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
So finally, I’m back; maybe not as regular as before but definitely, monthly updates would be there from my side out here. Initia nova …. nova coepta…. Have a great day !!
For you…from yours truly
One hour later, it would be one month down. Somehow, it feels like a long time ago, that I was caught up in the frenzy of the New Year celebrations.
Truth to tell, I feel kind of more “off the track” of late. I do feel happy and content in my surroundings but also (sigh!) a little bit restless.
Wonder why.
Flipping through the channels, (yes, I am finally sitting in front of the big screen!!) one thought that keeps on nagging my conscience is; its 2013 and you’re growing in no way younger; so what have you done so far? What have you promised to yourself?
Promise?! To myself?! You’ve got to be kidding!!
Why? You have to give an assurance to yourself over something? Or are you not important to promise yourself something?!
No it’s not that; it’s just that there’s nothing much to promise myself. I have already made a list of resolutions.
No, I’m talking about “promise”. To give yourself what you really want. To take an undertaking or vow only for yourself.
I already have more blessings than I can count. So what do I want more?
Are your blessings making you too set in life? What about making those blessings into talents ? What about your dreams? Your dream to make a difference…
….. That’s what I am doing here….
Is that enough? Not the realistic dreams, but your dream to “live life” or are you falling into the good old comfortable routine?
We need routines and yes, I always tend to fall into one.
Then why are you restless? Or is it “dissatisfaction cloaked”? Or are you hiding from taking a chance? What happened to your “bucket list”?!!
My bucket list; there was one maybe five years ago; but no more.
Why not?
I don’t know !!
Then this what I have to say;
“We don’t have all the time in the world.
You need to live life for yourself; not selfishly but true to your inner voice and to your inner self.
A promise to; free yourself of the constraints of the day, and to just explore life.
To do what you want to do, to take chances and to make changes.
Walk that extra mile, make a new path and if you feel like running, hike up your skirts and just run.
Yes, we do live in a society but do re-script the rules once a while; only for you to live life.
Some bridges may need to be burnt. In that case, burn them and find another way to crossover. But whatever it may be, take care not to lose your passion for life.
Just run with the wind once a while and breathe in what is there around you.
All I am asking you, is to promise yourself to make your bucket list …
And in doing so…dream big, take small steps, jump a little, walk a new path, sail through un-chartered waters, run awhile, find life and most of all in doing so; find peace in your inner self ….
…Yours truly..
Three more days to go !!
If the holiday season was all about having a hectic time, then mine has topped the list this time. ( Shudder!!) So much for relaxation and having a quiet winter !!
And to make matters worse, I’m dead tired to get all festive for the New Year; which I may not have to do with being on-call throughout the next week. Plus a trip to Mumbai in early January and then shuttling to and forth places in Kerala, I guess my “new year” will start off with a bang !! But that’s the fun of fusing work and travel; though I must say that everything comes at a price including time and the network availability !!
So today when I finally put my feet up, my gaze falls on a row of black lettered numbers marked with a few red in between; a.k.a. the calendar. Yikes, three days left !!
Funny how the year flew by, or at least the last five months did. This will be my second new year of my mission work break; though this time I’ll be in the hospital. Looking forward to see the surprises in store !! Speaking of which here are a few new year thoughts,
One thing I know for sure, I’m too tired to make resolutions, or even think about them. Plus, I have to head back to the hills ( my code for rural or rather out-of-range areas !!) tomorrow, so that means an early evening and up at four tomorrow morning. (Who says that life never gets busy out here ?!!)
Adding the good and the bad, one thing that this year has robbed me of, or I think that I deprived myself of, is the my blogging hours; which got sidelined thanks to my pre-post graduate preparation. To console myself, I can say I’ll start over after all these exams are over.
And fast forward to three days ahead, before the clock strikes twelve, a happy new year to all my readers; who have the patience to lend an eye and the time, to read my ramblings.
Good luck with the resolutions.
Rock the New Year’s eve and the grand day too; have a great and fabulous start !!
Salute !!
Stringing the thoughts !!
Two months and approximately, twenty-five days….it’s not something that I am really happy to acknowledge, but that’s the number of days; I have out of the social networking and the blogging world !! Or rather mildly put, “being off the radar”.
To cut the long list, I am hanging the blame on the sudden fateful turn of events, both in my professional and personal life. Thankfully, they are not that tragic, just time-consuming. In simple words; work, exams, projects and a whole lot of work !!
Shoving all rants aside, it’s thanksgiving, finally !! Besides the turkey feast, it’s one day that we think of our blessings (little do we know the real value of them !! ) and say Grace.
Everyday we take a number of things granted. It’s only when we see the little things that we realize how blessed we are.
For instance, I often wonder what the little girl has to smile about, when she had lost her father to a domestic terrorist attack on three years ago ? Or what makes Lina, the lady who stays a few miles away from the hospital in the slum area happy, when her husband abandoned her, leaving her alone with her child who is physically challenged ? How does the sixty year old church warden get up every morning to ring the chapel bells at six; he had lost his son and his entire family in a hit and run accident three years ago ? There are many more people who have worse situations that what I have seen or known, but they still make through the day.
And that’s what I often wonder, how do they do it ? What makes them smile again ? What gives them the hope ? And why would they ever say thanks. When I asked John, the only thing he would say is. “It’s a part of His bigger plan. May be I am still here to do my part.”
And somewhere down the road, they move on. I am honored to know them, their courage, their hope and how they make their life still count. And in no way that would be easy.
That when the realization strikes; for most of the times, when we label ourselves “the unlucky ones”; little do we know how lucky we are.
Yet do we do our role in the best way we can. Are we using our blessings or simply taking them for granted and whiling away our time ?A lot to ponder over.
So for now, I have decided to make a difference I can, whenever I can and where ever I can. Maybe it’s not the elaborate gesture that counts but just a kind thought or deed. Or sharing our blessings when we can.
And which is why I have to get busy with the dinner.
One more thought, with my present work schedule and exams, I really don’t know when I would be able to log on; but till do spread the cheer around.
Who decides the morning ?
Have you ever seen the balance ? Or more appropriately put, “the scales of (what we all know as) justice” !! Unfortunately, justice as it often goes, seems kind of twisted in the common life. Blatantly, rather rephrase justice as “luck”.
Yes, there are some of us, those unlucky ones; who just happen to miss it all at that specific moment. And when we re-scrutinize and re-analyse the situation, ( thanks to our innate human nature!!), down go our shoulders and then officially consciously or unconsciously, we deem the day bad.
But that’s what life literally mocks at us for. For one after the other, the bad days come in a frenzy and we sink deeper into the dungeons of self misery. (Well, maybe the “dungeon” bit is an exaggeration, but in a way it’s true!!)
Troubles come and we end up being chased by them, when ideally we should take a fork-lift and turn it around. Sometimes, we ought to take a break while running, and look back, asking ourselves, isn’t it time to stop and pitch back !!
And it’s only when we realize that it’s us who decides the morning, we end up living our day to the fullest !!
Troubles come and we end up being chased by them, when ideally we should take a fork-lift and turn it around. Sometimes, we ought to take a break while running, and look back, asking ourselves, isn’t it time to stop and pitch back !!
And it’s only when we realize that it’s us who decides the morning, we end up living our day to the fullest !!
So what are we all waiting for ?!! Charge ahead and have a great week !!
It’s not only about the bit where the glass is half full…
Half full or half empty ?!! That’s the story of how positive thinking goes. The way you view a glass of level with the water at the mid-level (..i.e. the realistic view !!)
But today, I was wondering what happens when the glass suddenly just slips and breaks ….. Lucky or unlucky ?!! Bad omen ? I guess, that what happens most of the time, when we set out to do something and it feels that everything in the world, or rather everything that is happening around us, is going against us.
Well, at this point all I can say is, “Welcome to my world!! ”
Yes, things at this point looked like that, till I just sat and gave my thoughts their say. And eventually, this is what I believe….
“When you take a moment to acknowledge how far you’ve come and then look around you, and within yourself…you’ll remember that you started with nothing, and know that everything that you have achieved so far, is what you have done with His Grace.
Yes, you can lose all feelings of self-worth, especially when something goes wrong in our world, which we deem is the most crucial to us.Yet, the truth is that if you have done it before, you can do it again, no matter what.
As long as you feel the drive and the willingness to try again, you’re still alive. As long as you make mistakes, you’re still human. And as long as you keep trying, there’s still hope.
So, all I can say for now, is to never give up on yourself and never abandon your dreams.”
As for as signs go, yes I did get my coat splattered with mud, thanks to the heavy rains !!, en route for the grand presentation; but my presentation went better than what I hoped for.
And yes, I’m still in a race against time, but I guess I’ll manage shuffling between deadlines and relationships. Believe, the latter is what gets strained fast.
And even though, my plans aren’t going smooth, I guess, I’ll still manage.
After all, every mountain has an “up” and “down”. If there were only up’s, even the skies won’t be able to accommodate us. But a black hole might !!
I guess, the most important thing is not to be bitter over the disappointments. It’s too much to expect that everyday would be sunny. And it is when we get lost, in the darkness and despair; it’s only in the black of the night, that you can make out the stars, and then eventually they would be a light to lead us on.
So even when things go against us and the plans…. it’s worth to make mistakes, to stumble, to fall, because most of the time, the greatest rewards come when we do the things that scares us the most…the biggest risks, the big gamble. And someday. we’ll get everything more than we could ever have imagined.
For, who knows where life will take us? The road is long and in the end, the journey is the destination but when we stand still and waste our time in moroseness and all the “why me ?!!”; we would be getting nowhere.
So, run and get moving.
Have a happy week ahead !!
Finding it…
“It’s a state of mind of mind”, they say…
But what they don’t know is that,
It’s also a choice.
It’s something you get only when you are yourself.
It disappears when we change ourselves to be something else, what we are truly not, just to please others.
To find it, you have to learn not to take everything to heart. Perchance, if others don’t like your actions or words, even if you don’t mean to hurt anyone, then let them be. You can’t change everyone, but you can change yourself…
If life was about pleasing everybody, then you would never find it…
It runs away, when you are deeply troubled and irritated.
But, it’ll come again…if..and only if…
You muster your courage to admit when you’re scared….
learn to laugh even though you are crying deep inside…
the guts to speak up, even if your voice feels shaky…
and when you need help, the confidence to ask for guidance…
and the will to listen to words of advice and wisdom….
Then you would definitely find it…and
That “It” is nothing but happiness…
The happiness of mind, heart and soul…to have all three of them is indeed an art and the gift of life…
Not counting the seconds today…..
As Douglas Pagels said,These Are the Gifts I’d Like to Give to You; “Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.”
And so I have decided to sit for a while and just do a little of nothing !!
It’s past mid-June, the past two weeks have been an eye-opener on how time can fly. The past two weeks have been about meeting deadlines, finishing my allotted assignments and reading. My cell phone has become my official alarm, ringing bells and switching the timers on and off. But today, I have had enough. Yes, I’m officially burned out and so here I am in front of the laptop, blogging away.
Sometimes I wonder why do we all rush around ? Time is a big essence, true. But sometimes, in the pursuit of our plans and goals, we tend to forget to see our surroundings and appreciate the little things of the day. And they are what makes the special memories.
Which is why I am heading downtown with my gals, it’s time for a break. I’m crossing my fingers and pray that intentionally or unintentionally, I shall not think of the pending assignments and duty hours to do and count the seconds and minutes that pass by….It’s not easy !!
Time for some experimentation today… salute’ !!
Have a happy lazy Sunday!!
Flickr Photos
Thoughts. Dreams. Memories. 