Happy New Year 2022

Another year has passed
With a blink of an eye

The challenging times of pandemic 
We have managed to survive

With each day
That passes by

I can only feel nothing
But grateful

For this gift
Called life

Its greatness
And simplicity

As we continue
To fight this battle

Wishes and prayers
Happy New Year 2022 to one and all

*** Composed by Vinit Desai ***

Do Not Love Half…

Do not love half lovers
Do not entertain half friends
Do not indulge in works of the half talented
Do not live half a life and do not die a half death

If you choose silence, then be silent
When you speak, do so until you are finished
Do not silence yourself to say something
And do not speak to be silent

If you accept, then express it bluntly
Do not mask it
If you refuse then be clear about it
for an ambiguous refusal
is but a weak acceptance

Do not accept half a solution
Do not believe half truths
Do not dream half a dream
Do not fantasize about half hopes

Half a drink will not quench your thirst
Half a meal will not satiate your hunger
Half the way will get you no where
Half an idea will bear you no results

Your other half is not the one you love
It is you in another time yet in the same space
It is you when you are not

Half a life is a life you didn’t live,
A word you have not said
A smile you postponed
A love you have not had
A friendship you did not know

To reach and not arrive
Work and not work
Attend only to be absent
What makes you a stranger to them closest to you
and they strangers to you

The half is a mere moment of inability
but you are able for you are not half a being
You are a whole that exists
to live a life not half a life

–Gibran Khalil Gibran

Tuesdays with Morrie and Life lessons

Recently, I happened to read a book entitled Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom in which the author narrates about his visits to his old professor Morrie on Tuesdays. The conversations of each visit turn out to be a learning about self, life, people and community. As I was in the process of reading and pondering my thoughts on life I realized that no-one is perfect and we have each day to be grateful towards life for giving us a chance to breath and cherish the moments of life.

Some of the aphorisms from the classic book

1. Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do.
2. Accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it.
3. Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others.
4. Don’t assume that it’s too late to get involved.
5. Find someone to share your heart, give to your community, be at peace with yourself, try to be as human as you can.
6. Love always wins.
7. The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture does not work, don’t buy it.
8. So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they are chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to community around you,  and devote yourself to create something that gives you purpose and meaning.
9. If you really want it, then you will make your dream happen.
10. The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.
11. Love is the only rational act.
12. I don’t allow myself any more self-pity than that. A little each morning, a few tears and that’s all
13. Sometimes you can’t believe what you see; you have to believe what you feel.
14. What if today were my last day on earth?
15. Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.
16. If you accept you are going to die at any time, then you might not be as ambitious as you are.
17. There is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today, if it isn’t the family.
18. Don’t cling to things, because everything is impermanent.
19. If you have found meaning in your life, you don’t want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more. You can’t wait until you are sixty-five.
20. Money and power both are not substitute for tenderness.
21. Love is how to stay alive, even after you are gone.
22. Love each other or perish.
23. The big things- how we think, what we value, those you must choose yourself. You can’t let anyone or any society determine those for you.
24. Don’t let go too soon, but don’t let hang on too long.
25. Be compassionate. And take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be so much better a place.
26. Forgive yourself before you die. Then, forgive others.
27. As long as we can love each other, and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the love you created is still there. All the memories are still there. You live on in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here.
28. Death ends a life, not relationship.
29. The important questions have to do with love, responsibility, spirituality, awareness.
30. You are not a wave, you are part of the ocean.
31. There is no such thing as “too late” in life.
32. Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you’re bound to do something else.
33. As you grow, you learn more. Aging is not just decay…it’s growth. It’s more than the negative that you’re going to die, it’s also the positive that you understand that you’re going to die, and that you live a better life because of it.

Anyways, we swing

We swing our own swings
To and fro
Does it matter?
Less or more
and roar or adore
Anyways, we swing

Molded by experiences
Dejected by rejections
Healed by times 
Anyways, we swing

Out of habit
Off bit 
Uncertain of how long
But certain enough
As long as our hearts beat

Composed by Vinit Desai

Dreams on fire

Yesterday I was listening to a lovely song with beautiful lyrics by A.R. Rahman and crew. I liked it so much, and also the title: Dreams on fire. Also a lovely melody and music composition by the team. So, here are the lyrics

You are my waking dream
You’re all that’s real to me
You are the magic in the world I see
You are the prayer I see
You brought me to my knees
You are the faith that made me believe

Dreams on fire higher and higher
Passions burning right on the pyre

Once more forever yours
In me all your heart
Dreams on fire higher and higher

You are my ocean waves
You are my thought each day
You are the laughter from childhood games
You are the spark of dawn
You are where I belong
You are the ache I feel in every song

Dreams on fire higher and higher
Passions burning right on the pyre

Once more forever yours
In me all your heart
Dreams on fire higher and higher

What I believe is, when we have dreams, we have a purpose for living and our life becomes much more passionate and interesting. You start enjoying every bit of your life. We start dreaming more and more, they the dreams give us hope that something really good is about to happen. Dreams break and we rebuilt dreams. Its part of human nature when dreams break, to Rise with new dreams, Rinse, Polish for achieving your dreams. DO LISTEN TO THIS SONG, Cheers!