Opening a door that I can't shut

Last year I had to make a big life decision and I had felt that I might be opening a door that I can't shut. After walking thru that door, now I realised that there are many more doors that I can open...

...especially one which I will be opening soon and I might step into a totally different territory. I am telling myself to walk thru without fear and hope that I will enjoy what lies beyond the door... :)

View from above

View from the window
that greeted me in the mornings
and calmed my soul each evening
...in the past two years... =)


Many days were spent
on doing what I loved most
and on self-reflections
... throughout these two years... :)

Don't let the spark die

"Many of us go through school, university and several years of working quite aimlessly. We may feel on occasion like something is missing – that spark, the zing of life, the song in the heart or whatever it is that makes one feel alive and raring to go. That fantastic and special activity that has some others jumping out of bed, looking forward to yet another day may not have existed. Not to say, there were no exciting days – there sure were some of those moments which we wanted to hang on to forever.

The key is to pause and notice what we are doing at that precise moment when our heart is pumping harder and happier. Is there just one specific activity that creates this feeling within us or are we fortunate enough to have different options? Once we can identify that note of music that drives us to keep dancing, then we just need to find ways to strike that note again and again. Living that way is the most authentic, fun-filled and passionate existence we can have.

To conclude this piece, I would like to share a small story. Few months back, we were in Seattle visiting with family, and I overheard a conversation between my 14 year old son, Aman, and 13 year old niece, Resham. They were having a profound discussion on what they would like to do after high school, and Aman who is a basket ball player was sharing with Resham, “I am going to the University of Kentucky – they have the best basket ball team in the world. After that I will get recruited by the Boston Celtics.” Resham asked him, “Oh! But what if you can’t get in there? What’s Plan B?” Aman responds, “The Boston Celtics are my Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and Plan D.”

When you discover your passion, then do away with every back up plan."

The above is a post from a blog that I follow (see my blog list). I totally agree that, once the spark is ligthed, don't let it die... and if you haven't noticed yours yet, keep searching and you will find it soon enough :D

Steve Jobs

Oct 5, 2011 - The man behind Apple, Steve Jobs, passed away at the age of 56. He was, to many, "a man whose brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives."

However, reading Joe Nocera's writings about him, one wonders would he have compassion for the people around him if he had gone to Japan when he wannted to then???

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/opinion/Nocera_Ch2.pdf

EQ

When my daughter was 7yo, she asked me, "Mummy, why the girls (in our neighbourhood) didn't want to play with me?" (those girls were a year or two older than her) and ten years later, she asked me a similar question, "Mum, why some people don't return my smile?"

My daugther is a very friendly and helpful person; is the president of her school student body and I am glad that she is bothered with the above sentiment ~ shows that she is reflexive and will develop good EQ sense - what Daniel Goleman would termed as inter and intra-personal intelligences :)

I think that the world will be a better place if everyone practices a little EQ...
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Tibet ~ Roof top of the world

In my quest to find myself and to know more about Buddhism, last month I embarked on a 11-day trip to Tibet with a friend and other like-minded people :)

Tibet is the highest country in the world and where Mount Everest is located. Our purpose to Tibet was not to climb Everest but to visit the various Tibetan monasteries and to be blessed by the Living Buddha. We were told that there were two types of lamas in Tibet, the Dalai Lama and Penchan Lama. Apparently, the Dalai Lama lived in the front-side of Tibet and the Penchan Lama lives in the inner-side of Tibet. After the self-exile of the Dalai Lama to Dharamsala, India in the late 1950s, Penchan Lama took over. The lovely palace seen here is Potala Palace, the main residence of the Dalai Lama before his exile.

We entered Tibet via Xi Ning, China (3,000++m above sea level) and took the 24-hr scenic train ride to Lhasa (3,650m high). The scenery throughout the train ride was amazing and breathtakingly serene. I took many pictures of the snow-covered mountains, the mirror-image lakes, the clouds... :) As we reached Lhasa, the biggest worry on everyone's mind was the high altitude sickness. Although most of us were mentally prepared, some succumbed to the sickness and had to put on drip and carried the 'oxygen tank' around with them throughout the trip. There were cases where travellers were hospitalised (2 - 3 days) due to severe breathing difficulty. I am happy to say that I was all right all the way - I didn't feel any dizziness, headaches or fatique, just a little breathlessness here and there. I was really surprised because I am not a sports person and had never been very active.

The highest point we reached was the Tibet Plateau and the Karola Glacier near Kamba- la Pass(about 4,700m high). The view from there was amazing! As usual, I took lots and lots of photos! :)


The visit to the monastries were what I loved most - we visited about five of them. In most monasteries, the monks kept to themselves and we were not allowed to take their photos, except one monastery where we were allowed to with a fee. I paid the fee and took some photos of monks reciting the scriptures. Some of the monasteries were quite run-down and deserted. In Lhasa, we stayed in a hotel which is owned and operated by a company set-up by a group of monks. I guess, this is the only way they could have money to upkeep the monasteries.

Being in Tibet, the highest country in the world, and seeing the vastness of the mountainous country and the amazingly breathtaking and tranquil scenery ~ I can understand why the lamas build the monasteries there. I had enjoyed the trip very much and brought back the popular Tzi beads (aka sky beads) as souvenirs and also a potrait of Buddha painted in natural-dye. Once is not enough for me, I would love to visit Tibet again :)

The power of mind

During the times of bandits and masterless samurais, a famous Japanese tea maker was asked by his master to take a trip to the city. Being a non-warrior type, he hesitated but his master told him to just dressed like a samurai and nobody will bother him. As he was walking around the city, he came face to face with a ronin. The ronin invited him for a fight, panic stricken, he tried to buy some time and said to the ronin, "I hv a very important tea ceremony to attend now, we will meet this evening by the bridge for the duel.'" The ronin agreed and the tea maker rushed to a samurai school and asked the chief samurai, "Please show me how a samurai dies in honour."

The chief instead asked him to make him a cup of tea. Perplexed, the tea maker started the tea making process, step by step (thinking that this would be the last time he would make tea and took every step as his last) and the chief watched every step closely. When the tea was done and was presented to the chief, it was the best tea that he had ever drunk. Hence, the chief told him,"'Go for the duel, approached it just as how you would make tea." Still unsure, the tea maker made his way to the bridge and kept pondering on the chief's words and picturing the process of getting ready to fight.

So, when he faced the ronin (with the exact state of mind as when he was brewing tea), he fixed his gaze on his opponent, then unhurriedly removed his hat, robe (folded it slowly) and proceed to robe himself for battle from head to foot remaining calm and unruffled throughout. The ronin started to get anxious - the more he watched, the more disconcerted he became, because he could not guess how great his opponent's skill with weapons really was.

When the tea maker had finished preparing himself, his final action was to draw his sword and as his sword was drawn hissing from its scabbard, and brandish in mid-air... the ronin threw himself to his knees, crying: "Spare my life, I beg you! I have never seen so skilled a fighter in all my life!"

Ref: 'Confucius from the Heart' by Yu Dan.
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