Croakings of a Clumsy Frog -- 16

 

Every day try to have some thoughts in support of a Smile. It can be done as a habit.

☻

Victory gives you a trophy; failure gives you a chance to fight for a still bigger one. Keep going. But never miss the beautiful scenes of life on both sides of your path. As long as you enjoy the free bouquets of nature around, life no longer gets defined in victory-defeat terms. It acquires a larger dimension. It turns meaningful by itself. And joy and happiness come as the natural, unconditional fruits of the path. Journey well. Never miss your smile.

☻

Well there never was a destination. The only destination has been to move from a painful journey to a joyful one. It's a very subtle change in gears: From the outer shadows, which are ever shifting and fleeting, to the inner substance that is ever unperturbed and waiting for the journeyman to come home at long last.

☻

So much for the conceptualized set of sins and vices! We have too many hypothetical concepts to tame the basic instincts in humans. A vice is not a vice everywhere. A so called 'vice' with larger motivation loses its dark shades. Without a supportive chorus in the background, it again becomes a loathsome act in abstract. But there is hardly anything in total abstractness, except in the pages of books and the brains revising these for one-upmanship to win a point. Reality is too muddled up. There is hardly any vice that goes totally unjustified. And rarely a virtue that stands perfectly justified. Read Dostoevsky's Gambler. It treats gambling as a vice and then not so sinful art driven by the pure psychosis of a helpless heart mad after the chancy windfalls of win and loss and even beyond.

☻

Now I understand why economically challenged households have bigger treasure in the form of children. As Mr. Micawber says in David Copperfield:

‘In our children we live again, and that, under the pressure of pecuniary difficulties, any accession to their number is doubly welcome.’

☻

To lead a successful social life, invest in a few relations wisely and with soft emotions. Work and behave with people in a manner as to have two or three persons who will always have a room for you in their house, half a dozen at least who will always have a chair for you at their dining table, a few dozen who will always have softness for you in their hearts and a few hundred who will surely smile at you as you pass them. This, dear readers, is the hallmark of a peaceful, happy, mundane life of a common man. If the ingredients of joy are so earthly, why then aim for cosmic shots to find a meaning in life?

☻

While we fret, fume and get frustrated for the things that we don't have, feeling wronged both by the system and destiny, there are people we carry on uncomplaining, even though they have just a fraction of what we have, but deserve 100 times more than us. Just give a careful look around. We have many in our locality itself, so there is no need to pack bags and search in distant lands. Doesn't it make you feel the luckiest of the lot? A sense of gratitude needs this much of attention.

Many times we think we don't have enough for our talent. So many times we crib about having less for what we do. But then there are the lives that could have been better than any of us just that they were born in a ditch and circumstances never allowed them to come out. I see scores of such unsung heroes on a daily basis and find myself humbled and cut down to my real size.

☻

Croakings of a Clumsy Frog -- 15

 

This is your day. This sun shines for you. It's eager to fill your heart with warmth. How will it do it if you are unwilling? It needs your attention and a bit of receptivity. The time is your kind brother. Its hours go calculatedly to manage your things in the best possible manner. You just have to show a trace of respect to it. Great are its blessings in return. This breeze is for you to delicately whisper the best wishes for you. Allow it to do so and don't be a naysayer, cribbing miser. This sky is for you to fly majestically. Come out of your self-inflicted confines and chains. Accept the open invitation to fly freely. This cosmos is for you; you are its sovereign and subject both! Command where you need; and follow when suitable without pride's greed.

☻

Try and feel the puppy-touch of unconditional love.

☻

If one fish can spoil the entire pond, can a single lotus win the odds from the side of beauty? Well, it serves a big purpose if we believe so. Let’s believe that an ounce of goodness is enough to counterbalance tons of evil. This belief itself serves a big purpose. It keeps the hope alive for love, joy and compassion.

☻

It is so easy to react on impulse to the instincts driven by hate and revenge, and so difficult to postpone the very same, think coolly, and take calculated measures and respond. Our success and standing in life is decided by the time gap between raw impulse and cool deliberation. As we move towards lessening this gap, we take a firmer grip on the wheel of life. There comes a time when impulsive reaction and cool deliberation merge into one. Then you are in the driving seat and this mind becomes your servant. In that position, you create, you become a creator. You are no longer a piece of mere creation.

☻

A stray puppy licked my hands, its tiny tail wagging with loads of greetings. It was so friendly, so pure and honest. The puppy’s touch feels far more loving than so many smart humans having super-egos who just love to hiss and bite, hiss and bite, hiss and bite!

☻

Dark is the poor sidekick of light. It just exists to provide a canvas on which the multihued colours of light get painted in dazzling arrays and patterns.

☻

What is the difference between love and infatuation? Infatuation is that glittering fake jewel that glitters like most of the modern things in design, pattern and finish. Love is the real gold, smiling unceremoniously with its subdued colours and toned-down purity. And all of us are jumping over the barbed wires of infatuation, our emotions bleeding, to reach the beautiful garden of love.

☻

Here is a little invitation for laziness to see the truth in slow mode. A continuous run is no fun without rest, repose and pause. Inviting you to slow down and have a bit of rest. The fast mode has no meaning without the slow mode. A run is fruitless without rest. In any case, we have to stop to reap the rewards of our running, huffing and puffing.

☻

As a creator you give the best shot at life. You no longer fear death once you have given your best to life and blossom the potential Mother Nature has given you. Smile full and sadness vanishes. Light fully and darkness turns on its heels. And what is a flower? It's simply mother earth smiling as you carefully, lovingly caress a bit of soil with loving hands. We create blossoms with our emotions. The potential is already there. What we need is a gentle emotion and a bit of smile to create something that adds to mother earth's smile.

Croakings of a Clumsy Frog -- 14

 

The first provisional Indian government in exile was formed by Mahendra Pratap Singh in Afghanistan in 1915. He stayed in exile for 35 years, having taken a vow never to step on the British-occupied Indian soil. He returned a happy man post 1947. Surprisingly, he was an educated Jat. Seems there is more to Jats beyond the JAT (just animal type) syndrome!

☻

Love and loss in misty valleys.

☻

Anger should mellow down a bit, and melt later to turn sorrow, then change into forgiveness, followed by acceptance. And maybe then dear readers we can afford a gentle smile. And welcome a new day. And remember the past with a painless nostalgia. And move on. That's how we must proceed on our journey.

☻

Loss, longing and love brewing a mist in the morning forest. I walk on a lone path. Then the sunrays streak in. Everything turns into love. Loss and longing glide away with misty vapours. Love is nothing but all the lesser emotions sublimated fully.

☻

There might be many sins listed in the dictionary of judgments but being unhappy is one of the few serious ones. Not only we suffocate the bud of life and prevent it from blossoming fully, we hurt others also. Hurting others comes very easy to an unhappy person. Like the broken finger aches wherever you put it, unhappiness gives equal pain to ourselves and others. Let's avoid this sin at least. Let's do something to undo our unhappiness first. The externals are simply the effects.

☻

Life isn't just sailing in composed waters. Mostly, the waters are stormy. Overall, our character is defined by the manner we captain our little boats to enter peaceful waters for a time. Sailing in calm waters is not the reality. Calm waters are just our expectation. A dream. Continuous cosmic turbulence is the law. The so called peace is simply a flimsy series of brief pauses on the ever-changing and evolving cosmic highway. The storm lurking over the horizon is the reality. It's what makes our life meaningful. How we brace up to meet the lurking storm determines the extent and meaning of life. So keep an eye on it as you are cooling your heels after the last battle. Braving the stormy patch and keeping an eye on the next one is the formula to become a successful captain of your life.

☻

Money does indeed buy happiness! But only when it lands up in the palm of a really needy person after freeing itself of the predatory clutch of an overstuffed wealthy hand. Guys help money in buying happiness. Buy happiness for the people whose littlest joys are stalled by the tiny sums of money. There is always that much surplus with us which we normally squander away in pizzas, movies, cakes and coke. But there are millions to whom this tiny sum might turn out to be a life saviour. Just like the real adventure of life begins once we move out of our house. Similarly, the real meaning of life begins to unfold once we cross the boundary of the self and look over the fence to spot miseries and pains of others.

☻

Croakings of a Clumsy Frog -- 13

 

If we believe we have the capacity to do what we are supposed to do, then there is no reason to believe in the higher powers supposedly guiding our way. But the question is, do we really know what we are supposed to do. All choices and decisions stand on the verge of either falling this way or that. Faith, at some point, is bound to have its final say. Faith is pretty free flying. Tether it to reason and logic, it hides immediately behind the dark clouds. It’s not there to be tamed by the chains of reason. It is good to put reason at the forefront of your skills like the steely jaws of a mighty earthmover. That’s a convenience, a skill to lead life on a day-to-day basis. Reason is a very good servant. Faith but is the master that guides the overall operation of life. By faith I don’t just mean faith in the Gods over there in the sky’s vaults. It primarily comprises our faith in ourselves, in our soul’s intimacy with the possibilities of joy, an urge to lead a meaningful life. Extraterrestrial faith is a mere supplement to our inherent faith in ourselves. Isn’t it faith in ourselves that we use all the reasons and logic to not only survive but also strive to be happy and joyful? In fact, we hatch ‘reasons’ to nurture our ‘faith’. Never lose your faith. It’s like losing what and who you are. 

☻

Rains and more rains. Mold in the pickle jar. White coral mushroom on the rotting plank. Potatoes with spiky sprouts. Baby frogs everywhere. Lots of nests in the trees and plants. The sky laden with flying insects. Well-fed serpents and croaky long-limbed toads. Thickly overgrown trees and promiscuous creepers. The air with a musty smell. The railings more rusty. The sky just a cloudy canvas. Hot teas and spicy pakoras. Smiles. Gossips. Love and loss in the season of moss. Well-bathed caravan looking to sneak in and take a shelter in the autumnal camp. Well, it has been too damp. Welcome now the sunny lamp.

☻

Many situations in life turn meaningful, and hence bearable, the moment we accept our share, our part in shaping the things as they stand.

☻

Avoid the things that cost you your smile and laughter. It will never be a loss in the long term, I can assure you. Avoid also the things that fetch you an instant grimace. That's an instant gain. So start now with a smile!

☻

For the angels to stay relevant, there have to be demons. Well, that's too big a price for goodness. Let there be no demons, even if that means all angels losing their status and turn ordinary entities. Just a pleasant commonness! Why go for the extraordinary? Especially when the cost is too high, like having to do with demons just to have angels around.

☻

If you can't avoid pride altogether, have principled pride. It's a bit better than the unreined one. The latter is a sort of unsheathed sword. There is an equal risk of injury to both the beholder and the people around. Principled pride is at least a sheathed sword. It carries lesser risk. And what is this principled pride? It's the pride inside a fencing of certain principles that we won't compromise come what may.

Croakings of a Clumsy Frog -- 12

 

If Taliban is all for the medieval shapes in all forms of life, no problem with that. They aren't comfortable with modernity and Western values. Again no problem with that. It's their choice. But then they have to follow the same principle in fighting also. Why don't they fight with swords and spears, the medieval weapons of war? Why use the latest weapons? These are modern tools and mostly manufactured by the Western countries. I respect your medieval choice. But then you have to fight the enemy with your own weapons. Take up swords and spears guys. We will applaud your endeavours.

☻

I'm a common man with modest means and common people have to be conscious of their deeds that may justify their philanthropic conscience. They have their limitations and need to look for small avenues to satisfy the good spirit. I am no exception. I collect my tiny grains of good deeds. A potted rose feeling extremely thirsty, its buds and leaves drooping dispiritedly. Pour water with care and consideration. Within fifteen minutes you have the results. The branches straighten, the sullen leaves turn happy and taut, and the buds raise their heads again. They will smile fully tomorrow. Now who says good deeds don't fetch beautiful results?

☻

Birds sing beautifully most of the time, except when they fight or are scared, which isn't too often. I can't sing. But I can at least say something about their songs. And I can write a few lines about music. Well, that makes me happy.

☻

The day

holding its last ray,

The dusk

at its mellifluous cusp,

The breeze stops

to welcome dew drops,

To the nest

birds return for rest,

The leech

also has to reach

a place safe,

To crawl

cling and brawl

on a new day.

☻

A richly yellow, thick, grand old guava leaf lets go of its grip on the branch and tumbles down to create a soft plonking sound on the car roof. The completion of a journey! Well, I believe some stately wise old man also died peacefully in sleep, after completing a joyful, meaningful life, in some corner of the world at exactly the same time.

☻

My dear human-centrist theorists, please recognize that this earth and the drama of life on it is a bit larger atomic arrangement. There is hardly any qualitative difference between a simple atomic arrangement and the earth as such. They are just numerically different. If you feel too large for your skin, stand on the terrace on a clear dark night and stare into the starry distances. To the cosmic immensity, an ant and an elephant on earth are the same. Well, but the ant and the elephant are entitled to their grandiose plans here on this little mud ball. You, me and all of us are entitled to the same.

Play your drama joyfully. Don’t miss the little things that bring a smile. Appreciate the smile of a flower, applaud the airy dives of a butterfly, hail the rains and go stomping in the monsoonal mud, feel the touch of the gentle kiss of breeze on your skin, salute and acknowledge the ferocity of storms, roll in the green hilly pastures, bathe in mountain streams, enjoy your tea at a roadside tea  stall, bless a child, give a coin to an old helpless beggar, throw grains to the chirpy birds, chase away the bully feral dog and come to the aid of a meeker one, share your food with others at the office canteen, congratulate the office peon for looking smart and energetic, the list is endless my dears.

Little thinks that can give us a smile are countless, so why wait in vain for the bigger reasons which are so few. These little causes of smiles are the sinews that will one day make the nest of your happiness, which in turn gets us joy, appreciation of life and gratitude for being alive. Keep smiling my dears!