Death-Natural part of Life

I feel sad to hear about a gutted train carriage, which caught fire from an electrical short circuit killing at least 32, in Nellore on July 30, 2012. The express train carried sleeping passengers to the southern Indian city of Chennai. The news showed 35 persons charred to death in the last coach of Chennai express.  

 

 My prayer goes for those who are no more, may their souls rest in peace, I pray for all their relatives who are shocked by this horrifying news that they find strength to not only accept this loss, but also be able to continue in faith and hope.

Every death is a reminder for us, that earth is not a permanent place to any of us in this world, I am sure; none of those persons who died would have got even a clue that this journey would have been the final one.  

Yet death visited them, when they were fast asleep in the early hours.

We never know when our time will come, under what circumstances, but when it’s time to leave the earth, I would like to find myself busy doing any of these favourite things I love -  singing, listening to music, meditating, reading inspiriting books, helping those who require my support, walking, enjoying myself in the company of my family& friends, discovering new places, blogging and the list will continue as I keep exploring more and more of what is in me.

Today, I re commit myself to all that I enjoy doing, and take every day as it comes with great enthusiasm, and excitement, trusting  that each day I am reborn to find some newness in me, and reinventing myself again to keep discovering my purpose in life.

Each night, when I go to sleep, I die.  And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.” Mahatma Gandhi.

Be Blessed & Be Happy!

Be Kind today!

I am inspired by Every Day Gyaan’s post on "One Good Deed " I chose to write down one good deed of the day, as I do not have the habit of recording it, so I thought  why not post it today, this will keep me motivated.

I was travelling in a bus, and I found one young lady in her 30’s sitting in front of me, she appeared in distress, I could make out from the way she dressed up, she was wearing a casual dress, her hair was un kept, and her eyes appeared anxious and worried, looked like she was in a problem, and has got out of the house.

I purchased my ticket for my destination, and was comfortable at the window seat with fresh breeze touching my face, and was quite eager to go to a college, where I was supposed to meet students, as part of my work.I was lost in the thoughts, and was preparing myself for the appointment that was given to me by the college principal. 

The bus conductor’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and so I turned towards him to see what was happening, and why he was so  loud, then I found that this lady who was sitting in front of me  had 500 rupees note and had no change for the bus ticket.

She was pleading with the conductor, to accept that note, and requested him to give her a ticket, stating  that she will wait to take the change in the last stage of the bus stop.  The conductor was not accepting the money from her, but  was shouting at the lady for not giving him change, and he  told her that she must get down in the next stage, if she does not purchase the bus ticket,  I saw what was happening, the lady was almost in tears, looking out for some change, while I saw this lady in helpless situation.

I was moved and immediately I took some change from my purse and bought one ticket for her, the look that I got from that lady is something I cannot forget, she was thanking me again and again.  The amount  I gave was very small, and it did not pinch my pocket, but the relief that offered her was so much, I felt happy because I found an opportunity to show kindness to a stranger, and at the same time I felt I shared her pain, when I got down the bus, I could feel the her positive vibes of gratitude touching me…..  I remembered a popular quote that says, kindness is the rent you pay for occupying the space on this earth.

Be Kind today !

 

Being Thankful for Strangers

This morning I had an overwhelming experience of gratitude from people who I do not know, and have never met, for they were strangers to me.

I started this morning  as usual after having completing all my work at home, to leave for office on my bike, while riding for half a kilometer I realized that I had left my pen drive at home, so I took a turn on the road to go back home to pick up my pen drive.  While I took a u turn my bike suddenly stopped.  I tried to kick start my bike, but it wouldn’t start. 

 So I waited few minutes, and kept trying and trying again for the next 15 minutes, but the bike would not start. I started getting irritated, I came out with a very fresh mind, and had a  "To Do List "to be done for the day, and I was all excited to reach my office a little early, so that I would have some time for myself, before I begin my work.  And here I was stuck on the road side with my bike.

While I was still trying to kick start my bike, I saw an elderly gentleman coming towards me, and advised me to put my bike on a stand and then kick, being a heavy bike, he helped me to put it on the stand and left. I tried again with renewed hope that the bike would start, but it did not, while I was getting frustrated with many attempts.

I found across the road side, a couple and a young girl watching me from their balcony, I felt  embarrassed despite that feeling I continued helplessly kick the bike with all my strength. Suddenly the young girl and the lady started waving at me asking me to stop for 5 minutes.

So I stopped and looked at them, and lady told me, that somebody is coming down to help me, I felt very happy and thankful for them, and I waited thinking that the man would come down, I continued to kick despite their request, hoping it would start, but did not succeed.

In  the next few minutes  I saw two young mechanics coming near me, they had come to help me, the man in the balcony  had called a mechanic from the Honda showroom nearby,  asking them to help me get my bike started. The mechanic came and in just few minutes, he got the bike started, and all three of them in the balcony smiled, I waved back, thanking them and continued my ride to reach my office.

This was a very small incident, but impacted me so much, that I kept thinking about it again and again, and was not able to get over this feeling of thanks; I was filled with so much happiness that tears started flowing from my eyes, for I am still thinking in my heart, how can a total strangers be so kind.  I started blessing them in my mind; I found my positive vibes of gratitude moving out from me reaching them.

I am still recovering from that feeling of how can a strangers  be so kind. Especially in the morning hours there is so much of traffic and every one is busy reaching there destination, it is difficult to find some people who can stop to reach out to someone whom they are not related and do not know at all.

I learnt something from them today, to be generous and kind  to all, even if they are strangers. if we care enough, we  will always find opportunities to surprise. I am renewed by this experience and look forward for the smallest opportunity to reach out, and continue my journey of thanksgiving,  how about you? did you have such experiences ? I would love to hear from you....

Be Blessed & Be Happy !

 

Stephen R Covey

I found in yesterday internet news that Stephen R covey, 79 years died, and he was surrounded by his family members as he desired.  I felt sad for this great guru who has made a huge difference in the lives of millions of people all over the globe. 

 I remember a few years ago reading one of his best seller “7 Habits of Highly effective People” it was one of most enlightening and motivating book.  I had read the book more than once, and in fact my mission statement was evolved from reading his book.  For the first time I felt challenged to see  myself in a new way, the process was a difficult one because of my own conditioning of what I had heard about myself,  been told, and experienced in my life.   

As rightly pointed out in his books, there is only one way to improve our  situations, and that is to take charge of ourselves and our lives.

Every habit he spoke of made a lot of sense to me and has influenced not only my thinking, but also my decision making, it helped me become proactive and pushed me to set my priorities right, and made me relook at my goals, and had led me to an  understanding of  myself  and others better.

Today I am grateful for this person who has touched my life through his writings, and continues to inspire me with his experiences. I remember talking about this book to one of my friends, and later on received his book “7 habits of Highly Effective Families” as a wedding gift to me. I cherish his books and recall some of my favourite quotes from his book:

“We see the world, not as it is, but as we are or, as we are conditioned to see it”

“To change ourselves effectively, we first have to change our perceptions”

“If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the one thing over which I have control – Myself”

“We are free to choose our actions… but we are not free to choose the consequences of these actions.”

“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important” 

“I am not a product of my circumstances; I am a product of my decisions”.

“To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on the holy ground”

“There are three constants in life….Change. Choice and Principles”.

“Live, Love, Laugh, leave a legacy”

“We are not human beings on a spiritual journey.  We are spiritual beings on a human journey

 May you be inspired too !

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