Saturday, August 31, 2013

Festival Of Words - ONE

Sometimes, all we need to awaken our inner fire is the right company - I had started blogging a good nine years ago and had been super recluse in all those years, almost making this a diary of sorts, and keeping it private to a few friends who cared to read. This year, I found myself in the august company of wonderful bloggers and suddenly, my enthu to blog had increased along with the endless inspirations I'd encountered. I should underline a couple of  those bloggers - Corinne and Afshan - both of whom had showed me a new perspective about team work. Thanks to Corinne for all her support and energy she puts in "Write Tribe" and to Afshan for being the little miss sunshine in the group.  I now embark upon celebrating the Festival of Words with my fellow write tribers and the theme is Seven :-) Read on....


Day one - ONE
Number One has such an attraction to it...It is the first in order. One is the number that most of us want to be in life's many lanes - Number one in the class is how the obsession started for me. I was an above average student but super laid back. I should grant it to my parents for never putting the pressure of being the number one in my academics, until one fine day, I put it on to myself. I did top my Tenth board exams and that was the only one time I topped an entire series of examinations in my life - and incidentally, the last because my academics were stunted in pursuit of real life lessons in a real time job :-)

ONE doesn't do more justice to anything more than the Omniscient God. I feel fortunate to have had an upbringing that allowed me to fathom the true meaning of being spiritual without just being religious. The Roman Catholic missionary school opened my gates to a new faith that was not like the one celebrated at home. I grew up intrigued in stories from the bible and crooning Hymns form the Church in our morning assembly. Over the course of growing up, I also subscribed to "Allah Malik" philosophy and enjoyed the works of many Sufi saints. It saddens me to no end to see most modern day religions emerging into a fundamentalist mindset. We might take different  paths, but we should all come to a realization that the destination is ONE. We'll all catch up at the end. It is enough that we have natural calamities, why should we, in the name of God, add to those mishaps??

ONE life is all we have, and one moment to be precise. I was reading the Buddhist take on meditation recently and a whole load of burden was taken away from my heart. The past is gone, the future is unknown and it is in the one moment that we live. Life will go on with or without us, things will fall into place with or without our presence, so life each moment, one at a time. Feel your inhaling, feel your exhaling and rejoice in the elixir of being alive - sounds simple? Isn't it - but truth be told, with practice, it is not very difficult to live the simplified meaning of meditation - which is being conscious of living in this ONE moment.

If there is one thing that defines me, it is my thoughts - it is not my family, it is not my possessions, it is not my failure, it is not my successes. My thoughts define me and I believe each of our thoughts define us - it is in these thoughts that our life is born, taking the form of a blue print and then translating itself into reality. We need to keep minding them like a shepherd does mind the sheep - they will fall, falter, escape, get lost and sometimes go stray on purpose - but when we bring them on track we seem to deal with all else.

And finally, One thing, if I can wish, would be to see no child in pain or in hunger or in lack of love - Please don't question why money is being spent on offerings in a temple or in any religious institution for that matter while hundreds of humans go hungry - you can change the world without having to skimp on offering a little bit of gratitude to God, by simply giving him a tiny share of what he had given us - instead skimp on those designer clothes, or bags or what ever thing that you indulge on and donate to a charity once in a while. Buy cards designed by UNICEF, look for ways to send a kid to school, give one kid just one thing that can put a smile to his or her face. I am sure, if we vow to do this, our world would be a better place. Global warming is no greater threat than global harming of human beings by fellow human beings. And on that idealistic note, I request you all to stay with me on my celebration in the Festival of Words :-) Thank you!


14 comments:

  1. And Oneness with the Cosmos is the goal of my spiritual journey

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  2. how beautiful u made the day one with "One" theme
    am overwhelmed to see my name on top :) U really made the challenge special for me. I am not the sunshine of whole group but I FEEL BOOSTED even if one person feels so
    Loads of love
    and am with you on each sentence. LASTLY There are many ways to channel money for a good purpose
    !

    GOod lck
    lookng forward to hav a grt week

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  3. That was such an inspiring post. I especially loved the bit about what defines us - our thoughts. So simple and yet so easy to forget.

    'by simply giving him a tiny share of what he had given us - instead skimp on those designer clothes, or bags or what ever thing that you indulge on and donate to a charity once in a while.' - This makes so much sense too. And would go a long way to make a difference in someones life.

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  4. This was a brilliant post Laxmi. I am touch. i echo you prayers. and i so resemble you in 1st and 2nd para. i found my way back to regular blogging because of Corinne and the group she created which dates back to our A2Z days... ans since then there is no looking back. And Afshu truly is Ms. Sunshine.

    2nd para is ditto me. :)

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  5. My philosophy too - live life one moment at a time. Nice one.

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  6. What a wonderful take on ONE. "The past is gone, the future is unknown and it is in the one moment that we live". What a wonderful line....
    Great post!

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  7. Very plausible post.The one thing which matters most is the oneness between God and humanity.

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  8. Was thinking of the song 'one love' while reading this. Good choice of a theme, btw :)

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  9. It is so true that our thoughts define us. If we decide that nothing is going to effect me, then nothing will. It is the power of positive thinking. Good ONE. :)

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  10. So much of it was what I feel. I wonder if there is a singular vein connecting bloggers. It surprises me to no limits that most of us have almost an identical way of thinking. And I also believe love is what binds us together. The whole trying to arrive first in class and being laidback- I kept thinking "me me". Laxmi it was a wonderful read!

    Richa

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  11. A beautiful post Laxmi!! And a wonderful theme too... :)
    The philosophy is quite simple isn't it? Living in this ONE moment...but it isn't that easy! Yes, it does require some effort but YOUR thoughts, the one that define you...those are the ones you need to mind and nurture. I practice this daily...yes, it requires practice!
    I feel so good after reading your post...simple actions like you said, can make the world a better place to live!
    Thanks for this! I'm with you on this 7 day journey!!

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  12. Our thoughts are the reflections of us.We crib for things we do not have & forget about the ones we have.
    Brilliantly written.

    http://sailorswiferamblings.blogspot.com/2013/09/seven-faces-of-me.html

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  13. Your words always bring joy, Laxmi. Am so glad you're writing after a break.

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  14. A beautiful and warm post, loved it. Even if we bring a smile to one child's face, our heart is lighter.

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