Sell the lemons that your life gives.

There have been instances on this day, that could have spoiled my mood. Today, I decided not to use the "right to be sad" but to use the "opportunities to be happy".
Now, I have a Smile on my face.
That is how I realised, how strong I am and that is exactly how I should have reacted.

Well, if you are wondering what got into me, it is a thought that there is always going to be problems in your life and all that matters is how you react to it.
There will be days in life that would hammer you down, There will be unexpected turning points in your life that might seem as if you are going to hit a dead end. There might be tornados that would blow you down.
There will be moments that you would wonder what to do!

You could stand up, pick yourself up if when you fall! There may be people who will try to help you out, but don't expect it every time you fall. Pick yourself up and be ready to embrace the next tornado. Whenever you pick yourself up, you grow a little bit; and you attitude to embrace the tornados after the other will eventually make you strong enough to face any of it coming at you. And when you are strong enough to face the face them, that is when you help out others that have fallen.

Life is so enormous and it has no meaning since it has so many meanings or perceptions. The definition of the life that you give to it or understand is just your perception to the life. Well I believe, life has or is an endless opportunity to fight. Fight like a cornered animal. Life is going to kill you in the end. So the best and only logical thing would be to trust your gut instincts and put up your best fight

.

When life gives you lemons, there is infinite possibilities for you to react!
You could make a lemonade, or Sell the lemons, make some electricity, throw the lemon right back at life or even ask for tequila and salt.
But making a sour face should be the least of your options.

Misled men, their religion of scary Gods in the cranny minds.

A young man was having a hard time to park his car he suddenly prayed "Oh God, If you give me a space to park, I would give up drinking this whole week!". Suddenly the car in front of him started to leave the parking area.
Then he said, "Dear God,  I have got this now,Never mind what I said! guess I didn't need your favour this time. I will ask for your favour next time."


I guess many of us have done that. What were we trying to do? Manipulate god?
I have always wondered why people try to bribe God, with money or other offerings , sacrifices and may be with some deeds.
I have seen many atheists, who are live so much happier than the " God fearing people ".

About a year ago, I happened to meet a librarian of one of the Sree Rama Krishna Matts in Kochi.
He told me a story that I happened to read later from a book of Swami Sukhbodhanada ji. ("Oh mind Relax Please!!" .. A wonderful compilation of good stories and sparks of wisdom from swamiji.)

The story depicts an incident of a wealthy man who built his bungalow spending a million!
 The wealthy man, built his bungalow on the river side spending a million Rupees, The building looked marvellous and he wanted to see his bungalow from the other side of the river, He took his boat, and started to cross the river. When he reached mid way, there occurred a sudden a heavy wind that started to make his boat go unstable.

The rich man cried out with all of his voice, "Dear God, I will sell this house and give the money as an offering ! Please spare my life and just let me reach the other shore so that I could enjoy its beauty for the last time."
The man reached safely on the on the other bank, the storm faded and he sat there, for the entire morning enjoying the view of his bangalow.
The beauty of his new home was mesmerising. He decided not to sell the home but instead donate a small amount of money to his place of worship . The rich man set sail back to his home and in the midway the storm hit him again. He shouted, "Please God ! I was just kidding I change my mind. i will honestly set my intention to sell my home and donate the money! Please save me! "
The rich man escaped from the storm and somehow reaches his home safely.

The next day he put up a sign board that said..

"House for SALE! Cost is just 1 Rupee, but who ever wants to but the bungalow should buy my cat for a million Rupees too. "
The man sells his bungalow and his cat, then donates a rupee "To the God"; takes the million rupees.

The God to him was a manipulatable force! because he feared God.
Is God to be feared ? There are a load of God-Fearing people. The god fearing people manipulate things just like the rich man.

I believe God, in whatever name should be loved,and not feared.
 An act out of love to someone or something is totally different than acts done in fear to someone or something.
I would gladly spend time, money and energy on things I love than things I do with a fear of someone or something else.

Why do children like friendly teachers than strict and stubborn teachers?
Why do people spend time on their hobbies even though they might never get paid for what they do?

If in any point of your life, You turn to be a God- fearing person, do change yourself. God is not a shopping mall, or a place where you get loyalty points for your offerings.
"Dear GOD, if I get this promotion, I will give you a 100 coconuts or donate more money than last month"
Won't work. Trust me.

If you are, at anytime approached by anyone to get favours to the organizations with the help of a face of scaring God, who could destroy your life if you don't do something; they are just frauds !
A prayer with love is always heard than a prayer with fear.

and in any day if or when you feel that"God's currency is love", Pat yourself on your shoulder and treat yourselves with a cookie. You are right!



 (Also, A moment of respect for all the teachers who stood with me, smiled at me and behaved friendly to me. If ever I become successful; you are the reason for it!  )

Why should we Rethink how we think about others?

A few months ago, I had an opportunity to volunteer for an organization that stands for the betterment of the society. The name of the organization was C.H.I.L.D (Center for health, intelligence, Learning and Development ).
How ever I ended up volunteering for organizing an event for 'Person centered approaches'. To be honest and damn frank, it changed my attitude to life and my perception to people. This insight gave me a whole new experience on viewing people better and more blissfully.
So what exactly did I understand?
How about you answer me something first and I could explain better,
What do you call a person who has no vision? Obviously most of us use the term 'Blind'.
And a person who has learning dyslexia? Mostly people refer to them as dyslexic.
Isn't this just wrong? I mean we always see a person as Blind! and most often do we fail to see him as a 'Person with blindness'
Should this referring make any difference?
Yes it does! It makes a world of difference !
First when we refer a person as blind! we refer him with his condition!
Referring a person as a 'Blind person' puts our mindset as viewing a person with his condition up front!
And Seldom we see him as a person first! Say what is we start to see a him as a

'Person with blindness'
The fact that he is a person first comes into our mind and then his condition whatsoever.!
Now! you see a person first, and then only his condition! As a person, he is no different than you. Consider him an equal.!
Now!  Isn't that a world of difference?


Why are people so much hung up on differences? For most people they sense differences more than the similarities!
This always reminds me the beauty of Indians saying 'Namaste'.
Even though most people don't understand its meaning, the word Namaste means something so extravagant!
Saying namaste means, You, and I, in the space of love, are the same!
We might be different on this material world, you might have a different nose, another pair of eyes and we might even support the different teams in a sport, or might even like totally different sports.!
However, in the space of love, you, and I, are entirely the same!
What if the world just could go this way?

This is the way of life!_A story of the way of life

There are some people who like to think deep into the stories they hear. Here is one such story where people can dig deep and find hidden treasures of wisdom.

The story is called "The way of life".


The fisherman's boy,  went to the river shore for Fishing. He was startled to hear a weeping from nearby and walked towards it. He saw a crocodile who was all tied up inside a net. He started to turn away, but the crocodile in tears cried out to help.

"Please let me out"
"No! Why would I do that?"

"People are going to kill me"
"Indeed they are! You kill people ! You are dangerous to us, if I let you out, you will eat me too.."

"No, I wont hurt you, You are a boy and you will be like a son to me, if you let me out.. I Promise!! "

The boy was moved by hearing the Promise and seeing the Crocodile tears!
So he decided to let the crocodile go and started opening the net.
When he opened the mouth part of the net, the crocodile grabs the boy with its mouth.



"Why are you trying to eat me? You promised..!"
"Dear Boy, This is the way of life! You will hear promises, and will not be fulfilled, you will be attacked by the ones you save ! this is the way of life.!"

"No I don't understand you..!"
"If you don't believe me, ask someone else!"

The boy sees a donkey and asks him "Heyy= donkey! is it true? Is this the way of life?"
"Yes it is, my owner used me to carry his heavy goods and when I got old, he left me here to die ! This is the way of life !  "

" I don't believe you !" says the boy.

Next he sees a bird up in the tree and asks her "Hey bird, is this true? Is this the way of life?"
"Yes it is true, I collect twigs and leaves the whole season, for my little ones to grow, I lay my eggs and a snake out of no where comes to eat my eggs! This is the way of life"

"Humm.. still I cant convince myself !" says the boy.

He looks around and sees a hare. The boy asks the hare "Hey Hare, is this true? Is this the way of life?"
And the hare says "I don't think so!"

This time the crocodile gets surprised by hearing the hare!
"How can you say that ? This is the Way of life, Life is unfair "
"I have been watching both of you from the beginning and still I don't know why you think life is unfair, Talk to me Mr.crocodile! Tell me why you think life is unfair for you! "

"How can I talk to you while I hold this boy in my mouth? what if he runs away?!"
"Mr. Crocodile, you are so powerful and mighty, you can always hit down the boy with your tail if the boy tries to run!"

Crocodile releases the hold and suddenly the Hare shouts "Run boy run! run as fast as you can run away, the crocodile has only its mouth free from the net. Run!! "

"How could you do this to me? You tricked me and left my food escape!"
Hare replied "This is the way of life "

The story doesn't end here! People might think stories always have a happy ending! Guess what..
The boy returns to the riverside with more people and kills the crocodile!

Then he catches the Hare and kills it for food! and the boy tells himself "This is the way of life"



And the story ends.! Well, the story does not pass a message that life is always unfair. But it says that life could be unfair. There will be broken promises, You might be avoided by the ones who you helped, there will be times when your expectations will be spoiled by unknown people, there will be times when you will be hurt by the ones you helped, there will be times when you will be flattered and cheated.
Yes, it is not that you should be always sad, but if we accept for life as it is, if we accept theses facts, you could enjoy your life better..

Shall I start believing in the fairy tales ?

Believing in the fairy tale

There was this kid, whom I met along the park,

She told me a fairy tale and so became my friend,

She told how the fireflies at night became fairies in the dark.

She told me about the wishes they could grant.

I gazed at her like a painting, she had something I lost.

She was all beauty and charm with the laughter all around,

She followed the fireflies and never one did she caught.

She chased them away and none were seen around.

She kept her search and still found none.

She had what I lost, the belief in fairy tales.

She came every week and yet found nothing.

One day she shall grow and lose what I lost.

What if one day fairy tales come alive with the power of belief?

What if I could start believing again, or to help her see the truth?

 I took her side and searched with her to watch her smile.

I took her up, her laughter and I gazed at her like a painting.


I started searching for the fireflies every day, with her

One day she might catch one and her beliefs might end.

“What are you going to wish for Mister?” She asked.

Then I realized that I never believed even while I searched.

“I don’t have a wish! And what do you want?” I asked

“More fireflies.” She said. Yes! A silly little girl.

“If you don’t have anything! why are you searching?” She asked.

“That is what friends do” I said and I smiled.

One day she might catch one and her beliefs might end.
But who am I to judge?

Sometimes, even though you know the truth, you will let someone believe what they want.
It is called tolerance ! It shows your humility, and the ability to accept things as it is.
When you are right and the other is proven wrong, if you never speak the words "I told you so !" ! Then the  care you give to this world, and you are amazing

Gold rush in Kerala! Proof #1 for dying educational standards!

Even though Kerala is said to be one among the top class educated states in India,
I don't think that people here are free from ego like they are free from illiteracy.
This makes us really question about what education is all about.

People will probably wont believe this, but the statistics will prove it.
Kerala will be rich enough to lend money to England if we sell just 50% of gold kept at hand and locked in bank lockers. Kerala will also be rich enough to remove the poverty in INDIA.
There are a lot of people who opposed India's "Mangalyan"- The mars mission, which proved to be more economic than the movie " Gravity ". Why was it opposed? because India came up with a mars mission instead of spending that money on poverty ? So, when was the last time the media opposed Keralites buying Gold instead of donating some extra money to get rid of poverty? My guess, NEVER !
The main reason that I believe is the ego in the hearts that makes people believe that buying a certain amount of gold would increase the social status. But isn't there a limit for showing off?

ever wondered why do humans like gold?
Yes, Gold is an inert metal! There are other inert metals too, But unlike them the color of gold is more soothing to the eyes. Everyone knows the importance of gold in the economy.
At least the 100% educated Keralites!
Still I don't believe that this trend is going to be eliminated quickly.
And why so?
Ego!
and Why ego?
Because the so called education does not point to the right direction.
Even I knew parents who wanted their children to score more, be a topper from grade 1,
and be "educated" well, so that they could get better market value in the marriage market and get better Dowry  or since Dowry is banned, "Wedding presents" and more Gold on bride!
So technically the groom will get married the gold and the bride!
Yes I might be hurting a lot of people, but being covered in gold is not beauty. I guess some people would be interested to see the bride than the gold she is wearing.
In every English movie I have seen, shows the bride who wants to show off her beauty on the wedding day!
but In kerala, the bride wants to show off her jewelry ! Strange!
Oh, Culture! our culture is to bring gold to the grooms home?
Please! Hear yourself.! There was a time when the women at home would sit back and just take care of children and do laundry, do cooking! Wasn't that our culture back then?
So if women are now able to go to work, be able to support a family in a greater way than before, it means that Old Culture has been changed! So why not this?
Once Antony Alappat of Alappatt herittage bragged that "America's Largest jewellery showroom would be just half the size of one of our showrooms in MG road" I am still not sure if to take it as a prestige or to consider as an insult!

From the day you hold my hands..

The special moments in life,  they are unforgettable, Like the first crush,first love,  first breakup, first proposal, first child..I wrote this poem on such an occasion.

Though so ordinary, yet special to me.

------------------------------Skip this part if you aren't feeling racist enough---------------------------

In India- probably First slap, First and Only Marriage.!(In India proposals are abundant and a possible crime... and cute girls usually have more brother-like friends than girls who doesn't look that well (I avoided term "Ugly" on purpose ). Still trying to figure that phenomenon out.. may be 'Brotherzoned' )

----------------------------PS. I Love INDIA, Its some Indians I don't like-------------------------

I am a skeptic yet secretly romantic,Also a fan of Open source! so feel free to send it to someone special if you feel to, even editing is all right! probably the first open source poem FOSP!

From the day you hold my hands

From the day you hold my hands again, you should know.
I would never let you go.
Even in pain or in any sorrow, you should know,

you will have me to hold on to.

People will vanish and switch sides you see?

Never should it bother you, since I will stay with thee.

While you swim in the lakes,
or run through the pastures or grounds,
I shall keep you safe from the gators or hounds.

And wen you get bored of the reading book I baught
you can lay in my arms to sleep.
You can curl up on my side,
watching the rain or the stars on that chilly night.
I shall keep you warm till the sun shines bright.

Your smile shall be my prized possession,
my heart even in such pain,
feels such joy
sometimes you are the only thing I enjoy.

And for your laughter, I shall die for it.
Your little hands, so sweet and soft when felt,
brought my heart of stone to melt.

What will love think if i keep it from you?
Should love feel like a storm or a drizzle?
It shall rain on to you and you alone.

Oh yes,it is true, my love is pure and it is changing me.
Like the Beauty turning the beast to a handsome prince.
You need not kiss anymore frogs to find the real prince,
just hold my hands and kiss me once.

I shall make you cry only with the tears of joy.
The true joys and bliss are yours to be.
Once in your life you will see, all the places you wanted to see.
I will walk with thee, tell stories of wonderlands that one finds,
from the day you hold my hands..