A Simple Thank you.

The world as it stands today, there is a much to ponder about, more can be written and many can talk. Today however is a day when its best to let silence speak for itself. 

Feel the Rain...

Feel the rain on your skin no one else can feel it for you, is the only song in my mind as I watch it pour outside.  I love the rain. To those who think only sunshine brings happiness, I say "you have never soaked in the rain."

As I walk to the school armed with my umbrellas to pick up the kids, I look around me; folks searching for that awning to stand under and here I am walking under the open sky with my umbrella tilted just ever so slightly to the left, so I can feel the droplets on my face.  It's the one time, I do not care about  looking out of place. The water makes me come alive. If I wasn't trying to protect the kids from this freezing cold shower from the heavens, I would have thrown the umbrella and soaked in the pure blessings of mother nature. Water is the essence of life.  Two thirds of this Earth is water, we spend thousands to go on vacations and stay in an ocean front property; yet a few drops of water and we scout for cover. Humans! We are without a doubt the most contradictory species alive.

Once home, I brew my cup of tea and sipped on it staring aimlessly at the magic outside. Random thoughts of child hood crossed my mind. One incident that has stayed with me from a long time ago.. it must be the early 90's or maybe even the end of 80's.. regardless, it was a scorching, absolutely brutal Indian summer. The Earth was parched and after many chants from the gurus, the clouds came and poured. I remember running out on the terrace and just throwing my arms up to soak in the rain. It was a liberating moment, wherein the stare of a stranger did not pass through the water shield I was surrounded by.

Rain like love embraces you from head to toe and soaks us with pure innocent droplets from the skies as the clouds play cupid.   Romance the rain for it gives you the chance of slowing down to release your inhibitions and splash puddles like you once did as a child.  Romance the rain just because. The continuous pitter patter or raindrops on my window makes me inexplicably happy. 

If weather was food, sunshine would be a scrumptious chocolate cake, a  delicious bite would warm our souls. Wind would be a spicy tangy sauce, jolting us with its bite. Snow would be ice-cream, frosty cold frosty and yet so comforting. Rain would be what it is; plain pure refreshing water, blending effortlessly with all foods and moods.   There really is no such thing as bad weather, just different kinds of weather. Good or bad is a human concept. 

The seasons exist for a reason, without them our Earth would not be the living planet that it is. 

"Next time it rains on you, step outside and don't just get wet, but try and walk in the rain. The truth is if there was no rain, there would be no rainbow." 

The Shy Little Girl.

Once upon a time in a land faraway was born a little girl. Her parents had wished for a daughter and there she was, a quiet shy little thing trying to make her space in this beautiful world.  In time she too grew up, still continuing to be quiet, shy and content in her little world. Challenging the world was never her style, but walk camouflaged amongst a crowd was more her style.  Amongst the crowd, though camouflaged she met some like minded friends. Some stayed with her, some she lost along the way.  

Father time did not stop for her either, it kept moving and so did she. Today as she looks at the mirror, she remembers the young girl that crossed the seven seas to start a journey far away from home in an unknown land.  She was nervous, but not afraid. She took small confident steps and today as she stands in front of the mirror she sees the woman who continues to live in her little world, but is not shy to explore the world around her. She walks amongst the same crowd but does not camouflage. She continues to stay true to her old friends and has made a few new ones too. 

A year and 50 posts later, here she is reflecting upon the past. What does your birthday mean to you?   To her, its her very own personal new year.  

The little girl always loved birthdays. She would turn the house upside down just because her birthday was only two months away.  Today, her kids do the same to her.   She no longer creates the hoopla for her birthdays, but rather on her birthday she pauses and thinks. She thinks about stuff. Yes, stuff in general. No philosophical retrospection. She ponders about all the little imperfections she has seen and how despite the glitches in life, at the end life finds its way. It's quite amazing to her.   

She thinks about the year ahead and tries to write down a plan for achieving her dreams and objectives for the year and realizes that the more she tries to pen them down, the more far fetched they seem so she tears the paper and being true to herself, she once again leaves it to life and decides to keep her thoughts to herself and go with the flow; for life she believes has a way of preparing us for the future in its own unique way. 

As her big day gets closer and everyone asks her about how she plans on celebrating. She realizes that now her birthday is not about the party but its about reflecting upon her life and being solely with her family. She loves receiving the phone calls from her friends and family from lands faraway. She loves seeing the effort her family goes through trying to keep it all a surprise, but most of all she loves just being thankful for another year. 

Around her she sees a world trying very hard to stay young, and she wonders, why is the world so afraid to grow old? Maybe because growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Sometimes in an effort to stay young forever the gap between growing old and growing up becomes so wide that it leaves us feeling and looking confused. As she thinks to herself, she is thankful that the gap is not so for her. She is staying young just enough to be able to talk to her kids and growing up just enough to be there for them when they need her. 

So true. Be thankful for growing old. 

She stops staring and instead smiles at the mirror, for now she is a year older and a year wiser. She is no longer afraid or shy because she knows its not the leaps and bounds but the one confident step every time that makes the journey possible.  And for that she is thankful not to herself or god, but to her better half. He doesn't surprise her with roses and diamonds but yes he took  the shy little girl by her hand and continues to introduce her to the confident girl that was and in some ways is still hiding inside her.  He tells her that at this point she should do what she likes.  

She looks at the cake in front of her and realizes that the icing is no longer pink and purple, the number of candles keeps changing, but the cake beneath is still the same.  She closes her eyes, makes her wish, cuts the cake and once again closes her eyes to secretly thank for and the imperfectly perfect world she lives in. 

Its YOUR very own personal New Year.