Relationships

I believe that most of our lives revolve around relationships that we have with near & dear ones. Everything that we are and everything that we do, I think, boils down to relationships. And in some way or the other we need these relations & also depend on one of them, if not more. So how do u deal with ur relations? With extra care? Or just taking it easy? Or just not bothered?

How do u handle the situation when the following are rude to u or have upset u?

1. Parents
2. Spouse
3. Kids
4. Friends
5. Colleagues
6. In-laws
7. Strangers

I know this is a general question & is likely to depend on the situation. But just wld like to know ur stand on the same in the vast sense. Speak up!

Statisticians!

You are invited for a big party with lot of people. Needless to say there is some great food, mouth-watering desserts etc. Just looking @ these yummy stuff with their great aroma, hunger pangs start to creep in! *Drool* But the party is going on still & no one has yet ventured into the food! *Sigh* But yes ofcourse most ppl are secretly wanting to attack the food....either to satisfy their craving for the food if not finish off the party soon to head home!

Finally the host invites all the guests to start eating! *Thank God!* The food tastes as good *if not better* than it looks! *Slurp!* The host being kind hearted, insists on indulging in more! *WOW!* And ofcourse giving in to greed & unable to resist, more generous helpings are taken! *Gee!*

And then is when the trouble started! There were some people @ the party who were unable to rejoice the food either cos they were extra diet / figure conscious ; if not could not bear to see others enjoy ; or simply cos they couldnt rejoice the food themselves due to their health or some other reason.

These people were so damn jobless that they actually keep track of the number of helpings each person takes! And come up with comments like A gulped 4 rasagullas, B ate 5 bhaturas, C drank 3 cups of payasam & D had 2 helpings of the cake & pudding etc! *Whoa, what great statisticians! Wish they could use these skills more usefully!*

These above mentioned stasticians are actually better than the second kind! *Cos they atleast comment only after the generous helpings are taken!* The second kind actually stare at you when you head for the helpings! And some even have the cheek to remark, Oh my! you are taking yet another serving?!

Hang on, its not done yet! Now comes the spiteful category! These people dread being the host. They would comment *on the sly* "You know X ate 6 masala dosas at Y's party! If I were to invite X for my party then I have to be cooking non-stop!" But you know the best part, they would comment this but still crib & invite X to their party sometime! *Hypocrites!*

Anycase I just wish these jobless statisticians to venture into more constructive work if not start rejoicing food & life better! What concern is to them how much each person eats? Its their life after all! When the person eating is not bothered abt the extra calories why be so nosy in what others do! I dont mean to say all of us should be gluttons or just binge more....but just not to be looking at what others eat, count what they eat & then comment on what all they've eaten! To me its just too disgusting! Each individual knows how much they want & how much they can eat. So why bother @ the rest?!

Just look into ur plate & listen to ur tummy! Do not worry abt the rest! Count ur blessings not what others eat! Life is too short to miss out on all the goodness *especially the good food!!! ;)* What say?!

Friends & Colleagues

I just wanna take a quick poll on the above topic & want to know what u all think.

My question is - "Can colleagues be friends?"

Case #1
By colleagues I mean people you work with in ur own Department or with whom you need to liaise with & work with most days. Colleagues here can also refer to Boss or subordinates & not just peers.

Case #2
Here by colleagues I mean people in another Division / Department but in the same organisation. Again, colleagues here can also refer to Boss or subordinates & not just peers.

Case #3
Would you like your friends to become your colleagues i.e boss / peers/ subordinates?

Your views on this please.........thanx.

Triple Tag!

There have been these three tags pending on me for sometime now! So here I am finally!

The first tag -

Been tagged by KK, Starry, and Scribblez on this one! :)


1. Desired Celebrity


I am into Art of living & it has made a positive difference in my life & all thanks for the same goes to Guruji Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Above pic). Special heartfelt thanks to Rishi Vidhyadharji for introducing me to the same & Rishiji u know u r my favourite! :)

2. Wanna do this someday

Design my own palace! Well I mean my own lovely house.....just the way I want. Infact I've already done the design on paper........wondering when it'll come true!
Just to give u an idea.......it has 4 bedrooms, 1 study, 2 carports, a prayer room, living room, dining room, jacuzzi, family/entertainment room, super kitchen, & an amazing garden. Wish I can build this soon enuff & post the real pic!! heee heeee :D

On the serious side, I would love to trek Mount Kilimanjaro.



3. Place to visit

Know what? I wanna be a globe trotter! I just love traveling & seeing new places. Wanna see most of the places in this world. Was v.keen to visit Egypt & thankfully it came true & I visited Egypt in 2001. There are few other places I really wish to go to like Brazil, Kenya (Serengeti), Europe (esp the small towns) & many many more.

PS - Im just plain lazy to post the pic for this one! :)

4. Random Favourite

I just love the smile of babies n kids! Cutie pies..........:)



Here's my second tag....

Was tagged on this one by Shanthi

The ten favourite dishes cooked by my mom.

1. Yummy Mysore Pak
2. Softy Rotis
3. Mouth watering Sabudana Kichidi
4. Pongal - Both sweet & the salty ones
5. Simple but tasty Dal
6. Healthy Keerai Masiyal
7. Lip smacking payasams
8. Masala Capsicum (Green pepper) curry
9. Delicious Thogayil (with Brinjals, snake gourd, onion etc)
10. Quick Rasam

Hmm....Im hungry already & cant wait to eat these! :)

And for the final tag....by Geetha

Five things in my freezer
1. Ice
2. Icecream
3. Frozen Corn
4. Tamarind cubes
5. Bhel puri chutney

Five things in my car
1. CD's
2. Driving licence
3. Sun glasses
4. Tissues
5. Old clothes (pending to be given to the orphanage!)

Five things in my closet
1. Clothes
2. watches
3. Perfumes
4. Jewellery
5. Reserve cash!

Five things in my handbag
1. Purse
2. Cheque book
3. Credit card
4. Pens
5. Keys

I am not tagging anyone in particular for any of these tags cos I think most people have done the same. Incase anyone's not done the same pls feel free to do these!

Mumbai Blasts 7/11

It was so terrible & shocking to hear about these series of blasts in Mumbai last evening. It was so pathetic to see the bodies, victims, surviours, witnesses, injured etc in the news & each story was scary, touchy & so very depressing.

I dunno if the date of this blast is coincidental with 9/11 attacks or was it meant to be that way.

Y do they do such barbaric acts affecting the many hundreds of innocent people, shattering their dreams & their families dream? Don't they have a heart? What do they achieve doing this? How can they have peace of mind? R they human too? Why do they want to scare the people doing such things? There is so much fear I can sense. Each morning when a person leaves home, they are unsure if they would return safely. OMG...what a terrible feeling! Can't things get better?

All we can do is to pray for peace and to make this world a much better, safer n happier place to live in.

Essense of Life

What do these 3 words mean to u?

1. Love
2. Attitude
3. Gratitude

To me these are 3 key words of life which gives us happiness, success & thankfulness for all our blessings.

1. Love is the ultimate. Love is God. It is a great feeling. It is a great source of happiness & inspiration. It is the basis of life. The more you give, the more you receive.

2. Attitude matters in everything that we do. When we put our heart and soul into our actions, the results are bound to be fruitful. Attitude is the first step to reach the destination of success.

3. Gratitude is to give thanks and show our appreciation to all who have made a difference in our lives.

Today is Guru Poornima day (thanks giving day).

I would like thank my dear God -

- For being so kind and showering me & my family with His continuous grace & blessings & protecting us.
- For all the happiness and joys that He has bestowed upon us
- For leading us the in right path always and being our Guide
- For giving me great parents, loving kids & husband, & a loving family
- For granting my wishes and making my dreams come true
- For giving us good health, wealth & peace of mind &
- For the countless good things that He has done & that He will be doing for all of us all the time................

What do you have to say?

Blues

I am in my blues since yesterday.....frustrated, irritated, angered, depressed.......ya all the negativity in peak!

The day didn't start on a the right note. Tho I was up @ 4.45 I was running late.

Things @ work were pissing me off totally. Major arguements with boss (but boss is always 'supposed' to be right u c!). I just felt like saying to hell with ya. The irony is I've another good job offer in hand but can't accept it right now due to various other reasons & it was such a tough decision not to go for the other job tho it was kinda tempting.

Had to also deal with some irritating clients. They are just so ignorant but refuse to accept the same & trying to be so assertive to me, thinking that they are correct & refusing to budge from their stand. I wonder how they manage to do business! It took me a lot of patience, time & anger to explain the whole simple thing to her & guess what she burst into tears suddenly & I still dont understand why!

On the home front, my 3 yr old son throws his terrible tantrums for every little thing making me loose my cool. Refused to eat, wanted to go to his friends place, made his sister cry, wanted a new (toy) car, messed with food on the table.....phew!

Feeling mentally stressed, I wanted to go for the satsang (prayer/bhajan) (to get some mental peace) in the evening. I was able to leave office late but still thot I cud make it. Rushed everything & when we were just about to leave home after comforting my crying daughter, my son decides to do his poo in instalments! And it is not an easy task for him as he is constipated. By the time I finished with him it was quite late & I didnt want to go when the satsang wud nearly be finished. So we had to sit @ home. :(

And my son continues with his tantrums! I call to check on my husband to take charge but unfortunately he tells me he has to work very late to meet his deadline. Grrrr......Eventually I land up with a head ache.

And finally by the time I made the kids sleep & finish my work it was past 10 & then I had some time for myself. And all I cud do was to feel so helpless & just surrendered to God to help me.

And I remembered this email that I received yesterday morning.......

Ten Guidelines From God

Effective Immediately, please be aware that there are changes YOU need to
make in YOUR life. These changes need to be completed in order that I may
fulfill My promises to you to grant you peace, joy and happiness in this
life. I apologize for any inconvenience, but after all that I am doing, this
seems very little to ask of you. Please, follow these 10 guidelines

1. QUIT WORRYING:
Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you
forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you? Or
do you just enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes your way?

2. PUT IT ON THE LIST:
Something needs done or taken care of. Put it on the list. No, not YOUR
list. Put it on MY to-do-list. Let ME be the one to take care of the
problem. I can't help you until you turn it over to Me. And although My
to-do-list is long, I am after all... God. I can take care of anything you
put into My hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care
of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.

3. TRUST ME:
Once you've given your burdens to Me, quit trying to take them back. Trust
in Me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems
and your trials. Problems with the kids? Put them on My list. Problem with
finances? Put it on My list. Problems with your emotional roller coaster ?
For My sake, put it on My list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask.

4. LEAVE IT ALONE:
Don't wake up one morning and say, "Well, I'm feeling much stronger now, I
think I can handle it from here." Why do you think you are feeling stronger
now? It's simple. You gave Me your burdens and I'm taking care of them. I
also renew your strength and cover you in my peace. Don't you know that if I
give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started?
Leave them with Me and forget about them.. Just let Me do my job.

5. TALK TO ME:
I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy.
Forget the worry and the fretting because you know I'm in control. But
there's one thing I pray you never forget. Please, don't forget to talk to
Me - OFTEN! I love YOU! I want to hear your voice. I want you to
include Me in on the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk
about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation
with Me. I want to be your dearest friend.

6. HAVE FAITH:
I see a lot of things from up here that you can't see from where you are.
Have faith in Me that I know what I'm doing. Trust Me; you wouldn't want the
view from My eyes. I will continue to care for you, watch over you, and meet
your needs. You only have to trust Me. Although I have a much bigger task
than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing your simple
part. How hard can trust be?

7. SHARE:
You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you
forget? That rule still applies. Share with those who are less fortunate
than you. Share your joy with those who need encouragement. Share your
laughter with those who haven't heard any in such a long time. Share your
tears with those who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith with those
who have none.

8. BE PATIENT:
I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime you could have so many diverse
experiences. You grow from a child to an adult, have children, change jobs
many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of
people, and experience so much. How can you be so impatient then when it
takes Me a little longer than you expect to handle something on My
to-do-list? Trust in My timing, for My timing is perfect. Just because I
created the entire universe in only six days, everyone thinks I should
always rush, rush, rush.

9. BE KIND:
Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not
dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do, but I still
love you all. Please try to get along, for My sake. I created each of you
different in some way. It would be too boring if you were all identical.
Please, know I love each of your differences.

10. LOVE YOURSELF:
As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself? You were created by me
for one reason only -- to be loved, and to love in return. I am a God of
Love. Love Me. Love your neighbors. But also love yourself. It makes My
heart ache when I see you so angry with yourself when things go wrong. You
are very precious to me. Don't ever forget......

Touch someone with your love.

Rather than focus upon the thorns of life, smell the roses and count your blessings.

Woes of a working mom

Many a times I've debated myself with this issue of career vs family. To me they are both important. Ofcourse my kids do take precedance over my career. Well I guess that would be the case for a man too, isn't it?

Apart from the financial independence I have by having a career, it also gives me a sense of achievement and satisfaction. I am passionate about my job. I like the exposure it gives me and the variety of challenges it has to offer. It also breaks the monotony of life albeit being stressful attimes. It also prevents me from rusting by offering me new things to learn both professionally & also life in general.

On the other hand my kids miss me while I am away @ work. As a result whenever they get to be with me they thrive for attention. They look forward to me being home soon. There are times when they are cross with me, for me leaving home to go to office.

I am trying my level best to spend time with them & be with them esp @ the most wanted times. I hope I can do so for the rest of my life as well. I would like to offer them the best in life.

I remember when I was a child, I too didn't like my mother working. I used to complain to her & was jealous of my friends whose mothers used to be home to welcome them from school. But my mother put forth her options to me giving me the pros & cons of her working & left the choice to me. I liked the fact that she treated me as an adult. I felt mature enuff to understand the scene & thot it was better off for her to be working. However she did ensure that she did spend a lot of time with me & was always there for me. (even now, tho she is retired!)

Now the same cycle is back again but me @ the receiving end! The only difference was I was a bit older when this incident had happened to me as a child. The children these days are much smarter than us. They are attimes a generation ahead of us I feel!

I also thought to taking a short break & then resuming after a couple of years. But then I felt it might not be practical cos coming back to the corporate world after a break is not so easy & it wld be almost as good as starting from scratch. I am considering a part-time job also as an option. It can get mentally demoralising but never mind I guess if it is the right break for me. As long as I can strike a good balance between my family & my career I hope to be in peace. God, please help me in doing this.

Once the children are a bit older they will have their own things to do....their own activities....their own friends etc. And I will (hopefully) still have my career to continue with (& hopefully the blog-o-sphere filled with blogging pals as well!) :)