Wishes have wings like butterflies, they are so light,
Butterflies are so beautiful, they keep you watch them,
Watching times we spent together are joyful,
Joy is what’s around whenever I, think of you,
Thinking about you from afar, is a sweet time pass,
You are very SwEEt, as always, and smiling,
It was that smile of yours, that brought us together till today,
And TODAY, 11th June, is your birthday,
Here is my birthday, wish, for you,
The one and ONLY one like YOU.
Usha’s – sothu
(11th June 2010)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
The Earth
(We do not inherit earth from our parents; we borrow it from our children)
Most of you might have read this; any way for the sake of repetition I enclose the story as told to me.
“A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he picked up a very large and empty jar and proceeded to fill it with some stones. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the larger stones. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded unanimous and said "yes." The professor then took out water from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students sighed. "Now," said the professor a while later - "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The bigger stones are the important things, God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions, and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first" he continued, "there is no room for the large stones or the pebbles. The same goes for life”.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Set your priorities. “Don’t sweat the small stuff” – that’s a great book to read. When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the jar and the stones.
This story brought me to the stones that Divya was interested. She was a young kid then and was keen to know about the places. Having seen many places she is used to keeping mementoes like her mom. Divya loves stones and her mom loves semi precious stones and diamonds. Divya’s love for stones is easy to remember and her mom’s not so easy to forget. Her mom first buys semi-precious stones, waits for the time to arrive and then set those stones and make ornaments that match the rest. I wondered how these sequences follow and reconciled remembering –
“Some people see things and ask why?” I probably fall in this category.
“Some people dream things and ask why not?” A few are in this category.
It was why when her mom and I were in Egypt and close to the pyramids, we picked stones from there. We wondered seeing pyramids and did not wonder seeing stones. To collect small stones from a place where pyramids are made with huge stones was a matter of significance. It was not a matter of “after all stones.” The mammoth sized pyramids that we saw towered in our eyes and caught imaginations that will never be forgotten. It was nearly a miss when I was on my last stretch of journey in Karachi, when I remembered her request, stopped the car on a bye–lane to collect a stone. This trip was much before Prime Minister Vajpayee propagated the new era of friendship between the two countries. I cherished that piece of stone, nearly like a marble piece picked on my way to airport. Nepal’s stones are different and those near the old temples are of significant and could even go for a research. Samir and Rami my friends from Arab world used to travel to many destinations and I had it at times with them. Germany was one place like that and I picked one stone close to Solvay Company where we had business. On the green lawns was that precious stone that I carried. Samir picked up small stones for me (for Divya) close from the Great Wall of China. Rami brought in a few from Jordan and Kailash brought a few from Turkey and Damascus. Colors of all these as well texture differ. While in Dubai and Muscat I picked a few to add on to the kitty. I remember doing the same from London and France too; Recently Shailesh brought me stones from Lagos, Nigeria. Divya and her sister Megna together had picked stones of their choice from Srilanka, Bali, Singapore, Kualalampur and Bangkok. When they went to Maldives both picked up stones. Mario, my Philippi no machine operator had brought many pieces from those many islands of Philippine. The story of stone picking is incomplete as one of us will continue to add to the collection. These are the smallest deeds that are probably bigger than greatest intentions without action.
Some one appeared to have said: Pick up all those stones that people throw at you and you build a castle out of it. This is the way to deal with criticism. Retorting and responding are the difference. Divya keeps these stones not thrown at her, but through a rare collection.
The earth’s evolution is very interesting to read. You realize how small each one of us is. One of the five elements called “panchabootha” is earth comprising stones, rocks, elements and chemicals. Stones like marble have been used as an expression of love – Taj Mahal. The most solid stone in the structure is the one in the foundation. Human value systems are based right from the foundations. My grand mother had told me a story of “Naranath Brandhan” who is called a mad man. Naranath used to roll up a huge stone close to where he used to stay near Lakkidi-Palappuram, with the whole might put in the process. He then leaves the stone to fall and roll down the crevices and used to laugh it off. He only meant, like many other perceptions - “find the purpose, means will follow” that Mahatma Gandhi said. Have you found how the tears of a child or woman melt the heart of a man who may even have a heart that is made of STONE? Isn’t it like the river Ganges that flows from the Himalayas and in the process works through the stones and make it dust?
These stones including the SHIV LINGAM are our deities. It is the replica of such stones that are in most of the religions that we follow. It represents faith. It represents trust. The creator is seen in the form of a stone. Some one appear to have said – “Creation is a stone thrown uphill against the downward rush of habits.” As earth was in evolution rocks and stones stood still at some places. On the way to Mount Abu crossing Gujarat to Rajasthan one cross a place named Eider and there you see a symphony of music created by the formation of rocks in various forms and shapes. Some of them appear just about to fall. I stopped for a while to enquire and was told that their great grand fathers saw those tilting ones on the tips of some others in a grandeur form. Nature predicts but humans are not! As Salma and Suresh took us once to the caves close to Dammam, in Saudi Arabia, we were not sure weather we were to see caves or mountains till we were there. Huge vertical split forms of the rocks in an amazing number of shapes and sizes as if they were carved out from a huge mountain as part of the evolution millions and billions of years before. It’s cool breeze that followed us through those intestine like threads of the huge rocky stones that rose to sky from the ground where we walked around. The beauty of stones in its natural forms, much beyond the ones we saw at Kanjanjanga or Mount Everest from Nepal.
Life endures. Rocks and stones form sand on the sea shores; rivers make that happen. One should begin always with the end in mind.
The stones picked for and by Divya and Megna will adorn in her drawing room. She intends to pile it up in a glass vase filled with water. On top will have a variety of species of fish in different colors to match with those varying colors of those many tones and textures? The fish will never understand the intent, for them it is their own environment. For us we tend to differentiate people belonging to those many countries in the world. We look at the color of the people and their cultures. But just look at the stones from so many places from earth that ensemble in a glass vessel. Who can differentiate them – that’s our earth. No wonder Divya’s theme is “DHARTI EK HAI” – The earth is one!
Most of you might have read this; any way for the sake of repetition I enclose the story as told to me.
“A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he picked up a very large and empty jar and proceeded to fill it with some stones. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the larger stones. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded unanimous and said "yes." The professor then took out water from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students sighed. "Now," said the professor a while later - "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The bigger stones are the important things, God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions, and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first" he continued, "there is no room for the large stones or the pebbles. The same goes for life”.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Set your priorities. “Don’t sweat the small stuff” – that’s a great book to read. When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the jar and the stones.
This story brought me to the stones that Divya was interested. She was a young kid then and was keen to know about the places. Having seen many places she is used to keeping mementoes like her mom. Divya loves stones and her mom loves semi precious stones and diamonds. Divya’s love for stones is easy to remember and her mom’s not so easy to forget. Her mom first buys semi-precious stones, waits for the time to arrive and then set those stones and make ornaments that match the rest. I wondered how these sequences follow and reconciled remembering –
“Some people see things and ask why?” I probably fall in this category.
“Some people dream things and ask why not?” A few are in this category.
It was why when her mom and I were in Egypt and close to the pyramids, we picked stones from there. We wondered seeing pyramids and did not wonder seeing stones. To collect small stones from a place where pyramids are made with huge stones was a matter of significance. It was not a matter of “after all stones.” The mammoth sized pyramids that we saw towered in our eyes and caught imaginations that will never be forgotten. It was nearly a miss when I was on my last stretch of journey in Karachi, when I remembered her request, stopped the car on a bye–lane to collect a stone. This trip was much before Prime Minister Vajpayee propagated the new era of friendship between the two countries. I cherished that piece of stone, nearly like a marble piece picked on my way to airport. Nepal’s stones are different and those near the old temples are of significant and could even go for a research. Samir and Rami my friends from Arab world used to travel to many destinations and I had it at times with them. Germany was one place like that and I picked one stone close to Solvay Company where we had business. On the green lawns was that precious stone that I carried. Samir picked up small stones for me (for Divya) close from the Great Wall of China. Rami brought in a few from Jordan and Kailash brought a few from Turkey and Damascus. Colors of all these as well texture differ. While in Dubai and Muscat I picked a few to add on to the kitty. I remember doing the same from London and France too; Recently Shailesh brought me stones from Lagos, Nigeria. Divya and her sister Megna together had picked stones of their choice from Srilanka, Bali, Singapore, Kualalampur and Bangkok. When they went to Maldives both picked up stones. Mario, my Philippi no machine operator had brought many pieces from those many islands of Philippine. The story of stone picking is incomplete as one of us will continue to add to the collection. These are the smallest deeds that are probably bigger than greatest intentions without action.
Some one appeared to have said: Pick up all those stones that people throw at you and you build a castle out of it. This is the way to deal with criticism. Retorting and responding are the difference. Divya keeps these stones not thrown at her, but through a rare collection.
The earth’s evolution is very interesting to read. You realize how small each one of us is. One of the five elements called “panchabootha” is earth comprising stones, rocks, elements and chemicals. Stones like marble have been used as an expression of love – Taj Mahal. The most solid stone in the structure is the one in the foundation. Human value systems are based right from the foundations. My grand mother had told me a story of “Naranath Brandhan” who is called a mad man. Naranath used to roll up a huge stone close to where he used to stay near Lakkidi-Palappuram, with the whole might put in the process. He then leaves the stone to fall and roll down the crevices and used to laugh it off. He only meant, like many other perceptions - “find the purpose, means will follow” that Mahatma Gandhi said. Have you found how the tears of a child or woman melt the heart of a man who may even have a heart that is made of STONE? Isn’t it like the river Ganges that flows from the Himalayas and in the process works through the stones and make it dust?
These stones including the SHIV LINGAM are our deities. It is the replica of such stones that are in most of the religions that we follow. It represents faith. It represents trust. The creator is seen in the form of a stone. Some one appear to have said – “Creation is a stone thrown uphill against the downward rush of habits.” As earth was in evolution rocks and stones stood still at some places. On the way to Mount Abu crossing Gujarat to Rajasthan one cross a place named Eider and there you see a symphony of music created by the formation of rocks in various forms and shapes. Some of them appear just about to fall. I stopped for a while to enquire and was told that their great grand fathers saw those tilting ones on the tips of some others in a grandeur form. Nature predicts but humans are not! As Salma and Suresh took us once to the caves close to Dammam, in Saudi Arabia, we were not sure weather we were to see caves or mountains till we were there. Huge vertical split forms of the rocks in an amazing number of shapes and sizes as if they were carved out from a huge mountain as part of the evolution millions and billions of years before. It’s cool breeze that followed us through those intestine like threads of the huge rocky stones that rose to sky from the ground where we walked around. The beauty of stones in its natural forms, much beyond the ones we saw at Kanjanjanga or Mount Everest from Nepal.
Life endures. Rocks and stones form sand on the sea shores; rivers make that happen. One should begin always with the end in mind.
The stones picked for and by Divya and Megna will adorn in her drawing room. She intends to pile it up in a glass vase filled with water. On top will have a variety of species of fish in different colors to match with those varying colors of those many tones and textures? The fish will never understand the intent, for them it is their own environment. For us we tend to differentiate people belonging to those many countries in the world. We look at the color of the people and their cultures. But just look at the stones from so many places from earth that ensemble in a glass vessel. Who can differentiate them – that’s our earth. No wonder Divya’s theme is “DHARTI EK HAI” – The earth is one!
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