Oil drops on the spoon

While reading The Alchemist, one question that kept coming to mind was "what are the drops of oil on my spoon?"

The story goes like this:
When a boy asked a wise man the secret of happiness, he was asked to walk around a beautiful palace holding a spoon with oil. The boy returned after a could of hours and told the wise man that he couldn't look at the beauty around him as he was constantly worried about spilling the oil.
The old man advised that he should take another round of the palace focusing on the beautiful sights.
The boy returned with an account of beautiful garden, paintings, architecture etc. But there was no oil left on his spoon.
That is when the wise man told him that "secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon."

So this makes me wonder "what are the drops of oil on my spoon?" that I must NOT spill while enjoying the wonders of this life.

The answer to this might lead me to find a balance between what I need to do and what I love to do.

Will share once I have the answer to this question:-)

The real Yoga

Today I found out the real meaning of yoga from a friend, Manu.

Yoga has 8 principles:
1. Yama - meaning restrain
2. Niyama - observance
3. Asana -proper exercise
4. Pranayama- breathing techniques
5. Pratyahara- preparation for meditation
6. Dharana, concentration, 
7. Dhyana, meditation
8. Samadhi, absorption, or realization of the essential nature of the self.

And all this while I believed yoga to be nothing but various weird postures and exercises.

There is so much to learn in this world. 

What is the third most frequently asked question by new people you meet after 'what is your name' and 'what do you do'?

"Where are you from?"

Why is it so important for people to know which community, region you belong to? 
And the excitement to find out that you belong to the same community is something that baffles me completely.

"Oh you are also Punjabi. Wow. Great. So am I".
"Oh so you are also Bengali_________" and then rest of the conversation is in Bengali as Hindi is not to be used ever again.

We do we feel scared of differences and feel comfortable in similarities in a country which is nothing but full of diversities? 

Happy ‘MY DAY’

There is mother’s day to appreciate mothers, father's day to thank fathers, valentine's day to show love to your loved ones, children’s day to celebrate childhood. In all these days where is MY DAY?

I am not going to wait for some greeting cards company to come up with this idea. I am going to choose the day myself. 

And I choose EVERYDAY to be MY day.

Every day I pledge my support and love to myself. 

I am going to do at least one thing that makes me happy. 

I am going to look at myself in the mirroer and tell myself how lucky I am to have me.

I am going to gift myslf my love.

Everyday.

So guys if you have't already started celebrating YOUR day, then do it right now. 

Go hug yourself and thank God for giving you YOU.

When you dont know how to say NO, you end up saying OH NO most of the times!

Oh how I regret not having the power to say NO! 

I always thought that my best quality is that I am ever so willing to say yes to everything that life has to offer without thinking twice, actually without thinking even once. 

Friends need help. And I would be the first one to say Yes i will help you.
People I have just met pouring their heart out about their problems. Yes I will solve them.
A new challenge at work which no one want to take up. Of course Yes I will do it.
Always looked at it as a sign of my enthusiasm for new things, my willingness to face new challenges, my unending desire to help people and be a nice human being.

Never realized that all these 'feel good' factors come along with some really 'feel bad' effects.

When you say yes to anything, its a kind of commitment that is not easy to come out of. It comes with responsibilities which can actually weigh you down and lead to repercussions that will make you regret every yes you said.

I am learning to say NO. It was difficult initially, now it liberates me. I am no longer afraid to say NO though it still needs a lot of effort to do so. I am actually keeping a track of all the times when I said No in the last few months.

You need to think of yourself before others. You cant help everyone, you just cant. You cant be everyone's savior. You cant take up every project just because no one else would. You cant keep feeling bad because you couldnt help someone. 

This Ayurvedic doctor I used to visit said something that opened my eyes. he said 'You are not God. So you shouldn't try to behave like one. You can only do so much and beyond that its out of your control.' 

So guys I am sorry to inform everyone that I AM NOT GOD:-)

The roller coaster ride

Up up up, down down down down, up up, down, up up up , down down
That is how my life has been for the last 5 months since I became an 'entrepreneur'. 

I hate rides, never liked them. Went to Appu Ghar once in my life and came back with dizziness, giddiness, nausea, horrible taste in the mouth and a clear dislike for anything that goes up and down or round and round. 
Well, had I known that I would be doing exactly this as an entrepreneur ie going round and round and up and down, I would have thought 1000 times before taking this step. In fact maybe wouldn't have taken this step at all. I told you I hate rides!
So what options do I have now? I definitely can't jump out of this (or can I?) mid way. So I am left with two possibilities. Either I keep feeling dizzy, giddy, nauseous with a horrible taste in my mouth for the rest of this ride. OR I make the best of this, enjoy it to the fullest, embrace the horrors, the uncertainties, the fears and the thrills.
I choose option one.
I am just kidding. that will be totally NOT me. Of course i have chosen the second option. Have I ever not enjoyed any phase of my life? Why make an exception of this one.
So hereby I pledge to embrace all my fears of falling. I am ready to take the most thrilling ride of my life. Up up up up, down down, up up, down down down, up up up. I am loving it:-)