What are books?

This is what my brother had to say about what are books:

“Books are a printed or written material of pages bond together; cover neatly designed and carved out. This leads the reader into a known unknown territory of self-astonishment, self-belief, happiness, sadness, regret, amazement and self-respect or none. Books are ageless, selfless, teach endlessly and are loved and hated endlessly.”

−Anant Saxena

That is my brother, Attu

What is in one’s mind?

This reminds me of some funny pictures which I saw in my college time. I did a search on google and was able to obtain more-or-less replica images. I have attached these images below:  

This is the image of male brain.

and this is the image of female brain.

What do I write about?

Now that I know I want to write, the next question which comes in my mind is what do I write abou? As Nitish had rightly commented on my previous post, what a writer writes is a mirror image of him or herself. It reflects the person’s characters. If you are honest with yourself, that honesty would reflect in your writings. If something has been honestly written, it is always likely to touch the reader’s mind. 

Why do I write

Recently I read a group discussion on some writing forum, asking the question, “why do you write?”

It made me ponder over, and I asked myself, Why do I write?

Funny question, but at the same time very valid one…..

I had never thought about that

I think the only reason I write is because I want to write and there is something within me which encourages me to write. 

Count your blessings

This Saturday evening, as I looked towards the sky, I realised the beauty of nature. It amazes me think just how beautifully the sky can transform itself into a beautiful riot of colors. The sky was an amalgam of orange and yellow with a dash of pink. In between were interspersed bold strokes of indigo. I think it would rain soon.

I hoped it did…..A much needed respite in this hot scorching Delhi heat.

Soon I could feel the wet drops of rain falling on my head, hand and palms. Yes it was raining. As I looked at the falling drops of rain around me, it made me happy. It also let me think of a childhood prayer I learnt at school, titled “count your blessings name them one by one”. I googled the term and located the YouTube link with the lyrics of the entire hymn. It is attached here 

This prayer holds a lot of significance in my life. When faced with a tough time, I listen to this song. All my doubts fly and I am ready to carry afresh. 

Never stop day dreaming

Dreaming with your eyes closed is bound to make you fall asleep. However, dreaming with your eyes open is likely to give am impetus to your creativity and imagination. When you are dreaming with your eyes open you are likely to think something creative and out of the box.  This creative imagination will help you stand apart from the crowd. If you dream big, you shall probably make it big one day. If you dream of getting the moon, there are high chances that one day you might at least acquire one of the stars. Dreaming is likely to give you a vision in life. Having a vision is important for achieving your dream.

"If you can dream it, you can do it." (And before you can do it, you've got to dream it!)

−Walt Disney

"Joy of living is the celebration of being alive"

“Joy of living is the celebration of being alive”, I had first learnt this phrase at school in one of my English textbooks (I don’t remember the exact class). Since that time, this quote had become an integral part of my life. In fact, the first fiction novel, “joy of living” has also been inspired from this quote.

Motivated by this priceless quote of Dr Christiaan Barnard, the first cardiac surgeon to perform successful human-to-human heart transplant, Joy of Living is a love story where the lovers face a misfortune. An inspirational story, it tracks the determination, fight, and the fierce desire of the female protagonist to rebound after she loses everything she had once valued the most, except her hope. 

This hope gives her incredible courage and she gradually picks up the pieces to complete the picture yet again to realize her true passion in life. The message of the story is, “The best way to live life is to celebrate it with whatever one has and not grieve over what one does not have or what life has taken away.” 

Here are a few of my favorite snap shots from the book:

Forgiveness is a choice

I had used a phrase, “To err is human” in my previous post. The complete phrase is “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” Recently I read a book, “Forgiveness Is aChoice” by Robert D. Enright, a self-help book filled with wisdom and warm encouragement, demonstrating how taking the path of forgiveness can benefit a person in his/her life.

The concept of forgiveness and building of trust amongst individuals is likely to renovate many a relationships and families. As a result of reading this book I have committed myself to greater amount of self-acceptance and emotional maturity, due to which I have sort of enabled myself to forgive people who had hurt me.

Forgiveness helps in reducing a person’s anxiety and depression, at the same time increasing self-esteem and hopefulness toward one's future. Each human being has been endowed with the innate ability to forgive. One just needs to explore this by themselves. Many people who are angry at a loved one who hurt them feel guilty for their unconscious violent impulses. When persons forgive, their fear and guilt is automatically reduced. Forgiving does not require denying the fact that we have been hurt. In order to forgive, one has to admit that he/she was hurt and has a right to feel hurt, angry or resentful. 

Happiness lies within you

Explore your self

Happiness is subjective; you may have everything in life and not be happy about it at all. On the other hand, you may nothing left in life, but still may be happy. Human beings are destined to be happy, but it depends on an individual whether he/she take their lives towards happiness by their own choice. Someone has rightly said, happiness cannot be bought from the market.  It lies within you. You just need to get up and explore it.

Rejoice with nature

Nature can serve as the greatest source of happiness. Happiness can be perceived through small things, chirping of birds, falling of raindrops, the rising sun, a small flower bud developing into a flower, dew drops on a blade of grass. If you are able to find happiness from these small things, you shall never have the time to feel sad. What makes my day is the fragrance of the wet mud, when the raindrops first fall on the hot scorching ground.

Do a good deed everyday

In today’s stressful lifestyle, we tend to get so engrossed in ourselves and our lives that we tend to ignore the happiness and joy that already lies around us. Out of your busy lifestyle, try taking out some time to do a good deal everyday, it will definitely make you feel happy. It does not have to be something very big. It could be as small as feeding a hungry street dog, keeping a bowl filled with water on the terrace or balcony of your house so that the thirsty birds can come and sip the water from there.

Stop the rat race

The most important cause of frustration and unhappiness is that everyone wants to be a part of the rat race. In the struggle of showing themselves better or superior to others, people often tend to forget themselves. Every individual is a unique creation of the Almighty having their own set of imperfections and assets. Just as people accept their accomplishments, they must also learn to accept their failures.

To err is human

In the race of being a perfectionist, we often forget that it is natural for all human beings to make mistakes. Making a mistake is not important. What is more important is learning to identify that mistake so that you do not repeat it in future.