15/08/2008
Today is a very special day for all of us – the Indians . Our INDEPENDENCE DAY.
It is easy to be happy.
Today I was looking at this picture – stuck on my daughter’s cupboard door – almost torn by sides, but preserved fondly. That is actually one of the first print-outs taken at home at Mumbai about a decade back, when we had purchased our first home PC and her birthday fell soon after . It was designed by me . Ha, ha - so.o. amateurish it looks now ! But it did capture what I wanted to say – she was actually having this whole lot of hair on her body when born, reminding me of the pretty little chicks. As a child, I always loved chicks and when I saw this pic of a chick just hatched and out of the egg shell – in the clipart - it instantenously reminded me of my first-born. Anytime I see this birthday message designed by me, I feel very happy… a feeling of pure happiness – no conditions attached, no expectations attached – brought back by just the memory of that moment when u hold your baby – your creation – for the first time !
Pause a little … you too must be having a lot many simple things to be happy about .
Let me try to observe myself – dispassionately from a distance, without being judgemental ( for example, oh, I am happy cooking – what an ordinary mortal I am – happy about something so.o. mundane and un..intellectual ! ). Well, let me list out when I feel happy or what makes me happy .. from mundane to profound ( so called) .. not necessarily in that order !!
Before I proceed, let me clarify why I want to reflect on my own self for understanding the dynamics and dimensions of happiness. Definitely not because I think too much of myself. Reason is very simple : I can not claim to know what is going inside the consciousness of other beings. At the most, I can make an attempt to understand self, via which at least some ( if not full ) understanding of the universal issues pertaining to human nature and human behaviour would be possible.
[ Good Lord, even knowing your own self is something symbolising the highest wisdom, in pursuit of which, wise men down the ages have devoted their lifetimes – the pursuit is still on for all of us !! ]
Coming back to what makes me happy ? Well – just amazing - perhaps I was not consciously aware earlier that there are so many little little things, so many simple events that can make me feel happy .
- When I sing
- when I listen to good melodies
- when I listen to nice foot-tapping westernised fast numbers
- when I listen to heart-rending sad numbers
- when I listen to the inspirational or devotional songs
- When I cook
- When I experiment a new recipe
- When my dish is appreciated
- When I taste or learn about some yummy recipe
- When I come first in any exam or competition
- When I first cuddled my new-born baby
( both times . I was as ecstatic about it when my second daughter was born as
when my first daughter was born ! Of course, becoming a mother was a
slightly more overwhelming experience the first time. But when it comes to
the baby, there is no first or second – both times, it is a bundle of joy. )
- all the firsts as I watched my babies growing up
( the first smile, the first step, the first word spoken etc,etc, )
- when I see any baby
- when I smile
- when I giggle
- when I laugh
- when I get funny
- when I encounter something funny
- when a see another happy face
- when I see a beautiful lady ( yeah.. ! )
- when I see a beautiful flower
- when I hear the birds chirping early in the morning
- when I feel the cool breeze on my face
- when I listen to the music of a cascading water fall
- when I savour the greenery and scenic beauty while travelling
- when I read something interesting or insightful
- when I do a flawless job
- when I try something with my heart and soul (although I fail many a times)
- when I succeed
- when I get a compliment
- when I resolve issues at my level
- when I made it to a prestigious institute like Delhi School of Economics for my
post-graduation
- when I got my promotions
- when I missed promotion and found people shocked that I could also miss
- when I gather myself to forgive someone’s mistake ( you know – that sense of
magnanimity !!)
- when I share
- when someone accepts my gift or donation
- When I learnt from my daughter how to create my own blog
- When I actually uploaded my first post
- When I say “thank you”
- When I give the credit to someone else
- When I find my children doing some worthy stuff
- When I see a reflection of myself in my children ( this is actually mean, but I had promised myself not to be judgemental about the things that make me happy .. hence .)
- When I just have something to do
- When I watch a nice, neat movie
- When I watch a perfect movie like Lagaan
- When I watch the reality shows and start getting amazed – so much talent exists !!
- When I do something original or out-of –box
- When I meet a deadline
- When I first donated blood
- When I first drove the car all by myself
- When I first sang on stage
- When I create something
- When I get to express myself in any creative manner - a new/improvised
recipe , singing , bringing out bulletins etc
- When I get to exercise my freedom of will – without hurting any other soul
- When I accept a challenge ( for a worthy purpose)
- When I relate to people
- When I stand up for a cause
- When I come upto the expectation of those who matter to me
- When I brave an odd and get to where I wanted to
- When I feel harmony ( I am doing something in alignment to my values)
Yup!, listing was a bad idea – how many things I can jot down ?
The list can never be exhaustive and can contain
anything that makes me feel good about myself,
anything that makes me enjoy the simple pleasures of life,
anything that makes me learn some lesson or something new
anything that sort of connects me to the Creator,
anything that makes me feel free and creative ,
anything that challenges my abilities and inner strength
anything that makes me feel grateful
anything that taps at my positive energy and zest for life
Ask yourself ? Is it not the same with you ? I am sure, it is .
I am convinced – there are infinite reasons to be happy about- once you decide that you shall be happy . That does not mean that moments of unhappiness will never be there – no , they will be very much there ( otherwise , how will you recognise happiness as a distinct experience ? ) – but when you choose to be happy , and you find something in the situation that is causing you unhappiness, then instead of sulking, you will work towards a situation that would remove that cause for unhappiness and create circumstances that give you happiness .
When I ask myself what would I like to have in my lifetime … so many things cross my mind, which, on a deeper introspection, boil down to one experience – that is happiness . I am sure, it is the same with every individual. What could be different is perhaps the way one looks at it ..believes what happiness is.
As I understand, so long as you confuse sources of happiness for happiness, the experience of happiness in the true sense would keep eluding you. Happiness is a state of being, not a physical object or phenomenon, that can be possessed. In fact, I think, it is the other way round – it is happiness that can possess you, if you get it right.
Someone rightly said, “It is an illusion to think that more comforts lead to more happiness .Happiness comes out of a capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely and to be needed .” ( Sorry .. do not remember , who said it . But this is one quote, which I have virtually got by heart, because it captures the essence of happiness in such a simple and brief manner ). I would just add one more thing:
Having a goal is a state of happiness .
When you are depending upon things or events external to you to make you happy, you are basically confusing the source as the ultimate happiness and obviously, you can not remain happy for long, as you do not have full command over things external to you and hence there is no guarantee that your source of happiness will continue to be there for ever. In such cases, happiness is just a feeling, that too transient, not an experience, which lingers on even after the cause is no longer there. What is worse, if happiness flows from an external source, then be sure that the moment the source ceases to exist, it will straight lead to unhappiness.
To give an example, when I purchased my car, I was definitely happy for a while – in the sense of happiness being a feeling coming out of the fact that now I possess a car. Car was only the external source of happiness. But what made me truly happy was the fact that thereby I gained mobility – a freedom to move as I like. This experience of freedom generated within is something that is going to stay whether the car stays or not.
I am getting ready to quit my job now. I feel both unhappy and happy. Unhappy - because the organisational tag ( source of happiness ) that I had for my identity will no longer be there. Happy – because these 25 years of experience in this organisation has made me what I am today, has helped me grow as a person and as a professional, capable of venturing out for a newer horizon. This is happiness as an experience - that stays on even after the source ceases to exist. Actually, the moment you awaken to the realisation that happiness is something that springs from within, you will discover yourself free from the compulsive need to look for the sources of happiness in your external environment. And then, to your ecstacy, you would discover that your own conscious is full of continuous moments of happiness – which you were oblivious of earlier.
Anything that produces zest and energy is sure to make us happy. Learn to enjoy everything that you do in the normal course of life – you will be happy . Learn to have worthy goals – small or big - you will be happy. Getting fresh vegetable from the market for the family is as much a worthy goal as earning a handsom profit for the organisation that u work for or doing some charity for the needy. One is your love for your family, the other is your commitment towards an entity that gives your livelihood and the third one is your gratitude towards the society in which you grow . Will you remain happy if you have to neglect any of these?
Ask yourself - what is it that makes you happy and then, commit yourself fully to take such action as would lead you to your cherished state of being. This way, not only you will be happy about the result – the end-state, the destination; more significantly, you will be happy through out your journey towards your destination. And is n’t life a journey ??
Let me share here something I had read somewhere a long time back and just saved the contents, without the author’s name ( sorry !! - wish, I could have given the credit to the original writer !)
THE QUESTION
Quote
Isn’t it amazing how few of us ask ourselves the important question?
Several years ago I ( the author of this book ) was invited to hear an important speaker address the student body of a small college in South Carolina. The auditorium was filled with students excited about the opportunity to hear a person of her stature speak. After the Governor gave the introduction, the speaker moved to the microphone, looked at the audiencefrom left to right, and began:
“ I was born to a mother who was deaf and could not speak. I do not know who my father is or was . The first job I ever had was in a cotton field.”
The audience was spellbound. “ Nothing has to remain the way it is if that’s not the way a person wants it to be ,” she continued. “ It isn’t luck, and it isn’t circumstances, and it isn’t being born a certain way that causes a person’s future to become what it becomes.” And she softly repeated. “ Nothing has to remain the way it is, if that’s not the way a person wants it to be .”
“ All a person has to do,” she added in a firm voice, “ to change a situation that brings unhappiness or dissatisfaction is to answer the question: “ How do I want this situation to become ?” Then the person must commit totally to personal actions that carry them there. “
Then a beautiful smile shone forth as she said, “ My name is Azie Taylor Morton. I stand before you today as Treasurer of the United States of America. ”
Unquote
Actually I feel happy and a lot energised when I read something like this. Because, I also believe that happiness emanates from committed personal action to make a difference – small or big- in the desired direction, be it in your personal life or professional life or social life around you- instead of whining about problems with other people or in the circumstances.
At times it may so happen that originally you set out for a particular destination, but after covering a significant stretch, you find a bend or a road block or a dead end. Never mind – take a detour and explore a new route or a new destination altogether, which might be a worthier goal, but was not within your sight earlier because of the bend or the distance. At the end, the highest reward for one’s perseverence is not what one gets for it , but what he becomes by it ( that is, a more evolved, wiser and happier soul ).
Friends, ever reflected on how you feel as a parent when you see your child grow – I will put it as pure bliss, real happiness. That is actually a gift from our children to us . Similarly, what we, the children of God, are deep within is God’s gift to us; but what we become is our gift to God . And just the way parents derive happiness from growth of their children, so will God ( the Creator) be happy to see us grow in life .
So … Let us be happy and make all others happy, too . It is easy to be happy .. just decide it for yourself and see the magic work .
In continuation of “ Of Fear & Courage ” posted on 12th April, 2008 ( pl refer)
Courage is shedding fear .
I would always cherish the 25th June of 2008 – a great & memorable day for ME !! Yeah - I conquered fear and did something for the first time which I had been wanting to do whole my life so far .. DONATED BLOOD .
Oh, sounds so trivial - s..o..o many people do that .. that too, time and again. What’s so great about it when it comes to me ? Nothing actually – nothing great about the act per se – only when I look at it in my context ( I simply can not stand sight of blood or needle entering into flesh ( Yup!!) & do not laugh – I close my eyes even when a bloody scene comes on screen !!!) - then I feel this sense of satisfaction that, yeah , I have done it – notwithstanding that great urge to run away from the bed when I had to keep on pumping myself and some sinking feeling was overpowering me after a minute or so & the process was to take another 3 /4 minutes. And I actually had a little bit of black-out after it – felt really embarrassed to hog all the attention-both from the doctor and colleagues, who had themselves given blood minutes back and were cheerfully going around in an absolutely normal condition . Well, that was really making me feel bad – but had no control. Actually, earlier also I had similar experience of sinking after giving blood for test during first pregnancy – may be, psychological because of my fear.
Coming back to point – when I look back to find out how I could actually do this, a few things come out sharply :
a. an intense desire to do . ( Honestly, I always think blood donation to be one of the noblest acts – basically u r giving life to a needy in due course . So always wanted to do something of value going beyond self .)
b. taking opportunity of doing when the circumstances give a chance. (Earlier, apart from the fear, either the timing, or the venue, or the organisers .. or perhaps the lack of intensity of desire.., something or other was coming in the way of my participating in any blood donation camp. This time, it was being organised in my office premises, by our office to celebrate our foundation day and was being organised in a professional manner with the help of doctors and disposable syringes. In my current assignment, it was possible to come down and participate, sparing an hour or so .
c. Actually throwing yourself first into the situation before your fear takes better of u . (Yeah, this time I just made up my mind, came down to the venue . Then, although I did have the impulse of running away , I did not do that as I could not have shown my weakness before my colleagues – u see, each of us do face many occasions in life when we just have to live upto a reputation . Ha, ha . So I knew , once I go to the venue , I will somehow manage to participate and that actually happenned .
d. The feeling after conquering fear is just splendid – charging u with greater vitality and greater happiness !
Thank GOD for helping me feel good about myself .
Same night, I could also be of help to a colleague, who would have otherwise missed his train. It was really raining hard when I was leaving office and here was this person, standing and worried about how he would make it to the train, that was to leave just about 20 minutes from then. There was no auto in sight also. I offered to drop him at his hotel, which is near to the Rly station . I am usually very scared about driving when it is pouring, that too at night – due to very poor visibility. Number two – I would not normally venture to drive to an unknown place in such inclement weather . But I did it – and am happy that I did it .
By the way, last year , I decided to drive my car personally – and, for me , this was a very bold ( read courageous ) decision. My husband & daughters were scared visibly – had no trust in my ability to drive a car . Not their fault – my track record of road alertness, sense of (geographical) direction, route awareness etc. was extremely poor. I agree with them and appreciated that they love me and were concerned about my safety – as also safety of others. But what I never liked about it was the hidden message that I CAN NOT drive . That was not acceptable . When the whole world is able to drive, why can not I ? Nevertheless, I restrained myself in view of my job pressure, erratic timings and requirement of the vehicle by my daughters for various purposes during the day . So continued with dependance on hired drivers till my daughters finished with their classes here, although it was taking a heavy toll on me ( & my car … one would shudder to look at the dents and damages that my poor car had to bear all the time ! I was so disgusted with repeated touch-ups that finally just left it with all the dents & scratches . In fact, that gave my car such a distinct identity ( ha, ha) that all my people at office always recognised my car effortlessly .) . Once my children finished with their exams, I decided to take over .
I acknowledged two things –
(i) I am not naturally wired to be a driver & do have some weaknesses which could spell hazard on road;
(ii) but at the same time , it is possible to learn driving and fix those weaknesses to an extent, required for safe driving.
So, I decided to learn and immediately called up a driving school . Timings were very difficult for me – very early in the morning and in evenings , I had to go from office for night driving & come back to office again . I can still recollect the first time I had to drive on a busy road – all alone without the trainer by my side - so..o scary ! How relieved I felt after parking at the office ! While returning, it really took strong will power not to accede to everyone’s request to make the office driver sit beside while I drove back home. Of course, for two days, one of my colleagues followed me separately , while I drove back home .
So , this was also a story of victory of courage over fear – and the basic tenets of the approach are the same in every such story :
– acknowledge what is required to be done ,
– acknowledge if you fear doing that,
– believe that it is possible to learn higher skills in the domain of what you fear , and once you learn the skills, you will be better placed to face your fear ;
– collect information, gather knowledge and learn skills required in the field .
– Act - do what you wanted to, in spite of fear. Success will be only a matter of time.
I am sure, everyone’s life is full of such moments, when, inspite of fear, we take action, because it is worth it and in the process, grow stronger and wiser. I am reminded of what Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,
“ When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.”
Courage is shedding the habit of not shedding many things
Yes, one of the things that we normally do not think of shedding is a secure job !!
Well, I am not talking about today’s youngsters – who are job-hopping rather a little too frequently. They belong to another world with a different canvass as context. I am referring to our generation – the 40/45 plus, who usually relish the comfort of being settled down and somewhere along the line, tend to lose the appetite for venturing into an uncertain world to chase their life-goals.
I do not say that to be courageous, u must shed ( leave) a secure job, just for the heck of it . No, it is definitely not to suggest recklessness. The point that I would like to make is that there is a tendency among many of us just to keep on clutching to the current job, even if it is no longer giving u that kick and u are already in a position, where u can afford to take a call on other opportunities beckoning u or just to chase your dreams. Here comes, what I would call courage, courage to quit. Newer beginnings are possible only if we are ready to change the status quo – ready to come out of inertia. Yes, do a thorough analysis of your own situation to ensure that u have already put in place a fall back system to take care of your personal responsibilities (like self-sustenance / family responsibilities, which just can not be compromised) before u quit the known and start exploring the uncertain. Once u achieve this position, then all that u require for chasing your dreams is a drive to spread your wings with courage to soar against the wind, if that be so !!
By the way – right now I am also on my way to explore the uncertain – the first step already taken – quitting a secure job. Yeah – my fall back system for financial needs is ready. Feeling a little scared.. but excited . Isn’t that what courage ultimately is ? I am tempted to quote a few great personalities, from whose words, I have always drawn inspiration .
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.
- Ambrose Redmoon
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.
- Mark Twain
Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.
- John Wayne
Courageous people are still afraid, but they don't let the fear paralyze them.
- Steve pavlina
This much for today … will continue . Would love to have your comments, please .
20/07/2008
Bapa, I have put in my papers .
My name was not there in the Zone of Selection for the next promotion – that is just the immediate facilitating factor – the real story is that it is just the right time to call it a quit and start following my passion for so many other things in life !!
So many times I had been telling .. I would leave the job , chill out , do this , do that etc.. But everytime u would smile and say , “ No , you can not leave job . Your karmadhipati ( i.e.the lord of the Karma house in horoscope ) resides in your lagna , i.e. self . So u would always work . ”
Well , you are right , Bapa . But work does not necessarily mean a full time fixed job with one organisation . I am simply quitting my present job – just to switch course and pursue my other interests in life . You had sketchy idea of what they are , but now I have spelt those out for myself in clear terms – so no confusions!
Of course , when u used to say that I can never leave job , there was something else too that u never expressed in words , but I always understood ! You were always very proud of me ( strange – all your five children were good students , all others took up better jobs than me professionally – but u always took a lot of pride in being known as my father – since the time I was a child !!) Perhaps, you could never reconcile to the idea that I would be without any normally-accepted identity tag ( Oh, she is a blah blah with so and so company … ) . And I know, u had unshaken belief in my competence and were damn sure , I would make it to very high in the corporate ladder . I could see those twinkles in your eyes, when u used to relate about somebody known/unknown telling something about me ( obviously good things)! But promise u , even after leaving my current job, U would be as proud of me – up there – as u were earlier .
I had to take this decision now - TIME TO SPREAD WINGS, before I grow old & tired !! Time has changed and there is a world of opportunities to do newer things, follow your passion and give back something to the society .
Let me assure u , it is not a decision taken in haste or on the spur of the moment . Yes ! I had been seriously considering this ever since I completed 25 years of service in December, 07 . All said and done , quitting a secured job, for that matter even a career transition is a difficult decision and before actually executing this, I have to necessarily plan out on certain basic requirements :
First – financial security . Well , although being a married lady, I am in any case going to have that from my husband , there is something else which is personally vital for me - financial independence ! That must continue and children should never ever get to feel that they might have to suffer financially if mama’s regular income stops coming. So , now that I am eligible for pension , I have calculated, together with interest on the lump sum I am going to get even after repaying all loans, a fairly comfortable sum will be drawn by me even without the job . Of course, some one in my place – with keen sense of enterprise can also start earning by suitable investment of a part of the terminal benefits in mutual funds or stock market or otherwise. I am not interested – as of now .
Well , sum and substance - even if I leave the job now, I will have some regular monthly income, plus I get the lump sum from terminal benefits , which will be adequate cushion for my daughters’ studies ( plus I may take away a very small bit of it for philanthropy .)
Second - a house of my own . Yes , this is also a basic requirement for me , as after leaving the job , if I have to move around with my husband only , then how do I follow my dreams ? Need a permanent place to stay . AND I HAVE IT NOW . Last month only, we have moved into our own flat at Bhubaneswar . This will be literally OWN – as with my terminal benefits , the housing loan will be liquidated .
Third - clear goals and plan of action to be pursued after quitting . Yes , I had spelt them out quite sometime back – on my blog post , to put pressure on myself . Once made public , I can not go back on my commitments to myself . So , I will start doing those things. One more addition to my plans - I will try taking up a Public Toilet Chain Project at Puri Badadanda/ Seashore & roadsides on the way to Puri. A place like Puri, where footfall is unimaginably high with lakhs of floating population , it is miserable not to have the basic amenity of public toilets !- sic ! Something must be done .
Fourth - own state of being - Yes , I am going to be 49 . A few years more – I may lose the zest to do new things , who knows !! Right now, I find myself still bubbling with vitality and enthusiasm for new courses . Let me tap it !! Life would be much more meaningful and fulfilling !
Fifth - a facilitating factor / event . I just got it – not being in ZOS . Well, being positive does not mean taking injustice lying down all the time – this is going to be my way of protest – in a positive manner . Had there been 360 degree feedback system in our organisation , the decision makers would be surprised to know what exactly people who have seen me in various challenging roles from close quarters tell about me . Any guesses ? Kiran Bedi , Ha, Ha !
Last but not the least , when after taking a critical decision , you feel good and spirited - it IS the correct decision, invariably . And same with me this time . Plus, guess what , for the last about a week , there have been so many good heavenly signs – I was first stunned when I did not find my name in the ZOS and thought how it is possible that on one hand I can feel God’s blessings , but at the same time , I am being denied justice in my professional life ! Now , after taking the decision to quit for making a new beginning to listen to my heart’s beckoning , I know exactly – that is what even the Almighty wants!!
Bapa, I am happy about it . Just need your blessings ! It will be a life without certainties – but then , as it is said ……. The pleasures are along the journey , not at the destination !!! I know u are always with me and will bless me from above from your Heavenly Abode .
Love
SANTULA ( ( BOILED VEGGIE WITH GARLIC SEASONING)
Here is a very common boiled vegetable dish of Orissa - absolutely healthy and tastes great if served right after it is done . Better to avoid storing this in refrigerator and serving after re-heating - as its flavour comes only from the seasoning and that is lost if re-heated .
SARU JAHNI POTOLA BADI
PAPAYA LAUKI
Ingredients : mixed vegetables ,one onion, one green Chilly , 7 to 8 Garlic flakes – crushed, one small tomato ( optional), Paanch Phutan , salt to taste , Badi ( 4/5 pieces , if available )
Recommended combination : potato ( not more than one for serving four people as other veggies together will make a large quantity ), raw papaya ( a little less than 1/4th of a usual sized papaya ( or Lauki of Swami Ramdev fame - need not put both as both are watery stuff ), a small piece of Pumpkin, Muli ( Raddish), one Bringal, “ 3 / 4 pieces of “ Saru” ( called arbi in Hindi / perhaps colocassia in English ), a few pods of cauliflower( if available ), “Jahni” ( green gourd – something similar to Tori of North India ), Potolo ( Parval ), “ Chhueen” (Drumstick), Bhindi ( Ladies finger), Beans .
Actually , a marvellous combination of green veggies along with some really healthy stuff like papaya/ lauki go into this recipe . Except perhaps stuff like Capsicum, , carrot, cabbage, karela ( and I avoid plantain as it spoils the colour) – everything else can be combined . I know people who mix even carrots - I don’t like because of its sweetness . You can also mix some strands of Palak ( Spinach) and Pumpkin Flower .
Process : Heat enough water in a wide mouthed – deep pan ( Kadai ) – adding some salt . Cut the vegetables into thin slices or small cubes ( but all in a uniform manner ) - ONE By ONE in order of the usual time taken for their being cooked – and go on adding one by one . This way , by the time u complete cutting veggies, boiling also gets over . Further , this way u ensure that each veggie gets cooked just the right amount( Hum saath saath – Phir bhi Khaas khaas type , Ha, Ha ) avoiding the mix to be one big puddle of unrecognisable ingredients) . For example , first , put Saru( arbi) , then papaya, aloo, muli & pumpkin, drumsticks, beans, potol, janhi, brinjal, bhindi, some sliced onion & one green chillie . Cook covered . By the time u put the last veggie, everything is cooked .
Seasoning : Heat mustard oil , splutter Paach Phutan , add one whole red chilly , crushed garlic flakes ( about 8 /9 ), badi crumbs – fry and add to the boiled vegetables and cover immediately . Donot boil . Leave a bit of watery soup – many would like it that way . Badi adds to taste - but u may season without it too . Basic taste comes from the mix of the veggies & crushed garlic seasoning .
(Can also use refined oil for seasoning)
SERVE HOT WITH ROTI/ RICE . A simple healthy & tasty boiled veggie recipe . Worth trying by all . Especially, children should be made to eat this as these days they are getting very averse to green vegetables .
[ Credit : This pic had come out in one news daily - I ve just taken a photo of that picture)
A few days back , I stumbled upon an interesting article by Steve – Whatever you fear, Face it . I agree 101% with what he suggests. Yeah .. if we fear something, we must face it and that is perhaps courage in the real sense. Courage is not the absence of fear - it is doing something worthwhile despite fear . And what u experience and gain in the process in terms of pure happiness that comes out of conquering fear & personal inner growth is a treasure, that eludes all those who keep to their safety zones and spend a lifetime without living a moment !
When I started my Blog ( gosh ! last year – and let it remain without any post for almost a year !!) – my wish was to paint different strokes !! At the moment, time apparently is a big constraint. I said apparently – as I find, for one year I just started the blog and did nothing – then since last one month, I am somehow making this time at least once a week to scribble something, now that I want it. Perhaps, that is the secret - really wanting to do something intensely . That is perhaps also the key to mustering up courage – to stand by yourself - to face the fear – the fear of uncertainties – the fear of failure – the fear of being ridiculed - the fear of what the world would think … etc.
Well I know I am basically a courageous person - have displayed it umpteen no. of times as I know it myself – and I know many others also acknowledge that ( ha, Ha ). But , good lord … , when it comes to pursuing my life goals ( now that I have finally spelt these out clearly before my self at least ), I find myself still dilly dallying . Clearly , that right amount of courage to switch course at this juncture of life perhaps is missing as yet !
Let me spell out my goals here – so that I will feel more responsible and be under more self-pressure to muster up what it takes to pursue them !
a) Use my God-gifted singing talent –for my own satisfaction and for giving something back to this world . I don’t know how much daring it will be to dare dream becoming a professional singer at this age – that too without learning music . But surely, God has blessed me with abundant talent to use it for charity shows.
b) Get associated with some orphanage/children’s home etc – do some charity plus “Shramdaan” ( i.e actually spend time with them and do things for them etc. ) .
c) Start writing ( feels a bit nice that at least there has been a beginning towards this goal …)
d) Popularise Oriya cuisine – there are so varied and tasty and healthy and typical dishes we cook , which are yet to be commonly known as, say the southy dishes or north delicacies or Bengali dishes . Let there be Oriya Thali concept – like Gujju Thali – and I m sure , many would love the taste and the combination .
Coming back to Courage - Courage is shedding fear and also shedding the habit of not shedding many things !
I will continue … . Meanwhile , any thoughts on this ? Would love to know .
