This lovely picture above by award winning photographer, Steve McCurry, of National Geographic fame, tells a story. Steve was passing through the Rajasthan, India desert by taxi, when he was caught in a furious dust storm. This is when he spotted a group of women in a huddle trying to brave its fury. The only way they could protect themselves was by taking support of one another. It had not rained in the region for 13 years and a dust storm like this forebode coming rains. While life hung precariously in this devastating storm, together they not only could fight it, but even sang happily on the prospect of possible rains. What better metaphor to show that women have the inherent strength and resilience to literally brave any storm and also at the same time rejoice on the positive side of even the most hostile situation. Together we stand. .. !!!
I came across this striking picture and story on Social Media and I just felt like sharing this today.
A young woman was sitting at her dining table, worried about taxes to be paid, house-work to be done and to top it all, her extended family was coming over for festival lunch the next day. She was not feeling very thankful at that time. As she turned her gaze sideways, she noticed her young daughter scribbling furiously into her notebook. “My teacher asked us to write a paragraph on “Negative Thanks giving” for homework today,” said the daughter. “She asked us to write down things that we are thankful for, things that make us feel not so good in the beginning, but turn out to be good after all.” With curiosity, the mother peeked into the book. This is what her daughter wrote: “I’m thankful for Final Exams, because that means school is almost over. I’m thankful for bad-tasting medicine, because it helps me feel better. I’m thankful for waking up to alarm clocks, because it means I’m still alive.”
It then dawned on the mother, that she had a lot of things to be thankful for! She thought again… She had to pay taxes but that meant she was fortunate to be employed. She had house-work to do but that meant she had a shelter to live in. She had to cook for her many family members for lunch but that meant she had a family with whom she could celebrate.
We generally complain about the negative things in life but we fail to look at the positive side of it. Yes there is a positive in every negative . What is the positive in your negatives? Look at the better part of life today and make everyday a great day.
The world is going through a severe crisis
Anyone could be the next victim of the virus
It knows not man made differences
Of caste color creed race or religion.
The edge of reason
This is a time of uncertainty
Relationships old and new are on trial being tested in every way.
The need of the hour is to exercise caution, care, and spread hope and positivity
Yet there is still hatred, excess self indulgences all across the world.
There is still emotional mental and physical abuse in relationships…
Caught in the knot…
Caught in the knot is often the feeling for many
Where there is no trustful bond but just a feeling of being bound.
But yet tomorrow is another day…
Boundless bond…
May the love we have surmount the hate
May the good prevail over evil
May the light shine over the darkness of the mind
May we stay healthy and happy in our every now.
May we understand the power of words and spread them with care.
Soulful sensing…
What we have today we must cherish…
For a tomorrow that we build with love
For when we begin to see with our souls…
Our perceptions can alter, re-creating bonds beyond feeling bound.
I noticed a child monk—he can’t have been more than ten years old—teaching a group of five-year-olds. He had a great aura about him, the poise and confidence of an adult.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“We just taught their first class ever,” he said, then asked me, “What did you learn in your first day of school?”
“I started to learn the alphabet and numbers. What did they learn?”
“The first thing we teach them is how to breathe.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because the only thing that stays with you from the moment you’re born until the moment you die is your breath. All your friends, your family, the country you live in, all of that can change. The one thing that stays with you is your breath.”
This ten-year-old monk added, “When you get stressed—what changes? Your breath. When you get angry—what changes? Your breath. We experience every emotion with the change of the breath. When you learn to navigate and manage your breath, you can navigate any situation in life.”
