Hurry up S.l..o...w....l.....y

What is this life if, full of care. / We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs / And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass / Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see in broad daylight, / Streams full of stars like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance / And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can, / Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care, / We have no time to stand and stare.

-William Henry Davies

Possibly my favourite Poem of all time.

There is a premium on swift action. Being fast if not first is valued, as Speed is King. With our lives measured in bits & bytes, is it any wonder our Health, Performance and Relationships begin to suffer. 
We are not designed to work round the clock. My working life has been both pleasant and productive.
Small mistakes made over yesteryears may mock me in the days to come, but every thing I learned in my early days hold true even now. Incremental completion of small tasks, I look for the moment when I can sprint to the Finish Line. 
Instead of doing every thing faster,better to do it at the rightspeed. 

"Hapa,hapa" in Swahili means Slowly,slowly.The Kenyans listen to their bodies - Training when they feel good and taking time off when they need rest. Each year a different group of athletes appear on the horizon, and amongst them a new champion emerges. The talent pool seems endless.One can run fast if trained hard and recovered harder. 

You can't sprint forvever, but you can pull your pace down. Slowness must be part of education and health care. Our present health care system is all about repair, and not what is good for the body. The best way to slow down is to sleep a little more, and pay more attention when awake. It is not about delaying thinking. It is about assigning time to things when I can give them my full attention. Sleep is also a part of it. We must seek a reconnection to ourselves, to each other and with the world around us. 

My ability to slow down is a result of not wanting to rush through my life. When I was living life as if it were a sprint, I was unconscious of the world about me, and it felt Heavy, Stressful and Burdensome. Learning to slow down, I am able to make my voice heard and live life as I run the Marathon. And to my surprise, it does not feel like a struggle anymore. In fact it is so much fun. Next time when you are in a rush to get somewhere, take in the surrounding Sound, Sight & Smell. Cheers!!

Teenage thoughts

My childhood dream was to be a Poet.
You will never know how difficult it was then, to write a poem, and how easy it was to be rejected.
I did approach Kamala Das, who was then associated with a Youth magazine. She read all my submissions, and said
"Roy, you will never be a poet".
With this died a dream like many others...............   

Recently I found some papers in my attic, and thought why not publish them here. So what if Ms Das rejected them, at least I can rejoice in having them published here. All poems were written in my teens.
The Poet in me died then.
Long live the Poet.

Life

Why is life so very tense.

We always have to sit on the fence.

And every time we tend to relax,

someone is out there to collect his tax.

Why are our lives such a bore,

we never know who lives next door.

We save on things, that will never be spent

And nurture plans, that see no end.

Nightmare

I live my days, waiting dearly for the night

But cruel night keeps me awake

I suffer in silence, waiting eagerly for dawn

I rise, for my hour has come

to labour another sleepless night.

Lonely Me

Milder than those I have met

It was when I heard

Laughter, resonate my Chords

Deep Down, while I tried to

Read her eyes, and

Even before, I could analyse her,She had

Departed "Sans Adios"

Life Again

Life is an awakening, in the midst of sleep.

Sleepers sleep,
Unmindful of the world about them

Sweet is this Sleep,Sweeter than the Sound.

Disturb me not in this soulful slumber

Let me be lost into the night.

The Fallen One

Condemned, rejected, Trampled upon

In bloom yesterday, admired by surging crowds

A tender bud not yet in life

Plucked at dawn, to add life to another 

Gathering dust, dismantled in today's storm

When shall I see life in it fullest form.

Look Within

When you think you have lived and done No wrong

Look within and hear that song. 

Hear the words for you that are penned

And understand with care the message meant.

When you think you are the final word

Check if what you said is what you heard. 

You may fool the rest as you walk your way

But if you can resonate the words heard and sway

You have lived your life with just my friend

and be at peace until the end.

How did it all Start

Where do I begin
How did it all Start
When did I Miss the Beat
When did I realize you were my Heart

Yours is the Sound I'd like to break my Dawn
Yours is the Touch I'd like at Midnight

Will you be there when the lights turn dim
Will you be there when my head has to rest
Will you be there for me my love 

Flirting in the Dark

By Nature I maybe Gregarious,
but flirt no way,
Not with another's wife..
But
if the attraction persists
may fall in love
after all
it's only a heart
the only one I have
could never think 
you would walk away with it 
forever

Sadly...  it is the day after

The cold wind blows
Chill in the air
It is the Day after

Moments gone by
Words unsaid
It is the Day after

A table laid for two
None there but you
It is the Day after

We shall meet
I do not know when
I do not know where
Let it not be said 
it is 'The day after'

Green.......Green........Grass................

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire labourers for his vineyard".(Mathew 20:1)

This one parable has had a great influence in my thinking from early childhood.
I have always believed in "KARMA" and what we assume receiving in this lifetime is the resultant of all our past lives & deeds. Therefore I need to be satisfied with the present at all times.This thought has kept me in a State of happiness at all times. Let me not look over the fence and say " Oh!! He's got a better wife than mine" or "I wish I had his Car". We all wake up and say"Oh! I am so Unlucky. The unlucky is nothing more than a frame of reference for the lucky that we assume. Unfortunately we never realize we too are lucky, until it's too late. For instance, yesterday we were better off than today. But it took today for us to realise it. We are never happy with what we have. We want what we had or what others have. The grass is always greener on the other side, and we really do not know what we have, until it's gone.

Why do we always feel the grass is greener on the other side?  

What is it that keeps us from being content with what we have, where we are, what we are doing, who we are? We seem to be forever craning our necks to see what lies beyond our grasp; missing what may be right in front of us, and convincing ourselves we could be happy, if only we could have what we covet. Gratitude fosters contentment. Embracing acceptance, and choosing our perspective allows us to enjoy the moment before us. When we are in the moment, we are not looking over the fence, because we are busy living the moment with what is right in front of us. Choose Contentment over anxiety, and change our perspective from feeling stuck to being willing to use the time to our benefit instead of wailing on self pity and anger. We would be there either way. What a relief to remember we have a choice. The next time we find ourself peeking over the fence, learn to accept with gratitude. We might find the most beautiful green grass beneath our feet.
Green ....Greener.....Greenest.................. grass beneath our feet."

The Need to Write

When I sit down to write, I ask myself, "What shall I say to my fellow audience"?
I will do my best to make my writing worthy, and this mindset helps me create content.
I want my writing to change people for the better, to expand their thinking, to raise their consciousness and to help eliminate fear.
If it helps change, it means value is being transferred.
It takes effort to produce original thoughts, and that's my preferred strategy.
When people arrive here, they must stick around awhile, react to the ideas and refer others to it.
With time I propose to have many articles to explain my thoughts. Not all are going to like or agree with my work.
While I will write occasionally about time bound or location specific events, the majority of my content is hopefully intended to be timeless.
I am aware that what I write today will be read by others, years after I have gone.
We still quote Aristotle in this Millennia.
Similarly I think how will my idea influence generations to come including my own.
What advice do I pass on to my Grandchildren.
Will the content created today be relevant in say 2030 or 3040?
Writing for future generations helps me stay focused on the core of my message, which is to help others grow in thought.
As long as this happens, there is chance that what I write today will have relevance later. And if it is relevant for the future it means it is relevant for today as well.
Not many recall the Wealthiest, Healthiest or Richest of the last Century or last Decade. But we can all recall the Life & Times of Buddha, Krishna or Eisa (Jesus).
What makes us recall events or persons of 2000 or 5000 years earlier and not of the last decade or century?
It is only because they have propounded thoughts that have led to the way we think and live.
This is the way we can be remembered.
We may forget yesterday's news, but will recall things that have a meaning in our lives.
So I strive to write about Meanings instead of Happenings.
Having a son to carry forward the family name or statues erected is not the answer.
An idea or thought once created travels through time like energy.
The 3rd law states that energy cannot be destroyed.