Forever You

I am myself 

But when you look at me

with your smiling eyes

I lose the sense of my heartbeat

I am myself 

But when you laugh heartily

on silly things

I lose the sense of the air I breath

I am myself

But when you do

the cute goofy things

I lose the tide of time

I am myself 

But when you murmur

sweet nothings

I lose the sense of the world around me

I am still myself

But whenever you are around

I lose some of me...

immersed in you

And there's nothing more than I love

Than still being me

Yet lose myself completely on you...

All. Over. Again!

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Spring Sweetheart

Just to witness

That warming smile

I would traverse

A million miles.

To shine in the twinkle

Of your dreamy eyes

I could fly across

The seven skies.

I could imagine that moment

In the blushing spring

When the time stops

As I listen to your heart sing.

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Fragrance across the mile

Deep in the woods somewhere

A flower bloom

Bright as day

With a charming perfume

The trees around never heeded it

Unaware of such magnificence

Few dreaded it

Days later it withered

Yet it smiled a weak smile

And traces of fragrance

Breathed the air across a mile

Copyright © 2021 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Three and a bit more.

"Life has come a full circle". You and I might have heard this statement at some point in time. Why a circle? Why not a square? Or a triangle? It could have been any other shape, but we choose circle.

A circle represents so much more than one would care to venture. Look around, and observe...it's everywhere. A circle gives a sense of totality, completeness, and universalism. It has no beginning, nor an ending, like eternity. Everything is equal and uniform. It represents true perfection, timelessness, life force, and much more.

How does a clock move? What about yin and yang? How about the Yuga wheels and zodiacs? These are the more commonly observable parameters. There's much more about this magical shape (and extensions of it, like a sphere). We can go on discussing about how it means almost everything in the universe, in divinity, spirituality, and in cosmic references. However, let's hold on to it for now.

The next thing to brood over is how do we define a circle, or a more interesting question, what defines a circle? Of course, we all know the definition of circle from school... but what defines it!? Though it's obvious, and we have studied it, many of us choose not to be bothered by it. Well, that is a "bliss"ful situation. (Congratulations, if you understood the reference.)

The beauty of the answer lies in its elegance. Think about it. We perceive a circle to be a circle by the entity that demarcates it in space. Its circumference. We define a circle as an equidistant set of points (Let us call these equidistant points as the exterior points) from a center point. We call that distance, from the center to the exterior points, as the radius.  If we consider the journey from one exterior point to another exterior point, through the center, that makes twice the radius. I agree, it might seem, I am stating the obvious. But, one should thrive in exploring the obvious. It just gives much more meaning to our beings, our existence.

Our journey of self-exploration, from one aspect of us to another, by understanding our innermost strengths or our center/core (our spiritual existence) seems symbolically equivalent with twice-the-radius. And what demarcates us, or what gives us a sense of physical existence is similar, in some sense, to circumference.

If we divide the circumference by twice-the-radius (no matter what circle we are choosing, big or small), what do we get? Pi. Yes, its that simple, and that simplicity is beautiful and perfect in every sense of the word. Pi defines a circle. What defines us? After having defined the two basic components of our being, our physical existence and our journey to understand the spiritual existence, it is quite perceptible.  That makes pi so much more magical, for me at least.

How do we traverse a circle? Using pi, of course. Once around the circle of unity is a complete rotation (2*pi). So, that justifies the saying "life has come a full circle". If we relate the circle of unity as one aspect of our multidimensional life, and if we could explore it in a complete sense, in a wholesome enriching way, we could say that we achieved a complete rotation. (I would prefer not to dilute it further by explaining something which would be so much more beautiful by experiencing and understanding by perception.) In every true sense then, life indeed has come a full circle.

*** * **** * ***** ********* ** ****** ***** *** ***** 

P.S. Even the very symbol of pi is interesting. Did you know the idea of the symbol is based on the meandering ratio of rivers? 

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Mystical

Nothing was ever as mystical,

As the chime of Your smile...

The breeze draped in fragrance plume,

And the lavender roses in bloom.

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Straight trees!

"Straight trees are cut first." 

When this statement was spoken, it did not make any sense then. Now..?

Well, things are different, now.

Times change. One might understand a statement or a situation, but may not realize it completely until it happens. Certain things are realized only by experiencing it. If something happens once, or may be even a few times, one might still not realize it...or may even choose to ignore it. But if similar situations keep on happening, time and over again, one would definitely take notice of the pattern. When that happens, realization strikes...of what was happening till now...of the naivete. Well, that might shake things up, may be for some time. 

A person armed with hope, resolute, and tenacity should never be challenged.

Tenacity with hope is a strong force, which is often underestimated or overlooked. Of course, these are simple forces. Nonetheless, they are fundamental to a person's attributes. A person armed with hope, resolute, and tenacity should never be challenged. It would be derisive to ignore or belittle such a force. It's similar to what Voldemort thought of Harry; how he ridiculed Professor Dumbledore's belief of the strength of love. 

Hope and dream are beautiful forces.

Hope and dream are beautiful forces. They can make you show light in the darkest of times. Couple that with resolute, and there's a strong force. Keep working with that force, and there won't be anything that can bring you down. Of course, there will be obstacles. But that's what they are going to be...just obstacles...nothing more. They are just helping you make your journey more worthwhile...for what is a journey without any twists and turns! Brave those, and you would be enriching your experiences. After all, life is all about it. Make it worthwhile, make it beautiful. It's One Life!

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Love, Because?

Certain things are better when they are left unexplained;  certain other things are better when they are explained properly. Then there are those which can never be explained.

Not everything can be explained. They are designed to be that way. However, somehow we gravitate in our futile attempt to fathom the inexplicable.

Love is ineffable, indescribable. It is also not imperative to have a reason to love. How do you provide reason for something so innate, so fundamental? One might be happy for some reason, though always a reason is not needed. However, with love, a reason can never be associated. Where there is a reason, there's no love. You do not love because....; you simply love.

One might ask: love what, or whom. I do not feel that it is indispensable either. Love need not be personified always. It need not be directed towards any person. Love a feeling, love a thought, or just love. Yes, just love. It is an intrinsic quality. It is elemental. You don't need something or someone to be in love. Just be in love. If one loves, one just loves.

It is enigmatic, yet so simple.  It is so magnificent,  yet so humble. Love imbibes life in the most realistic way. Love makes everything dreamy. Be in love, always.

Copyright © 2021 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved. 

Interlaced Scents

The tinge of twilight, 

Brushed through the reminiscing breeze, 

Spelled of the rose's transcendence, 

And scents interlaced in yester soirees. 

The dusk spelled of the divine amour, 

Entranced in hues of gold, 

Words so precious..pledged till eternity, 

Laced with ardor, lo and behold!

The evening breathed sweet nothings,

Luxuriously with a silky essence, 

A dreamy heart wished for chocolate,

Magnificent fervor, entwined with redolence. 

The depth of night whispered into the calm,

Magic of music and enchantment of stars,

Holding on to plushies, avowed the tales,

Of perfumed memories and untold memoirs.

The dawn enlivened the horizon, 

Gloried in hope and dressed in joyous attire, 

A golden vow etched till eternity, 

Braided in the aroma of endearing desire. 

The noon blazoned the transpiring moments,

With sanguine aspiration and mirth, 

Proclaimed with love, the kiss of faith, 

Adorned the celestial rays on earth.

The smile of the afternoon sun, 

Spanned the cosmos with joy and elation,

Warmth of the embrace said it all, 

Of desired scents that charm and enthrall. 

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Food and Love

It was almost twilight. The rains had slowed down a bit by then. I was jostled with apprehensions and was juggling myriads of thoughts and emotions until I reached the cottage hotel. On reaching the hotel, the host and his team welcomed us with the warmest of smiles, some amazing home-baked cookies, and a comforting cup of hot Kashmiri Qahwa.

The warm reception by the team and the steaming cup of Qahwa melted all my apprehensions and worries. That was the first food that welcomed me to Kashmir. And what a beginning it was! Splendid, in every sense! In true way, it set the tone for the rest of my stay in the valley.

After the quick snack, we retreated to our room. After an hour or so, one of the staff members came to ask for our choice for dinner. There was no menu to choose from, just like we do not have in our homes. We could request for anything as long as the requisite grocery is available in the kitchen pantry. On further discussions, we got to know that Kashmiri rajma (kidney beans), unlike other rajmas, need not be soaked before cooking. That sounded interesting to us; ergo we chose it as one of our options for dinner. The dinner was delectable, to say the least. It had the comfort of dinner at home. What started with the cookies and Qahwa was cemented further by the dinner and I was finally at home, completely.

Food truly is an emotion. Good food, cooked with love and served with care, can establish an unfathomably strong bond, and can connect memories and emotions.

The next day I walked into the dining room for breakfast with the same feeling as I would have at my home. I knew whatever will be served will be something that I would definitely connect to- something that would have the solace of some happy, and amiable memories. And it was. Aloo ke paratha was just the way I would have liked. What better way to start your day! Normally, when on a trip, we prefer to visit other restaurants for lunch and/or dinner. However, this time it was different. We lived there for five days and we chose to have food there whenever chance favored.

We never missed any dinner there except once when we went out to a restaurant which I had in my bucket list for that trip. That restaurant was somewhere near Lal chowk area, which apparently was a place for protests and not as safe (as per some news media). Our host offered to drop us to the restaurant. Such warming gesture- who does that now-a-days! We did not want to be of inconvenience to him, but he insisted.

So, that evening, he accompanied us in his car till the restaurant. On our way there, we discussed about a lot of fun things. The songs in his playlist were some of the jewels of 70s and 80s music, which also happened to be one of our topics of discussion. He even sang few of the songs in his soulful voice. It never felt even for a moment that he was not a part of our family or we were there as part of for our trip. It felt as if we are just going out for dinner in our hometown. We halted for a few minutes near Lal Chowk. The place itself spoke about its magnificence and beauty.

On reaching the restaurant, he told us that he will not be joining us for the dinner. We insisted him to join us. He was an amazing company and a warm person. Insisting him to join was never out of question. However, he wanted to have dinner back at home, which we understood and did not force further. Further, he told us to give him a call when we are done with our dinner, so that he can come and pick us back. On listening to this, we were just out of words. I felt gratitude to a level that I never knew before could exist. We went to the restaurant, had Kashmiri Wazwan and some other dishes, which no doubt were scrumptious and brilliant.

During our dinner, we decided that we would not bother him again and we will go back by ourselves. But he, being the chivalrous person that he is, called us to tell that he is reaching to pick us back in 5 minutes. We were just finishing our desserts then. The sweetness of the dessert was nothing compared to the gesture our host showed us. It has been the best family trip we ever have had till date… all thanks to our host, his team, and the people of Kashmir. (You might have noticed that I never mentioned anything about the sightseeing places.) Food, which connects our mortal and immortal forms in some inexplicable way, and the love and warmth of the people made the trip what it was. Soulful!

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