It occurred to me that my child's physical development has come a full circle. She started unable to eat by herself, dress by herself and walk by herself. Then came the messy attempts to eat her food on her own - the amount of food dropped could probably feed an army or two. Trying to walk was littered with numerous falls none of which made her tired or unable to attempt again. As for dressing - the strident cries of "I can wear it" accompanied by the invariable twisted arms and legs made for funny moments. But now my daughter has mastered the art of walking, eating and dressing up herself. ( Or so she thinks - I mean now what she drops while eating can feed just one segment of an army ! : ) ) So what is the best thing to do ? Delegate of course !!
The novelty of walking has long gone ; to be replaced by "Mom carry me ... my legs are paining". She tells me ever-so-sweetly that I should dress her up because - I can dress her up so prettily right ? Which she cannot do by herself ; it is complicated handling those lovely pins / clips , princess gown, glitter shoes , handbag and oh - the nail polish too ... [ if you did not get it ; it means I am to dress her with the items mentioned ... :) ] As for eating .. she gives me a woe begone expression and tells me so soulfully "Mom - you never feed me " .. I more often than not fall for this appeal . Who can resist that tone and those guileless eyes ?
Now I realize - her mobility has come a full circle !!!! :)
Am just wondering when she is going to say she is tired of talking ..... :) May be then I will get a chance to talk to my hubby without interruptions .... :)
Sojourn to Lakshadweep
To say Lakshadweep is stunning is an understatement ! However one cannot help but rave about the place - the views are fabulous , the water is that wonderful shade of turquoise, the beaches are pristine clean , the beach sand is unbelievably soft, the islands are not commercialised beyond recognition and the water sports are great. Scuba diving off these coasts is a must - the waters are so clear that even snorkerlling will ensure you can view the amazing coral life.We went on the Coral Reef Package from SPORTS. Went on the 2 island tour - we did Kavaratti and Minicoy. The cruise ship is no cruise though ! :) It is a passenger ship which is the only mode of transportation from the islands to the mainland ( Cochin ) .. you get to see the transportation of goods/materials etc in plenty ! :). However the entire trip is very well organized especially considering it is a govt undertaking. We need a permit to go to the islands. And no souvenir shops ! Amazing that the place is so unspoilt.
Since we went just after Chaitu's Brahmopadesham - we got designer tans :) The henna covered areas remained untanned .. so we are still sporting the mehendi designs albeit differently :)
Learnings from "Don't sweat the small stuff" by Richard Carlson
Learning's from "Don't sweat the small stuff" .... I was not very keen to read this book .. I thought it was one of those books that gives a one-solution-fits-all-problems kind of book ... but .. it was lying on my bookshelf and I thought it would most likely be an easy read too .. and surely a book that was popular would have some things that I could learn from ? :) So here goes ...
1. Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal for some later date ! The idea is to be what you want to be NOW ....
2. Imagine everyone in life is here to teach you something .. you are to consider they are more enlightened than you ... so you will be receptive to learning from everyone and not prejudiced to learn only from a select few.
3. Create "patience practice periods" - you can start with as little as 5 minutes and you are on your way to being a more patient person.
4. Realize "Life is not fair" - reminds me of the famous start line "Life is difficult" from the book "The Road less travelled " by Scott Peck. ( Now that book is a must read in my opinion ! :) )
5. Allow yourself to be bored. Feelings of boredom will be replaced with feelings of peace. You'll learn to relax. We seem to be frightened at the thought of not having something to do even for a minute !
6. Lower your tolerance to stress - people seem to be proud of having the ability to cope with more stress ! The author feels that when one lowers one's tolerance to stress , one tries to find different methods to achieve more with less wear and tear on self and without losing what is important in terms of relationships , health , spiritual growth.
7. When you die - your inbox will not be empty ! So don't be hell-bent on completing everything before live life to the fullest at the moment !
8. Set aside quiet time every day. Schedule time for inner work.
9. LISTEN !! We often treat communication as if it were a race.
10. Choose your battles wisely.
11. Expect disapproval from others, then you will not go on defensive when you hear criticism.
12. Proving yourself in a dangerous trap. If you argue for your limitations they will always remain yours.
13. Resist the urge to criticize b'cos it says nothing about that person ; it merely says something about your need to be critical.
14. When someone criticizes you - merely agreeing with them can diffuse the situation and open your eyes to their inputs - so you can improve yourself.
15. Think of what you have instead of what you want.
16. There is no better time to be happy than now.
Learnings from "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Succes"' by Deepak Chopra
I felt that while the book is not as inspiring as it could be given the title - nevertheless - profound wisdom can come in simple terms. This is what I gleaned from the book. I would not consider it a must read book though.
1. The author differentiates between self-referral and object-referral. Object referral is being defined by and influenced by external things like situations, people, things , seeking of approval from others. In object referral our thinking is in anticipation of a response and is fear based. Self-reference refers to our internal reference which is our spirit and not the objects of our experience.
2. Power based on object referral is a fable ; being ego based it lasts as long as the object of reference is there - be it a title of corporation, money , status etc.
3. Most of our energy goes into upholding our importance.
4. If you observe people around you - 99% spend their time defending themselves.
5. Chasing symbols ( cars, bank notes, clothes etc) is like settling for the map instead of the territory. It creates anxiety , makes you feel hollow and empty inside.
6. The search for security is an attachment to the known.
