Live, Love, Work, Believe, Follow & Lead - with Passion

Mom wrote to me this morning. She says - "Live, Love, Work, Believe, Follow & Lead-- Do everything with Passion and Conviction. Never do things just for Doing sake. And--Work hard and look decorative. There is never any excuse for being slovenly or JHALLA! Use your Strengths AND Weaknesses to YOUR advantage always. Go all out for someone you call a FRIEND. Be Honest to yourself (and to others where possible)."

Isn't all that kinda just what everyone needs to know? To understand? To remember? Everyone goes through those phases off and on when one gets complacent...let things be as they are...one stops pushing...stops making an effort...

Wondering. Isn't that death of life itself? For, what is life, if not full of passion? Passion - for everything. For everyone. Or, maybe not "everyone". But, everyone who means anything in that part of your being that's the closest to you.

Love. Why do people make it sound like a four-letter word so often? Wondering again. Isn't love what defines the person each one of us is? Isn't love what makes the world go round? To love another person, you shouldn't have to give it a name. You shouldn't want to change the person. You shouldn't change yourself. All so right in theory. But, how often we forget it, don't we? I wonder if all this, that is so right in theory, is even possible all of the time. But, remember it we should. Try to follow it we should. Love shouldn't have any rules, should it? We shouldn't have to think about how it should go. We shouldn't have to plan how we want it to go.

Wondering still. And questioning. And believing. The best kind of state to be in, I think.

Came to office late today. No lights since 7 a.m. this morning. And the mosquitos would carry me off if I didn't light the mosquito repellent coil that I'm allergic to. It's amazing how you just have to cross the Delhi-U.P. border, and there you are - in a state where there is no electricity for most part of the day. And my place is exactly 7 kms from Ashram. Outrageous!

Gonna leave you now with another poem that I love...

Khuubsoorat Mod

chalo ik baar phir se ajanabii ban jaaye.N ham dono.n

na mai.n tum se ko_ii ummiid rakhuu.N dil navaazii kii

na tum merii taraf dekho Galat a.ndaaz nazaro.n se

na mere dil kii dha.Dakan la.Dakha.Daaye merii baato.n me.n

na zaahir ho tumhaarii kashmakash kaa raaz nazaro.n se

ta'arruf rog ho jaaye to us ko bhuulanaa behatar

ta'alluq bojh ban jaaye to us ko to.Danaa achchhaa

vo afsaanaa jise takamiil tak laanaa na ho mumakin

use ek Khuubasuurat mo.D dekar chho.Danaa achchhaa

chalo ik baar phir se ajanabii ban jaaye.N ham dono.n

[ta'arruf=acquaintance; ta'alluq=relationship; takamiil= completion]

The song has an additional stanza:

tumhe.n bhii ko_ii ulajhan rokatii hai peshakadamii se

mujhe bhii log kahate hai.n ki ye jalave paraaye hai.n

mere hamaraah bhii rusavaaiyaa.N hai.n mere maazii kii

tumhaare saath bhii guzarii huii raato.n ke saaye hai.n

Quite beautiful, isn't it? Isn't it amazing how some people, like Sahir Ludhianvi here, can say something so beautiful, and use just the right words to say it? I think this, and the ability to sing well and/or play an instrument are the two things that I would give my eye teeth for...whatever the hell that phrase is supposed to mean!