Courage by Robert William Service

Tomorrow is my first yoga class and it has been 7 years, I have not been a part of yoga classes. I practice at home with all I learned in 2005. But with the time available with me, I thought to move to next level of yoga as an exercise.

A poem for my readers. I liked it and thought to post for all of you:)

Today I opened wide my eyes,
And stared with wonder and surprise,
To see beneath November skies
An apple blossom peer;
Upon a branch as bleak as night
It gleamed exultant on my sight,
A fairy beacon burning bright
Of hope and cheer.

"Alas!" said I, "poor foolish thing,
Have you mistaken this for Spring?
Behold, the thrush has taken wing,
And Winter's near."
Serene it seemed to lift its head:
"The Winter's wrath I do not dread,
Because I am," it proudly said,
"A Pioneer.

"Some apple blossom must be first,
With beauty's urgency to burst
Into a world for joy athirst,
And so I dare;
And I shall see what none shall see -
December skies gloom over me,
And mock them with my April glee,
And fearless fare.

"And I shall hear what none shall hear -
The hardy robin piping clear,
The Storm King gallop dark and drear
Across the sky;
And I shall know what none shall know -
The silent kisses of the snow,
The Christmas candles' silver glow,
Before I die.

"Then from your frost-gemmed window pane
One morning you will look in vain,
My smile of delicate disdain
No more to see;
But though I pass before my time,
And perish in the grale and grime,
Maybe you'll have a little rhyme
To spare for me."

Good Night!

Luna - Our Wonder Bird!!

We have four babies – my four birds. They are so friendly that I spend an hour daily, talking with them. They listen to me peacefully and it makes feel lighter. I thought many times to set them free but then the question was – will they know how to search for food and habitat?

Since birth, they are with us and I make sure we do not let them stay in their home (cage) all the time. We set them free in our house so that they can fly and interact with their surroundings. We have been training the youngest of all the four birds – Luna for last one month and she is a wonder bird. I believe; it depends how you treat them. If you do not interact with them or make them feel part of your life, you will find them dull and then the poem below will make you feel more vulnerable (:

If you bring them home then love them like your children and you will see their wonder acts making you laugh and cry at timesJ

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

Mother To Son by Langston Hughes

Mother’s Day, a day, I could not blog due to relocation commitments. But I read something that took my heart for a whileJ

I blog it, to share a feeling that ‘Mother is the best gift of nature’ and ‘To be a mother is the best gift to nature’.

For my mother and all the proud mothers, I met in the journey of my lifeJ

Mother To Son by Langston Hughes • 89 poems - Langston Hughes • 89 poemsby Langston Hughes

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

Just hug your mother and tell her how special you feel to be her daughter or son. There is no better or bigger gift than thisJ

Buona NotteJ

Hope is the only 'Hope'!

I will just paste few lines that are like the best lines, I read in this week. Never give up and let your hope fade as behind your 'hope' is your 'dream', a 'dream' to be what you want to be and the way you want to live your life. Here are the lines as a poem 'Hope' by Friedrich von Schiller

We speak with the lip, and we dream in the soul,
Of some better and fairer day;
And our days, the meanwhile, to that golden goal
Are gliding and sliding away.
Now the world becomes old, now again it is young,
But "The better" 's forever the word on the tongue.

At the threshold of life hope leads us in--
Hope plays round the mirthful boy;
Though the best of its charms may with youth begin,
Yet for age it reserves its toy.

I am Contented...I am Happy!

For many who read this blog and who think that my life is great have no clue what all I go through. Each day, the pain in my knee kills me 100 times but then the faces around me and the fact that we have to live happily give me the push. There are times when I talk to people over the phone or in person and they cannot even make it out that I am in pain. The best compliment I get is ‘nobody can make it out that you have so many problems’. And I tell them very proudly, ‘that’s me’.

The best thing about me is I could never understand the meaning of being ‘jealous’ of someone in life. I am not born as God but one line told by a friend showed the way to stay happy and contended.

“We are not rich by what we possess but by what we can do without.”
― Immanuel Kant

I might not be rich like many of you, might not be powerful like many of you, not as beautiful like many women I see around me but I am contented with what I am blessed by God. A quote by Lao Tzu is quite similar to my thoughts here:

“Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.”

If somewhere you think low today about yourself then just close your eyes and remember the worst thing that happened to you unexpectedly and then open your eyes to see where you stand today. You will get the answer to your question. 

I read a poem that defines ‘contentment’. I am sure my readers will laugh while reading this and would love it as well.

"Man wants but little here below"

Little I ask; my wants are few;
I only wish a hut of stone,
(A very plain brown stone will do,)
That I may call my own;
And close at hand is such a one,
In yonder street that fronts the sun.

Plain food is quite enough for me;
Three courses are as good as ten;
If Nature can subsist on three,
Thank Heaven for three. Amen!
I always thought cold victual nice;
My choice would be vanilla-ice.

I care not much for gold or land;
Give me a mortgage here and there,
Some good bank-stock, some note of hand,
Or trifling railroad share,
I only ask that Fortune send
A little more than I shall spend.

Honors are silly toys, I know,
And titles are but empty names;
I would, perhaps, be Plenipo,
But only near St. James;
I'm very sure I should not care
To fill our Gubernator's chair.

Jewels are baubles; 't is a sin
To care for such unfruitful things;
One good-sized diamond in a pin,
Some, not so large, in rings,
A ruby, and a pearl, or so,
Will do for me; - I laugh at show.

My dame should dress in cheap attire;
(Good, heavy silks are never dear;)
I own perhaps I might desire
Some shawls of true Cashmere,
Some marrowy crapes of China silk,
Like wrinkled skins on scalded milk.

I would not have the horse I drive
So fast that folks must stop and stare;
An easy gait - two forty-five
Suits me; I do not care;
Perhaps, for just a single spurt,
Some seconds less would do no hurt.

Of pictures, I should like to own
Titians and Raphaels three or four,
I love so much their style and tone,
One Turner, and no more,
(A landscape, - foreground golden dirt,
The sunshine painted with a squirt.)

Of books but few, - some fifty score
For daily use, and bound for wear;
The rest upon an upper floor;
Some little luxury there
Of red morocco's gilded gleam
And vellum rich as country cream.

Busts, cameos, gems, such things as these,
Which others often show for pride,
I value for their power to please,
And selfish churls deride;
One Stradivarius, I confess,
Two Meerschaums, I would fain possess.

Wealth's wasteful tricks I will not learn,
Nor ape the glittering upstart fool;
Shall not carved tables serve my turn,
But all must be of buhl?
Give grasping pomp its double share,
I ask but one recumbent chair.

Thus humble let me live and die,
Nor long for Midas' golden touch;
If Heaven more generous gifts deny,
I shall not miss them much,
Too grateful for the blessing lent
Of simple tastes and mind content! 

First Day of March : Let's Celebrate Women's Week 2012!

1^st day of March 2012 is a reason of blogging around women as this whole week we will celebrate – Women’s Week in honour of Women’s Day on 8^th March 2012.

I have seen some very ordinary women doing extra-ordinary things in life. Not to forget, I am one of them but I am still on my journey to do something extra-ordinary to stand proudly and share my success with my familyJ. I read this wonderful poem and I have pasted a printout in my wardrobe to inspire me to move towards my dreams.

I never believed in fairy tales or Prince Charming kind of dreams. I always had one dream that I as Archana should have my place in this world. People should know me for me as Archana. I love to be called ‘Kapoor’ or ‘Nagpal’ or ‘Kapoor Nagpal’ but my identity is my name ‘Archana’ and I want to do justice to my name.

I salute all such women who believe in themselves as women.

My husband gave me a shirt that has a very nice slogan. The shirt is faded now but I still have it in my wardrobe as it is a great inspiration for meJ. I was given this shirt on my resignation from Deloitte and this is an interesting story that I will blog this week for my readers.

“Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.”- Marilyn Monroe.

Think big, Do big (outside the box of ordinary thoughts). I am dedicating this poem to all such women who believe in their dreams and strive to make them come true.

Life without life it's not life
Almost every one will remember
Day and night is cycle of life
Life on its own is not matured
I reiterate well spoken words
Hence its admiral of significant role of women

Some women can bless the day with their smile
Assimilate their culture of admiral
High concentration of moral fiber
These are the women of integrity
I talk nothing else but
Women like Nthabiseng Mthethwa
Women like Mapaseka Dlamini
Women like Sebolelo Mokoena
Women like Elsie Moganedi
Look around they are there
To reinstitute norms and Values
I call them women of integrity

As Harley barley, there are honorable women
Full of high concentration of moral fiber
They adhere to walk the walks
And talk the talks; they are extraordinary in every aspect
Women like Delsile Hlophe
Women like Nonhlanhla Ndlovu
Women like Ellah Ngomane
Women like Whitey Mahlangu
Chronically they remain transparent
I call them honorable women of integrity

Fair remain fair as long as it's fair
There are extraordinary women
They are living in their time
And they are in time with their integrity
They deserve honor as they live it
Perfectionism is not enough
They remain constant and consistent
Women like Mapule Tshabalala
Women like Sara Mahlangu
Women like Selina Madihlaba
They are extraordinary women they deserve their Honor
I fore one applaud them for inherent of their heredity

There are women who are making difference
Printing their footprints
Simplicity remain predictable
They have their own significance
Women like Nomusa Tshangana
Women like Nomsa Masilela
Women like Modiegi Mphake
I call them extraordinary women of integrity

There are superwomen and extraordinary women
Honorable women and women of integrity
They have built their reputation and sustain moral regeneration
They have gained it through their subordinates
I reinstitute and reinstate their perfectionism
And their high concentration moral fiber
And they remain significant role player
Women like Nonhalnhla Matshika
Women like Thokozile Moyo
Women like Leisje Templeman
Women like Henrietta Mongoalo
Women like Lisa Mateya
And the list is endless

To all of you, Halala Basadi! ! !
I salute you today

Poems for Valentine’s Day !!

Thinking of roses, hearts and the thought that ‘Love is in the air’...lol...

 It is not me thinking all this but 99.9999...% people think Valentine’s Day like this. I am thinking about my mom as I am back to homeJ

Still a day to go but plans are chalked out. Tables are reserved and so are you spas. Hmmm....

Rather than ‘Go Green’, tomorrow the slogan would be ‘Go Red’. From shoes to bags and nail paints to your lip colours, everything is red. You just want to look the best – prom and primJ

What would be my plans, I will post tomorrow but for now, I read two lovely poems around Valentine’s and both are pretty contradictory to one another but interesting to share on my blog.

Enjoy reading and sharing ....

Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love.

Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a cute card or a kissogram.

I give you an onion.
Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
possessive and faithful
as we are,
for as long as we are.

Take it.
Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring,
if you like.

Lethal.
Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.

A Valentine by Edgar Allan Poe

For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes,
Brightly expressive as the twins of Leda,
Shall find her own sweet name, that nestling lies
Upon the page, enwrapped from every reader.
Search narrowly the lines!- they hold a treasure
Divine- a talisman- an amulet
That must be worn at heart. Search well the measure-
The words- the syllables! Do not forget
The trivialest point, or you may lose your labor
And yet there is in this no Gordian knot
Which one might not undo without a sabre,
If one could merely comprehend the plot.
Enwritten upon the leaf where now are peering
Eyes scintillating soul, there lie perdus
Three eloquent words oft uttered in the hearing
Of poets, by poets- as the name is a poet's, too,
Its letters, although naturally lying
Like the knight Pinto- Mendez Ferdinando-
Still form a synonym for Truth- Cease trying!
You will not read the riddle, though you do the best you can do.

Homework for my Readers - For once, then Something!

I am giving homework to my readers. If you have not read the below poem, then please read it and look for the analysis of this poem. 

This poem is related to my childhood. I still remember my father gave me the same homework years back. I was facing a situation in life where it was difficult to essay the truth and that was the time, when my father asked me to read and find the analysis of this poem.  

He asked me to do it myself so that I can learn the hidden meaning of the poem as when you work on something independently, you will never forget it! 

I follow the same rule with my readers. When you get time, please look for the analysis of this poem. It has a great deep meaning that is related to our lives and I am sure it will show path to many who are confused or lost due to their respective problemsJ 

For Once, Then, Something – Robert Frost

Others taught me with having knelt at well-curbs

Always wrong to the light, so never seeing
Deeper down in the well than where the water
Gives me back in a shining surface picture
Me myself in the summer heaven godlike
Looking out of a wreath of fern and cloud puffs.
Once, when trying with chin against a well-curb,
I discerned, as I thought, beyond the picture,
Through the picture, a something white, uncertain,
Something more of the depths--and then I lost it.
Water came to rebuke the too clear water.
One drop fell from a fern, and lo, a ripple
Shook whatever it was lay there at bottom,
Blurred it, blotted it out. What was that whiteness?
Truth? A pebble of quartz? For once, then, something.

I always tell one thing whatever you do, do it for the person you see into the mirror. That is not only your reflection but your true innerself. If you are proud to see yourself, then you have won the battle of life!

JJJ.......Cheerio knelt at well-curbs

Always wrong to the light, so never seeing

Deeper down in the well than where the water

Gives me back in a shining surface picture

Me myself in the summer heaven godlike

Looking out of a wreath of fern and cloud puffs.

Once, when trying with chin against a well-curb,

I discerned, as I thought, beyond the picture,

Through the picture, a something white, uncertain,

Something more of the depths—and then I lost it.

Water came to rebuke the too clear water.

One drop fell from a fern, and lo, a ripple

Shook whatever it was lay there at bottom,

Blurred it, blotted it out. What was that whiteness?

Truth? A pebble

‘So You Really Think You Are Living’!!

Life is one such journey that gives you most of the options. When you have more options, you are more confused. If you know what you want in life then maybe you are lucky to pick the right road and if you are like me who moves as life takes a turn then you are a risk player. But whether you love to take risks or not, life spares none, it makes us go through its ups and downs to learn to sustain and survive. After day, its night, after bad, its good and we keep going or dragging on this journey called ‘Life’.

What matters is how you travelled this journey not how quick you were to get what you wanted?

One road leads to another and so on. You meet people, you meet challenges, you meet criticisms, you meet love, you meet hatred, you meet friends, you meet enemies, you meet success, and you meet failures, on this journey of ‘Life’. The winner is the one who embrace enemies as friends. The winner or the efficient player is the one who look failures as a road to success. The winner is the one who knows that he took the wrong road but he has a hope that it will connect to the right way someday for sure. We all have taken wrong roads of life at some point of time but how we lived it, is what matters the most.

Live the way you want to live as ‘living’ is important. From where I see life, I always write it is beautiful. I wish I could have lived like many of you. For me every New Year in the calendar is one step to deterioration in my condition but still I LIVE as LIVING is important!

There is nothing more beautiful than living life and there are people who live it beautifully facing so many problems. The spirit to live matters the most. The poem below is one such poem that I love to read and just readJ

The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Just close your eyes and think – ‘So You Really Think You Are Living’

CheerioJ

Happy New Year Poem!

I have been writing for a website and this is one of the poem that I read on the same website. I loved it and as a new year message, I blog it here:)

Another year has passed,
And a new one is about to begin,
Everything you put your mind to,
Will be accomplished and you will win.

Just look forward in your life,
And set your goals for the year,
Then have a glass of champagne,
And bring in alot of cheer.

So don't look back at the past,
Believe this year will be the best,
All of your dreams are there for you,
Because you are so very blessed.

Happy New Year!  

New Year's Morning - Helen Hunt Jackson

Only a night from old to new!

Only a night, and so much wrought!

The Old Year's heart all weary grew,

But said: "The New Year rest has brought."

The Old Year's hopes its heart laid down,

As in a grave; but, trusting, said:
"The blossoms of the New Year's crown
Bloom from the ashes of the dead."
The Old Year's heart was full of greed;
With selfishness it longed and ached,
And cried: "I have not half I need.
My thirst is bitter and unslaked.
But to the New Year's generous hand
All gifts in plenty shall return;
True love it shall understand;
By all my failures it shall learn.
I have been reckless; it shall be
Quiet and calm and pure of life.
I was a slave; it shall go free,
And find sweet peace where I leave strife."
Only a night from old to new!
Never a night such changes brought.
The Old Year had its work to do;
No New Year miracles are wrought.

Always a night from old to new!
Night and the healing balm of sleep!
Each morn is New Year's morn come true,
Morn of a festival to keep.
All nights are sacred nights to make
Confession and resolve and prayer;
All days are sacred days to wake
New gladness in the sunny air.
Only a night from old to new;
Only a sleep from night to morn.
The new is but the old come true;
Each sunrise sees a new year born.

Christmas party at the South Danbury Church

I am posting a poem for your Christmas Party by Donald Hall. I always liked this poem as when I read each word, I can visualise the sameJ. Maybe, I can connect to the poet and the thought of Christmas through this poemJ

Christmas party at the South Danbury Church (Donald Hall)

December twenty-first
we gather at the white Church festooned
red and green, the tree flashing
green-red lights beside the altar.
After the children of Sunday School
recite Scripture, sing songs,
and scrape out solos,
they retire to dress for the finale,
to perform the pageant
again: Mary and Joseph kneeling
cradleside, Three Kings,
shepherds and shepherdesses. Their garments
are bathrobes with mothholes,
cut down from the Church's ancestors.
Standing short and long,
they stare in all directions for mothers,
sisters and brothers,
giggling and waving in recognition,
and at the South Danbury
Church, a moment before Santa
arrives with her ho-hos
and bags of popcorn, in the half-dark
of whole silence, God
enters the world as a newborn again.

Good Day!

Christmas Trees!!

Christmas Month and what else we need at the end of the year. I bought a Christmas tree for our home and I was copying some content from the web to understand how to decorate the same. It is not an easy job for me as I have done this beforeJ. But never give up...I will try and my husband is very sure, I will mess it upJ

I read a very nice poem and I would love to post it on my blog. It is written by Robert Frost, one of the most famous English poets, who has written numerous poems and portrayed a realistic life in his poems. The Christmas Trees is one such famous poem. Read it and I am sure you will love this one!

Tired for the day...Buona NotteJ

Christmas Trees

The city had withdrawn into itself
And left at last the country to the country;
When between whirls of snow not come to lie
And whirls of foliage not yet laid, there drove
A stranger to our yard, who looked the city,
Yet did in country fashion in that there
He sat and waited till he drew us out
A-buttoning coats to ask him who he was.
He proved to be the city come again
To look for something it had left behind
And could not do without and keep its Christmas.
He asked if I would sell my Christmas trees;
My woods--the young fir balsams like a place
Where houses all are churches and have spires.
I hadn't thought of them as Christmas Trees.
I doubt if I was tempted for a moment
To sell them off their feet to go in cars
And leave the slope behind the house all bare,

Where the sun shines now no warmer than the moon.
I'd hate to have them know it if I was.
Yet more I'd hate to hold my trees except
As others hold theirs or refuse for them,
Beyond the time of profitable growth,
The trial by market everything must come to.
I dallied so much with the thought of selling.
Then whether from mistaken courtesy
And fear of seeming short of speech, or whether
From hope of hearing good of what was mine,
I said, "There aren't enough to be worth while."
"I could soon tell how many they would cut,
You let me look them over."

"You could look.
But don't expect I'm going to let you have them."
Pasture they spring in, some in clumps too close
That lop each other of boughs, but not a few
Quite solitary and having equal boughs
All round and round. The latter he nodded "Yes" to,
Or paused to say beneath some lovelier one,
With a buyer's moderation, "That would do."
I thought so too, but wasn't there to say so.
We climbed the pasture on the south, crossed over,
And came down on the north.
He said, "A thousand."

"A thousand Christmas trees!--at what a piece?"

He felt some need of softening that to me:

"A thousand trees would come to thirty dollars."

Then I was certain I had never meant
To let him have them. Never show surprise!
But thirty dollars seemed so small beside
The extent of pasture I should strip, three cents
(For that was all they figured out apiece),
Three cents so small beside the dollar friends
I should be writing to within the hour
Would pay in cities for good trees like those,
Regular vestry-trees whole Sunday Schools
Could hang enough on to pick off enough.
A thousand Christmas trees I didn't know I had!
Worth three cents more to give away than sell,
As may be shown by a simple calculation.
Too bad I couldn't lay one in a letter.
I can't help wishing I could send you one,
In wishing you herewith a Merry Christmas.

Do You Quit???

Life is not perfect for anyone of us. There are times we decide to quit or walk out of a relationship or place etc. We all have imperfect lives and that is the beauty of life. You feel to live more as you have some challenge or target to achieve or overcome any obstacle. Perfection lies in being imperfect!

I share a small experience with all of you. I have appeared for 8 interviews in my professional life. I cleared 6 of them and was rejected in the rest two. The only difference in my rejection and selection was my thought process. The interviews that I successfully cleared were with a positive attitude and mindset that ‘I will be selected’. The rest were outcome of my negative thought that I failed to clear.

Mind is the only driving force. You can do it if you think you can do it!

The author of below poem is unknown but his poem is a great inspiration for those who decide to quit or get dragged towards ‘negativity’. Everytime I read this poem, I ask myself “So You Think You Are Living”...Guess???

Let us start our weekend and the coming week with a positive note - ‘facing the challenges and overcoming obstacles of life’ as I always say ‘Life is so beautiful, live it and love it’.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown

CheerioJ

Be the Best of Whatever You Are!

In life we usually compare ourselves to other people. It is pretty natural that there needs to be competition to surviveJ

But when you compare yourself with others always make sure that you are just a spectator of their success to benchmark your life but you do not know what kind of journey they had to reach where you see them today!

The competition is difficult when you have to compete with yourself. It is rightly said, you cannot create an army against yourselfJ

It is not important to be what others are but very vital to be what you can be. Body is made up of atoms that make a molecule and then a compound. If you cannot be a compound then do not hesitate to be an atom. What matters is that be the best of whatever you are!

Two days from now, I will complete a year of blogging and we will celebrate the First Anniversary of this blog. This poem is a contribution to the concept – ‘So You Think You Are Living’. I loved this poem ‘Be the best of whatever you are’ by ‘Douglas Malloch’

If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill
Be a scrub in the valley--but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can't be a tree.

If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway some happier make;
If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass--
But the liveliest bass in the lake!

We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,
There's something for all of us here.
There's big work to do and there's lesser to do,
And the task we must do is the near.

If you can't be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can't be the sun be a star;
It isn't by size that you win or you fail--
Be the best of whatever you are!

CheerioJ