You Can’t Take Anything, but Can Give a Lot

What do we want in life,
A lot of money would be good!
For that will help us buy,
Clothes, cars and good food!!

A big house would also be nice,
With the best of interior decoration!
We want a nice green garden outside,
And a few guards at the gate of our mansion!!

We spend our whole life,
Chasing money for all these stuff!
But when we die we go alone,
LOL, for life has played its big bluff!!

It is fact we all go alone,
There is nothing ours to take away!
But there is a lot to give,
If we choose to look at life that way!!

We all have within us treasures,
Of love, kindness, joy and hope!
Our best resource is our smile,
Give it and nothing is out of scope!!

Giving love and joy never cost us,
Yet it enriches those who receive!
It creates happiness, joy and friends,
And it can cause miracles you won’t believe!!

Seek the Power Within

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do you think you are weak?
Then I bet you indeed are!
Bit if you feel and act strong,
Then you can win every war!!

When you look for help,
You seek answers from outside!
No such help can satisfy you,
For real wisdom comes from inside!!

The whole world is yours,
Stretch your arms and embrace!
If you fall along the way,
Learn from it & get up with grace!!

Your will is always stronger,
Than the hold of your senses!
If you realize your real power,
No temptation can break your defenses!!

Get out of the paradox of life,
And break free from all shackles!
Recognize the power within you,
And then you can cause many miracles!!

10 Simple Steps to make writing easier and more effective

My previous article on writing regularly and getting better at it in 10 easy steps has been received very well, and I could not have been more glad. There is no better way to start your day than by waking up to a mail by someone who read my article saying that it has helped him in his writings and he follows my tips (blushing 🙂 )

Obviously my learnings while writing has not been limited to only ten points. So when I thought of writing a sequel to the above article, it didn’t took me enough time to come up with 10 more points. These are some tips which helps me in writing easily and effectively without much distractions. I am sure it would help you too if you are facing problems on finding ideas or concentrating while writing an article.

1. Disconnect from the internet

Take that network cable out or turn off your wifi before you start writing an article. This way, you can concentrate fully on your writing and not be distracted by new emails, facebook notifications or pings by friends on messengers.

2. If you get stuck, take a break

If you get stuck while writing and could not figure out what to write next, get up from your seat and take a break. A break could be just taking a 10 minute walk outside your office in fresh air or chatting with friends or colleagues over a cup of coffee. While on this break, try not to think about what you were writing and just have some fun. Crack some jokes, spread some gossip, or just spread smiles. This way, when you come back, more often than not, you will find words flowing out naturally. It has worked for me on numerous times, and I have no doubt it will work for you.

3. Write at a time when you are at your best

Everybody has some time of the day when they are at their best. For example, I am at my best in the morning and get my most productive work done before noon. Some people work better at evenings and late nights. To be able to write more effectively, I recommend writing during your most productive time, or in other words, when you are in the mood.

4. Hang around with people related to topics of your writing

I think this is very important. If you are writing about politics, meet people who talk about politics and indulge in a dialogue with them. If you love sports, find a group to talk about sports, or even better, play the sport. If you don’t know people who will talk about your interest, find them. I tend to observe people and then write about human behavior, and for this, I get out on long walks sometimes and just observe people on the roads, in some shops and try to find ideas for my articles.

Have fun, but make your life worthwhile

Have fun, but make your life worthwhile

5. Write multiple articles at the same time

There is no restriction on writing only one article at a time. Instead you can always work on writing two (or more) articles at one time. Write for one article for 15 minutes, and then switch to the another. I think it helps me as I write on one article, the mind still churns out ideas about the second, which I then write down when I switch. It keeps my mind from getting saturated and bored with the pressure of writing on just one idea.

6. Write an outline first

Before starting to writing an article, try to write some bullet points on what you want the article to focus on and how you want to structure your different points in the form of an article. Once you are done with it, you can start expanding each point into one or two paragraphs. For example – Before writing this article, I wrote down the 10 points first and then proceeded to write a paragraph of text for each point.

7. Don’t wait, start before being ready

Don’t wait for a good mood, or the right time to start. Start without waiting to be ready, for when you start writing, you are ready. I have always believed beginning is the most important part of doing any task. Many times we give ourselves excuses like the mood is not right, or ‘I don’t feel like writing today’, or ‘I don’t write well’. Instead, leave all these reasons and start writing. Period.

8. Concentrate and focus in a quiet place

If you are getting distracted by people around you and the noises they make, go sit in a quiet place. It could mean closing the doors of your room for 30 minutes while you write or find some peaceful place in your office. Personally, I sometimes book a conference room in office and go and sit peacefully and write 🙂 If you are at home, make sure you have your TV and music turned off, unless you like some music playing while you write.

9. Go out and write. In a cafe. Watch people. observe

Contradicting the above point, you might want to go out to a crowded place and write. The aim is to change your regular environment and write in a new place. I sometimes go out to a cafe, sip some cold coffee and eat some cookies while I write. After an hour of two, as I get my task done, I get up and leave. Sometimes just by watching and observing people as they come, chat and leave in a cafe you get many ideas flowing which you can write down.

10. Make it fun

If you take a look at the above points, and even in my previous article, you will find that I tend to make writing fun. I don’t take it too seriously (infact I don’t take anything seriously) and focus on having fun along the way. So don’t write because you want a good article to come out. Write to express yourself, write to have fun, and write to write. When you focus more on bringing your ideas to life and not on the actual words, you will find that the output is undeniably good which people can connect to.

Five Things Forgiving is not?

After my last article in which I pointed out how being angry will only hurt us and how forgiveness is a gift, I have heard from many people asking for clarifications on what I meant. For most people, it is very difficult to even comprehend how can one somebody forgive a person who has done some wrong to you? Do we absolve the person of his crime or wrongdoing? Do we start accepting bad behaviour? In this post, I will try to clear these doubts and list out five things forgiveness is not..
 
1. Forgiving is not accepting bad behaviour or acts of crime
This is the most common misconception about forgiveness. It is not about accepting bad acts or behaviour by saying that mistakes happen. Any act which is illegal or immoral remains so. Forgiveness doesn’t mean approving of any such act. But at the same time, forgiveness is recognizing that it happened in the past, and making sure we don’t waste even a single second of the future by repenting or pondering over it.
 
2. Forgiving is not pardoning somebody of a crime
Even if you are willing to, forgiveness is not absolving the other person of a crime. It is not about letting somebody free, it is about letting yourself free. It also doesn’t mean we approve of the same crime again in the future. In other words, it is not about forgetting and pardoning. You can forgive someone and then testify against that person is court. It has nothing to do with justice.
Seeing the funny side of forgiveness

Seeing the funny side of forgiveness

3. Forgiving is not a one time event
There is nothing one time in forgiving, neither does it mean that after forgiving someone, you will not feel the pain of a bad act. If somebody killed your son, the memories will always hurt, and you might have to forgive the offender every time you feel hatred against him to set yourself free. In this sense, forgiveness is more of a journey.
 
4. Forgiveness is not about doing good or showing mercy
You can’t be more wrong if you think that by forgiving someone, you are doing him/her a favor. Forgiveness is like a gift you give to yourself, not to your offender. If you think you are showing mercy to someone by forgiving, then that is more about looking good than forgiveness. You forgive from your heart, not from your actions. The next time you forgive someone, make it a point to not tell that to anyone (maybe even to that person), that will be real forgiveness which will set you free.
 
5. Forgiveness is not about the person on the other side
Forgiveness has nothing to do with the forgiven party, it is about you, and how you choose to behave and act. It is not a fine gesture, it is about acknowledging (not forgetting) the harm that was done, and despite of it, forgiving. Forgiveness is freeing yourself of any resentment and ensuring you not waste even a single moment thinking about the past act. It is living like the wrong act never happened.
 
Always remember, forgiveness is neither forgetting nor reconciliation. It takes one person to forgive, but it takes two to reconcile. You might reconcile or not, but you can forgive nevertheless and be free. And only you can give this gift to yourself.

Why?

It is happening now,
Don’t know what, don’t know how?
I feel happy, but sometimes I cry
I want to know, why??

Of all pains, the greatest pain,   Is to love, and to love in vain. - George Granville

Of all pains, the greatest pain, Is to love, and to love in vain. - George Granville

Even though I met you today,
It feels you are far far away?
I am not drunk, yet I am high
I want to ask, why??

Your beauty is like a vast ocean,
Being with you is like dying in slow motion!
Now these feelings I can’t deny,
Can somebody please tell me why??

Am I dead, or am I still alive,
In this battle, how do I survive?
I want to jump, I want to fly
Can anybody tell me, why??

Eyes open or shut, only you I see,
Whatever this is, it is new for me!
To you, I never want to say goodbye
Just tell me, why??

You are messing with my head,
Often it feels like I am already dead?
I wonder if I am the same old guy,
What magic are you doing, and why??

Nothing excites me anymore,
My mind thinks only of you I swore!
I want to look straight into your eye,
And find answers to my every why??