7 billion people and 7 billion stories! You would think so, but, gees! There are many of us who live similar stories! The only difference is that we are at different places and at different times. Ultimately, we all end up going through the same ups and down. We would think that some things happen to only some people and to others. Well, evidently, this is a total misconception! If you are reading this, then, be prepared to be surprised. Because that is what life is going to do to us.

You will be beaten hard, twisted and turned and burned! No pain, no gain...right? Well, now you ask....how can one gain when they are beaten down like this? This is something only a few realize. They are the ones who come out a winner at the end. LIBERATION....freedom of the soul! This is what we gain! I am yet to get to that point. But, I am trying. Life is still giving me a beating at the moment. First I was in pain and didn't know why I was being beaten. Once, twice, three times....Well, it's taken me this many times to feel the pain and learn from it. Now, I am nearly there. I am shining, but, perhaps I still need some polishing. Then one day...soon....I will turn out like a brilliant diamond!

Among others, there is this one thing that I have understood. Consider yourself blessed if you have someone who truelly want you for 'who' you are and not for 'what' you are.... consider 'them' as your 'family'! There must be something about getting attracted towards only some people and not others. I don't hate anyone, but, my "bonding" is only towards a few. My bonding within my family has been strongest only with my mother, father and my niece. I don't have an explanation for this. I'm beginning to believe in being soul mates in past lives. Then why was I so desperate to be near my family, even after my mother passes away? Why? I have always wanted to live near my family and be a part of their life. Even upto the extent of compromising and making adjustments in my own life! Gosh!....this was not right. When we chase someone, they will always tend to be one step ahead of you. If you STOP, turn around and go in the opposite direction? You will see that this time, 'you' will be the one who is being chased! Hm! That's life! So, if you are chasing someone, perhaps it is time to STOP and ask yourself...are you ever going to catch up? The answer is simply 'NO'. So, save your time and energy...... just give up, get going and move on. There are other beautiful things to experience from life. Life is kind. It offers us beautiful sights. We need to open our minds and eyes and 'look' up and around.
For those who didn't get what I have written....you have my sympathies. For those who got it, be positive, get up and move one. You will be pleasantly surprised to find out what's in store for you! : )

HAVE A LOVELY LIFE!

"You cannot buy Happiness with Money..."
.....yes we all know that, but, how we seldom "understand" it. I have been brooding over this for over a decade now. It is this "society", the "materialistically driven, economically and politically motivated egoistic and power hungry methodologies" carefully and slyly enforced among us. No, no...I am not angry or frustrated.... unfortunately, I am infected too, by this disease, just like many of you! Can I get out of this rut? Not in this lifetime. Call me a hypocrite? Go for it! But, atleast I can recognize and admit to myself. I am starting to believe that there are many of you who think like me..(otherwise you wouldn't be reading this far into this article!). Well, I have seen life in the so called "land of opportunities" - USA. Now I have moved to Australia. I don't mean to compare the lifestyles between these 2 countries. (Perhaps, one day life will take a full circle, back to my birth country, India!??) But, the difference is that I have someone who cares for me (and vice versa) nearby now. Life is a little more meanigful now....Compromises taken?...well, of course! But, it is well worth it. However, am I "Happy"? Hmm...no...and I think I will NEVER be! The reason? I lost my mother....I had never imagined my life "without" her. She was one big reason for relocating here. She still smiles at me every morning I look at her.... "picture". I know she is with me ALWAYS! But, life is just not the same. This VOID...it will NEVER be filled. The only consolation? Life will end one day for me, too! I will be with her...inseperable then! Meanwhile, I know, for sure, that she will come into my life in one form or the other. I will let you know when this happens. Well, atleast, that is one string of hope for me.

Wondering if there is any co-relation with this incident and "money"....YES. I have missed out on all that time that I could have spent with my mother, instead, in trying to find a niche in a far away country..deprived of my family....the ones who I care for and who are most dear to me. Money was not what I was after. I knew it all the way, but, I was incapable to fighting the "rules of this society". I realise that now and I will never dither to follow my heart in the future, but, sadly it is too late to bring my "happiness" back into my life. Life teaches us lessons....but, does not provide us with an erasor to correct our mistakes. We get only one chance. So, for those who are lucky enough to have a loving mother or any family or friends living far away....hope you have learnt from my own experience. Don't waste much time trying to "make ends" meet. The "end" will always be that much away from your reach! And the past time will never return...NEVER!

Hi There! Hope all’s well on your side.

Today, I wanted to pen my thoughts about the effect of media on the public and how we tend to blindly follow their “statements” as “the TRUTH”. I can’t imagine how people can be so ignorant even in today’s world where we have access to so much information. Alright, in earlier days, there was no scientific explanation or research studies, etc., so most people were fooled into believing the weirdest of things….like drilling a hole in the head to cure “migraines”….sacrificing an animal to cure some other illness…taking the “blessings” from a “Holy” guy in order to have children ( give me a break! ).
The media can also be so biased that it can make you sick! Not only that, one day it says that something is good for you (of course this usually and always has to do to benefit some business products!), and another day, the same media comes out and says that this is Not good for you, thus contradicting it’s own report. There is no accountability…..well, but, you see we cannot really blame them…they are just doing their job by “reporting” news. However, on the other side, they have such a strong hold on our decisions. The one thing that most bothers me is how they keep changing their reports on health related issues. To me this is a serious matter. An example is what they said about the food pyramid and about aspirin. After a few decades, they come out and announce that Aspirin can have serious side effects, and after a few “days”, they come back and say that it is alright, but, just not for everyone and that people who are already taking a regular dosage must consult their doctor before discontinuing it. Well, I agree that the main culprits are the Pharmaceutical companies. But, when the media becomes their “mouthpiece”, they better act responsibily.

Just another topic, I would like to say a few things about is:“Blind Faith”. Have you ever thought why forming a “new” religion in today’s world, by anyone, is just next to impossible???? With all due respect, the existing religions like Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism were formed 1000’s of years ago, where nothing was really documented with evidence. To me, it seemed like another way of doing politics or forming political parties, if you may say. The more people you can get to believe you and have them follow your leadership, the stronger you become. How come, nobody can do this in today’s world???? Which is the last “true” religion that you know which was formed in the past 100 years??? All that they can do is form so called “organizations” and swindle money away from the old and confused people!!

I am a Hindu myself, and I have a few "questions" about the 2 most famous epics in Hinduism. How is it that all the "Devathas", who are the "Godly" guys in "Indraloka" (house of Indra) are always seen having a good time with women (dancers) and intoxicated drinks ("Madhupaana")? These guys are by the way "supported" by "Gods". They get away with any bad behaviours and wrong doings...and most of the time, they are depicted with "fair skin"?? Whereas, the Rakshasas (the Bad guys) are usually the "dark skinned" people. Speak of Racism??!! These guys always do things the hard and honest way, but, they are the ones who also get cheated most of the times, by the Devathas!!! Ravanna is supposed to be the "Bad" guy who kidnaps "Sita" (who is King Rama's wife).





















But, he never laid a finger on her, since he wanted to "win" her over, not, "Force" her into liking him. Wonder what "Indra" would have done in this case?!!! And then we are told to learn "morality" from King Rama.....who, by the way, falls for some weirdo dhobhi's suspicion about Sita's "fidelity". This leads to Sita sacfiricing herself in fire, just to prove her "honesty",...that too, after she sacrifices her 14 years of marriage in some scary Jungle, gets kidnapped and is brought back after a war, returns home and even gives birth to 2 sons!!! Gosh...Give me a break! Atleast, nobody has so far convinced me on this!!! I can ask many more questions, but, I think you get my point!

Well, this is just food for your mind! Your comments are welcome.

Famous people who have passed away....

Has anyone noticed that lately, in the past 2 years, ever since Bush started his 2nd term..., many celebrities and famous people have passed away....to name some, here is a list os some of them. I just feel this is weird, that should happen during his leadership, here. Don't you?

Entertainment : Christopher Reeve(52), Oct 10, 2004, Ray Charles(73) - Jun 10, 2004, Julia Child(91) - Aug 13, 2004, Marlon Brando(80) - Jul 1, 2004 Johny Carson(79) - Jan 23, 2005, Peter Jennings(67) -Aug 8, 2005, Luther Vandross(54) - Jul 1, 2005 Johnnie Cochran(67) - Mar 29, 2005 (O.J's lawyer), Richard Pryor(65) - Dec 10, 2005

Politics : Ronald Reagan(93) - June 5, 2004, Yasser Arafat(75) - Nov 11,2004, Rosa Parks(92) - Oct 24, 2005, John Paul II(84) - April 2, 2005, William Rehnquist(80) - Sept 3, 2005, King Fahd(84) -Aug 1, 2005

Business : Estee Lauder(97) -April 24, 2004, Geoffrey Beene(78) - Sep 28, 2004
.....and of course most importantly, thousands of our soldiers who are fighting this so-called "war" in Iraq and Afghanistan. I wish their families peace and harmony.I just hope that they return to their families safe and healthy.

Click on the following link to view pictures and read about other famous people who died in 2005 and 2004....
http://www.mcall.com/sns-2005-deaths-pix,0,2563560.photogallery
http://www.mcall.com/sns-2004-deaths-pix,0,1777127.photogallery

The parent link is : http://www.legacy.com/MCall/Obituaries.asp

We so seldom realize that death is a part of life...the ending part, yet, we do things like we will live forever. Life, everywhere, has become so mechanical. Everything we do revolves around "power" or/and "money". Look at Dick Chenney....give me a break...he has a pace-maker supporting his life, yet, he does not show any signs of compassion or kindness! This is my personal opinion...and I'm sure there are many who would agree. I still hope that whatever is happening in this world presently, will only make us open our eyes and senses to the more beautiful things in life. Atleast if we cannot do good to others, let's not do any bad either...right? I would apply this to our own personal lives as well as when it comes to countries as a whole...one country to another!

So much for now...more later! Have a fun-filled and safe holiday! Hope the coming new year will be good to people all over the world.

Family :

It's been a while since I have blogged anything. So I'm back. I had been to Australia to see my newborn niece....and she is such a sweetheart! : ) I had seen my nephew 3 years ago and MY! Has he grown up or what!! I had such a wonderful time with my family. Being close to your family is such an important aspect of life. To me, I would feel like a lifeless machine if I cannot have that "connection". Yes, we move to different places to make a living. But, I realized that when we are younger, we don't think about this as much as when we get older. Time can give us money and things, but, time with family can give us the best memories. This is what I would personally like to have with me, even more than owning a Mercedes Benz, or such. Well, this was just a thought for those feeling the same way, that I do. I will make this happen for me. I will make it a point to get all my family at one place so that we can see each other when we "want to", and not have to "plan" it a year ahead! Or even for that matter, see them one year at a time! I am just grateful to God for atleast putting me in a position so that I can have an option and ability to make this happen! ...and of course, for giving me the kind of family who also want the same ....to be with each other and for each other!

Life and Death:

How ironical is it, that we use the phrase, "Life and Death", in the same sentence. Yet, they bring entirely opposite emotions. Last night, we received sad news about the demise of a very dear family friend. Unfortunately he passed away......alone and nobody knew of it until a few days later. This hurts, really hurts. I pray that his soul gets a new release into a new life, a good one this time. I feel for his entire family, especially his parents and wife. May God give them the strength to handle this news and bring their lives back to normal.

It has been many years since I have "felt" the sorrow caused by "death". The last death that effected me was that of my great grand mother. But, she was very old and I understood that with old age, comes an end of "life". We all know and accept this fact. So, I had not really "felt" hurt, but, relieved on her behalf, that she was able to get rid of all the pain she was suffering in the hospital for such a long time. She had a good soul and I have good memories of her. That was almost 13 years ago. With time and age, we tend to understand and "feel" these emotions, since, we try to relate to it and imagine that "feeling". I shutter at such thoughts. There is this "fear" in me when my mind strays into the territory of such thoughts. Yes, I know that it is a part of life and there is no discretion from God. When the times comes to leave this Earth, there is no saying, "Just a minute"! All living beings are created to have a "beginning" and an "ending". Just like a story book, we have the first page and the last page. Everything in between is partly our own undertaking and we all call the story as "LIFE". Thus, it is unto "us" to make up the "content" of the story, whether it be happy, sad, funny, a disaster, adventerous, scary, etc. Of course, God, puts in a little twist of his own, into this story. That, I call it as "suspense". But, believe me, the major part of it lies in our hands.

Unfortunately, in today's world, most of us are driven to follow the "money", than to follow our "own" desires and passion. The true meaning of Life gets buried so deep within, that it gets lost. I guess that's how they came up with the term, "soul-searching"! Just track the time that you spend on any given day. It is mostly spent on considering materialist things. Well, as such, we spend 1/3rd of our lives on our jobs (i.e., if we have one), 1/3rd in sleeping (i.e., if you are lucky enough!) and if you live in a bad-traffic zone, then some time is wasted in the "commute". We hesitate to take unpaid time off from work! Well, in this regard, I am glad that I have made up my mind to change this for myself. We want to spend more time with family and exploring the beauty of our Earth - traveling! I don't really want to wait to collect my social security before I am able to live my life, the way "I" want to!!! Waiting until I am 68 years old seems to be too much of a risk to hold on to my desires. Yes, we might be more "financially" fit to travel around the world, but, will we be "physically and mentally" fit??? Money money money.....today we have it, tomorrow we don't...who knows! But, one thing I know for sure is that Time time time...today we have it, tomorrow we DON'T! So make the present happy and you can be certain of a happy past and....well let's see about tomorrow, tomorrow! With this mantra, "tomorrow" will certainly be happy, too! : ) I also agree with Suze Orman, who always says at the end of her show (on CNBC).....People first, then money, then things!

I just can't emphasize how important it is, especially for people like us, who migrate to a far away land, away from our family and loved ones, that all the money that we make here cannot really buy us the "happiness" and "life satisfaction". We get lost in our own lives and things around us. But, a part of our heart and mind is always with our families, at least subconsciously. Yes, we need the money to lead a decent, respectful life without being a burdern to others. I don't want to sound like a hypocrite! I do like the luxury that money can buy, but, at the same time I know it's limits, beyond which it cannot be of much help. I want us to indulge in spending our lives the way "WE" want to, not, go by others' standards (or the MEDIA's standards). It is not an easy task, but, we are sure that slowly and steadily, we will get there. When my husband and I look back at the pictures that we have painted of our life, I want us to sit back, smile and say to ourselves.....ah, that was journey, worthwhile and fulfilling ! : ) If I am the first one to die in my family, then, I will stick around for some time for someone to join me and then fly away into a whole new world where there is no fear of anything....where we all live peacfully in the presence of God. I do not want to be born on this Earth again. I do believe in rebirth, but, only if the peson dies with unfulfilled desires. But, I am not going to be one of them. : )

"Live life to the fullest."

http://www.deccanherald.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk
http://www.cnn.com
http://www.kannadaaudio.com

The World Today:

This is such a hot and vast topic....We all know that changes are happening with a higher frequency than it was, perhaps 1 or 2 decades ago. Just unbelievable!! But, I consider a major reason, is today's advancing technology. Thomas Friedman's recent book, "The World is Flat", is titled so appropriately! Again, the invention of the internet and it's availability in most parts of the world, has made the World a much smaller place than what we used to perceive it, in the pre-internet era.

You might say that the television has been around for such a long time.....yes, but, I wouldn't want to rely entirely on the news channels to understand the facts of what's going on around the world. So many channels are so biased and don't even cover some important topics and views....this, to me is another way of brainwashing the public. Every topic, opinion, news, interviewer, interviewee...they are all hand-picked. This I say by what I see on the American channels. Personally I have much more respect for European T.V channels, like BBC who try to cover major events in a balanced fashion. It is just unfortunate to me, that among so many cable channels, I do not have the option of BBC (Well there is a reason for this....the apartment owner, where I live, do not allow us to have a Dish installed, thereby, leaving me with no other option!)
The war in Iraq....first, very unfair war...cannot be justified....see no other reason than for "oil"...(hey, if it is not oil, then, how come this kind of attention is not being given to countries in Africa which need so much help? What about Cuba? How come US has left it alone? North Korea? ....) The world can use that money and resources that is being spent in Iraq in a much more constructive way....even a little child would be able to figure that out!! We the public have become so helpless (...or are we really??) Atleast speaking for myself...I am, and it sounds partly selfish and partly hypocritical . All I can seem to do is focus on charting a retirement plan for my own life and just grumble over the decisions that are made by the governments. Survival is also something that people need to worry about, right? Especially with the corporate corruptions that are emerging out in the open. Nothing seems to be a fair trial....there seems to be no Justice....this is so unfortunate and sad.

But, I do believe that this will change for the good. I am optimistic about this, but, just hope that it happens sooner than later. Hopefully, people focus more on much more relevant issues like the "Environment", "Peace", "Poverty", "Good Ethics", "Fair Trade", "Respect for All Religions", "Population", and the such. As for my husband and I, we plan to go "away from the Maddening crowd" , where life is more peaceful and meanigful and I know there are places where you can do this. After all, that's why we all work so hard, right! When I get really old, I want to reflect back on my life and say to myself that, yes, I made good use of my life, created good memories for myself and my family......not just of a computer, television and a set of 4 walls!! Get the picture! ; ) "Good Memories" are all that we can leave behind which will last forever!

Thank you for reading. Hopefully, my next topic will be on a lighter note. : )