Autumn Tree

Like a naked autumn tree 

I stretch my arms to thee

Shorn of leaves, bare dull and grey

Towards your mercy my thoughts flee

The rope of life stretches long

I think I reach somewhere I belong

Wandering far and wide and new

it's only around your spool all along

My throat aches with thorns of thirst

My wounds open and crack

Lips parch and eyes wander in this melee

Towards your mercy my thoughts flee

One thing that we all look for...and seldom get

Eureka! I  have found the one thing that all mankind is after. We want it, we seek it, we covet it, we almost beg for it. But we seldom get it! What is worse: we seldom give it! And when we do, we add a lot of # *, conditions applied in fine print (and even red bold caps sometimes).

Is it so difficult to accept people for what they are?

It starts from the time we are in our cribs.As we grow, we yearn to earn parental praise and approval. While there is nothing wrong with that, how many times have you done just what your heart wanted (even when you know its perfectly normal, legal and sane) and not feared that your parents will not accept it? Many of us live in a constant fear of what our parents cannot accept. Even so, sometimes parents are the only people who will accept you the way you are. Their love only raises the 'acceptance' bar without them knowing.

Grow up and you find it is not just your parents but the whole world's expectations you have to live up to! No one is really willing to take you as you are. The only real deal we ever sign up with the world is to keep changing to be accepted.

We all crave the same things from everyone else - love, respect and acceptance. Maybe it would just be easier if we learn how to deal with the giving than the taking. 

Airports, bus stands and railway stations

You figured it! People - that's what's common here. People getting to work, to meet loved ones, to sort out issues, to relax...and always how you get to these places is just about as important as the journey itself. Are your eyes moist? Are you all twinkle eyed and excited? Are you exhausted??


And of course who is with you. Who is dropping you? Are they happy, relieved, sad, angry? Are they there for duty, security, love? I think most important give away is how you greet someone at the end of your journey. Is it 'honey I am home'? Is it 'honey (oh no but) I am home'? How bereft can one get if the trip that was so precious finally got over. All those months of planning, getting-excited-about, count down are now nothing but memories.
Have you seen how in a plane of almost equally sleep deprived passengers how some look really chirpy while others look indifferent and some outright depressed!


These places have power over our emotions. They are symbols of where we are at a point in life. It is how nonchalant we have grown since that first air trip. It is how many butterflies are dancing in the bottom of our bellies. It is how many promises we need to keep in that trip. It is how soon you have to be back and who is waiting for you back home. It is how much of yourself you are planning to give away to the new place...it is also how much of you really comes back from the journey.

Procrastination

Procrastination was one of the first 'big' words that I learnt as a child. It was a sign of things to come. I have always put off doing things - almost till I cannot bear to put them off. I always thought I would grow up to write. I would be a writer. But the more I think of it, the more I put it off. Almost until I have to release a newsletter or churn out a speech - I write for a living.

Over time I have realised that I am my worst critic. I cringe when I see my own articles. Why can't I sound funny inspiring and eloquent like my favourite writers. After all I enjoy reading and can tell if a story is worth telling.

Maybe its the self inadequacy genes inherited from overtly humble parents. Maybe it is the fear of God!

What really confuses though is the nagging niggling voice that keeps telling me to write. Putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) has become like a lover's longing. So at last I make this pledge to myself and notwithstanding all the single post blogs (safely hidden under pseudonyms and aliases) , I have stepped from the shadows into the spotlight. Possibly I am the only audience here so far. Possible that more will join. I will write..everyday.