A rise and Red Jar

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Day-37 Gratitude series

01.05.20

A rose and a red Jar

Being in pure gratitude when I am writing is a joy like no other. And it’s fun too.

Me,hunting around my home to photograph an object that holds meaning for me and to share it with my friends..

I too am seeing my home with fresher eyes and I feel a sense of peace as I float around my home.

I received a rose from a cherished one years ago, and I had it varnished and mounted on an impulse then.

Today, seeing it brings a rush of memories as well as the love I received with the flower then. Grateful.

The big red spotted jar whose lid has broken eons ago, is our go-to place when we are searching for something we have lost. In this big jar all knick-knacks go in.

A stray mobile cover, a single earring, wrist watches, batteries, hair-clutches, sari pins, ball-pens, lids of plastic boxes, rings, key-chains, keys, and anything that, if they were left to themselves would look like clutter.

The days we have guests over, this jar is full to the brim. Even stray sweets or chocolates go into it. And our home space looks neat.

Clutter is a sign of a home well-lived.

Keeping it tidy is simply being a mom!!

After all, a home is where the heart is

It is not where we breathe, but where we love that we live. Is it not?

May our homes be a place of happiness and health

Of patience, respect and generosity.

A home full of creativity, humour, and love.

May those who live here, and those who visit know only blessings and peace.

“Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home

How sweet ‘tis to sit beneath a fond father’s smile,

And the cares of a mother to soothe and beguile

To thee I’ll return, overburdened with care;

The heart’s dearest solace will smile on me there” by John Howard Payne

Light & Love

©Dr Naznin🥀

Pocket Watch

Day-36-Gratitude series

30.04.20

A pocket watch

Today I have my pocket watch as my muse.

I recall buying one for me and my friend at the Portobello market.

This is a delightful market, a mile long of hustle, haggle, colour and energy. It’s a potpourri of a market in the real sense and a lot of fun to be in.

I spied this little marvel in a window and though I may have been fleeced, I bought two for the price of one, haggling like a pro.

This pocket watch which I have named Darling, stays with me most of the day, much to the irritation of my other darling. Especially because this one does not function and is yet close.

I love to hold Darling in the palm of my hand. It has a handsome “kingfisher carrying an arrow” as an embellishment and even though it does not show me the exact time, I can open and twirl its key to set it to time I wish.

Is not it wonderful to have such a darling with you? It’s a quaint, special piece indeed.

Its oft said, time and tide wait for no one.

But if it did, would I like to stop myself so that I kept pace with their waiting?

I don’t think so.

Life is about movement.

And about adapting and creating joy every step of the way, no matter how hard it may feel like at times.Simply do it.

The biggest truth of life is, the earth rotates without asking and so should we.

So assuming that time is erratic, let’s,

Love

Forgive

Believe in miracles

Hug

Heal our wounds

Cultivate ease

Let go of dark thoughts

Rise from ashes

Be humble

Choose peace

Approve of oneself

Be passionate

Always love more.

Warm times ahead

Light & Love

©Dr Naznin🥀

Light and Flowers

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Day 35-Gratitude series
29.04.20

Light and Flowers

I lit this lotus brass lamp and placed a flower tray beside it to create this fetching ensemble of a picture. The by-product of me committing to my writing is that I have discovered a latent talent for amateur photography, with an ordinary mobile phone.
Happy and Grateful

What do light and flowers mean to all of us?
A symbol of joy, love, light and hope?
And are not these same emotions that keep life flowing?

Life flows, but do we?
Should we?
Why not stay in a state of inertia, like slouching on your couch like a reclining potato?
Why bother with movement? Well, one might say it is healthy too.

Then is it not necessary to walk our mind too?
Towards change, adaptability, creation, openness to new experiences and light of knowledge?
Walk your body, walk your mind is my mantra.
It is not about your weight.
It is about a willingness to experience life in all its hues.
To surge ahead towards wisdom and recognizing the light of wisdom in others.
To be generous of our praise to the worthy and to be able to discern between the exemplary and the mediocre. To be silly and foolish when it is fun and loving and compassionate when required.
How beautiful and colourful is that?
Lift is truly beautiful. Let us recognise it. Acknowledge it. Claim it. Own it.

The lines below are part of my golden favourites. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

“To see the world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wildflower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour”
William Blake

Life is mine and Bliss is within
Light & Love
©Dr Naznin

Radha-Krishna

Day 34-Gratitude series
28.04.20

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This is a Tanjore made by my daughter and rests peacefully on my wall.
I look at it often. It emanates peace.

As the legend goes, One day, Krishna complained to his mother Yashoda about the injustice of nature which made Radha so fair and him so dark.
To pacify the crying young Krishna, the doting mother asked him to go and colour Radha’s face in whichever colour he wished.
In a mischievous mood, naughty Krishna heeded the advice of mother Yashoda and applied colour on his beloved Radha’s face;
Making her one like himself.

So simple and yet so beautiful.
To make one like yourself.

Which we are.
We have just forgotten it and justify our intolerance in many ways.
Why do we not adopt Lord Krishna’s teachings on love and practical living?
And do not most transcended beings have similar teachings?

Does harming someone produce a feeling of empowerment?

Is it not possible to live heartily with joy in our heart for who we are and what we have? without discrimination?

Well, Each to his own brand of understanding!

Though, one thing is certain, there is a lot of joy in sharing.
Wellness through sharing, sharing is Healing.

“The power of a gun can kill
The power of fire can burn
The power of wind can chill
The power of a mind can learn
The power of anger can rage
but
The power of a smile
can heal a frozen heart” ….Tupac Shakur

The power of a smile can heal. I know.
Life is ours and Bliss is within
Light & Love
Dr Naznin

The Globe

Day 32-Day-33-Gratitude series
26-27/04.20

The Globe

My laptop who I have named Dello, was acting fussy and it took a while to get dressed and ready.
I had to coax it a little but then a little pampering works for us all, doesn’t it?
Here is a picture of a globe on a colourful oft-used painting palette next to a modem in another quixotic corner of my home.
In today’s times when we are so well connected with the world and our dear ones through the internet, our globe has definitely become a well-connected village and I find these services a boon. Grateful.
I remember a time when we were living in one of 16 flats in Parel, Mumbai and we had the only telephone in the building and how it was designated as the common phone for everyone’s use. I was in charge of assigning timings each day to whosoever wished to use it. And if they wanted a specific time they would bribe me with sweets which I happily received.
It was so much fun!!
Life has a way of convoluting in ways we can not envision.
Especially when we are living in the moment and the future as always seems uncertain as it sometimes is.
But is not, that, the characteristic of Future?
To be uncertain and different?
If it were certain, it would be the past, wouldn’t it?

” Happy the man and happy he alone,
He who can call today his own.
He, who, secure within, can say,
Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today.

Be fair or foul or rain or shine
The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine
Not heaven itself upon the past has power,
but what has been, has been, and I have had my hour”
(by John Dryden)

Life is beautiful if we allow it to be
Life is truly ours and our Bliss is within my dear friends
Light & Love
©Dr Naznin.

ECHOES OF EMPATHY

This is a shade of my intuitive writing, which I share, knowing… it is with blessings that we are humans.

We can think and emote.

Can we pledge ourselves to use our qualities for the benefit of at least one other being?

I think of my elders each day. Sometimes each moment. They are the irreplaceable losses of my life. And yet the most cherished. It is through them that I write.

My grateful-ness knows no bounds.

Today, I reflect to the sacrifices of our nobility of centuries ago.

What immense sacrifices and pain they took upon themselves to fight and be inflicted with wounds, just to give us the message of truth and love and to teach us to have the ability to stand up for what we believe in.

Our FAITH !!

God’s will and God’s word.

Even if to most, God maybe a hypothetical figure or name, we are all blessed to have someone in the name of the most revered.

It could be different to different people. It does not matter.

We just have to remind ourselves of the essence, the flavour and the aroma of their teachings.

Of Being….

My history reminds me of a Regal, Dynastic Noble, who had light shining from his very countenance. People who saw Him, lowered their eyes out of respect for the Brilliance that shown.

He fought a war that need not have taken place.

Sometimes you have to fight to defend. And speak in a language which the other person understands.

Against all odds, HE fought an enemy who flouted all rules of war and decency. Women and children were left without food and water for days.

Valour, Truth, Courage, Skill and Stealth with a two-edged sword he braved, for he was the Lord.

Sundown, His horse returns to the tent without the Regal Horseman.

The pathos of all brethren then,

and

A similar energy of truth and deep pain resonates with fervour even today.

The resonation is not for mere show.

It is to remind us of the sacrifices laid down by our forefathers who are the  forebearers of humanity.

It is to remind us to be more compassionate each day, sharing true kindness with each soul, whoever they may be and however you may perceive them.

Every creature of this nature is deserving of a warm touch and a kind word.

I, myself, have seen many trials, though they are absolutely trivial in comparison to the above history.

But I know, deep inside that it is their blessings, with which, I have risen. They have sent good people down my path who have made life easier, and paved doors where there were none, and thrown the window panes open to let the Light and Joy in.

I was provided with people who loved me and wonderful blessings of family and a noble man who adored me and even today he has sent me the twinkling, smiling sky to do so.

The light behind the grey cloud.

It is a trust in HIM where words become superfluous and actions are mere that.

The truth of knowing love inside is so sure that presence is within and no physical proof is needed. The contact is telepathic and connect is intertwined. Grateful.

Today I call for each one reading this article to resonate with kindness and joy at being Alive.

Let us all together, count our blessings and with ease, let loose…..ECHOES of EMPATHY, that reach far and wide creating a CARAVAN of compassionate  human beings.

Let’s make our forefathers proud. 

Written with Grace.

Life is mine and Bliss is within.

Dr. Naznin.

20.09.2018

Light from Leeds

@50 Series

Article No. 5

Light from Leeds, UK.

Mamma Mia

I amaze at the quality of the sun.

It ripens a bunch of grapes so perfectly

as though it has nothing else to do at all.

Recently, i saw the film Mamma Mia part II.

The songs of ABBA are truly timeless and its lyrics embody everyday situations so well.

I went down nostalgia lane repeatedly and the ending message that a daughter is a wonderful companion and a friend and a blessing all rolled into one resonates with me blessedly.

I know that feeling and it does feel immensely like heaven.

I have yet to visit the famed heaven above, but here on earth it has been visited many times through the eyes of my kids and with them have stepped into my own paradise.

I would like this to be a message to all those who have children. Cherish them. And all your other relationships too.

We are a race which has the capacity to have friends in various hues and different shades of grapes.

Different sizes too.

Pluck them and savour them.

And know, very definitely that you are worth a ton to them too.

To all those who are trying for children, i would say,    don’t lose heart.

A will to nurture is primarily the quality that is required to be a parent.

So if you are one of those who are feeling low or out of this conversation, go out there and see the various choices available on your journey to having a baby.

If you choose to, you could adopt and provide a wonderful, educative, loving environment to someone’s child who will soon become your own.

Allowing you to fulfil your nurturing instincts, giving you a song to sing and somewhere, happily for all, amongst tears and grins, giggles and drama…life simply will flow on.

And one day you sing to your child, “ But i know i don’t possess you, With all my heart, God bless you. You are still my love. My life…

Mamma Mia it is !!

Life is yours & Bliss is within

Written with Grace

Naznin.

@50 Series

Article No. 4

I want to see you.

Know your voice.

Recognize you when you

first come ’round the corner.

Sense your scent when I come

into a room you’ve just left.

Know the lift of your heel,

the glide of your foot.

Become familiar with the way

you purse your lips

then let them part,

just the slightest bit,

when I lean in to your space

and kiss you.

I want to know the joy

of how you whisper

“more”

Happily forevermore!

Life is mine & Bliss is within.

Dr Naznin.

 

@50 Series

Article No. 3

The wind in my hair

Entangling it

I asked it

To deliver my scent.

Ahh love

I sensed your inhale.

Oh yes!

I breathe you too.

Musty & Strong

Bonds which are unseen

&

Intertwines which last

Through lifetimes…

The poignancy of love

The quiet knowing inside

That says

We just are

Formless

None required

An embrace as easy as the incoming tide

The distance?

Only as distant as the tide following it

Untouched by fellow-humans

Just him & me

A flow so intense

No medium required

Highs and lows

With

Intercepting plateaus.

Tender

Laughter and Joy

Tumbles and Tears

Blessed we are… With the ability to love!

To be loved

So well-ly & twice-ly

@50

Life is mine

&

Bliss is within

In humble gratitude

Dr Naznin

@ 50 Series

Article no. 2

What keeps certain relationships so vibrant?.
What keeps them unaffected by outside forces?
Love is and remains for me the strongest force..
Certain relationships just are.

A tweak, a touch, a call, a message, a look.
Eternal meetings

Never ending sharings
Happy yearnings
Certain relationships are undefinable.
They are like water.
Fluid and always find their way to each other
No matter what
Like shores that meet
Swirling currents
Twine & Intertwine

They just are.
Part of who they are and part of who you are
Persist even after you resist.
A strong emotional connect which is the most natural.

They are simply blessings from Grace.

Life is yours & Bliss is within
Dr Naznin