Conversation-4

“My pale cheeks still bore evidence of tears and my heavy breath was still not in control. Mind was confounded with fluttering events of the past and the broken pieces of my dreams lay all strewn on the floor right in front of my eyes. Trembling hands refused to feel anything.”  Earth mumbled in her shaky voice.

 “And then you stood there suddenly, shining brightly from behind the clouds determined to restore my faith, my smile and zest in life. Though the mind refused to accept you succinctly, yet the soul held its own opinion. The light of the day pushed you farther but the darkness of the night pulled you closer than ever. Winds delivered cryptic messages that sent the body glowing profusely with the sweet smell of your breath.” She gasped. “I had hoped my thoughts were not reaching you that you were not listening and that the higher powers were not playing truant. But all this was happening. And now it feels precious to have something that I always subconsciously wanted without possessing even an inch of it.”  

Hearing this Moon smiled impishly in the distant plane…

Shadows

When one shadow meets another

What is it that they prattle about?

Darkness that looms large on them

Or inability of men to grasp their feelings,

Silence that deafens them each moment

Or worldly noise that forever makes no sense,

Caged lifeless bodies that can’t identify them in dim

Or their agony for being unfairly blamed for disloyalty? 

You

You give me wings to glide the sky

To nudge the stars and peck the clouds,

You let me have what I always cherished

Fearless happiness and courage in loads,

You challenge me to scrap pretentious mask

Without a thought of what they think,

But wings they are of plaint malleable wax

They melt and mould in no interim,

They curl even before I realize my dream

My delightful flight to peace and glory,

And I sit pensively basking in serenity

With fleeting thoughts in mind and soul,

Of Stars, clouds, rainbow and you…

Yes, it’s a ‘No’ this time

Since the day we open our eyes to the first smile of our parents, it is profoundly instilled in our hearts that we should never say ‘No’ to anything requested to us. As we thrive in years this teaching keeps reverberating and often influences the very choices and decisions we make during our journey. This inability to say ‘No’ opens many doors and windows say many a fable but in real life it sometimes can obstruct many gateways. One has to accede to a ‘not so pleasant request’ only because we fear disappointing the other person. We make ourselves dismal and miserable to make others cheerful. We tend to imagine that by making them smile we are raising ourselves to a higher level and getting close to the almighty. We foolishly elevate ourselves to being a demi-God. Giving ourselves sorrow to give joy to the world! But is it even remotely possible?

How can we make others happy when we are broken? Only a happy soul can share joy. Is it not better to say ‘No’ because it doesn't make you feel good? How can one say yes to something that one doesn't quite agree with? How can one pretend to be what one really is not? We keep doing and saying things only with the fear of losing someone/something. But what is the point holding on to something that can’t accept you as you are. If it is destined it will happen anyway.

Saying ‘No’ can give ample satisfaction many a time. One feels proud of not getting weak even to the strongest of temptations. One may lose the object but one really finds oneself. It needs loads and loads of courage to say ’No’ and take an honest stand. The feeling of adhering to your life-principles is much greater than the feeling of having lost the object. You can lift your head high and prove many things to others and more importantly to yourself. With time the object, if it really is worth, will also respect you for your integrity. If it doesn't, then it was never worth.

One ‘No’ makes you lose one object but it draws so many other positive things towards you. Your self-respect, pride, confidence and love for yourself. It is in our cultural values to not disappoint others, but it is equally important to not disappoint ourselves first. No matter how priced the object is in worldly terms, nothing can beat the value of your own conscience. So get up, take a stance and learn to say ‘No’ to things you don’t agree with. One ‘No’ can open the road to so many ‘Yes’.

 Yes, it’s a ‘No’ this time !!