Living life in the Present

"Whatever you're meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible." — Doris Lessing

When I read this quotation somewhere, it immediately clicked with me. Most of us wait for that perfect time to do something or the other. Like I used to dream that when I would not be working, I would read like a maniac. When I actually stopped working, I was pregnant. I spent almost all of pregnancy at home but I read far less number of books that I would have read otherwise. Most of the times I did not feel like doing anything, overwhelmed by severe nausea for almost the entire tenure. After the baby arrived, I hardly had time. Well, it is always going to be that way. One always gets occupied by something or the other.

Recently, I was having a conversation with my mother and she had similar thoughts. She spent all her energy and time in taking care of the family and children, thinking that she would focus on herself after fulfilling her responsibilities. Now after both her children are married and settled, she has problems in her eyes related to nerves, since last 2-3 years. It is difficult to even walk or do any work. She does not like going out too much because first of all, she cannot go anywhere alone. Even if she goes to some place with dad or the family, she finds it embarrassing to make a conversation because she cannot look people in the eye. She has no control on the movement of the eyelids. She has traveled to Paris, Barcelona and Kashmir in this condition, of course without her will. She had always nursed dreams of going to Kashmir, romanticized by the movies of her times. Now that she went there, she did not enjoy that much because of her eyes. She tells me, I will advise everyone not to wait for some time in the future to live their lives. Wise words indeed!

I will throw in another example. When I was working, we would usually go to malls for shopping because there was never enough time to hunt small boutiques for exclusive stuff or novelties. I and my friend would often discuss that once we both quit our jobs we would dedicate complete days to each area in Pune for discovering quaint eateries and interesting boutiques. Well, we both are not working currently – I am not working since last 2 years, while she since last 6 months, we haven’t gone on a single shopping spree.

So, in this New Year, I intend to live life in the present and not in the future.

Catching Up!

After deliberating for a long, long time on where to start from, since so many things have happened in all these months – I will write in about present thoughts.

Someone rightly said (actually in a movie) – Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is Mystery. Today is the only gift. Perhaps that is why it is called “Present”!

The reason for not writing is purely laziness and nothing else. I like to believe, I’m very busy the whole day; but if you can’t find time to do what you love doing the most, nothing really matters.

2009 did not arrive with cheer and happiness. We do hope it brings joy to everyone, there should be new hopes and new dreams; but practically speaking, every other news was grim and disappointing. I’m not even going to dwell on any of those things right now.

I want to talk about the good things in my life:

Ø We celebrated our First Marriage Anniversary a month back – and he really took me by surprise with a trip to Panchgani. It was really cool (and I’m not only talking about the temperature)!
Ø We moved in to our new home - with all the changes we planned doing to it. It turned out to be awesome! Of course, there are several more plans for our home, but that would happen gradually.
Ø We saw hordes of good English movies, courtesy – BigFlix. Of late, our speed has slowed down but soon we will get back to our pace (as soon as we adjust our timing as per the new place).
Ø I made a huge collage of our pictures and moments of last 5 years together. It has come out better than my imagination. Actually, it was my gift to him on our Anniversary. We are planning to put up right in front of our bed. Actually, it is said that one should place pictures of happy moments all around at home. It especially helps when you are fighting. You let go off many things just looking at those. It works really!
Ø I hired a new maid for cooking in the morning. The funniest thing is she can’t really cook much. She can cook typical Maharashtrian food but that’s about it. I considered replacing her with someone else, but the only problem is I like her. She is extremely sincere in whatever she is told to do and is keen to learn what she does not know. I ignore a lot of thing because she takes care of the basic thing I need – cleanliness. That is absolutely sacrosanct.
It is really not about what you know and what you can do but it is about whether you are sincere and if you get along well with other people. The basic thing is people should like you.
Ø When we open the door of the balcony of our bedroom, there is a clear view of fields. In the early mornings (read 7.50 am, which is early in winters), it is full of fog. It instigates a sense of déjà vu when I look at it. It suddenly seem several years ago, standing just like this in front of my house, admiring the beauty of nature. It just keeps coming back.
Ø After getting back from office, we make it a point to have tea together and play something (earlier it used to be Scrabble, but these days it is Ludo). It is really fun (and some times very ugly, when we start fighting on who is a bigger fool and a bigger cheat)!
Ø In the new year, I am thinking about resolutions. Invariably, the resolutions are always the same:
- Read more
- Write more
- Call up friends and family more often
- Lose weight
- Better time management

Frankly speaking, you can never achieve perfection on above. You can never say you have read enough or you are in perfect shape or you manage time perfectly. It is always a moving target.

But as they say if you don’t know where you are going, you will not reach anywhere!

It is that time of the Year again

New Year is a time for New Resolutions. Yeah, I know we seldom keep our resolutions but that does not mean we give up. I think my Resolutions are going to be more or less same as the last year. As I said, 2007 is going to be a special year for me for the rest of my life.

I would really like to practice a spiritual relationship. My biggest problem is my expectations from others. In fact, a whole lot of heartaches would not happen if we stop expecting too much from others. It’s a fact that love / friendship / affection / concern for others eventually become something else. We start measuring how much we got for the love / affection we gave to others. Not done. If I love somebody, it’s me who cares for somebody, which should be independent of what the other person feels about me, right? But blame it on our up-bringing or the way we are conditioned, all relationships are evaluated on “give-and-take” basis.

I had been waiting to get married, to be able to think clearly what I want to do with my life. What next? Where do I want to be in next 3-4 years? This is the question which I keep asking myself. I remember, during our Advertising class, there was an exercise—imagine yourself on a magazine cover and then think about the caption written next to it. What would you like it to be? This is what you really want to achieve. And then plan your journey to reach that position. Amazing! Suddenly it becomes so easy and clear, isn’t it? Our problem in life is we keep fighting it out in the corporate world for better salary, for bigger Brand name; when what we actually want to do is Dance! So why not just Dance? Why do we complicate things? Besides, if you are really good in something, you would anyways make enough money. But nobody wants to take risk in life. So resolution number 2 is think about that Magazine Cover.

I have almost a library of books now and a whole lot of magazines. In fact, now a days, I am unable to find books in the Bookshop to buy, because I have got most of them. I mean, which I would like to read! I love my books. But yeah, this year, I am going to read them. I mean, I read them but not at the pace I would like to. I don’t know, it is just that I am too fond of them. And once you finish a book, it’s just gone. Ahhh…how do I explain? But anyways, let’s not be too emotional here and get on with some learning this year. Besides, my interests are not only in the content but also in the writing style since I am a budding writer.

I would like to make more time for family and create some of the best family memories for the rest of our lives. I have always felt that my mum and dad are world’s best, in every sense—the way they have brought me up, the way they are, the things that they have taught, etc—but after I got married I felt as if I’m losing a very essential part of my life. It suddenly felt too soon. The learning is not to wait too much for the right time, celebrate togetherness whenever you can. And yeah, click loads of pictures, all the time, everyday. These are memories which stay on forever with you, a proof of how you lived!


I would like to travel to all corners of India and then abroad! I have traveled to several places in India but I would like to explore the rest with more frequency. India is just amazingly beautiful. The most fascinating thing is the variety you find in India—from hills to seaside, from sand to backwaters, from tea plantations to wild life safari, whoa!


I would like to write more this year. I want to be a writer, and for a budding writer the most obvious thing to do is write, which I seldom do. I don’t have a story, I just like to analyze and narrate things. There is no tale, there are just instances of life! I plan to make it a career some day. Let’s see! I never planned to be where I am. I feel blessed that I got more than what I ever dreamt for. I narrated a beautiful story long time back. If I need to put it in one line—in the end, everything falls into place. You may not realize that when it happens but they are all there to complete your story.


I would like to invest more wisely this year. I have just started investing but I don’t know much. I think I’m intelligent enough to understand the market and basics of investment, so why not use it? If so many people can do it, why can’t I?


I would like to buy and create the most beautiful home for my family. I’m a creative at heart, I just know when things match and don’t match together. I always know what I want for my home and how to make even the worst corners of any house, beautiful and appealing. So, this year I’m going to put all my instincts into good use. I believe, a home should be a cozy and comfortable place, where one would love to come back to everyday.

This year, I want to give my best to my job, do some really good work. I want to feel proud of my work. I believe when you do something, you should leave your mark on that. I just know one thing, if you really want to do something, it is always possible!


I am going to learn something new this year, may be driving a car, anything! But chances are that’s what I would do. Driving really liberates you. It makes you feel powerful and free. It’s exhilarating and incomparably joyous. And add to that the happiness of doing something new!

And, yeah, losing weight and exercising is my everyday agenda (read resolution), so this year I’m going to be thinner and more healthy. Anyways, I’m not fat but I want to tone up and feel better about myself. I acquired several healthy habits last year, but this year what I really want to accomplish is getting up early, before the rest of the world does, to enjoy solitude and tranquility; to enjoy my own time and feel good.

So, with that I’m all set for the Year 2008. Wishing all my family and friends a more healthy, a more joyous and a better Year. May everyone be happy and content. Contentment is very important, otherwise there is never enough. If you know how to be content with what you have, you have known the essence of life!

Cheers!