Irony

The biggest irony about me being a blogger is that - I am a private person in personal life. I do not like to share my problems, thoughts, dreams, goals, plans (apart from a very few who I trust completely). If I do, then it is only when I want to share a perspective from that experience. My posts are generally 'thoughts' versus details from my life or about people in my life. I have stayed clear of mentioning any name or relationship in my entire blogging history. Interestingly none of my family members has ever asked me who is the post about, because the focus is not on who but about my learning from the experience of dealing with who.

I never was too specific about my life in this space and I never will be. The intention is not to be mysterious or cryptic but because I like to keep my whereabouts and everyday life to myself (as much as possible), and the same goes for updates on social profiles.

I do not want my readers to agree with me on everything I say, but at least try and see where I am coming from and engage to learn more or share their own opinions.

I cringe a little when I meet people from my personal life (family, friends) and they choose to talk about my posts in person with me. Even if it is all compliments (on my face at least). My online life taking over my offline life is rather quite uncomfortable for me. My wish is to share posts on the internet and then leave them there. I do not ever want to dissect its contents with anyone in real life.  :-).

Say what you wanna say

Here are my five reasons why I think saying what's on your mind is always the best way to go:

1. Silence is as good as approval. If you disapprove of something but not say anything about it, it is as good as enabling it.

2. People are not mind-readers. While you may think things are obvious, people might not view the world with your perspective.

3. You might not be the only one thinking about it.

4. Speaking your mind can be a huge stress relief. I am incapable of not speaking my mind, I have a great deal of anxiety if for some reason I don't speak. It drives me crazy. It becomes this whole thing which would have not even existed had I just spoken up. Speak up!

5. You would never have to say, “I wish I had said…”

Obviously, there is a way to put forth what you want to say. The above points are not applicable for saying just the disapproved things or just the things that are hurting you but the good things too :-).

Philosopher's stone

1. 
   I do not believe in 'love at first sight' or 'love at first meet'. For there to be love... there needs to be togetherness. There is a difference between attraction and love, attraction can lead to affinity, which people can mistake for love. In my opinion, if attraction and affinity are followed by togetherness and the attraction and affinity still stays unaffected... then that state is called love.

2. Can humans live with just a beautiful body or they crave the companionship of beautiful thoughts? I don't know about others but I easily get attracted to smiling faces with progressive thoughts, the good-natured people. With their intelligence, positivity, good nature and thinking they will make you grow as a person too. For me people with rotten attitudes and negative approaches are reproachful ... how-much-ever good looking they might be.

3. I have said this many times and I think that analogy fits in here perfectly...If you want to look good then buy gold but if you want to turn into gold... then look for the philosopher's stone.

Reading...is a good habit

I loved to read since I was very young, perhaps because even though we have just one life, I wanted to be on that spaceship to the moon, I wanted to go 20,000 leagues under the sea, I wanted to drink tea with Alice in Wonderland and learn a magic spell from Harry Potter. And this love of reading defined the entire course of my life eventually.

Innumerable brilliant men/women have left the fingerprints of their minds for us so that we can absorb that information and build on it; all we have to do is open a book and begin.

If you propose to speak...

“If you propose to speak, always ask yourself, is it true, is it necessary, is it kind” –Buddha

“Is It True? Is It Necessary? Is It Kind?

Oh! Stay, dear child, one moment stay,

Before a word you speak,

That can do harm in any way

To the poor, or to the weak;

And never say of any one

What you’d not have said of you,

Ere you ask yourself the question,

“Is the accusation true?”

And if ’tis true, for I suppose

You would not tell a lie;

Before the failings you expose

Of friend or enemy:

Yet even then be careful, very;

Pause and your words well weigh,

And ask ft it be necessary,

What you’re about to say.

And should it necessary be,

At least you deem it so,

Yet speak not unadvisedly

Of friend or even foe,

Till in your secret soul you seek

For some excuse to find;

And ere the thoughtless word you speak,

Ask yourself, “Is it kind?”

When you have ask’d these questions three—

True,—Necessary,—Kind,—

Ask’d them in all sincerity,

I think that you will find,

It is not hardship to obey

The command of our Blessed Lord,—

No ill of any man to say;

No, not a single word.

Poem by - Mary Ann Pietzker

9 books that stayed with me. 9

9. The Martian - Andy Weir

I had an aversion towards Sci-Fi books, I had read a few like ‘a wrinkle in time’, ‘ender’s game’, ‘Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the galaxy’ - all of these are well-known books, however, I did not enjoy reading them. I picked up ‘The Martian’ with reluctance and I absolutely loved it, I realized I do enjoy Sci-Fi after all, only if chosen wisely  :). I am now open to reading sci-fi and the ones that really liked are - Replay, The Martian, Recursion and Dark matter. 

Some avid readers say they read anything and everything, well I don’t. Life is too short to read anything and everything also once we start reading and appreciating quality stuff like Ayn Rand and Richard Dawkins it is hard to read anything and everything.

Hope you enjoy reading these books.