Grateful By Ketaki S. Vaidya

 If you think about it it's really all about you from the very first breath till the very last one you come and go with yourself and not with anything or anyone you neither see anything here nor you hear anything there you see in your brain with eyes and brain hears with your ears whatever might be happening outside you feel it inside your heart all the thoughts and ideas are from within that make you look so smart so, when you are so busy with the life outside why don't you pause for a while? take a moment to look inside and greet yourself with a smile stop for a moment and practice self-care while running the rat race treat yourself fair You know what and where you are No matter what the others say so, ask all the bothersome questions to yourself by the end of the day. This whole wide world you have felt it within you The answer to "what's the whole purpose?" you will find inside too. 

भारतातले तो आणि ती  तो करायचा नोकरी  आणि घरात राबवायची ती  त्याच्या मागे बाहेरचे व्याप  आणि घरच्या उस्तवाऱ्या  काढायची ती  स्वयंपाक पाणी ,  घराची स्वच्छता,  मुला-मोठ्यांचे आजार, सण, पाहुणे  मुलांचे अभ्यास  परीक्षा आणि हट्ट  सुट्टीची तयारी  एवढी तिची कामं  त्याला त्रास नको म्हणून  हातात सारं आणून ठेवायची  काही कमी पडलं  तर वेळ मारून न्यायाची  आता तीही बाहेर जाते  नोकरी तीही करते  घराचं अजूनही बघते  आपल्यासाठीही जगते.  त्याने थोडी मदत केली  कि सगळे त्याचं केवढं कौतुक करतात! आठवड्यातून एक दिवस  चहा केला तर किती स्तुती करतात ! घरात बाहेर  सारं सांभाळून  ती नेटनेटकी राहते  मुलांच्या पीटीए ला फॉर्मल  आणि दिवाळीला नववारी नेसते  "फराळ विकतचा आणला"  म्हणून असते कधी तक्रार  तर " बाहेरच्या पुराणपोळीला हिच्या हाताची चव नाही" म्हणून मिळते कधी प्रोत्साहन  बाहेरच्या जगातल्या शर्यतीत  बरीच बरोबरी गाठली आहे  घरातल्या प्रवासात मात्र  विस...

 Some are polite some are rude some love to travel some love food no matter whatever is one's thing overall in general people are amazing One might be a loner   One's  life might be a quest but when you learn from other people  it helps you bring out your best when you are in crisis and feel nothing is going right people support you they encourage you to hold on tight I know people can be cruel causing mindless destruction but it is people only who repair bringing healing and reconciliation People are not perfect they come with all different incomplete things but we all are learning from life  and we all are amazing

 I have a place in my heart It is a place where I spent my childhood I know it does not exist anymore but it  exists in my heart just the way it was or just the way I perceived it was  I feel so lucky to be able to perceive it  the way I perceived it then. Where learning was not limited to school learning happened while the life happened there where I always felt safe whether I felt I belonged  or whether I felt I did not belong Where I met new people and discovered friendship Where I celebrated festivals and life in general where conflicts amongst friends  were life's big problems where I found a part of me that made one piece of my puzzle called identity I have a place in my heart where I spent my childhood I get to visit it once in a while when I meet my old friends I think we all visit it  for the time we meet and talk  that common place is one of the strong reasons  of our friendship It is still a piece of the puzzle called  my iden...

 During the pandemic I realized planning life was a joke As if till now I was in a deep sleep and suddenly reality gave me a poke.  It occurred to me that I had life time membership for the gym that closed down life looked all the same no matter whether you lived at country, city or town In one night everything changed even life's future goals It was suddenly important to store more grocery and have lots of toilet paper rolls All the fake sophistication was exposed by just forgetting to click "mute" on Zoom the so called "lovers for all lives"  had difficulty to stay in one room. Pandemic definitely taught me to look at life by keeping some sense of humor taking life very seriously was definitely a bummer!  

ब्रह्मांड ज्याचे क्रीडांगण  समग्र सृष्टी ज्याचे अधीन  भक्तांच्या भक्तीस्तव हे विश्वचैतन्य  दारी प्रगटले यशोदेच्या समस्त जो घेई आकर्षून  कृष्ण तयाचे नाव  खोडकर तयाच्या बाळलीला  का असतील ह्याला अपवाद? अशाच एके दिवशी  खेळत असता श्रीपती  दृष्टी पडली तयाची  अंगणातील गोरस पात्रावरी  गोरस थोडे खाऊन  त्यात खेळू लागला कान्हा  जमवून मर्कटांचा मेळा  त्यांनाही भरवू लागला  अंगणातील हा भलता खेळ  पाहुनी यशोदा चकित  रागे भरुनी हृषिकेशाला  बांधू लागली उखळाला  आणुनी एक दोर  बांधिला कटीभोवती जगदपतीच्या  जो चालवितो जगताला  ऊर्जा पुरवे ब्रह्मांडाला  भक्तीस्तव भक्तांच्या  तो झाला दामोदर  बाळ रांगूनी पुढे गेला  उखळीने भंगले वृक्षांना  कुबेर पुत्रांना दिली मुक्ती  अशा किती कथा देवाच्या!  किती कृष्ण कृपेच्या गोष्टी  दामोदर लीला ऐशी  वेळोवेळी भक्तांच्या  प्रेमाला उत्तर देशी  

Birds, rivers, and wind They do not follow any borders They fly and flow wherever they like Without having to follow any orders   Strong or weak, colorful, or colorless Every creature has its place in the forest Where all the rules are nature’s Without any discrimination or performance test   All the flowers with different colors Bloom happily in one place It shows that difference is beautiful No matter what skin or what race   Little kids get curious They do not respond with hate When they see something different Without having to teach them any growth mindset   Day or night, the Sun is always in the sky Duality is only what mind perceives But if we keep it aside and look around Its only desires that universe gives and receives