You’ve being exiled to a private island, and your captors will only supply you with five foods. What do you pick?
I used to maintain a book on quotations, metaphors and idioms when I was a kid, there was no internet kinda stuff.
One of the idioms that pops up is this one:
While others live to eat, I Eat to live.
Eat to Live – Basically it means that eating should not be one of your favourite hobby, one should eat healthy and survive. At least I am not to finicky when it comes to eating. As a matter of fact we need to eat to survive else we succumb.
Live to Eat- on the other hand refers to the fact that eating for you is something beyond just survival.
Given the fact of captivity, do I need to bother what I have been given to eat once taken captive, still given the choice I would go with rice, tea, pulses, egg and bread.
In this age I believe having internet access will be much of a boon when in captivity. we can keep posting our daily update on social media.
Country Side Restaurant- typically called Dhaba serving Baked Stuffed Parathas(Indian Bread) – @http://agileopedia.com/
The above image is from a country side restaurant in India when we were en-route to Agra to see the beautiful Taj Mahal. These are called Dhabas in India and they serve some real good traditional Indian mouth watering and relishing dishes.
So next time you come to India make sure you visit one.
Life is too short to keep cribbing over small things, be content with what you have and enjoy it to the fullest.
People who always crib about what they don’t have, about their job, about office, about the neighbour, of not being given opportunity should refocus on their attitude towards life.
Life is too short either keep on cribbing and cursing your life or stand up, create the opportunities, chase your goals and be what you want to be. We all are blessed with 24 hours and God has given us enormous gifts, these gifts lie within us, it is time we realize that we are always in a much better position than millions, stay positive and explore our best potentials which are hidden within us. Imagine its like you receive a gift and you don’t use it – Gifts are not meant to be kept wrapped, so unlock your wrapper and explore the gifts within – your power of creativity, wisdom, leading, presentation, drawing, singing, cooking, whatever you are best at and win the world.
Stay surrounded with positive people and good friends. Once I was having a chat with the Vice President of an MNC who had a quick rise to success. He narrated since he started his career and climbed every step of the corporate ladder he had many hands(mentors or coaches) which he could hold to climb up. It was for him to decide which hand he needs to hold to get to the next level, He was fortunate enough to hold the faithful hands and climb the ladder efficiently. We can rectify our destiny by our choices and unleash a world of opportunities by taking the correct decision. This is only possible when you are content and having a peace of mind which in turn enables to do the next level of proper planning and execution.
Do you feel you have found your voice on your blog?
So did I find my voice in my blog – Yes I did, I share my experience, my learning and what the world has taught me, to be where I am today. My post happen to be around my experiences, situations I have faced, books I have read. I try to recollect them and share with the community. I want to give back to the world, what it gave to me; obviously the better things.
These are simple yet powerful tips to keep your blog’s heart beating:
Power Writing
Blog Category or Voice: Do you have a particular reason for starting your blog. People blog about photography, cooking tips, parenting, motivation and other stuff. So although this may sound implicit but it is very important for one to realize the sole motto why he is here, why am I writing the posts in the blog. Once you have a vision for your blog half of your battle is won.
1 % Rule: I read this a few months back and it is very motivating, just do 1% daily of your goal. This means at the end of the month you will achieve 30%. so in other words you can make 30 posts a month. Believe me this is possible, just give a try.
Simple Sharing: Your post don’t need to be out of the world or a first time read for the world. Share what you know, what you have heard, what your Mom,Dad, Granny or Kid has told you or your experiences with them. Share a message from a video clip your friend has just shared on WhatsApp. You may find it trivial but there are many people out there for whom it will be a first time read, they will love it. So get rid of this belief – “I may be writing about trivial facts’. Share your experience of a book you read or a movie you saw recently, trust me people will love to read your summary and the way you have shown your interpretation skills. Be simple in writing your posts, you need not showcase your oxford dictionary skills and use the most complex words to leave your readers Google about it. Being simple will help you connect with others.
Reading: One of the most important trait is to read what others are writing. Also indulge in reading stuff from other authors. This will help your creative imagination to divulge, you will gather more ways to coin your voice. I myself have some blogs which I follow and read their posts, then there is Paul Coelho – from Alchemist to Veronica decides to die. I also indulge in listening to music from hard rock to classical.
Buy Time: This one is the toughest part. I am thankful to GOD that he has blessed everyone with 24 hours, rich, fat, slim or tall all human beings are having the same time boundary. It is how you plan your time, so be good in your planning and ask yourself when is the best time to do some scribbling in your post. Indeed I have to buy time from my wife, kid, office and friends to post. Morning hours works for me.
Thoughts for a post: You might be having some fix time for your bog, however the best thoughts come to me at stranger times, when I am sipping a coffee in the evening, taking a bath or listening a song. Recollect your thoughts before posting, make a list of topics which came to your mind which you believe could make a good new post.
Writing Prompts: Follow daily writing prompts, it will help you initially to write even in topics which are not comfortable. This brings us out of the comfort zone.
Read what you write: Before you hit the Publish button or even after that read your post once, does it make an appeal to you. What you dot like to read, you shouldn’t expect others to read it.
Be Happy: Be happy, chase your dreams and ambitions – what I want to convey is, create positive vibes by your post, talk about some skills, your photographic or your poetic side. There is a lot of negativity around. People are genuinely not interested to read about it, Be the happy person to post and soon you will be the catalyst to create a ripple of happiness like a stone thrown in still water creates ripples.
Stop worrying: Stop thinking what will people think about me when they read my post. Start writing first and let others do the thinking. We should not worry about actions which are beyond our control. This is a single reason which is killing the dreams of millions – “The worlds biggest fear, what they will say my dear”. Bury your worries and be free from fear of others,, create trust in yourself and you wil be rocking not only in your blog but wherever you are.
So just get going and set your post rolling out.
Leave some words to let me know how did you find this post and share your views.
So what’s your favourite holiday memory. I would like to hare my bit.
My visit to the Himalayan city of Manali is among one of the most remembered holidays. Manali located in the Himalayas in the Indian State of Himachal is a city surrounded by snow clad mountains, devadār trees kissing and reaching out the skies, the chilled weather and River Beas in the back drop. It is a perfect romantic get away around Delhi.
There are certainly reasons more than these as to why this is my favourite trips:
We visited the place on our first anniversary and it was the first time my wife witnessed snowfall and any hill station. She was like wow, when she saw the snow-clad mountains and when at the Solang Valley(a place filled with snow, having skiing, rides etc) she went bonkers. How can we forget the taste of coffee amidst sitting in the snow.
It was hypnotized to see the snow fall and the clouds pass by us.
Visit to the Hidimba temple was quite unique, she holds a high religious faith among the locals.
As my daughter was not born at this time, she would always get angry whenever we watch the photo slides or videos. She would complain to take her at the same place to which I add to her worries by replaying, Hey you need to get married for that. And then she starts the war with me…
Surfing in the snowSnow Filled Mountains: Himlayan Range
These are very simple yet powerful four words. This phrase is an adage which signifies that we can use it at good as well as negative moments. It helps you to maintain a balance when you are elated or you are grief stricken or in a tough phase of your life.
The origins lead to Arabs kings although I have not dug much on it.
Indeed I heard a fable around it which I would like to narrate here.
Emperor Akbar belonging to the Mughal dynasty during 1560 had a flair and love for arts, culture and literature. He had a wise courtesan called Birbal. There are many folk-fares of Akbar and Birbal which are famous in the Indian sub continent however this one is short and inspiring.
So once Akbar was having a walk in the town with Birbal and suddenly he asked him “What is the phrase which can be used in both happy and sad moments. When I am sad it will make me feel happy and when I am happy it would make me feel sad.”
Birbal very wit-fully replied, “Majesty it is indeed, This too shall pass“.
When you are happy it will make you feel sad that this enjoyment is short lived and soon the moment will vanish. When you are low it will make you feel good that it is not here to stay.
Although there are separate origins of the saying and you can do a wiki, I wanted to share this with you all as it is short and inspiring.
Stay blessed and happy…. and keep posting . Celebrating #NaBloMoPo.
This was the time of life when I was having a bumpy ride in my life. I don’t want to dig you deeper in my life however the story is around this.
When you face the toughest challenges in home, work or life, you need to remember two golden words “HOLD ON“, don’t give up and stay till the end before you call a quit and always remember the saying This too shall pass.
When I was having this situation and badly needed some motivation and inspiration my Dad narrated me a short story, not exactly a story but a motivational thought.
He said look son, people are afraid of putting their hands on fire(situations), they don’t want to take risk and some have fear of getting exposed(these are the one who want to remain encapsulated). Once you are into the situation (with others too) just remember to firmly keep your hands above the fire until the flames douses off.
Diya: An Earthen Lamp, lamp made from mud
Always remember that no matter how severe and devastating the fire is, at the end it always douses off. Have you ever seen or heard anything contrary to this. Be it a matchstick or a massive fire, it always goes off. These simple yet powerful thoughts shared by him made an impact, a connection in my mind which gave me motivation enough to recollect and re-build myself and my inner strengths to fight the situation.
During such situations in life we should have this ability to persist, and firmly hold on until the fire goes off, i.e. the situation is well handled. People often do the mistake by quitting earlier; Feel the heat, Bear the brunt and remember thy shall come out victorious.
To end with my motivational story telling I would like to share with you all the Billy Joel track “We didn’t start the fire”, which came to my mind while writing this post:
We didn’t start the fire,
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning.
We didn’t start the fire,
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it.
Subhash Chatterji's World 