Meandering thoughts - Sita Sreeraman

It is the end of March now, spring is yet to burst out. We have had an unusual winter with major dips and highs; there were warm days but come February, we have been in a cold snap ( read below zero degrees) and there is yet one more impending one, as I write this! Yet, the air around me now is pregnant, heaving with unborn life, the buds are there in trees and the trees seem to be holding on to them magically- not yet letting them bloom, a few brave early flowers here and there - daffodils, primulas, some brave snails and earthworms making an early appearance. Life seems to be on a fine line, holding on, I can almost hear the millions stirrings around me, all just waiting these few precious degrees of sun's warmth. Life and its myriad possibilities, I often find myself pausing in awe, as I wait for the fecundity of Mother Earth to unfurl in all it's glory. Almost like an inhalation and waiting to exhale, the threshold, almost there but not yet! How long will it hold on bef...

I asked the leaf whether it was frightened because it was autumn and the other leaves were falling. The leaf told me, “No. During the whole spring and summer I was completely  alive. I worked hard to help nourish the tree, and now much of me is in the tree. I am not limited by this form. I am also the whole tree, and when I go back to the soil, I will continue to nourish the tree. So I don’t worry at all. As I leave this branch and float to the ground, I will wave to the tree and tell her, ‘I will see you again very soon. That day there was a wind blowing and, after a while, I saw  the leaf leave the branch and float down to the soil, dancing  joyfully, because as it floated it saw itself already there in the  tree. It was so happy. I bowed my head, knowing that I have  a lot to learn from the leaf. --Thich Nhat Hanh--

I recently read a book called " 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life". It is a journal of Cami Walker, who is diagnosed with MS(multiple-sclerosis) a month after she is married and how she slides down into the disease and depression and self-centeredness and then starts a process of simple giving on the advice of her friend. And the giving starts profound changes in her life. I made notes of some really nice things from the book: (hope this is not copyright violation): By giving, you are focusing on what you have to offer others, inviting abundance into your life. The gifts can be anything but their giving has to be both authentic and mindful. A closed hand cannot receive. I think you need to stop thinking about yourself. If you spend all your time and energy focusing on your pain, you are feeding the disease. You are making it worse by putting all of your attention there. Healing does not happen in vacuum, but through our interactions with other people....

The results of the historic US election 2008 are out - Barack Hussein Obama has won the Presidential Election with no doubts whatever. The time for Vote For Change and Yes We Can is definitely here. The world has been closely following this election and indeed it heaved a collective sigh of relief at the results. What is it about this election that has mesmerized people and why are other countries taking such an interest in what is a US domestic issue? The war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economy and climate change have been the three main issues in this election and they are no doubt what interests the rest of the world as well. But for me it is the super hero appeal of Obama! That Senator Obama who is an African-American, has 'Hussein' as his middle name, has no political lineage like the Bush, Clinton dynasties pulled it our by sheer hard work, passion, self-belief and intelligence makes him an great hero. We can look up at him and say "Yes We Can!" . And heroes ...