SMELLING A FLOWER... AND SMELLING A RAT





Life is not only hectic it is also short. And, it is not so only for a few… It is so for all. Every night, while going to bed, I can only pray and hope that I will be able to wake up when the night ends… Is there any guarantee? Does anyone owe that to me?

When I wake up in the morning, if I am truly spiritual by heart, then, I know that God has been kind to me, so far… It is grace that saves me… guards me through the night. So, now that I am awake and live… Here is a new day, one more day in my hand… How shall I approach it? Shall I stop and smell the little flowers on my pathway… or shall I go about smelling the rats?

Every morning, when the Sun comes out, I see two groups of people around me. One group is aware of the truth that Life has been a precious gift and the day in hand is sheer bonus, a grace. So, this group walks, jogs, does Yoga, performs a puja or attends a mass… or simply goes about life with a prayerful heart… The men and women in this group know how short life is, and they stop to smell the little flowers on their pathway…

The other group does the opposite. The men and women in this group have a trust deficit… and see people around them with their suspicious eyes. They assemble, early in the morning, just to plot against someone… Empty mind is a devil’s workshop… So, they have time to waste on conspiring against someone… almost every morning… They only smell rats along their pathway. Who says life is short… and who says it is a gift, a grace or bonus?

Now, when I see these two kinds of people every morning, it becomes easier for me to decide to which group I should belong…

Early in the morning! Yes, early in the morning is the time to thank God, be grateful for His blessings… It is not the time to huddle and conspire… It is the time to stop and smell the little flowers… It is not the time to smell the rats!

There is a difference between an ‘empty mind’ and an ‘emptied mind’. We can realize this truth only when we stop to smell those little flowers along our pathway…

GERALD D’CUNHA


Pic.: Anil Bedi

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...