I wonder what she thought.

#Paris2016 , #traveldiaries

Shoe Fetish

Cinderella Cinderella

She has no time to ponder, She has no time to sit

How would she know, what’s her fit ?

Until one evening, touched by the magical wand of possibilities

She realized there is life beyond her adversities.

 

Oh, then there is another lady from my slumber book

She was just obsessed with herself, that made her a crook.

She is lady Cruela Di Vil

Seeking perfection, she is ready to kill.

 

I dwindle between the ideas of – always putting oneself in other’s shoes Vs the other extreme of having a “shoe fetish”.

When I get into other’s shoes, I  hardly care about my fit. My fit, to a large extent becomes insignificant to me. There is even a possibility that in due course  of time, my own shoe might bite me back because I ignored it for a long time.

The other extreme is having a shoe fetish that takes me anywhere and everywhere in search of “my perfect fit”. My shoe fetish keeps me in the blind spot, and I overlook the bare foot folks right next to me.

Follow any extremes, or be somewhere in between – It’s a choice. But make sure the choice isn’t forced upon, or the joy it brings is not shallow.

The Pajama Fit

I see my pretty little red dress hanging in my wardrobe, reminding me of the few  (and far in-between) “wow” moments.  It has not been picked up for a while now- not because there wasn’t an occasion to wear it, but because it’s a high demand relationship with my little red dress. I need to be  in my “best shape”, else we do not go well together. This high maintenance relationship demands me to “handle it with care” and “dry clean” only. I  also need to make sure to wear the right co-ordinates that goes well with it – the right shoes and the right accessories.  As I flaunt it, I consciously or  subconsciously stay away from any “spillage causing agents”, and that sometimes includes my own kids.

When I get back home, the first thing I would want to do is to get out of this “high maintenance relationship” with my awesome pretty little red dress . I am eager to be back in my pajama, stretch out, take a deep breath and just be me.

Aren’t the most enduring relationships like the pajama fit – one that you always want to get back to? The one that gives you enough breathing space, and accepts the fact that as a person you may not be your perfect-self everyday. The one that is not pressurizing you to “always” handle it with care. But for some reason we also tend to take our “pajama fit relationships” for granted.

Those pictures in the pretty little pricey red dress is guaranteed to get a lot of “likes”,  but at the end of the day we all yearn to go back to our pajamas.

Beauty

She comes in all sizes and shades,

Over the years she doesn’t fade.

She is nothing but the reflection of thy soul

If you have found her in you,

You would see her in all.

Merry Go Round

Merry go round , Merry go round

Its been a while, I have felt the ground.

There is more in store, to be explored

The sand, the sea, the mountain and the shores.

I want to be lost to be found

Rather than just go round and round.

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What does “settled in life” mean? –  The person has settled on a certain momentum to go round the orbit at a predictable pace. How about moving out of ones own orbit and taking the linear path at least once in a while? –  for an experience beyond one’s orbit and a tangential view of ones own life!

Cooking or Baking

Cooking – for me is a ritual where I have the flexibility of creating something soulful using the ingredients I choose to add, and the quantity is always based on gut feel. Stirring, tasting, adding spices to perfection as I proceed. I look for the color, consistency, texture and aroma to make sure I have balanced the ingredients right. I could never go exactly by measurement cups, spoons and reading manuals to reproduce a recipe – for me it is a creation act and not a reproducing act (wonder why we call having babies an act of reproduction and not creation 🙂 ). Cooking needs my full-time involvement and when I am done cooking, I would have almost lost my appetite because of my overwhelmed senses.  What I enjoy most then,  is seeing my loved ones at the  table relish it.

On the other hand, baking to me is more about following a plan meticulously – having the right measurements, right temperature, right time – and getting the expected results.

If I relate my life to cooking – I would love to stir, taste, add ingredients in the process of creating a unique flavour that is my life. Equally are people whose lives are planned with the right input in the right environment – giving the expected flavour and consistency in their lives. Either you cook or bake, depends on what you enjoy most.

One also has the option of getting fast food or frozen food. It demands less personal effort – but I would say that’s a life  where we have agreed to loose control of what’s getting added into our lives.

Move On, Let Go

We are all less significant in this world than we think we are. Life moves on, people move on with their lives. My most loved ones will move on with their lives and that is exactly how it ought to be. No one is indispensable. The concept of apocalypse and end of world theories are manifestation of the “fear of insignificance” of human life & existence. In the bigger cosmos we are just so significantly insignificant. This isn’t a negative thought – it’s the acceptance of the impermanence, and the beauty of impermanence.

What if the lily in my garden wilt away?  The day of its bloom brought joy to my soul and I experienced its beauty every moment of its existence. Its fragrance swept into my room each day. But eventually it wilted and fell. Did I mourn forever? I waited for another bloom that recreated the whole experience all over again.

Everything moves on – and this realization makes it easier for me to let go and not getting stuck.  So, then like the lily in my garden – I am here, I am now…putting my heart and soul to the “here and now”. When its time for me to move on – I need to whole heartedly let go.

The pond, the creek or the mighty waterfall ?

Seventy percent of the world around us is made up of water and sixty percent of our body is water too. The water manifests itself in different forms –  as freshness of the morning dew, as power of a mighty waterfall, as spirit of a traveller in the nomadic river, as stillness of the neighbourhood pond, as sorrow in the tear drops and as so much more.

Some of us choose to manifest like the waterfall – the powerful, aggressive, fearless ready to fall from heights, ready to hit against the rocky mountains. The higher the fall the greater is the majesty and beauty of the water fall. Her courage to “fall” from heights  is her beauty and her source of power too.

Some are like the crystal clear creek – whose  pace of flow is slow, but the sound of the flowing water is meditative. There is clarity, and the soul is reflective. The beauty of the creek is its soothing and calming effect.

Or we could opt to be like the nomadic river – unstuck with any place travelled and the people we meet, moving on sharing love all along, and finally reaching the all-encompassing ocean to be one with it.

I believe the most common way we manifest is like the stagnant pond – still, settled and stable – looks beautiful at the surface level with water lilies & lotus blooming.  The water is not the clearest in the pond and it may never make the move to meet the all-encompassing ocean but it surely is a habitat in itself.

However we manifest, we are indeed a lot of water!!

The Window

I am a traveler walking the streets of an unknown neighborhood called life. Every person I meet is a window; some are so well guarded with barb wires and have painted their panes black to avoid any sort of intrusion. I avoid these windows and with the very natural instinct peep into the first transparent one. I see just mundane stuff, nothing exciting and I move on. From a distance I could see a beautiful scenery on the other side of the next window and I make a halt. I wait for a while and later realize that the scenery is a poster pasted on the window, truly disappointed I move on.

Now as I move, I have become slightly cautious. Here comes another window but I am a little reluctant this time as to avoid any disappointment. I figure out from a distance that there is some movement on the other side of the window which makes me feel that it’s going to be real this time. The view is breath taking and has filled me with joy. I look at it wonder struck for a long time and then realize I need to move on. Filled with the memories of the wonderful view I move on and as I move,  I stop by a window which I had no intention to peep. I stop and to my sheer amazement, it just feels I see myself or rather am discovering myself the way I never did before.

Even though this isn’t the most wonderful sight, I am stuck and unable to move forward as – I am home!!

The Road Trip called Life

On my life journey I need to decide the road I want to take. I can choose to be on the highway for my one and only road trip, choose the lane and maintain my speed as everyone else on the lane. I need to be focused on my speed, directions and end destination. The scenes on the way pass by as I drive. There is something that catches my attention but I wouldn’t slow down. I keep moving. Now I see a crash but I still move on.   I will be causing more trouble for the rest of the highway folks if I stop. The system would take care of crashes that I pay taxes to. Oops now I  hit a rabbit that was trying to cross the road. Well the highways are not meant for these bunnies – I convince myself and keep moving.   I am not alone on the road; well that’s what I think.  There are lots of highway takers like me who enjoy the speed and the thrill of the drive. I know for sure that no ones going to stop or even slow down for anyone else.That’s the highway characteristics and I have signed up for it – move on & enjoy the adrenaline rush!

There is an alternate country road as well that I can take where the speed limits are low. I open my windows and feel the place around, catch glimpses of life. It’s a sunny day and I stop my car around the corner to walk over to a small town cafe. As I walk towards the cafe, a stranger standing by the pavement comes over and asks me for directions. To my surprise our destinations are similar. The conversation started over some crepe and coffee  and ended up offering him a ride. We talked, we laughed as the good old country song was playing in the background. We stopped at places that caught our attention and took a ton of pictures. We did reach our destination but surely at our own pace. It was hard to say good bye to the once stranger I hardly knew.

A lifetime road trip – the country roads or the highway – its entirely up to us to choose.