Sunrise Seagull

Take a pause. Breathe.
Feel the aura at sunrise.
The sky reflects a pink-orange blush
as the Earth gives birth to her Sun.

Seagulls in slow steady flight
are flocking in celebration of the newborn.
Hurried haphazard roads unaware of the drama,
against the calm graceful gait of Nature.

I stand on the edge
as Life pulls me onto the faster track.
My mind longs to step back
and take the leisure trail instead.

Just then my gaze catches
a lone young seagull.
He flies solitarily with light on his wings,
away from the crowd.

His quiet determination, powerful motion,
spells a magical freedom.
Reminds me, Life’s tugs and pulls
are not without a larger reason.

:: The Landscape Architect , yet again, has stepped up to take care of the Poet and the Artist residing in me. She knows, passion alone is not enough to refill Life’s half full cup. But on a quiet Saturday afternoon, the Poet slowly rises and pours life force back into her tired soul…::

The best part of UAE winters is the migratory birds, especially seagulls that stay until the beginning of spring. Watching the seagulls in their slow steady graceful flight on these winter mornings is truly inspiring. Reminds me of Jonathan Livingston Seagull… one of the first few books I read growing up.

My Glimmers

I would always realise some moments in a day that would calm me down, bring inner joy and peace and make my heart sing. I did not know about ‘glimmers’ until I read a psychological article recently - - - ‘A glimmer is the exact opposite of a trigger—it is some kind of cue that brings one back to a sense of joy or safety. In our overstimulated worlds, glimmers can be the answer to regulating our overwhelmed nervous systems.’

From the beginning of this new year, I have let the Wind take charge of my life. To go with the flow. Accept new challenges that come along the way. I have taken that bold step towards a new beginning to see where I find myself towards the end of this year.

My life last month and my life this month are a totally different story. Somewhere that excites me, but at the same time, it scares me as well. It’s not easy to fit everything you’ve always loved into a much stricter schedule. Whenever we step out of our comfort zone in search of an upgraded life, Time is never on our side. It's either Time or Money. And that’s exactly how discovering these glimmers each day, each week become the pacifiers that help me look at the larger picture of life.

Watching the sunrise, feeling the warmth reaching deep inside my body, making every piece shine.

Discovering new flowers in my garden, the vines looking greener and denser, smiling to myself, I’ve taken good care of the garden.

A pair of laughing doves quenching their thirst in the bird bath full of floating pink bougainvillea flowers.

The neighbour’s cats walking on the parapet wall, owning our terrace!

Watching my children play outdoors and suddenly realising, they’ve grown taller.

Remembering my cat, Rumi, slept in shapeless ease on the sofa when I would come back from work, cuddling her, waking her up and watching her awesome yoga stretches.

Kris is already home, before I reach and ‘just poured’ hot tea is waiting for me. Aby is cleaning his football boots, very neatly and keeping them in the right place. Ary is studying for his Psychology test and seems to know much more than me in this subject. These are my magic beans!’ My Glimmers.

When God plays his card of time, we must learn to live in moments. I am learning this every minute of this new month, hoping to add more to my list of Glimmers, experiencing many familiar ones each week, trying to live life in a slow peaceful pace between two hurried blinks!

I found one this morning, when a fearless parrot visited the terrace and watched me water the plants! I’m still smiling. He gave me a great pose!

Let’s go, Wind! Let’s catch new glimmers!

The Wind will Carry Us

This year hasn't really gone the way I had imagined at the beginning. But that's exactly why I have learnt some important lessons. Life is unpredictable. Change is constant. We can never really plan our life. “The Wind Will Carry Us”--- just like the Iranian movie I watched earlier this year.

Even though things took a different route, I am thankful for many turns that my life has taken. I am proud of the fact that I stood up for what I believe in yet again. I went back to myself and continued to believe in my abilities, even though my belief system was slightly shaken. My priorities have changed. I want to focus on refilling my cup.

Honestly, I found some answers to profound questions of life while I was running the 5km marathon! This time, not just my husband and my older son, but my younger son also zoomed ahead of me during our yearly winter marathon. I had decided to keep a slow and steady constant speed and not stop at all, just calmly finish the race at my own pace. And I did exactly that. Who would have thought that running a marathon could be a spiritual experience! But it can be, when one finds their own track, pace, mind frame and the wind on the correct side!

Aren't we all running this marathon of life! Our pace and our fellow runners keep changing, but the race continues. The race is to finish well and complete our responsibilities , not to come first!

In November when I lost my cat, Rumi it reminded me of everything I have lost thus far. But one extremely satisfying experience was when my husband and I actually found another neighbour’s lost cat! I watched the woman reunite with her cat and found inexplicable peace. She gave me a hug and told me she had not slept that night and I completely understood what that meant! Has there been a single night I have not thought of Rumi! Then I thought of the concepts of “absence” and “union” from the Rubaiyat of poet Rumi…750 years of absence, eight centuries of presence!

I received my first Royalty for my poetry book, Amaira the little woman. I cannot put a price on that! Its the feeling of finally calling myself a published poet!  I had one gold and one silver pendant made for my precious Rudraksha beads, from that money to make the event immortal, just like the picture of Rumi, my kohl-eyed kitty on the pages of my book, Amaira…

Around Christmas, one of our neighbours had invited us to decorate their tree. We made ‘plans’ for a Secret Santa and cake. Their older son was to visit them for Christmas. But little did anyone know, that life had already made some other plans for him…and their family. I say with a heavy heart, there was no party. Only prayers, moist memories…and a shocking realisation...What is the meaning of life after losing a loved one!

We dream of having the whole perfect cake to ourselves, to decorate it, have it and eat it too… But sometimes all we are left with are two little pieces to call our own. Even then, let's be grateful for what’s on our plate. Those two pieces are enough.

When we plan to watch the splendid meteor shower, all set and ready to go, just like the previous years, this time the sky suddenly seems completely cloudy. The moon is full. We cannot even see the moon, forget the meteor shower! Then what do we do? This is Life. We can just sit out on the terrace instead, with a cup of warm cocoa, because my most favourite wine is also finished! I say, it's okay. The wind will carry us…yet again…into another New Year!

:: The Wind Will Carry Us is a 1999 Iranian film written and directed by Abbas Kiarostami. The title is a reference to a poem written by the modern Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzad.::