A Day of Remembrance!

There comes a day in every one's life that reminds us about our existence-our BIRTHDAY! After having spent several years celebrating this special day with our friends, family, spouse and children, we come to a point wherein we start introspecting about the importance of this day. Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? Each passing year brings a new perspective towards life!

Dhara walked into room no 2514 on the fifth floor of the private ward. A faint smile greeted her “Happy Birthday” wished her mother, “why are you here?” She asked “ you could have stayed at home today! your Dad is here as well, there was no need for you to spend your special day here with me!” Dhara sat beside holding her mother’s hand “ what better way to spend a Birthday, with the person who brought you to this world.” she thought. These were the most precious moments of Dhara’s life, “I'm very happy to be here with you ma,” she smiled “look I’m wearing a new outfit today, don’t I look Pretty?” she asked. ”You are looking very pretty my dear child!” remarked her mother.  She gently planted a kiss on her mother’s hand and put her head down.

 We all need our mother’s when we aren't feeling good, don't we? As a child whenever Dhara felt insecure she put her head on mother's  lap. This was her moment of peace, be it exam fear or a bad day, mother's presence made a huge difference. When she had fever, she would be happy to have mother by her side. One by one so many instances crossed her mind. When she got married, extremely nervous about her new life, mother was there to calm her fears.During all the difficult times, mother convinced that this too shall pass. When she was going through a difficult pregnancy, mother took great care of her ensuring her baby arrived safely to this world. At each and every step of life, during all the rough times mother had stood by her like a rock! Throughout, Dhara’s  mother had sacrificed a lot for her. 

Dhara had learned the true value of relationships from her mother. Unconditional love, dedication and compassion. Her mother was her Hero- she had also braved the odds in life. Mother was an epitome of strength and determination for Dhara. She gained her strength from her mother. 

Every birthday Mother would take Dhara and her sibling to the temple to seek blessings from the almighty. She always prayed for the well being and prosperity of her children like every parent does. Today it was Dhara praying hard for mother's speedy recovery. She felt extremely insecure, fear of losing mother made her very anxious and sad. “ Dhara please get me some water “ mother asked in a low voice. Dhara quickly handed her a glass of water. “ you've become like a mother to me now” she said. Dhara smiled “ I feel so calm when you are around!” exclaimed mother. Life had changed their roles, tears rolled down her eyes on hearing these words. 

 Relationships change with time, life has it’s own method of imparting lessons. Dhara was fortunate to be by her mother’s side in the time of need. We are where God wants us to be at that moment, every experience is a part of his divine plan.Dhara had always questioned the purpose of her life and today she had the answer! This day, had changed her outlook towards life! 

Mother gave up the mortal world and moved to a  better place! Dhara, stayed back to continue her impending journey with the same strength and determination as her mother's. Life is like a river, go with the flow! Live, Love and Embrace everything that you receive with a SMILE!

Bonding Over Bedtime Stories

Stories take us to a world of imagination. Every story with its unique characters, timeline, backdrop and values leave a lasting impact on us. A Child's face lights up at the mention of a story. We all have grown up listening to them from our mothers, grandparents and other family members. Here is a beautiful story of Aryan and Radha:   

Six year old Aryan loved story time, he would go to bed at sharp nine eager to hear new stories from his mother Radha every night. Radha had always been concerned about putting her child to bed early, so that he woke up at 6 am the next morning, without being cranky.

A good story and adequate hours of sleep can boost a child’s energy levels the next day. 

Communicating with a child is an important aspect of parenting. Children come home from school, watch television, eat and go out to play with their friends, homework takes up most of their time and there is hardly any time for parent-child interaction. 

Bedtime stories were a period of bonding for Radha and Aryan. There was so much she wanted to tell her child and so much she wanted to know from him. Aryan being hyperactive hardly spoke to his mother during the day. At bedtime Radha weaved magical stories to inculcate good values and morals in her child. If Aryan related to the story he would speak about his personal experiences with friends in the neighborhood and school, ask questions and gave his opinion in certain matters. This way Radha got to know about what her child feels when he steps out of home, his interaction with friends and his level of comfort with other members of the family. At times she would share her childhood memories to give him a feel of the way of life back then.

 A child needs to adapt to the environment, outside his comfort zone and most importantly learn to mingle with friends and teachers with whom he spends most of his day, without fear and inhibitions. Caring for friends, importance of sharing, learning to respect elders, peers and younger siblings, speaking the truth and taking responsibility for ones actions without blaming others, Radha taught him all. A good story imparts the right values.

A child’s mind is like a sponge, absorbing everything that happens in their surroundings. Although we may feel that children do not understand our words, our behavior conveys everything to them. There are children who do not speak their heart, it is very important to help them express themselves. Radha and Aryan developed a strong bonding over bedtime stories, from parent-child they moved on to become best friends, laughing over funny incidents and sharing secrets. Aryan graduated to become a good story teller; narrating stories that he heard from his teachers in school.

Bonding over bedtime stories was Radha’s way of strengthening her relationship with her child. What is your method of bonding with your child? Please do share! I would like to hear from you :)

Take Life As It Comes!

Shataayur  Vajra Dehaaya

Sarva Sampat Karaayacha

Saarvarishta Vinashaya

Nimbakam Dala Bhakshanam

The meaning of above shloka is

"Let my body remain strong, like a diamond,
for a hundred years; O Lord, give me wealth
and prosperity; with the prayer that all the
bad in this world be destroyed, I eat this
mixture of neem buds and jaggery."

Bevu-bella-(a mixture of neem and jaggery) is the essential part of Ugadi celebrations. As mom placed a spoonful of bevu bella in our hands, she asked us to recite the above shloka followed by a prayer “Dear god come what may, good or bad, highs or lows, happiness or pain, give us the strength to take life as it comes with a smile.” We were too young to understand the significance of her words, but right from childhood we repeated this prayer after her on every Ugadi festival.

When you're born human you have to live your  share of good and bad times. In this Life time we make the best memories and the worst one's too. Life comes with its own challenges and one important lesson we learn is that hardships are inevitable. As humans we have to live our share of bad days as well, we can neither blame life nor hold anyone responsible for it. It is these values given by mom that gave us the strength and determination to brave all the odds!

Acceptance is very crucial for a balanced approach towards life. There are times when we fume in frustration, why is life so unfair? Why do we have to go through troubles when we have done no harm to others? It is very obvious for such thoughts to bother us every now and then. The only way to find inner peace is by accepting things the way they are; which helps to cease the conflict between our mind and the heart.

Comparison is self- destructive and mom always said that by comparing ourselves to others we disrespect life. Each one of us is unique, our lives are meant to be different and the day we realize this we will never crib or complain. Being thankful is one of the greatest values we learnt from her. 

It is a parent who helps a child adapt to the ways of the world. The values they impart and the lessons we learn are priceless. We may not realize the significance of their words but one fine day we will know their importance and learn to respect them for everything they did for us. A child sees the world through the eyes of the parents. Of all the gifts life has given us the greatest of them all is MOTHER!