Attitude of gratefulness...

I am grateful for all that I have-
First and foremost, the great family- lovely children, fantastic husband,
A great mind, spirited soul,
A healthy body,
And...
And...
And I am really grateful for the friends and care-takers God has put all around me.

So many good people care about and for me that I can only feel humbled by God's love for me. Thank you God, for loving so freely and surrounding me with people who can show your caring and love so freely.

A childhood friend's elder sister stays very close to my hospital and follows a teacher we all know only as Bhabhi. Bhabhi has devoted her entire life to uplifting her neighbourhood. She has a dream, surely. A passion that will come true in some shape or the other- but she is a gentle, loving, caring person.

People go to her because she takes away all pain.
She came to me for a pain she should not- could not have had in the first place!
It was as if she HAD to come to meet me and bless me. She sends me her blessings often and consents to meet me alone- whenever I have wanted to lean, she has been there.

Once she recounted to me her own story- about how difficult it becomes for people who are considered strong- pillars of strength. These are the people who are 'supposed' to help everybody their lives touch. These are the people who do not need support! She was often told, 'You don't need any help! You can handle it!"

I have, personally heard this line so often that I cringe saying it to anyone else. If you are strong, you donot need an occasional rest?! No shoulder to lean on or shed an occasional tear on?! I felt my eyes becoming moist... my dam breaking up and the pent-up feelings came flowing out in a flood. This had to be God reaching out to stroke me... to lighten my burden... to hold my hand and provide me that shoulder...

And very recently, another old friend introduced me to his Guru. Someone who again gives freely, provides protection and safety in a world so full of people who do not care...

It is said- "Ask, and it shall be given."

I do not agree!

I have not even had to ask!

Thank you GOD!
For Health, mind, intellect, soul, spirit, and for people who care and love freely and abundantly...

It is quite possible that the attitude of gratefulness brings more and more into life. It is at such times that one does not know what to do with that abundance except pass it on.

If in some small manner, I am able to make a difference to even one person, I gladly would.

This also means my life, action and behaviour have to be immaculate and attentive. I cannot let even a single moment pass whereby someone who could have got something from me goes back without it.

It also means my life, action and behaviour have to be simple, open and easily shared. Anyone who can feel connected, should be able to BE connected.

It is like being a good goal keeper. It matters not how many you saved. The one goal that you missed may be the critical one! The one goal you missed, the one person who deserves but fails to get your love and attention may be the goal that makes all the difference.

What will you have done with your day when the sun goes down?

Will you have brought a smile to one face?

Will you have held and loved one child?

Will you have passed on your love and sincerity to one person?

Will you...

Will you...

Who are we?

The earliest traceable 'religious' are those who could have an experience which was out of the ordinary. They could somehow 'connect' to some force or flow and communicate with it, draw from it and reveal the hidden to the ordinary humans.

These 'Shamans', however, were also human.

Were their experiences really extraordinary? If their predictions came true, they proved their supernatural ability. If their predictions failed, they could be in one of two situations- they had failed once or they were never in touch!

If they could predict, can we assume that we are doomed to predestiny? Were, will be and always have been? What of free-will? And choice? We, as a race, claim these as unique mental faculties. What of our claim to a higher place on the hierarchy of life, solely on the premise that we have an extra-ordinary attribute? Are we the only species capable of something extraordinary?

Are we truly higher on the evolutionary scale?
Are we truly alone in the entire universe?

We must stop for a moment... Pause... and contemplate...

We are on Earth, which is one planet in one solar system in one galaxy. There are trillions of quintillion of galaxies, each with their own solar systems. It would, indeed, be extraordinary were we the only living creatures in the entire Universe!

If we were to take and consider an analogy from modern science- even computational neuroscience, we would begin to realise the enormity of our existence as also its insignificance!

There are scientists today who are duplicating a thinking, responding brain in robotics. A thinking, responding BRAIN! This is the Blue Gene Project. Exorbitant, but existent.

A robot that will think and respond like the human brain.
'We' have made it in our own image!
(Refer to the Bible- God made man in his own image)

We are in the process of becoming a Creator from being the created. If two or three or two hundred or three hundred or many many such Robotic Brains, capable of thinking and responding were to be put in a room, or a city or a country, what would their thoughts be? What would they respond to? What would they perceive of the environment? Would they think about their origin? Would their 'thinking' and 'responding' brain be able to conceptualise a Creator? Their Creator? When would such a search begin? What would it reveal? Would it really be cost-effective for the Creator to simply discard the exorbitantly expensive robots and consign them to the junk pile once their casing/ body was unable to perform? Would it make sense for The Brain to be retrieved and placed in a new casing to continue on...
Interesting as the scenario looks, outlandish as it feels, it is really not that far away into an unknown future with computational neurosciences and robotics progressing the way they are.

Such robots would be 'able' to 'think' and 'respond' only to the extent the Creator allows them to. Read that again- slowly. Such robots would be able to think and respond only to the extent their Creator ALLOWS them to!

They would be able to receive and perceive only what the creator will allow into their sphere of experience!

In the vastness of the Universe being the only thinking responding race is a highly unlikely proposition. Is it not equally likely that the Creator who created us, has put the seed of curiosity and enquiry in our 'thinking' and 'responding' mind? And this Creator is now slowly- very slowly, beginning to reveal itself to us? This Creator is now allowing us to experience the 'need' to observe, know and analyse the questions which till now did not enter our radar of experience.

Increasing number of people are having what they call mystical experiences that convert them from reluctant believers to ardent followers. Increasing number of people are beginning to feel that their life is full, yet empty! These are the people who begin to seek!

Some people do know they want to seek. They do know what they are looking for. There are, however, countless others who are simply trying to figure out what it is that is making them restless!

A teacher always makes the search easier. A map always makes the journey easier!

Find your way. Embark on your journey- with help or without- but travel you must.

The reeds that float… Nidhi Dhawan May 10, 2020 · 1 min read The reeds that float on the waves and get carried away are part of the flow tha...