Living on an island of isolation is creating an existential black hole.

Living in a private world of your own is an extremely isolating experience. Each of us does have a private world inside our head. And then, we grow- physically, mentally and emotionally.

We begin to share our private world and include friends, lovers and family into it.
We begin to become a paradise of inclusion and shared living with many hued leaves and flowers, with multitude of scents and aromas.

There may still be nooks and crannies in this Garden of Eden that may remain private. These are few and far in between. And they are dark corners where, sometimes, we ourselves do not want to enter.

The sun of love can only shine into the garden if we drop the walls and break the fences. The flowers and the grass can grow only if we nurture them, water them, care for them and donot walk all over them when they are delicate tiny tendrils.

We must learn to communicate and include. Communication joins people and allows the sun to shine through. Loving in your own private world isolates. It breeds darkness and loneliness and cobwebs.

Even if one enjoys isolation, one cannot survive as an island of humanity. Even in the deepest of oceans, life that survives is either that which captures light from other sources or one that gives out light of its own.

Gravity, too attracts. Gravity holds people and even planets together. One does not experience negative gravity anywhere in the universe. It is a force that attracts and holds together anything and anybody that comes close enough. Light, and thoughts are the only two entities capable of escaping this private garden, and entering it at will.

Light- that we shine.
Thoughts- that we share.

If we refuse to share our thoughts and our light, we refuse growth. We refuse and reject the very purpose of our journey in this world. We are here for a reason. And that reason cannot be isolation and death. It has to be growth and eternity.

We do need to say and show what we want to be able to include people in our private gardens. These gardens can become beautiful only by including not excluding.

The only thing known to survive in the Universe in isolation is a black hole. And even a black hole allows entry... It has an immense gravitational force that attracts- and attracts EVERYTHING that comes close to it. A black hole is isolation is not on account of not allowing inclusion but actively excluding escape.And at the core of a black hole is Singularity where space and time merge and where everything ceases to exist - no time, no space, no light.

Finality. Death.

Till we are alive and vibrant, we take in and give out air; we take in and give out light; we take in and give out sound. We maintain a two directional flow of energy to and from our bodies, our private gardens.

When we begin to revel in not giving out, we can only become black holes. Not gardens of Eden in paradise of vibrant life.

Sea waves

Watch the waves crashing on the shore. They carry the sands from the bottom of some faraway bed somewhere deep in the ocean. They also wash away the surface sands with all else there is on the shore. With equal ease.

The waves hit the rocks . And in a splash, turn back to merge with the deep sea again. They keep at this seemingly infinite activity. They go on endlessly, till eternity.

Evidently, the waves are able to do nothing to the rocks. However, the waves are as persistent a force of nature as are the rocks a resilient feature. And, in this interaction, there is only mingling. No victory and no defeat. What is washed away from one rock goes on to build another one somewhere really far away.

Sometimes, all it takes is to keep splashing on the rocks in your life.

To keep persisting till the resistance and the resilience gives way to something gentler. You may feel that effort is futile, the rocks are unchanging. But each wave that even touches a rock, leaves an indelible mark. The process goes on. Almost invisible.

And all of a sudden, one fine sunny morning, when the tide is down, the rock stands bare... each little crack and pit and crater telling the story of each wave that has touched its heart. You will not need ears to hear this story, nor eyes to see it unfold. All you will need is a heart- a heart that can connect with the heart of the rock!

When you find yourself being able to connect, you will experience love, truth and divinity.

Here.

Now.

Forever.

And you will experience Unity - the central theme of the universe itself!

How clean is your carpet?!

There are two ways to deal with what you DO NOT want to deal with...

You either resolve it or you avoid it. You either face it or you run away from it.

It may be a decision you are avoiding. Or a conflict you are not resolving. Or questions you do not want to answer to yourself. Or confessions you refuse to make to yourself and to those who matter.

Sometimes it may mean not saying what you absolutely must to a loved one. At other times it may even mean swallowing a bitter pill and not letting on that you are hurt.

At other times, you may well know and fully realise that you have hurt a loved one and you keep delaying the due apology knowing this could set things right and yet letting ego sweep the proverbial issue under the carpet!

You do it once. You do it again. And again. Then it becomes a habit. Then, you begin to do it as a reflex action. No more thinking and consciousness is involved in it. Such a wasteful and a mindless way to live!

Meanwhile, the carpet that was once a beautiful smooth and lush piece of fabric starts to lose its sheen. More the issues under it, more it becomes uneven and difficult to step on. Even more difficult to walk on. And barefoot? The issues begin to hurt.

The carpet becomes lumpy from all the issues that have been swept under. Some may be sharp and pointed, others soft and still others hard as nails. They all lie there making the carpet ugly and uneven.

The carpet of your life cannot be avoided. You must step on. You must walk on it. And with all the irregular folds and creases and the lumps, your feet hurt. Your foot is very likely to catch and you will fall. Often on your face. This hurts a lot more than the ego that prevented you to deal with the issues when they arose.

Relationships are delicate business.
Carpets need constant care.
Issues, too need attention.
Being mindful and attentive goes farther than avoiding and sweeping...

Let us then resolve to treat each other with respect that all of us deserve.
Let us then resolve to solve rather than to avoid.
Let us also allow egos to be only a tool of self preservation not a means to self destruct.

Let us keep the carpet neat and lump free...