Roads not taken, things not done

An evening walk at the new Corniche, Muscat

"Roads not taken, things not done", a  universal thought and one which can pop up every now and then, and at any point in the day.
For the simple fact of life is that we have all wanted to 'do' different things  'be' different people from what we are now doing.
Some who might have wanted to become photographers are Accountants/Partners working in a firm today.They might be very well placed in material terms, but what about the emotional vacuum...?

Or then those who might have wanted to be pilots might be working in the Foreign service.

Or others,  like me, who wanted to be an Investigative journalist, got into an entirely different  field because at that point in time, it wasn't really the 'done thing' for women to be out and about in scenarios which would definitely be demanded of that job.

So yes, there is no doubt, we all have these regrets  but the best way to deal with them is to look at life life has offered us  'on the balance'. 

Or put in another way, what have we been able to make out of our  optional career?

And if at the end of that thought process, if  the 'pros' are just a tad bit less than the 'cons', things are not really too bad, now are they?

Think about it - we may differ, but I'm glad I got you thinking!

Sleep Deprived- Choice or necessity?

Sometimes, I think about it. 
Like I'm sure all of us tend to as well.
Why is it that sleep is at the bottom of our priority list?


A day has 24 hours, and each of those hours can be used in many ways- work, leisure and play.Yet what we tend to do( more often than not) is to extend those waking hours to way more than what can be 'naturally managed'.For we seem to think that we will somehow manage to get enough sleep. 

Image courtesy  the Internet

But how? Because if we are not  watching  TV,then we can always remain online ( Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram  among others)and since many of our friends worldwide live in different time zones, it seems to make complete sense.


And so it goes on, day after day, month after month, year after year.While we continue to get more and more sleep deprived or then as someone recently said,"leaner and meaner"(in sleep terms)

Until, one day .....?

Think about it...

Home is where the heart is", said Mummy as she came home and her Guardian angel..

Mummy and me, Sep 2012

Mummy came back home yesterday after a 15 day stay at Medanta the Medicity, in Gurgaon.
It was a moment to cherish forever and as the ambulance brought her back home, she smiled, looked up at her home, said Satnam Shri Waheguru" and then just as she came in, "Home is where the heart is." We couldnt agree more!

Thankfully, the surgery went off well but it was the post op complications that kept her in the hospital a week longer than all of us had planned.But, that extra week was what has taught all of us the power of patience and believing in 'the real power of what a combination of a good hospital, good after care, a great team of doctors and nursing staff and so much more. It has also taught us that there is a certain pace to everything and that try and wish as we might, people will heal only at the pace that they can.

It has  also convinced me more than ever before that our guardian angels are always there for us and they are also the ones that keep our mind, body and spirits strong as well give us a great deal of hope for the future.And this little story will tell you exactly what I mean.

In the blog post just before this one, I have told you about my grandmother, Mataji who passed away many, many years ago, but has always been Mummy's guardian angel whenever she has been ill or going through any kind of a troubled phase.And she was there for her this time as well. As Mummy tells me, after the five and a half hour surgery, she was moved from the OT to the Post Op room till she regained consciousness. (It is only after this that the patient is moved to the ICU)

It was then that she had this sleeping- waking dream which felt so real that she actually felt warm, safe and comfortable. It was a crowded place with many people milling around.Mummy says it was as though she was looking down at the scene and felt as if she was searching for something, or was it someone?

Some time later, she saw exactly who, it was Mataji, her mum, who was sitting in the middle of the crowd and dealing firmly with all the people who by then seemed to be running in the opposite direction. In fact a few of them told her to leave that place as soon as she could for there was something not quite right there. It was then that Mummy saw Mataji stand up and deal with that situation as firmly as she dealt with many  things in her life. Telling all of them to carry on in the direction that they were heading towards and in fact, having to firmly stand her ground against a few people who seemed as if they would sweep her off with them, she said in a loud voice.

"Cant you see, there is no way that I can leave this spot? My daughter is lying ill in bed there and I will wait until she has recovered."

At that, the crowd moved on and she sat there, alone, waiting..

And some time later, Mummy recovered full consciousness, knowing that her guardian angel had been there for her...


Yet again.... 

It all felt so real."" she said and I believed her..

Implicitly.