Parents are precious...

Foreword:

Few years back I heard a song from an "Indian Movie"... which meant...:It is true that God exists on this earth, but we are unware. The existence of Mother & Father symbolizes God's presence on this earth. True, isn't it? Now also whenever I listen to the complete song I feel so special that God has betowed me great parents and hence family.

Right from the moment we come into existence till parents lifetime or even after that they think & wish for our welfare only. They just want to see us happy. We need our parents for our needs but unfortunately take them forgranted. We think that it is there duty to do all the things though it is more out of love.

And when it comes to our duty we complete it as a mere formality but again what they need is love.

Here is an experience of a son where he felt the real gratitute towards his father. Please do read if you have some time. I know you all know everything and love & respect your parents. The motive just to take out 5 minutes from the busy schedules and think about our parents.

This was narrated at a Seminar recently on Human Relations :

Venkatesh Balasubramaniam (who works for IIT) describes how his gesture of booking an air ticket for his father, his maiden flight, brought forth a rush of emotions and made him (Venkatesh) realize that how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents.

Story in his words: My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never travelled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the same. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on xxx Airways. The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air. The excitement was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself on that day and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the baggage check-in and asking for a window seat and waiting restlessly for the security check-in to happen. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all these things. As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me. He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this meant a great deal to him. When he said thanks, I told him there was no need to thank me. But later, thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at my life. As a child, how many dreams our parents have made come true. Without understanding the financial situation, we ask for cricket bats, dresses, toys, outings, etc. Irrespective of their affordability, they have catered to all our needs.

Did we ever think about the sacrifices they had to make to accommodate many of our wishes?

Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us?

Same way, today when it comes to our children, we always think that we should put them in a good school. Regardless of the amount of donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best, theme parks, toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young. It is our responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is complete.

Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have actually answered back without patience. When my daughter asks me something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would have felt at those moments.

Let us realize that old age is a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same attention and same care needs to be given to our parents and elders. Quality time and politely answering them with out making them wait is important. Now I realise that I must look at their eyes and answer them pleasantly and pretend to be reading papers and answer in mono syllables. Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this small dream. I do realize how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best possible attention to all their wishes. Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They have wishes, too.


Let us take care of our parents!

THEY ARE PRECIOUS!

Stay happy & grateful,

Pragati Soni

Real Meaning of Peace...

Foreword:

There are so many emotions on this earth. Some things which cannot be defined in one word or sentence but can be only felt or experienced. Different people have different notions of friendship, love, care, devotion, sincerity, etc. Here is a simple but true meaning of peace...one of the most sought after emotion in this world.

This short parable shows no matter whatever the circumstances but we can be always be with peace.

Real Meaning of Peace

There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peacefully towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on the nest - in perfect peace.
Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?
"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."


Quite true...isn't it?

With a peaceful smile,

Pragati Soni

No sorry, no thank you...really?

Dear friends & wellwishers,


Today I was just thinking about the heart of life...any guesses? It is obviously the relationships. These are just what I feel about the expressing the feelings in our relationship with our loved ones; our friends. One may agree or disagree with my views. However, I feel that relationships are just like small saplings which always need love & care. If taken for granted or left unattended for a long time they may lose vitality and sometimes they may even cease to exist.

Sometime back, I watched the movie “Love Story (1970)”, there is a famous quote in that; “Love means never having to say you're sorry”. However, I have always felt the other way round. For me love actually means that I do care about you; your every feeling and if I have done wrong, I owe an apology because you are special to me, so “Please forgive me”; I trust you to the extent that I know you will embrace me wholeheartedly without making me feel bad. Saying sorry doesn’t make anyone low in status. If we value a relationship, ego is the first emotion we shed. When the best of our friends or our loved one spot a hurt, they do whatever they can to heal it. It is also apparent that we do not feel hurt because of an enemy but because of the people we trust & love so it is our duty to nurse it back to good health.

I don’t think that it is fair when people say that in friendship there is no need to say sorry or thank you. In fact it is really required. It is not a formality and by saying these words obviously I don’t mean just uttering them every time but to mean them and to make our loves ones to feel that they are taken care of. Our near & dear ones are special to us and saying ‘Thank you for being there’ really makes a difference.

There are so many things we don’t say in our entire life. And you know what? On the death bed we will never repent if we have not said anything bad to someone but we will surely repent if we have not said or expressed the good things to the people whom we love. We will surely feel bad if we did not express how important was the help we got from our friend or how much sorry we felt when we had hurt our beloved or how much we missed our loved one or how much we love our family. Just brood over it once!!!

Have we ever called up our mother or a loved one and said, “I miss you” just like that? Have we ever thought of saying our child that we love them sooooooooooo... much? Believe it or not these little words instill the life force in our loved ones; a sense of security, confidence and trust. Expressing our love to our family & friends fosters the relationship and sometimes rejuvenates it.These powerful affirmations actually tell someone we love that he/she is wanted, needed, desired and loved. Our loved ones get a good reason to smile and sometimes a reason to live life.

We all are human beings and have the unsaid emotional needs. ‘I love you’, I miss you’, ‘I am sorry’, I thank you’ and many more such expressions are perhaps the most important words that we can say. These have the ultimate power to heal & to satisfy a person's deepest emotional needs; the need to belong, to feel appreciated & to be wanted. Our family, our friends and we, all need to hear those little words.

Love & friendship are not ‘no sorry’ or ‘no thank you’ relationships. They need to be taken care by expressing how significant they are. It is very important to show that we love, respect & value them. It is important to say sorry if we have hurt them. It is important to express our gratitude that they are in our lives. Life is not something to be taken for granted but a wonderful gift to be nurtured and relationships are the heart to be taken care of.



With a courteous smile,

Pragati Soni

Being Truly Present!!!

We come across so many nice ideas & wonderful thoughts everyday... Sometimes we notice and so many times we don't. Today, I would like to share a very beautiful sentence which I have come across recently, "Being there for another person is the greatest gift we can give."

Yes, it is quite true and has got a deep meaning!!!

Have you ever given a call to somebody at 2:00 am in the night saying that you had caught a wrong train and now waiting at some xyz station wondering which train to catch now? And the beautiful part at the other side is that the person really woke up for you and trying all the possible means to get you a train safely and saying, “Don’t worry".

Have you ever given a call to somebody at 10:00 pm in the night saying that your car got a flat tire and no mechanic is there in vicinity? And the beautiful part at the other side is that you hear the wonderful words, “I will be there”.

Have you ever given a call to somebody at the peak hours of work saying you need to book tickets urgently and your internet connection is not working? And the beautiful part at the other side is that your tickets get booked within next 10 minutes and the only words you hear is “It is done. Have a safe journey”.

How good it feels to have such people in our lives whom we can call at any hour; from any place whenever or wherever we need. We know in our hearts that they are there for us. It is really good to hear, “I am there for you”.

Life is very funny and sometimes odd events happen in life like…

* We may run out of petrol in the middle of nowhere.

* We may feel sick at the middle of night.

* We may be late at office and could not find any conveyance.

* We may be lost in a foreign land.

* We may feel emotionally low.

* We may need just a friend to talk practically nothing but important.

If we are one of the first names click to our near & dear ones, we are very lucky. And believe me we are not remembered for the years we spend with our near & dear ones but for the few moments when we were really needed.

I am thankful that God has blessed me such wonderful family and friends whom I can reach at any hour; who are always there for me; whom I can always count on.

You know what , nothing great but I usually keep my mobile in ringing mode even at night thinking anybody from my near & dear ones may need me at any time. And it was after once my sister asked me to do so, I have also started calling back at the unknown missed calls with the same intention. Sounds funny, isn’t it? Infact, sometimes I was laughed at by people also. But then too, I have been doing it & I want to continue that because if I am in somebody’s life, I want to be truly present.

I know, you all are already doing it, I just want you to give a small thought to the idea of being truly present. It is required to foster friendships and revive relationships.

It is true that being truly present in someone’s life is not to be present at even times or for long hours but at the odd times & when we are needed most. In the nutshell if possible at all the possible times. We just have to think beyond ourselves.

So lets try to be truly present in the lives of our near & dear ones...for a beautiful life full of trust & faith.



With an ever present & true smile,

Pragati Soni

The world will always be beautiful!!!

Hello Everybody,

I would like to start this beautiful write up with beautiful greetings and a hope that you all are enjoying pink of your health and warmth of your dear ones. I know it has been long since we have interacted but actually, I was busy... I was busy in thanking God for all the goodness in the world. Yes, lots of things have happened in the past few months but I don't want to label them either good or bad, I just want to be grateful.

Too good to believe...Isn't it? The truth is that like everybody I too feel sometimes, that the world is a difficult place to live. Everyday comes with a new challenge; sometimes personal & sometimes professional. Sometimes new hopes arise whereas sometimes all are lost in a fraction of second. Sometimes we find new friends in strangers whereas sometimes friends have to become strangers. Sometimes we smile for no reason whereas sometimes we find no reason to smile. But despite all the difficulties I still feel that the world is a beautiful place to live, believe me. People are basically honest by nature. Coworkers are supportive. Friends are loyal. True friendship, love, trust and above all hope exist. And we don't have to go far in search of all these. They all exist in us. And as long as we exist goodness will exist.

We just have to do our bit in this world. If we have the determination that no matter what we will receive from the world, we will always give the best, this world will always remain a beautiful place to live.

The life is too short to be bitter or sad. It is too short to lose hope in the brighter side of this world. We need to feel blessed that we can feel the goodness and we can choose the goodness. Ok, I agree we might have recieved unfair treatmentat some place but it is important that we have been fair ; somebody might have broken our trust but please check that we have not done it; somebody might have ditched us but it is important that we were loyal. Just be careful but never lose hope. Keep faith in the goodness.

In our lives, we all spend considerable time to remain physically beautiful. Just take out some time to take care of our beautiful soul and to assure it that 'ALL IS WELL' to keep the hope alive because only that has got the power to keep this earth a beautiful planet to live.

Believe me that the world will always be a beautiful place to live, we just need to do our bit. It will certainly make a difference.


With a beautiful smile,

Pragati :-)