Musings on the New Year...Tuesday

1/26/15

One month into the New Year already!!

How has it been for you? For me it has been pretty much the same :)

Same routine, I made no new year resolutions. My goal to get fitter is always constant, the only shift is to try to be fitter and not slimmer, health is paramount need now.

In the decades of life towards being a senior or arriving there priorities do shift. 
A few  changes have been that now instead of providing care to children, we become the caregiver to my older parents. So yes back to spending lot of time in kitchen and cooking and the endless domestic chores. Many of us are or soon will be in that role, and I empathize with all.

The Christmas cheer is gone from the malls and stores and the homes also look odd without the Holiday decor, the trees outside look bare and the gardens are forlorn. But the rains have brought greenery to the rolling hills; there are splashes of color in between as the hardy mustard will sprout its yellow and the wild flowers will join the dance sending up purple and violet buds. In few weeks time it will be beautiful again and the spring will come knocking. I long to catch a glimpse of the winter beauty of the snowy mountains but often the cold and storms of the waning  winter forces me to stay put. Many still working long for a day when a a work trip comes along that takes them to an area where snow is found...although not to the North East after the current blizzards have stopped all normal life. Older people (retired although not always actually foot loose and fancy free) long for a road trip towards the Sierra foothills where snow is visable.   

(Nandita)..."There is a possibility of a trip to Seattle, and I will marvel at the majestic peak of Mt Hood again. But nothing final yet. Sandeep had a trip to New Jersey this week. and it made me realize that I don't like being alone these days. Which also made me think that he too might be missing me when I travel... I do travel more than him as a norm. Perhaps its the time now... advancing age when I try to live every moment fully and cherish what I have more than what I used to earlier. Its not that when we are together we talk a lot, in reality we might exchange just 20 sentences during the 24 hours but just knowing that we are under same roof is comforting."

(Corinne)..."I travel to Maine almost yearly. In an effort to make the plane fare not feel so costly, I spend three weeks there. Mustafa professes not to mind, and it is a fact that he seems to be happy in solitude. Still, when I read what Nandita wrote, I wonder. In our case, it is I who feel alone at time, even when he is here. He has his things that he does that do not include me. Nandita's words about exchanging 20 sentences a day has some reality in my life as well.

(Nandita)..."Apart from the usual stuff, I have started reading few books, one is a murder mystery which I just read few pages daily. That in itself is a big change, as I would finish a mystery book within days before. Now I am pacing it, and I find that slightly awkward, There are few small books that are like 45-50 pages long. More like children book series Bharat Bharti (About India)...they are great in value of heroes and legends and martyrs of history who helped shape India. I 

(Corinne)... "Since the New Year I have been getting up at 6AM to pray and read the Bible. I have also been working on reduction of clutter. My plan is to read the book that my daughter sent me written by  Marie Kondo entitled The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The title explains the theme, and you can see what I am trying to do. I am really tired of having no place in my house to put things when there are bins in my closets and I am not able to say what they contain. I am also planning the retreat that Women's Focus Ministries will be present in April...the sixth annual retreat. I am following a new path this year. I read a statement somewhere. It said we should not make resolutions; they are just a set up to failure. If there is something you want to change, just work on changing it" 

(Nandita)... "Other than that, have been meeting friends one on one and focusing on quality relationships these days. My shakha work keeps me quite busy and in reality I have very little time for myself, which is why I take that 1 hr gym time seriously and actually enjoy the intense workouts.....

.......Oh and before I forget I must say around mid afternoon I look out of my window and I always see this single big crow that comes and sits atop a spindly top branch of a totally barren tree. I marvel at how he balances there, but he hold on and just sits there, surveys all around, rests for a bit and then flies away. Without fail he will come and every day that I gaze at him I find it inspirational, as if he is telling me many wise lessons: never be afraid of being alone, never be afraid of climbing up, know that it is never crowded at the peak, no position is ever guaranteed, hold on just hold on, be strong, be tenacious, you can ignore the disturbances of wind and rain and cold, disturbances of life and can stay steady, every day depending on my state of mind he tells me a different message. But the thing is I have to get that message myself......
.....Life is like that, na?....one has to learn lessons by oneself. There are many times when we ignore or are not mindful what life is telling us... we must listen, see and hear.. so that we can enrich our existence. 
 
(Corinne)…There are many times when we ignore or are not mindful what life is telling us... we must listen, see and hear.. so that we can augment our existence to by inspiration. If we do not listen then we might learn a lesson, but we might not reach the conclusion that God is teaching. Care needs to be taken.

I want to mention Nandita's story of the crow high in a barren tree on a spindly branch at the top. She drew some wonderful conclusions on what the lesson was. She wrote, "wise lessons: never be afraid of being alone, never be afraid of climbing up, know that it is never crowded at the peak, no position is ever guaranteed, hold on just hold on, be strong, be tenacious, you can ignore the disturbances of wind and rain and cold, disturbances of life and can stay steady."

The Bible says...

God, teach me lessons for living  so I can stay the course. 

Give me insight so I can do what you tell me...
Psalm 119;33a

We all must agree with Nandita's final conclusion 

that every day, depending on our state of mind 

God teaches us a different lesson. 

We have only to listen for it. 

On this uplifting note we sign off.

Written by

Nandita Bhatnagar
      and Corinne Mustafa