Onwards

Starting the first day of work today, I am filled with great hopes and aspirations.. inside me.

It was a good break and after a while I have started looking forward to the vacation time that we get at the end of the year as shutdown. In the beginning it was not accepted but now it seems its great way of planning some time off.

This time I spent it with family and with myself. It was a fresh change from traveling and being out and on the road, seeing new places and exploring new stuff. Well thats in our blood it seems and we are always ready.

For a change, we planned to be with ourselves and well though it was quiet, it did seem that the time flew by with the blink of an eye.

I caught up with some of my passions, reading books, cooking up stuff and yes learning some new things in the kitchen with my Mother in law.

She was all charged up with rebuilding the ideas with which she used to make her home. The death of my father-in-law had actually left her without the desire to do anything extra or creative and understandably so. But I am glad that she has got the windows of her passion for some of the things which brought her joy and it was just with lot of content and peace that I watched her busy herself with proportions and the steps to create something delicious and it was well appreciated. I do hope that she will teach me more of her skills.

I might just write a book if I get enough material.. on stuff that women simply used to do and yet it would be so tasty.

This enforced the point when I watched Nigella’s show on Legacy where she makes the stuff which her grandmother used to make.

Well its yet another idea which is brewing, besides opening a cafe.. he he !!

Well, we watched some movies.. yes we did..along with taking long naps in the afternoon with the birds… Oh how I loved being lazy.. sometimes..

Avatar was awesome and I did both the 3D and the 2D. It was good both the times. I think its going to be one of those flicks which you can always watch no matter how many times you have watched it.

3 Idiots took the cake. They have left me feeling with good. A good movie.

Mystic River ( on TV) gripped me. I loved watching the story unfold. And how the characters played with the script. It was on my mind for a while. Caught it by fluke. Liked it.

I hope all of you brought in the new year with loads of promises and hopes.

As I sign off for today, this little bit in my mail made me pause.

The start of a new year is a great time to take stock of your life.  Here are some questions that will show you what made you grow in the last year:

1. What made you happy?
2. What energized you?
3. What barrier did you overcome?
4. What changed you?
5. What triggered your creativity?
6. What deepened your spirituality?
7. What kindness did you experience?
8. What did others do for you?
9. What inspired you?
10. What made you feel good?
11. What difficulty taught you an important lesson?

Maybe there were also some dark patches you had to go through. Let the past go: the year is beginning afresh and you can change your life, once you know what you want, and how to affect change. Read on to find a simple way of changing the rest of your life from today!

It’s easy to lose one’s way in life and forget what really counts. That’s why it’s important to remind ourselves of our aspirations as one year segues into the next. Aspirations are the answer to the question: “What do I want to give the world?”, as opposed to personal goals which are the answer to the question, “What do I want the world to give me?”

So, what are your aspirations?

Aspirations and spirituality are closely connected. Because aspirations look beyond the wants and need of the small self, and focus on what each of us can offer the world at large.

If you feel that you have lost touch with your lofty aspirations, and that your life has somehow gone off track, there is a simple way to bring back contentment, joy, and spiritual depths back into your life: try gratitude practice.

We each receive many blessings in life, but sometimes we are blind to the treasures we have. Gratitude makes you feel happier and more connected to yourself and the world. Here are three simple ways to practice gratitude.

Gratitude practice

*  Start a gratitude journal, and write down 3 things that you are grateful for at the end of each day.
* Whenever you have resentful or angry thoughts about a person, think of one thing that you can be grateful for.
* Whenever you feel lonely or unhappy, remember one thing that you can be grateful for.
* Make a habit of telling others why you are grateful to them.
* Be grateful to yourself for your effort and struggles.

You will find that gratitude practice is a wonderful way to revive and deepen your spirituality.