Get into the flow...

  'Say YES to your UNIVERSE' Something I am working on.
Whatever happens in your life just say yes instead of No.
Universe is the flow in our lives and the lives of others over which we have little or no control.
Saying yes means getting up and acting on your belief that you can create meaning and purpose in whatever life hands you.
Let go and let the river of life carry you to new adventures by the way you experience your life. Figure out how to get into the flow rather than what you can get from the flow.
Instead of resisting with a 'No' , 'why me' say 'YES' 'Wow ..its me' and see what happens.

Experience

Varsha wanted strawberry cornflakes but we had only Mango and she was upset. She said,' I want only strawberry cornflakes' 
I replied,' We have only mango today and we have chappati and we have bread. What would you like to have'.
She said,' I hate mango..I hate you.. I will not eat.' I did not reply and kept mum (silence).
After two minutes she put cornflakes for herself.. put badam in it.. put raisins.. cut banana and added to it (she remarked,' mummy, I cut the banana myself') and then she added sprouts :-) to it. In all this going on, none of us commented anything. She asked her brother to pour milk. One spoon in and she commented,' I don't like sprouts and banana with the cornflakes', she still continued to have it. Then she said,' I am too full.. I can't eat the whole thing.'
I asked

,' What do you think you will do differently next time?'
She replied,' I will take little cornflakes..not add sprouts and banana and once I am done I will take more if I want'
How important is to experience?
What would be an experience without any reflection?
How can I reflect without any judgements or evaluation?
What kind of questions can I ask to reflect?

Family time

When we start something new..it is fun, exciting but after sometime it becomes more of a ritual. At home, we started this family time. Family time was sitting together at the end of the day, talking, making limericks and just sharing. It was fun and I used to look forward to that time. After sometime, it became something like brushing your teeth everyday.. a ritual. There were times when I would want to watch my tv prog or do something else and varsha would force and say we need to have family time.. I did not want to do it and I would relent thinking that we should be doing this. I would even force Partha to do it. Now, thinking happening : What would happen if we took a break from family time? What would happen if we do not have family time for sometime? What would happen if we can just be? 
Isn't every moment we communicate with each other equally important?
Check out, is there something we are doing which we thought was fun and now has become more of a ritual. Are we uncomfortable when we don't do it? If we are then what is the belief we are stuck to.
If it is a belief then we can change it :-) and see what happens.

Choice..

Every day, I become aware of certain beliefs I carry about myself, aware of the beliefs I, form about others. I have the choice of changing the beliefs, so that I can move forward. At times, I make the choice of working on those beliefs, at times I get agitated that I have a choice and I wish that I didn't have the choice :-)

Police station...

Varsha visited the police station with her class. She was super excited with the event the day before. When I went to pick her up yesterday from school..she seemed tired and was not very enthusiastic about sharing her experiences. I let it go and slowly she shared how she had seen thieves :-) at the station. They had been told that one of them was there because he had stolen a gold chain. Not sure, why the children were shown people in lock up and told about what they had done?? 
I told her that she seemed a little uncomfortable talking about the visit and she promptly said,'yes'. I just acknowledged her feelings and let her know that she could talk to me about it when she was ready. She also mentioned that she did not want to talk about it.
In the night before sleeping she said,' Why do people murder?' I said,' you are thinking why people hurt each other?'.. she replied, 'yes... can someone come in and murder us?'
I said,' You are worried that someone will hurt us' and she nodded.
I also told her that people hurt other people when they do not know how to express their needs otherwise. I also assured her that all the doors were locked. She seemed satisfied ...she just hugged me and told me to be with her the whole night.. I promised her I would and I was.
She was her cheerful self in the morning.

So..simple

I am blogging after a long time. I just had to put this down :-)
Varsha needed 4 inch diamond shapes with chart paper for her craft work today. She went and bought the chart paper and we both sat down to cut it out. She brought the scale and as we were measuring.. I wondered aloud how do we make it as a diamond. What do I need to do?
''Mummy, it is so simple... we just have to cut it out as a square and the square becomes a diamond shape''.
Honestly, the thought had never crossed my mind at the time. It was soo simple :-)

Learning for me today...

 I got the information in the morning that Kamala who helps me in everything from taking care of my home and center was sick and may not be able to come for a few days. First thought was concern for her and the second thought,'OMG! How am I going to manage home/center without her.' 

Yep! I was being selfish there and I also told myself that I had told her to take rest but she would not listen. 

I took a deep breath and told myself that I could manage.. I have done this before ..and I could do it.

I reached home and started working on getting the chores done.. one by one.

I had a visitor, she is a beautician whom I know for the last 7 years. For me, the connection is more than just a professional relationship. As soon as she saw the condition of the kitchen she said,' Didi there is so much to do.. I will do the dishes, you sweep the floor..we can finish the work together'

I did not take up her offer and at the same time  was amazed with her spontaneous response. She had come for work leaving her nine month old baby who has to undergo an open heart surgery in October. With all her problems ..she was still so open to help me out. She showed me that heart can be at peace even in such hard situations.  So...much learning for me ...