Do The Work - Review

***May contain book spoiler***

"On the field of the Self
stand a Knight and a Dragon.
You are the Knight.
Resistance is the Dragon.
The only intercourse possible between
the Knight and the Dragon is
Battle"

I love the above scenario and by simply imagining it in my mind over and over again makes me want to win such a 'battle'.

When I read Do The Work (from where the above is quoted) by Steven Pressfield, it felt like the writer was hammering a nail in my head with his narration. The language of the book could not be any more blunt (and in some instances offensive too) but it is aimed at kicking you in the 'right spot'. Also, imagine reading the line "I was 30 years old before I had an actual thought". While this may sound skeptical to some, having read this book, I consider this statement to be a powerful confession.

Do The Work is a short book but leaves you in a trance for long. I can compare its impact to that when reading The Alchemist and what I particularly like about this one is that it is a quick read with a tone more conversational than prescriptive and the fact that it leaves you energized to fight that Resistance. It is quite easy to fall into the trap of inertia when pursuing an idea or that the outlier in you is shunned due to various opinions from outside (and inner) sources thus falling into the rut of "letting the unconscious do its work". I am thus glad I got to read this book as it has made me look at what I would want to do 'differently'. Not only that, it has suddenly forced me to reflect whether I face Resistance around me or that more often than not, I truly could be the 'Resistance' to someone else around me.

We all have our own sources of inspirational reading and I find this topping my list for now. A strong message emanating from this book is "the last thing we want is to remain as we are". I thus strongly recommend this book to you whether you are working to improve yourself or in pursuit of a new venture or wanting to accomplish your goals.

Further, this is part of Seth Godin's Domino Project and if that is not attractive enough, it is free on Kindle until May 20, 2011.

So grab the (e)copy now, read it and if you like it, Do The Work and spread the word.

The 'Mum' Word

Dear K,

Today is Mother's Day - typically celebrated on 2nd Sunday of May every year here in the US. While its origin is unclear, Wikipedia claims that this day was set aside to honor mothers - for their love and care and hence as an act of expression and appreciation for all they have done and continue to do. I agree, it is a day of commercial value, for now I care little for any such honor.

I never considered myself to be 'motherly' till you came along and clearly, that has meant a lot of changes. Hence I am delighted that I have you as a reason to celebrate whatever little this day means to me as a mother.

More so, I have you as a reason to celebrate what this day really means to me as a daughter.

Through you, I have begun to truly understand the love and care I received from my mom when I was young. I hope I can continue to extend the same to you.
Just like her, I hope I can show you what it means to be a good person.
Just as she has taught me, hope that I can teach you how to love unconditionally, how to enjoy the small things in life, and how to be carefree.
I hope to be the mom that she has been to me and more.

Now that I have you, I understand her more.

I may not always get it right - but expect no less.

So thank you Dear K - for being patient and tolerant as I learn how to be the mother you need and for showing me the mother I can be.

Forever,
Your-Mom-in-Training
&
A-Daughter-for-Life

'Dancing in the Minefields'

This song has been playing in my head since a few weeks now and it just had to make it to my blog. I love this song because it narrates a beautiful story and it talks of bittersweet moments of relationships. No I wasn't married when I was 19 or 21 nor am I married for 15 years. I am not a strong believer in the kind of faith that is expressed in this song, nevertheless, it strikes a chord. It brings out in me a sense of integrity and a reminder, despite all travails and challenges, of what that promise is for.

Play this song, sing to it and treasure it -

'Dancing in the Minefields' by Andrew Peterson

Album: Counting Stars

I was 19, you were 21

The year we got engaged

Everyone said we were much too young

But we did it anyway

We got the rings for 40 each from a pawnshop down the road

We said our vows and took the leap now 15 years ago

We went dancing in the minefields

We went sailing in the storms

And it was harder than we dreamed

But I believe that's what the promise is for

Well 'I do' are the two most famous last words

The beginning of the end

But to lose your life for another I've heard is a good place to begin

'cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down

And I believe it's an easy price for the life that we have found

And we are dancing in the minefields

We're sailing in the storms

And it was harder than we dreamed

But I believe that's what the promise is for

So when I lose my way, find me

When I lose loves chains, bind me

At the end of all my faith to the end of all my days

when I forget my name, remind me

'Cause we bear the light of the son of man

So there's nothing left to fear

So I'll walk with you in the shadow lands

Till the shadows disappear

'Cause He promised not to leave us

And his promises are true

So in the face of this chaos baby,

I can dance with you

So lets go dancing in the minefields

Lets go sailing in the storms

oh, lets go dancing in the minefields

And kicking down the doors

Oh, lets go dancing in the minefields

And sailing in the storms

Oh, this is harder than we dreamed

But I believe that's what the promise is for

That's what the promise is for

Hiatus No More

So I welcome myself to my blog after ages. Long time indeed and again, not providing any excuses for the disappearance act. With all that has happened in the times gone by, this blog has surely been neglected and hope to give it some justice now.

Things have surely changed since the last time I jotted something out here – these days now belong to the times of diapers and wipes, poops and drools, pacifiers and baby-sitters, ABCs and nursery rhymes, ToysRUs and BabiesRUs, and the oh-so-predictable eat-play-nap schedule. Of course, who then would ever want to miss out on all of that by ‘sleeping it out’! Leaving that last bit of sarcasm aside, I dedicate my recent past to all of the above and to the overall essence of venturing into parenthood. From hereon, this journey is endless.

Many have asked me to share my experiences of parenthood so far and all I can come up with are those listed above. So while blogging has been non-existent for me for a while, I intend to get back (with ‘regular’ being the operative word here) and hopefully share some enriching moments - discover the full potential of being a parent (3 a.m. cooing, elation of changing Huggies and many more), explore the world from a different lens and mainly attempt to rediscover the person within.

In the meantime, thanks for your continued patience. I will see you soon.

Lego Landscape

Visit to the BrickFair 2010 in DC was indeed a remarkable experience - a platform where one could see a combination of a variety of Lego products. From optimizing the company's products to intelligent use of simple technology and more importantly, the pure stimulation of effort driven by passion. Below are snapshots of some of such a drive -

More pictures can be viewed here.

An Offline Experience

A typical day that begins with checking the weather forecast on iphone to friends' mood swings on facebook to updated news on twitter and those multiple inboxes and then to repeat the series every hour or so – this digital age does keep me informed no matter how mindless these unfettered browsing might sound at times. I do love the internet – feels like I am connected to the world at large and while I may be a miniscule part of it, I love being a part of it; love that it keeps me informed, in touch and love the fact that everyday I do learn something new. Yet, I wonder if this orgy of digital routine is turning into a growing addiction and that I am actually idling away my time in trivial pursuits. So yesterday, I took the day-off off the internet and leapt into the offline world. This meant no online applications on the phone, no gmail, no twitter, no facebook, no blogs, no TV. The computer was only limited to work-related emails (aka outlook) which could not be forsaken in this economy and to make it easier on A, I did owe him two calls – one when I reached work and the other when I was leaving from work as an assurance that my water had not broken yet.

Considering this offline experience was for but a few hours only (one day ain’t much of cleansing the digital delight), in all honesty, the hour clock seemed to be stuck for long. I mean, I wondered what exactly I would do at work – like the times when you switch between videos windows or those few minutes when I check on tweets while some hideous sized files simply take their own time to open. Instead, not being able to do so gave me a bit of an opportunity to be proactive and also be able to delegate work hours without dawdling.

The day, after all did go by in some mindful activities, a positive feeling towards the end that it did belong to things I wanted to do rather than being slipped into the mundane mechanics of the digital world I so love to be a part of. I also realized that more often than not, with this monotonous browsing I got a lot of information on a variety of things, people, places and still, its meaning was lost in the midst of precision. While I missed out on reading some of the daily blogs, checking my daily posting of C&H and the fact that my iphone kept showing 100 odd unread mails was enticing, I was glad that I felt like leaving them alone.

In this day and age, we do have numerable tools to communicate, to stay informed and they are only multiplying by the day. It somehow breeds in us a sense that we ‘ought’ to be in constant ‘refresh’ mode that there is some urgency to it and we better get to it. But it also means taking the time out to filter the information absorbed into our brain and stocking them in its various compartments in a manner that can eventually be translated to true knowledge. Yesterday was a realization that I do need to take such recesses and that such ‘urgencies’ can wait indeed!

Will I do it again? I do not know that but what I do know is I now have the power to switch on and switch off this digital world when I want to.

Colors of Chaos -splendid!

Just spotted a magnificent semi-circled rainbow on our way home from the metro. Wish I had my SLR to capture this moment, nevertheless, a breath-taking view that my iphone 3G merely attempts to shoot. Sharing some of these shots -

It was beautiful to see how everything beneath this miracle shone to glory to protect a world of its own.

"Life is indeed like a rainbow. You do need both, the sun and the rain to make its colors appear"

Name Game

Of all things challenging that come as part of parenting, the one to top my list right now is the task of naming my child. Maybe that is because it is the first official act to be committed by us and hence that extra precaution. Yet, in all earnest, this one for sure is to the child's detriment and no matter how hard you whack your brains to ensure the name is most suited to your child and one that will not be mocked at, (s)he is one day going to ask you, "What made you name me __________?" implying, "What were you thinking?"

So as parents, A & I (it is weird how suddenly our perception is transforming from 'being the chid' to 'being the parent') would have to do our due diligence which so far for me has merely involved a reference check to see if that name is available to open a gmail account (an easy substitute for a bank account I'd say!). That part, what does one look for in naming their child? How does that shape a child? Or does it?

According to this article on CNN about a month ago, "names have consequences for a person's job, residency and school grades". If we do go by this, then it automatically adds more pressure to ensure that our kid is not overlooked or considered non-achiever due to his/her boring name - something shortsighted by the parents is it? So in this age of obsessive-compulsive parental acts, we are indeed led to get into the rut of deciding a name that positively, and with all certainty, influences our child's future accomplishments. Easier said but is it required? And what about the gut-feeling that follows with certain names?

And if simply naming wasn't sufficient, there is also an increasing trend of adding a flavor to it - by 'spelling' it differently. So that means, they would be left with clarifying over and over again, to the likes of "It is A-N-O-U-S-H-K-A and not A-N-U-S-H-K-A". Would altering the spelling of the name make the child's personality 'unique' and 'exceptional'? Isn't it asking too much of the child when giving them names that already symbolize such 'uniqueness'? I am not as opposed to such trends, infact, it is quite exciting to go over the whole gamut of naming industry and more importantly, it tells you a little about the pride and love that parents instinctively feel towards their little one.

Yet I doubt it can have any predictive powers over the child. And while I will only get one shot at painting this empty canvas with my choice, I hope it to be simple, pure and uncomplicated.

The Magic of RAHMAN

"If music is food for the soul, then my soul just binged thanks to Mr. Rahman!"
That was A's tweet last night after being mesmerized to the tunes of 'Chaiya Chaiya', 'Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera', the oh-so-popular 'Jai Ho' and what better treat than a tribute to the King of Music with a rendition of 'Black or White' by our very own Mr. Allah Rakha Rahman.

The beat, rhythm and heart-rendering music all led led to a ballistic audience at the Patriot Center here in Virginia and goosebumps could be felt throughout the event. The 'Jai Ho Concert: Journey Home World Tour' started bang-on with Rahman right there - no drama, no show, no lip-sync but straight two odd hours of his voice along with a crew to sing along, dance along and provide a great orchestra to this complete desi spectators. One hit after another without any break kept us all enthralled - variety of singers performed to Rahman's tunes and we simply loved the way each of the crew performing on various instruments was given his/her due credit - special kudos to the violinist!

Some of the exceptional moments were when, during the performance of 'Lukka Chuppi', the presence of Lata Mangeshkar was brought in - close call to a human hologram and simply awesome:



And the percussion of violin, flute and table during 'Barso Re Megha' was pure delight to the soul -



Unfortunately my camera batteries died down and hence could not capture some of the other performances - one where all singers presented a fusion of songs, the 'Jai Ho' act, a melody of religious cum festive songs, the way Rahman started singing the song 'Humma Humma' with the letters HUMMA lighting up on the screen in perfect synchrony and the adrenaline rush during the finale act of 'Maa Tujhe Salaam'.

All in all, this was one humble, splendid concert and despite the fact that I could not related to some of the non-hindi songs, in the end all that mattered was the magic that A R Rahman created around him with his sheer Music.

Long Gone...but Back!

A complete and utter shame that I haven't blogged in a long long time. I had actually resolved to 'write' quite a bit in 2010 but the year is half-way through to all that has transpired till now. To think of it, I have indeed missed out on a lot - Indian escapades, snowmageddon in DC, the IPL controversy, Icelandic ashes, job uncertainties, home-coming of Jessica Watson, general reflections on fairness, making change, life, death, family and to top it all, the on-going perspectives (newly acquired) on venturing the parental journey in a few months' time!

My saving grace so far has been the fact that not many visit this blog and with such lags, would be duly justified; yet, I am aware that all that is ever on the web is there to stay on a permanent basis so I rather keep myself on the right foot. My main aim of starting this blog was to express thoughts that would help me sharpen my thinking, provide positive reinforcement and that, more than the readers, it would enable me to get insights into all that I write about. So to all those who have occasionally glanced through this page, I do apologize for such a lag and hope to not let it occur in the future.

When I started this blog, I began by proclaiming myself to be a destiny's child. While I still strongly believe in being one, I often wonder whether I am purely a result of my own destiny or do we drive ourselves through free-will to get at where we are? This has been an age-old dialogue with never a black-and-white response yet I have heard it many a times that 'if we do not decide what we want to do (or do not want to do), someone else will probably end up deciding for us'. This and much more to blog about with the hope that what I write would eventually emerge into a platform for insight, perception and dialogue.