Mirror Mirror On The Wall

A creaking sound jolted me awake. Has someone opened the door? Did I just see something move? Tried squinting to take a better look but my vision is blurred, thanks to the grime and cobwebs that have covered me over the years.

I closed my eyes. My mind raced back to a sunny morning five decades ago. I could still hear the squeal of delight as my beautiful owner unwrapped me on her birthday, even as her father stood there watching with a beaming smile. After quite a bit of discussion she decided to mount me in the centre of the wall overlooking her beautifully decorated room. I remember her feeling up my exquisite golden frame with her dainty fingers and looking into me with an intent gaze. A mesmerizing smile spread across her angelic face. She whispered,

“Mirror mirror on the wall,

Who’s the prettiest of them all?”

“What a little narcissist,” I chuckled to myself.

And thus began my life with the beautiful 20 year old whose smile had to make you feel all things happy. She would wake up each morning, stretch leisurely, draw the lace curtains open, soak in the first rays of the morning for a few minutes. She would then strut up to me royally, admire her reflection and purr in the huskiest voice possible,

“Mirror mirror on the wall,

Who’s the prettiest of them all?”

I would almost choke myself at her dramatic ways even as she would toss her mane from one side to the other and watch herself from every angle. That routine had become my favourite moment of each day. She would then get busy getting ready for the day while I had the privilege of watching every move as she turned herself into an elegant lady who one had no option but to give a second look to. She would reach the door and turn back to come to me and take one final look before leaving as if to say goodbye to me.

The room would turn to a vacuum as soon as she would be gone, such was her infectious presence. Her laughter, chatter breathed life into the otherwise perfectly done quiet room. I thus planned my siestas accordingly. I would long for her to return in my waking hours and thoroughly enjoyed her making a stop in front of me between everything she would be doing all the while that she would be in the room.

That was a thunderous afternoon. In fact my siesta was getting disrupted thanks to the noise of incessant rain. I was waking up every now and then when the door flung open. In came my beautiful owner much before her schedule and to my surprise, threw herself into the bed instead of a visit to me like she always did. Is something wrong? I couldn't quite tell except I thought I saw her body move like she was sobbing. Soon enough her father walked in. She sat up. Her father started speaking with her in raised voice while she kept crying and requesting him to find another solution. I took a few minutes to understand what’s going on and when I did, I wished I had the power to change the situation.

Her father had made a huge loss in an investment and now the debtors were chasing him down for repayment. Having sold off everything he was now left only with the house where he had brought in his bride who passed away when giving birth to my beautiful owner. He had fought tooth and nail to save the house but couldn't at the end. He had mortgaged it to the bank to clear his debts and thus had been sent a notification to leave the property overnight. The rest of the evening went through a flurry of activities as everything was being packed and the girl sat in the corner sulking. That was perhaps the one time when I wished more than ever before to be a mortal and to be able to hold her in my embrace to comfort her. But that was not to be. All I could do was witness.

Wait, my vision is becoming clearer. I can see sunlight streaming in. The room with me and few other cast away furniture had turned into a rubble alright but still the gush of wind that came in felt like there was life again. I could now see absolutely clearly as the hand that was cleaning me moved away. A frail old lady looked into me. A smile spread on her wrinkled face ever so slowly. She whispered,

“Mirror mirror on the wall,

Who’s the prettiest of them all?”

The Smiling Belle

She leaves a little sparkle wherever she goes
She smiles like sunshine kissing a rose,
As she bends down to smell the lavender
The flower sways to touch her nose.

"You want to tickle me, I suppose?"
She laughs heartily and twirls on her toes,
The lovebird chirps to agree with her words
She turns around and a kiss she blows.

Happiness is her middle name, the whole world knows
But nobody gets to see her when she suffers through her lows.
She writhes in pain as she deals with her woes
Yet that is the storm that no one knows!

She wipes her tears off quietly, Lord knows
She lives to spread happiness as the story goes,
So like the calm, serene river that flows
She gifts the world with her smile that glows.

The Anklet

The calm before the storm has passed
The storm itself has had its run,
Never one to call it quits
I have braced through it with elan.
Exhaustion sometimes makes me ponder
My body or mind ... which is more tired I wonder!
Taking stock of all the bygones
As I close my eyes to think,
Flashbacks crowd my mind in a jiffy
Taking me right to the brink.
As I get sucked in a whirlpool
A touch of a warm hand jolts me awake,
I see your hands clasped around my ankle
Forcing my thoughts take a break.
Head held high you looked ahead
At the endless road ahead,
I followed your gaze and felt divine
My anklet sparkled in the sunshine.
New dreams and endless colours I could feel
Embracing the present is all I need to heal,
Your fingers whispered gently to my soul,
"The secret lies in the bends, take control."
Soaking in the feeling of your touch
Acknowledged that I don't need much,
Sometimes the answer lies in the unknown
So walk I shall, towards the bends that beckon.
Who knows what is waiting round the corner?
Faith is all we need to garner.
Surprises can only be pleasant,
If you believe in the Omnipresent,
And in Him I truly believe
The gift of love only He can give.
"The puzzle fell in place in such a short while"
I closed my eyes and thanked Him with a smile.
All it took is a leap of faith
Armed with that I'm now looking ahead,
I don't know what awaits round the corner
One thing for sure ... I'm feeling finer.
Right now all I need is your hand
And I'll be able to cross the bend,
So stay by my side and love me as I am
Let's make life witness the wham!

Are we lacking in the art of appreciation?

I went through binge reading LinkedIn articles on this lazy Saturday. Needless to say they're always a value add. While I was appreciating different thoughts and perspectives, I also made an observation. Almost all the posts were about goal-setting, enhancing your skills for the next job, future of hiring, etc. The comments told me that most people aren't happy with the current state of things. That made wonder ... are we lacking in the art of appreciation?
Very often we're so busy making ourselves anxious about what next, that we forget to appreciate what is. It's extremely important to set goals to reach the next high, yet where you are standing today was yesterday's goal. Did you pause to celebrate your current role? Did you realise that your hard work paid off for you to be where you stand today? The very fact that you're craving for the next role means you have a job in the world of high unemployment. Have taken a few seconds out to express your gratitude to the universe that you're among the lucky few to have a job that brings hot meals on your table everyday? Maybe it's time to stop and smell the roses.
We keep talking about the increasing stress levels but not many of us own up to the fact that perhaps we contribute to our own stress levels. We're constantly in the competition mode, be it in school, college or professional lives. Remember how we used to get annoyed with our parents because they would refer to the neighbor's son or a brighter cousin? Today, thanks to the brag posts on social media, we ourselves are constantly comparing our lives with hundreds of people we're connected with. We all want the holidays others are taking, the jobs others seem to be enjoying, the more attractive partners they're with ... there's no end to the cravings. What we overlook is that somewhere we're dimming our own lights, which in turn is causing us dissatisfaction with our own lives. With rising dissatisfaction comes a fall in enthusiasm which in turn makes us worry about things that perhaps aren't a cause of concern at that moment and all it does is lead us to the viscous cycle of ever rising stress levels which make us chase what we think we need to achieve.
Hold on before you start running again. Take a few minutes to introspect. Maybe you already have what should make you happy. Prepare for your next goal by all means but not at the expense of today. Appreciate what you have and how much more you add to your happiness and suddenly life isn't so stressful anymore.

A twisted take on Heartbreak!

Heartbreaks are awful! No one writes about them. That’s not entirely true. I take that back. A lot do but only to emphasise on the contrasting feelings associated with love. We read about the stinging pain that is often associated with that dreaded word, heartbreak. But have you ever thought about the good that comes out of it? Raising your eyebrows? Yes, I just said that. And I’m not talking the heartbreaks make you wise kind of thing. So I decided to share my observation. This is of course a humorous take on heartbreaks, from a strictly female perspective and not with an intention of making light of anyone’s anguish. Please read only if you’re in the mood for a chuckle.

Losing track of time and the world around is the most common occurrence when in love. The first realisation that makes a girl hit the panic button (more than the agony of accepting that the relationship is over} is that she has lost touch with all her friends. She scrolls up and down her contact list only to wonder who to begin with. But girls are inherently forgiving. Also everyone has been there done that. So the moment you hear your friend’s teary voice you know the drill. You prioritise her heartbreak. So you set everything aside and let your friend share her story. Once the initial crying and sobbing is over, the good or fun begins. First and foremost you discuss what “jerks” (the term strictly being used for guys who broke a girl’s heart for their selfish reason with no sensitivity in the way they handled it!) guys are, draw similarities between all the known break-up stories in your circle and all that data leads to detailed psychological analyses of the masculine gender.( I can assure you if the jerk in question had access to the research report, he would take the first elevator to the highest skyscraper in the locality to jump off it!)

Food is an essential part of nursing a heart break. (Refer to any of the chick flicks and you’ll remember the numerous heroines you would have seen digging into tubs of ice-cream.) Now is your turn to stuff yourself of all the available calories, guilt-free for a change. And guess what, break-up food is not just anything but the yummiest of desserts. So you fill yourself up of the best available pastries and cupcakes and chocolates and what have you and blame it all on that “jerk” you’re celebrating. (Huh! I said it! Why else would you have desserts?)

Another elemental episode of a break up is the spring cleaning. I’m sure that’s not the desirable word but what else is it when you get rid of all the photos, cards, gifts, mementos or the great throwing act as I call it. I love the drama associated with it and certainly feel that half of the fun has got diminished with the e-age and the delete button. The whole over reaction and dramatic tearing up of the letters, etc was way more therapeutic!

Anyway, to get back to the story. Now that you have reunited with your friends, had conversations to your heart’s content, enjoyed all the delicious desserts, freed your room of a whole lot of clutter, what is the next best thing a girl likes to indulge in? Retail therapy! So there you go. Gain friends, eat, shop, straighten out the mess … is it all that bad?

On that note, enjoy your heartbreak but don’t go around  breaking hearts! ;-)

The Doomed Love Story

Please don’t come close to me,
No more! Go away from me.
Have been through enough
Life has made me tough.

The first time we patched up
I was sure I had done the right thing
Everyone deserves a second chance
So did you, my darling.
After months of separation
Running back into your arms was a celebration
Life was a rainbow again
There isn’t going to be any more pain.
Love, laughter and sunshine
You brought back in this life of mine.
How could I live away from you?
The only way to happiness I know is with you.
And that is what the bone of contention was again
Soon the arguments had taken over in vain.
The more I pined to be with you forever
The more the others in your life took over,
I fought the world just to be with you
But the world won against me and you.

The inevitable happened yet again
We broke up, again, amongst a lot of pain.
Months passed and you became a distant memory
I sailed along my life of drudgery.
Just when I thought that without you I’ve learnt to live again
You came to my door and held your arms wide open,
I refused to run to you and reminded myself of the painful past
Our doomed relationship had all against and thus did not last.

Please don’t come close to me,
No more! Go away from me.
Have been through enough
Life has made me tough.

This year we’ve patched up for the sixth time
Many tears, many moons later you’re still my sunshine.
Not a thing has changed since we met all those years ago
This is the only way to love and live we both know.
Our love for each other has not changed a bit
We’ll never be apart again, this time we’ve promised,
The five times we fell apart we tried our best to move on
The more we tried to go away the more we had hung on.
Real love has always been tried and tested,
Almost a decade later our love is still sacred.

We were meant to be together, so what there are thorns?
Our rose of love will never wither despite all the storms.
Pure as “Pearl” are our hearts together
We’ll be apart never again, never.

To Quit or not to Quit...

"Love is not about finding the right person, but creating a right relationship. It's not about how much you love in the beginningbut how much love you build till the end." Is it? Quotes like these always get the better of me. Isn't that compromise we are talking about? Yes, a very important aspect to maintain relationshipsbut creating a right relationship out of a person who may not be right may be taxing your life! In fact many marriages in this world are based on this theory. Can't say any of them are satisfying relationships though. Now you may argue otherwise. Mind you, it's this mask that we wear over the years become such a part of us that after a point we cannot see the truth anymore. Living in denial becomes the only way. Yes it is difficult to find that person who is made for you. There is no sign, like they say in movies, which would scream when you meet the one. You will perhaps not know till quite some time whether he/she is the one or not. When you do though, you would be wasting your time if you try to create a right relationship with the wrong person. You cannot change anyone for anything in this world. If you push yourself to change for someone instead, you are bound to feel claustrophobic after a point. And then you begin to wonder what you should do with the relationship since by the time realization happens, it is perhaps quite late. What you do at this stage defines the rest of your life. The amount of love you might have felt during this period possibly remains the same, yet something does not feel right. The moment you get this feeling, something is really not right. Yet most of us choose to ignore the message. We carry on dreaming of the impossible. And by the time we realize that no amount of putting in more of you is going to help change anything, life is almost over. To quit or not to quit? The question keeps haunting...