Wings To Paradise

This is absolutely beautiful. Well worth taking the time to watch.

Beautiful nature images. Please watch in full screen.

Enjoy! V.

Mystery Solved!

When I was talking on the phone this morning, my eye happened to notice a leaf on my back deck doing a most peculiar thing. I watched it for quite awhile and was totally stumped. When I finished the call, I went outside to take a look.

Five hours later, as I am writing this post, it is still swinging!

From Darkness to Light

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय । तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय । मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय । ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Om Asato Maa Sad-Gamaya | Tamaso Maa Jyotir-Gamaya |
Mrityor-Maa Amritam Gamaya | Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Om, Lead us from Unreality (of Transitory Existence) to the Reality (of the Eternal Self),
Lead us from the Darkness (of Ignorance) to the Light (of Spiritual Knowledge),
Lead us from the Fear of Death to the Knowledge of Immortality.
Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

Navatatri started on Friday. Navaratri is a nine day festival honoring Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Durga destroys our negative tendencies; Lakshmi brings prosperity; and Saraswati is the embodiment of knowledge. On Friday, I went to a friend’s house for an event and she had a Navaratri altar set up. The altar was so stunning that I gasped when I walked into the room. I heard the same reaction from other people. Continue reading “From Darkness to Light” →

Gratitude Sunday

I met Amma in summer of 1989 and took my first trip to India in January 1990. I have traveled to India almost every year since then. The first two visits were short (10 days to 3 weeks). The third and fourth were for two months. From then on, my yearly journey has been for five or six weeks. Continue reading “Gratitude Sunday” →

Quote of the Week: Mother Teresa

489px-MotherTeresa_090 — Photo Credit: Wikimedia

“I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.”
― Mother Teresa

Wordless Wednesday

Weekly Photo Challenge: Endurance

I read about this week’s challenge just before I took my ex-husband Al home from having a cardioversion, a procedure to stop his heart from fibrillating. To me he is the epitome of endurance.

On his way home from cardioversion last Saturday. — On the way home from the cardioversion last Friday.

In 2002, Al had a massive heart attack. It was so bad that they had to leave his chest wall open for several days because every time they closed it, his heart would stop. Our children, Sreejit and Chaitanya came from California and India respectively, to be with him and to take care of him. I recently found out that the doctor said he had never had a patient with that level of heart attack survive. The doctor credited his survival to the care Sreejit and Chaitanya gave him in the hospital and at home.

At the time of the heart attack, Al had a stent put in. In 2009, he had more surgery. This time six stents were inserted. Since then he had three cardioversions for atrial fibrillation.

His endurance was tested again last year, in a completely different way. In December 2013, my children and I were in India when we received a phone call from Al, saying that he had been mugged and beaten at 5:30 in the afternoon as he was going into his apartment building in the International District. He was 73 years old at that time and has M.S. in addition to his heart condition. Because of the M.S., he is very unstable on his feet, but he decided he wasn’t going to take it and fought back. As a result, all he lost was his phone.

He was very happy that he had stood up for himself. He also felt very grateful. Al has one eye that has been pretty much destroyed by glaucoma. If the mugger had beaten Al’s good eye, he would have been blinded; but since he beat the damaged one, Al still has good vision. I could understand Al’s sense of gratitude but was amazed at his ability to maintain a positive attitude in that situation.

I think by now, you can understand why I think Al is a very good example of the quality “Endurance!”

Written for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Endurance

A New Superhero for Me: Mother Antonia

Dungeon Prompts this week asked us to sing the praises of someone who is a superhero to us. The instructions were:

We all have heroes that we look up to for some reason or another. We may not want to follow in their footsteps, but there is something about these people that make them bigger than life to us. They may not be perfect individuals; they may not even be real people at all. Whether it is a story book figure, a comic character, a celebrity, someone doing good in the world, friend, family or otherwise, this week let’s take the time to sing the praises of one of our heroes.

Last year, I discovered someone whom became a superhero to me. Mother Antonia Brenner was born on December 1, 1926 and died on October 17, 2013. I learned of her when I read her obituary in Time magazine. Continue reading “A New Superhero for Me: Mother Antonia” →

Gratitude Sunday

I am so grateful to Al, my ex-husband, who several years ago, on my birthday, gave me my first laptop. Al always recognizes Mother’s Day by giving me flowers but it is not our practice to exchange presents on birthdays or other events. I was so surprised, and delighted. I had wanted a laptop for a long time, but hadn’t made it happen.

I am so grateful to the friend, whom I know would want to remain unnamed, who has helped me with my various computers, year after year. For the last 15 years or so he has spent countless hours aiding me in setting them up, keeping them running and when it is time, guiding me in purchasing a new one.

I am so grateful to the laptop itself. There were many times during the last three years, when I felt like I lived on that computer; writing a monthly newsletter, corresponding with clients, family and friends, planning workshops, and organizing events. The laptop made it possible for me to begin blogging in March, so it has been even a bigger part of my life since then. For years, it has accompanied me around the U.S., and to Canada and India.

Over the last few months, it has become obvious that my laptop’s life span was quickly coming to the end. Last week there was no doubt that it was time for me to thank it for its years of service, say goodbye and move on to its successor. My friend once again helped me in making that transition.

So now I am so grateful for my new laptop. I love the feel of it and how well it runs! I anticipate that we will be working together for many years. I am particularly looking forward to all the blogging we will be doing!