Mind is one of the greatest gifts from God, It really has powers beyond imagination. One has to bow one’s head and applaud, With a leap it can cover God’s total Creation. We are connected to God through our mind, Our Maker through its powers we can find.
But for that it needs to be properly trained, Or at least kept under complete control. Experiment how long it can be maintained, Without wandering from its singular goal. Try to have a clear and focused mind, And see if all the while it stays aligned.
Remind it that it is a slave and you are master, See to it that it follows your every command; Make it slow down when it goes much faster, Than concentrating on the given task at hand. Don’t give in to its desire to wander, Don’t let it its own powers squander.
The one who has really learnt to control it, Has the most powerful tool given to Man; His path even through darkness is totally lit, What other can’t accomplish he easily can. Enjoy going places with your mind, And see, under your control, what it can find.
Whenever we ask God for more and more, We never never try to keep a score; That we haven’t used what He gave, At our birth in a single wave, And it kept lying idly in our store.
We, on the average, use just five percent, Of the faculties that to us God had sent; We lay waste our powers, And deny what is ours, And never try to gauge their full extent.
The past knowledge of the world holds us back, We are afraid to be labelled as maniac*, If we want to go beyond the mould, Or explore beyond what we were told, So the courage to break these bonds we lack.
We should be inspired by those who try, To make it possible for them to fly; The world gains by their resolve, Whilst a new way they evolve, And peg their aims really very high.
….we should consider what He gave and is lying wasted.
We have, in our lives, much to learn from Water, Almost everywhere in God’s world it is seen to fall; We take ‘fall‘ as negative but it doesn’t seem to matter, It looks magnificent in fall and doesn’t feel small at all. Isn’t there a beautiful lesson there for us? We get emotional about ‘fall‘ and make fuss.
Water’s fall, at most times, is welcomed by all. We harness it to produce many types of energy. On parched land when it falls as rain or squall, Not just with children, it brings all round glee. As rivers or rivulets it looks so lovely, Changing courses, colours and being bubbly.
Lets then change our attitude about our own fall, And think about it that sometimes that we must; We can quickly rise again and feel strong and tall, And just because of it not lose our life’s thrust. Falls small or big shouldn’t be seen as setbacks, These are transient and never the climax.
Life is just a collection of memories, Make happy ones whenever you can. Later in life you need all those stories, That remind of shining phases of your lifespan. “God gave us memories for roses in December”, Have more of these than bad ones to remember.
Be aware your Today would be Yesterday, All that you sow will sprout to become trees. If deeds are to be later recalled with dismay, It’s not worth spending your time on these. Your future may not always be in your hands, But your past is simply footsteps on sands.
Past is, of your life, a very significant part, Without it you can’t even hope to survive. All that you have learnt has made you smart, So in your today and tomorrow you can thrive. Store it well in the layers of your mind, You’ll need it if the future becomes unkind.
Ah, time and again I sound like a preacher, But, it is as far from my intention as can get. Remember, the keenest student is a teacher, I’m the most inquisitive student you ever met. Life is still teaching me a great deal, I am sharing with you what I learn as I kneel.
What would be the best way for us to pray? Do we, to God, need something erudite to say? What if someone is born dumb? And he or she can merely hum, Would God angrily turn him or her away?
If to the above we give some thought, One thing would become clear as it ought: God requires our love not our knowledge; To reach Him we don’t have to go to college, He comes to one who has with loving heart sought.
Eons ago when there was no knowledge and languages, God came to ordinary people and not just to sages. If one were to require special skills, And rituals and ostentatious frills, God won’t have been with us throughout the ages.
Billions of beings and yet with God we are one to one, And each one of us is like his daughter or son. He listens to our heart’s cry, And doesn’t ask ‘What’ and ‘Why’, He doesn’t rest until what we asked for is done.
I have been giving you these poems since the First of June 2018.
(Image courtesy: Discogs)
From 4th Jan 19, I started doing something different. In addition to my own inspirational poems everyday, I started giving you, on every Friday, a song or poem that has inspired me. Today is the sixth and it is a Grammy Award winning soundtrack by Neil Diamond for the film Jonathan Livingston Seagull based on Richard Bach’s famous novella by the same name.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, written by Richard Bach, is a novella that I feel everyone must read. It is about a seagull but applies to all of us. It is about how Jonathan Livingston learns to go beyond known speed barriers of flying, is expelled from the flock, seeks perfection by himself and hence happiness and finally become a teacher for all those like him who are outlawed for not conforming.
Richard Bach wrote a series of short-stories that were published in the Flying magazine in 1960s. The novella in the present form was first published in 1970. It remained on top of New York Times Best Seller list for the greater part of the year.
Here is for you to understand the award-winning soundtrack and the story of the book:
Side one
No.
Title
Line notes
Length
1.
“Prologue”
And here begins our story – the sky, the sea, the flock.
3:19
2.
“Be”
Introduction of Jonathan – his flight and fall.
6:28
3.
“Flight of the Gull”
Jonathan is carried to the heights of ambition, and to near catastrophe.
2:23
4.
“Dear Father”
Battered, and near death, Jonathan asks for reasons.
5:12
5.
“Skybird”
Returning home to show what he has learned, his acrobatics only serve to anger the flock elders. He is put on trial, and forever…outcast.
1:12
6.
“Lonely Looking Sky”
Alone and adrift.
3:12
Side two
No.
Title
Line notes
Length
1.
“The Odyssey (Be – Lonely Looking Sky – Dear Father)”
And so begins a journey, an odyssey, a test of the spirit.
9:28
2.
“Anthem”
“Transcend, purify, glorious.”
3:03
3.
“Be”
Jonathan returns to teach the flock.
1:06
4.
“Skybird”
The lesson
2:18
5.
“Dear Father”
Rebuked again by the elders, Jonathan attempts to rally the flock.
1:14
6.
“Be”
Recapitulation and farewell to Fletcher
3:26
I am only giving you ‘Be’ as an illustrative example of the outstanding soundtrack.
Before I do so, here is a small introduction by me:
Limits are meant for us to be broken, Even though for years these are written and spoken; But when a man tries to go beyond, The others with unkindness respond, And declare him as outlawed and outspoken.
However, you are never alone when you’ve God, To your resolve He always gives a nod; He gives your resolve wings, And arranges all those other things, So that finally even non-believers applaud.
All that you’ve to do is just ‘Be’, In your new pursuit find joy and glee, Don’t give up hope, And think you can’t cope, For finally the world belongs to thee.
Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy ‘Be’ by Neil Diamond:
Lost On a painted sky Where the clouds are hung For the poet’s eye You may find him If you may find him
There On a distant shore By the wings of dreams Through an open door You may know him If you may
Be As a page that aches for words Which speaks on a theme that’s timeless While the Sun God will make for your day
Sing As a song in search of a voice that is silent And the one God will make for your way
And we dance To a whispered voice Overheard by the soul Undertook by the heart And you may know it If you may know it
While the sand Would become the stone Which begat the spark Turned to living bone Holy, holy Sanctus, sanctus
Be As a page that aches for word Which speaks on a theme that is timeless While the Sun God will make for your day
Sing As a song in search of a voice that is silent And the one God will make for your day
If at life’s most memorable you look back, You would recall those when you were appreciated. You didn’t have to be presented an expensive plaque, Or for your efforts to be monetarily compensated. Just a few words of simple praise, Worked wonders for you always.
If that be the importance of appreciation, There is a valuable lesson for us all: Everyone around us can do with a bit of admiration, Like the stage actors during a curtain call. So, if you want to see the best in men, Give them praise every now and then.
Always be quick to praise and slow to condemn, Rather than being the other way round. You don’t want to lose a shining gem, By deliberately razing it to the ground. People respond to praise better than to money, They value your tongue dipped in honey.
The best part about it is that it doesn’t cost a thing, But its effect is at most times priceless. If you count the all round happiness it’d bring, It would be a step even ahead of politeness. Volumes can be written in praise of praise, We can all, in its honour, a toast can raise.
So you want, in your life, to make a change, But are waiting for right time and tide. The fact is that it is really very strange, That you feel such wait is justified. All time to make a change is good, Neither a delay is necessary nor you should.
Strike when the iron is hot, When your resolve is at its peak. Go for it with all that you’ve got, Don’t let the doubts make you weak. The right time to make a change is now, Tomorrow never comes anyhow.
Resolve strongest, doubts are weakest, You can’t come across better stars. It is not the time to act like the meekest, But to be like the bravest heroes of wars. Usher in the change with a smile, And let that become your lifestyle.
Soon you’ll see doubts no longer trouble, And frustrated they leave you alone. Hence, easily your efforts you can double, Your resolve, in strength, would’ve grown. Change then becomes a way of life, Cutting out from it the earlier strife.
If you were to lose some valuables and cash, You would miss them and find them quite upsetting; Then how is it that you don’t find it reckless or rash, When you lose your temper with much fuming and fretting? Your temper commands a very high price, Losing it is not very comfy and nice.
Most often you are angry with a desire to win, But how can you do so on a losing wicket? It is like skating on ice that is so thin, That to hell you buy a one way ticket. When in difficult times you stay calm, It is as if on your wounds you apply balm.
Next time you face an adverse situation, Or are face to face with a pugnacious man; Try not to lose your temper in frustration, And stay as calm and cool as you can. Instead of losing you’d actually gain, And avoid your wealth go down the drain.
Slow and deep breaths restore your balance, That the other party tried hard to upset, Through your sobriety and nonchalance, You’d give him a lesson he won’t easily forget. Whilst he weakens you emerge strong, You are proved right and he is proved wrong.
As I look around I always find, People in worse situation than I am; I am convinced God is kind, We should be thankful for his programme. Hope of better times keeps us alive, As each one of us in our situation strive.
Thank you, God, for the good times you give, That make us enjoy your endless gifts; Thank you when in times of trial we live, That make us strong to climb the cliffs. We accept the situation in which we are, Since we know, you as our strength are never far.
I never lament I have no shoes, For I know those who have no feet. I, therefore, accept whatever for me you choose, It will always be taken as your blessing sweet. Just hold my hand in all times to come, To useless despair let me never succumb.
At what age does a man become wise? Is not something that can lead to surprise. A thirty year old can be wiser, Than the so called old advisor, Who is a nincompoop in clever disguise.
Wisdom is rarely the function of age, It doesn’t come to people at some life’s stage. If you don’t learn from experience, Then there is hardly any difference, Between you and a person in his teenage.
Let Life teach you on each and every occasion, Through casual encounters and persuasion. Just keep ears and eyes open, Pay heed to what is written and spoken, And live not in theory but in it’s application.
Wisdom doesn’t fall in lap but is earned and learnt, Sometimes it is even something that is unlearnt. How you face each situation, Stays in your mind’s compilation, Like a program on the mind’s disc is burnt.
My best teacher in life has been adversity, It has taught me more than anyone could, Every one of its lessons I understood; It also taught me the virtues of scarcity.
When things for us are hunky-dory and nice, Life is comfy and no lessons come our way. We are so busy with activities of day to day, That we don’t notice euphoria comes with a price.
Adversity teaches and also makes us learn fast, It can be seen as a form of on the job training. The first thing it teaches is how to live without complaining, And then to look at happiness without contrast.
It is in adversity that a man’s true character comes out, Something that was lying under a mask. Whilst in success a man in his own glory may bask, Adversity for the same man may prove a knockout.
Is life to be merely passage of time? To go on living without reason or rhyme. Is it to be measured by how much money one earned? Or because of one’s success how many heads turned.
Would life be well lived if one made a good name? A life free of rencour, a life free of blame. Could the success of children be a measure of life? A great mansion, limousine and a pretty wife?
There can be several yardsticks but no litmus test, By the result of it the aim of life can be guessed. Sages have tied in knots explaining life’s meaning, No one has found one that’s universally appealing.
However, in life you have earned a good place, If your life brought smile to someone’s face. If you provided the hopeless with some hope, If you threw towards a drowning man your only rope.
It is so easy to do but very few actually do, To earn others’ gratitude is given to a few. But, do try it and be instantly blessed, Make others’ happiness as your life’s quest.
Sometimes when we don’t get what we asked God to give….
Good Morning Friends,
So something you asked for wasn’t granted, And that’s filled you with remorse and outrage. You feel with God somewhat disenchanted, God is probably not with you on the same page. Who has understood who wrong? God has been with you all along.
We have, at best, very limited vision, We are never able to see the big picture. When we subject God’s will to derision, We are passing a very unkind stricture. God is always good, He is always kind, But, sometimes with His will we are not aligned.
We don’t always know what is good for us, But, God, He always knows the best. With our limited intelligence we can’t discuss, Why God made us go through a difficult test. Who knows He was preparing us for something great? When we thought He left us in poorer state.
He would give us better than we deserve, We should always rejoice in this trust; Think of what for us He has kept in reserve, When and if His will fills us with disgust. “God, I thank you for all that you do for me, Even for those gifts I can’t immediately see.”
….we should be sure He’s thinking of giving us better.
If God indeed made all things nice, Why are bad things still around? Why does goodness come with a price, Why are evil men to be found?
Why are there floods and fire, Suddenly at the end of great weather? Why do we see that when peace we desire, War clouds out of nowhere gather?
Let me give just one example, When we understand why God made such diversity, If the true character of a man you’d sample, Then you must see him in adversity.
If it hadn’t been for bad days, Many wouldn’t fully value good ones; Who would appreciate sun’s rays, If without fail everyday it comes?
Finally, nothing in the world is good or bad, It is just a matter of how it is viewed; The same thing happy is seen as sad, By those who happen to be in a bad mood.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, written by Richard Bach, is a novella that I feel everyone must read. It is about a seagull but applies to all of us. It is about how Jonathan Livingston learns to go beyond known speed barriers of flying, is expelled from the flock, seeks perfection by himself and hence happiness and finally become a teacher for all those like him who are outlawed for not conforming.
