You don't have to stay broken

"We don't have to agree on anything to be kind to one another."

It is still the hardest job to continue to stay who you are while people keep pulling you down or atleast don't give up on trying to change you
Oh humans... people feel the way they feel for a reason and they think the way they think for a reason
Empaths will get affected by everything you say to them because words hurt.

If only someone could take away the pain and burden of knowing how strongly someone close in your life disagrees with your decision
Life is ... about being happy apparently
But at the cost of?
So, based on your assumptions that you'd be happy in the future, you jump into the unknown?

It's all about choices.

Why is it that human contact is in fact so necessary, that without it, there's lack of validation and a sense of incompleteness, with regard to the purpose of existence?

Trust.
What is it?
You trust your partner to love you as much as you love him/her with all your heart and never hurt you or break you knowing he/she has the power to.

When you keep your phone away for a day,
Digital detox is really important when we're living in a world dominated by technology!

Money.
It's important to you when you don't have enough of it. It's not as important to you when you have enough of it (exceptions are the self-made people). And I guess that's pretty much applicable to anything in life.

"Psychology says, people who hide their feelings usually care the most."

A human's emotions coming out on another person. Once in a while is one thing, every time is another. Marriage surely isn't for everybody. In the words of a wise woman, an excellent dessert maker, "marriage is compromise." And that's the thing, what if one can't keep doing that?

Why is it that the society doesn't allow/permit a girl to live with her parents for life, but a son can and in fact is expected to, even if/when he doesn't want/wish to?

The one thing I handle in the worst way: uncertainty ahead
But that's the thing
You just need to plunge into the unknown to find out for yourself what is out there
Even if it means taking the big decisions in life
You won't know the answer to your 'what if' if you don't

People will take you for granted, they will check your patience level
No matter what on earth you do for them or anyone who means the world to them
They will take advantage of your adjusting and giving nature till the point that you don't speak up about being hurt/affected by their words/actions
These are the opposite of humble.

One of the worst feelings in life is not knowing why you've come so far
It's a sad, sad state when you don't have an answer to your 'why' with regard to the path you've been on for so long or rather fought for
...and you begin to doubt yourself. Don't ever let yourself do that!

Sarson ka saag made by my mother is probably one of the finest creations that I've had the privilege of tasting almost every year during winters...

How is a person expected to take a plunge in life and be at one's best at the same time?

That satisfying feeling when you give bones to the stray dogs outside your house on a late dinner night, especially when you didn't eat yourself :)

Why don't people question their sons as much as they question their daughters?

There is no space left for certain emotions in some people's lives
They've had that much to deal with, that they don't know what it's like to show that extra concern towards themselves or even for a person they love dearly
It's true.

Indians giving bouquets to each other on an occasion: waste of money and the flowers!
(keeping the exceptions aside)
The next day, you'll see the flowers in the dustbin. Very few actually make the effort to take the flowers out of the plastic, and probably put them in a vase with water even for a day.

And the Indian festivals that lead to people buying flowers worth hundreds of rupees, I mean, come on, you can make someone's life better with that much money. Because even if you do use those flowers to decorate your homes for a day, the next day, those flowers are going to be in the bin only. But no, no, why should we think that much, when what's more important is decorating and clicking pictures of those flowers on the ground, and getting that validated by people you don't really care about. The people selling flowers in temples fall under a different category all together. That's their bread and butter. The ones who show up only and specifically during festivals have other jobs and means of earning.

When you don't need another person (not even your best friend) to tell you to look at the bright side or think of how blessed you are
Because it's not that you've forgotten even for a second (all the more because you're one to remind others around you to stay thankful), but you just wanted to be heard without any reason for a moment
I guess that's the difference between a human and a diary/dog, there is no response from the other end especially in terms of rationalisation in the case of the latter

"Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children."

Who'd want to be taunted for crying?
Yes, in some parts of this strange world... even crying is a taboo!

Work. You have to work hard. For yourself. For the point you're trying to prove to the most important people in your life that you can survive, all by yourself.

People living in a parallel universe...

You choose who you are.
Whether you choose to be at a certain place at a certain time, or with people who expected their presence to matter to you...matter to you more than your presence elsewhere.

There's something called 'personal touch' when it comes to taking care of your elders
The same action can be performed by a helper, but you doing it adds care to it in a way that no one else can fill that missing gap of care/affection

Life, especially the serious days of it, the ones we add seriousness to with all the problems in our head... Laugh it out. This is something I've finally started to implement. Something I learnt from an important person in my life.

You choose who you could be.

Different people get a high from different things ~
Saving lives as a doctor
Working for an ngo and changing lives
Proving others wrong around you
Yelling at domestic helpers/employees
Scolding someone younger to you
Making others feel bad for you
Alcohol
Inflicting pain on another person
Skydiving
Making a stranger happy
It's a matter of being in control with your own state of mind!

When it so happens that due to some of your own actions, your friends withdrew, without you realising what you said/did, and by the time you become aware of it, it's been a while, you must use all that time and energy you would've used on building a relationship further, towards building your career/educating yourself and becoming more aware of how you can progress in an area that will eventually help you in the future.

"You can meet someone tomorrow who has better intentions for you than someone you've known for years, time means nothing, character does."

Human beings hurt each other the most!

The difference between making a video and a scrapbook...for your mother
She wouldn't need battery in her phone to see it, or space to see/find it!
She can touch the book and go through it whenever she feels like without straining her eyes with the brightness of the screen in the middle of the night..

~ Music ~

Closer - The Chainsmokers [Boyce Avenue Cover]
Right Place Right Time - Olly Murs
Chocolate - The 1975
Faded - Alan Walker
Say You Won't Let Go - James Arthur
This Town - Niall Horan
All We Know - The Chainsmokers

Aashiq Tera - Sohail Sen
(from the movie Happy Bhag Jayegi)
The Breakup song - Jonita Gandhi
Nachde Ne Saare - Jasleen Royal
#OnRepeat #Bollywood

Closer - Kabira - The Chainsmokers
Blank Space - Mental Manadhil
#VidyaVoxMashupCovers

Boyce Avenue covers are a kind of their own :)

If the luxuries are basic necessities for you (from the perspective of a layman), then you will never be content in life, because the variety is endless, and so your thirst to own/possess more will never die...

"Your complete inability to ever hide a single thing you felt" - That's me!
Me Before You ~ What a wonderful movie :')
Sometimes in life, the most beautiful things happen to people who think life won't be nice to them.
Life ~ it asks you to live it to the fullest. It expects you to consider it your duty to live it to the best of your abilities, for we all get one chance.
But then again, movies are movies for a reason.

It must be the first time that I've stopped believing that even parts of a movie can happen to one in reality
It's a lie, a big lie
No one will ever care for you like that, even the person who loves you the most.

The Best of Me ~ another movie that made me smile and made me question universe's ways of working and how destiny does say hello to you even if you try and run away from it. Loved it.

Some people's lives are only about hairstyles, makeup, dresses and parties ~ it's all about appearance

An important learning for myself,
If a person is of a very different nature than yours, and you just cannot understand or cannot relate with... Don't zone out or show it on your face
You don't know why that person is that way (upbringing, circumstances, apathetic by nature)

"People enter our lives for many reasons
Sometimes we are destined to help them on their journey
Sometimes they are there to help us grow
Sometimes they come to lead us to someone else
Sometimes they are there to show us what we do not want
Sometimes they come to remind us how beautiful we are
Sometimes they are there to teach us a lesson
Sometimes they come to show us how to love again
People don't always stay and sometimes it hurts
Just remember, everything happens for a reason...
Whether they stay or go...
...we will take a piece of them with us forever."

The thing is, when you don't wish to learn about some people's lives, you really shouldn't be made to. It only makes you hate it all.

What makes people think that money gives them power over others who don't have as much as them?
It's beyond me.
Insensitivity amongst the rich and educated is prevalent.
Thank goodness for people like J.K. Rowling and Melinda Gates.

I miss Bombay.
The feel that city gives you when you're there.

We've all read this somewhere or the other, but I'm going to repeat it here, because I really don't think it's said enough:
Money can not buy/teach you or your child: how to speak to someone, manners, behavioural ethics, basic etiquettes, and kindness!
The list can certainly be longer but I'll stop at that. Inherited wealth is the worst. It makes you look down upon people and you'll never even admit that, that has become a part of who you are. You're far from empathy. A wise friend once said to me, 'Garima, self made men aren't rich, they weren't born with it, they earned every penny themselves and so they're rich not in terms of money but in terms of their experiences, it's the next generation who's rich.'

Another thing is,
Common sense is not common in common people!
Goodness, we've all been blessed with a brain (okay, there are four different kinds apparently) and the same thinking capacity, but, humans just don't seem to want to use their heads enough. They call it overthinking when a person attempts to rationalise.

Your opinions start to matter less the day you have gone against one's decision and put your foot down.

Indian railway station - 9 pm - foggy - people stare because they believe it's their right and because it's the right thing to do - you want to go buy a packet of chips for yourself and for the driver who has come to drop you and a couple of more people - the first thought that crosses your mind as a female is - whether or not you should even walk by yourself to a counter that's at quite a distance - why - because that's how your country has always made you feel when you're out alone anywhere even for a minute!

The problem with most rich Indians is, they will look down upon anyone who A. earns less in general B. earns lesser than them C. cannot do anything for them D. whose colour doesn't appeal to their eyes E. whose job doesn't appeal to them
Ofcourse, there'd be exceptions to the above, but frankly, I can't stand the fact that people actually get to behave like that and get to convey as if they have some sort of power over another person, just because they think they do.

When a lady (your mother's age), talks confidently about how she didn't let her son pursue the course he wanted to, and made him stick to the realistic options/career path in life..
shows exactly what's wrong in the thought process of parents even today, when they don't see how not allowing their child to pursue a career of his/her own choice (a part of his/her passion) lead their children to only believe that they wouldn't have been able to pull it off/make a living with the same...

Before the Flood - so important for everyone to watch!!

And,
In the words of Jim Carrey,

"My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn't believe that that was possible for him, and so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant. When I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job, and our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.
How will you serve the world?
What do they need that your talent can provide?
That's all you have to figure out.
As someone who's done what you're about to go and do, I can tell you from experience,
the effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is.
Because everything you gain in life will rot and fall apart.
And all that will be left of you, is what was in your heart."

Dark realities and more

"Half the world is starving, the other half is trying to lose weight."

When the day begins on a pleasant note, but you knew that that won't stay for long, as nothing does

"To understand is to perceive patterns..."

There's that weight you carry inside of you, until you don't say it out loud or take it out just by sharing silence...
The other person has to have the perspicacity and power to reason, to know that you just need the silence to be shared for a while and the aggressive emotion will go away.. Because when you're the emotional one and start to get angry even when you've just missed someone a little too much, and although you're usually pretty good at conveying your thoughts, this one time you don't want to and want the other person to just get it.. But of course people don't always infer what you expect them to.. That only happens sometimes.. The rest of the times you probably just get lucky

Interacting with kids will always remain one of the greatest ways to learn something new!

Awaaz badha ne se, baat sahi nahi ho jaati!
(You don't become right by raising your volume!)

When movies like Udta Punjab are released in the Indian cinema...
Not only do you get to hear about controversies, you suddenly become more aware of the degree of the problem existing in that state! The people living in the state are far from the purpose of life and are in an existential crisis it seems. A dark movie with strong messages indeed. Excellent acting by the cast.

Why can't people live by the mantra that people who have a lot lesser than them are happier than they've ever been?

"Hold on to every genuine person you find. This generation has people driven by ego, money and status. As a result good souls are ruined daily. Keep your head up and be conscious of the energy you give out and connect with."

When you're in the middle of writing a post, and the lady who's the caretaker (apparently they're addressed as jaapa in Hindi) of your nephew, starts to share a bit more about her life... and you have your mouth open when she says she was married off to a forty year old man when she was twelve! She had her first child when she was just sixteen! And she's my age right now. She sounded happy that she was married off to him because he didn't take dowry!
You go back to realising how people think, and how their lives have been, and how each of them are going through unimaginable situations...
which is exactly why I absolutely dislike people who are not thankful, in our wonderful (whose definition of modern is probably less/westernised clothes and not thoughts) society!

People whining about trivial things and going on about it, always
COME ON. Look around for heaven's sake!
Such humans don't know the value of other humans and don't want to either.

"I have never understood why people go out of their way to put others down. Be a good person, it isn't that effing hard."

A number of people have died crossing the Mediterranean Sea in 2016
There are people who died in Orlando
The terrorist attacks are never ending ... all in the name of I don't know what!
There are rapes happening every minute in different parts of the world
There are people misbehaving
Some losing themselves whilst attempting to prove themselves to others
Some continue to live in their big bubbles where everything is flowery and nice
It makes you want to tell everyone around you, to just continue to be thankful!

The ultimate truth stated by Matt Haig in his book, Reasons to Stay Alive

Finding Dory
The emphasis laid on how an instinct is a natural ability
I recognised Ellen DeGeneres' voice without knowing it was hers :) She's too damn good.
#movie

This Sweet Love - James Yuill
Da Da Dasse - Kanika Kapoor
Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix) - Omi
#music

The level of complexity in our bodies..
I'd blame the hormones for all the unexpected mood swings too!
The female body's behaviour and its relationship with one's age ~ something men must give thought to as well!

People will hurt you... time and again

yes, the same ones whom you gathered the courage to trust again

What are you going to do about it?

Don't let it break you!

"There are more fruits in a rich man's shampoo than in a poor man's plate."

We all have a tendency to surprise ourselves, we just have to want to test our abilities in the right direction to that extent
Things happen, life has better plans for us sometimes
We just got to take it all one day at a time
The choices you make, some of them might turn out to be harder than you'd thought
But regret never fixes anything
You just got to deal with it the best way possible

"A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?"
#Marley&Me

If someone ever tells you to change yourself, stay away from that person
Why should you change just because you're sensitive and let things get to you fast?
You are who you are for a reason

When you're too tired of explaining yourself, of keeping up, of controlling your tears.. that you just want to give up.. You don't know where to draw the strength from
The part that's the worst throughout the above is that the people pulling you down are the ones you never thought would be the ones!

No one's guidance or advice is going to help with regard to knowing how to be the right one in a marriage, or how to be a parent, because no one is going to tell you time and again that it's going to be hard, and that everyone has a very unique experience of their own
No body prepares you for the hardest jobs in the world ~ managing relationships
While you're overwhelmed and unable to take it, you react in ways that damage them too much
What you may have to give up during that journey/phase of life is also going to come as a surprise
There'll be moments when it wouldn't feel like you made the right choice, or that it wasn't worth it
Just ensure that you have the right people in your life telling you the right things, things you needed to hear for the reassurance that was needed.. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise.. You and your closest friend know how you may have coped with it all..

All these love stories they show in movies
Never believe them
Because you'll only be a big fool to think that's ever possible in reality
You'll get hurt, you'll have arguments even after all your attempts to rationalise
No matter what you do, how much ever you go out of your way for someone, at some point you'll be put down
That's how humans are, the messed up species

One of my favourite advertisements!
: Geeta Phogat ~ will of steel

Olympics and a number of Indians making the nation proud! :)
#Rio2016

It's true when they say that if you're not losing friends, you aren't growing up.

There are those who don't consider themselves worthy of things and deserve the world, and then there are those who haven't done shit to deserve what they've been blessed with, but have much more than needed, let alone deserve. This is exactly where destiny and past life's good karma play their role.

There is a post due specifically on marriage and experiences attending weddings from different cultures :)

The world is a dangerous place when there are more people who want to prove wrong than right.

This post had been in drafts for way too long!

Love is on the Way [Saigon Kick Cover]
~ sung by a friend!
Subscribe to his channel if you like it? :)
The link to it: YouTube channel
#musician

"Raaste kahan khatam hote hain zindagi ke safar mein,
manzil toh wohi hai jahan khwahishein khatam ho jaaye"

Depends on whether you're looking for meaning or not ~

"Do not listen with the intent to reply,
but with the intent to understand."

Why do we bargain with the people earning the least in our country?
I just don't get it.
You're willing to pay a big amount at a branded store, being well aware that the price isn't worth the product... but you will still continue to tell the vegetable/fruit vendor and rickshaw driver to charge you five rupees less.
#ComeOn!

"There's a physical connection you can draw between how often you have to sharpen your pencil and how much work you've done."
- Caroline Weaver

A painkiller for an adult is like a toy to a crying baby #simile
The pain hasn't gone anywhere but your brain's been informed that it has apparently; the child's hiccups are still making him/her uneasy, but the sound and movement of the toy gets his/her mind off it and works pretty well as a distraction!

Introverts are introverts for a reason and they should never be forced to speak/share too much..
Because they are who they are for a reason!
It's just so sad that our hypocritical society isn't accepting of that nature
Why is everyone constantly stuck on attempting to change one another?
Why? Live and let live?

"It takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for."

I am a firm believer of the fact that karma will find its way back to you (!)

Electricity and the wait for it, when Nani watches katha every evening on TV
#LittleThings

Thai noodles soup and crispy mushrooms with a friend, and a short drive after that whilst discussing the general siyapaas that tend to exist in the life of a twenty five year old female in our society :)

"You can't change someone who doesn't see an issue in their actions."

One amongst many making a mountain out of a molehill about pretty much every thing
Sad emotions are okay around you as long as you're in your bubble
Zero empathy, let alone compassion
Money servants money servants money servants
~ stories of some...

I personally don't even like the term 'servant'
I mean, no one is your slave, so stop treating someone like one!
But ofcourse in our country, they wouldn't say domestic help/helpers... just like they don't say homemaker and instead choose to say housewife

Why is it that people don't give enough attention to the words being used by them!?

A child's thoughts must always be cultivated in the right manner
Of course, the 'right' depends on the parent defining it for the child

"I stopped explaining myself when I realised that people only understand from their level of perception."

In life, you'll come across all sorts of challenges...
Depends on you what you're willing to put at stake for each of them.
The journey will take you places
It'll make you say why me?
How hard is it to let it be and let one be and not hurt that person by saying something you already have, again and again?
Oh it hurts me sometimes to see how people behave with their siblings and children

You meet people, you judge them, you make rigid decisions
Is that how it's supposed to be?
Ofcourse not!

But if there's anything I've learned lately, it's that, whoever is not empathetic will never feel the pain. They are just like that. Detached and insensitive.

"There is something hugely civilised about allowing long pauses in a conversation. Very few people can stand that kind of silence."

The society we live in ~
No matter how the people are in a family, there is always differentiation done between siblings, between a son and a daughter
It amazes me how human beings are still unaware of karma's role in life

It's just so sad that the essence of life is lost around
Not many care about what is to be cared about
People just want to talk about people
It's all become about storing everything in your phone's gallery and not going back to see it
Gut feelings aren't believed by most of us
You're called crazy if you want to follow your heart, because ofcourse money and servants should be the ultimate goal
It's tragic to see most thoughts only going in this direction

"Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understanding."
- Bill Bullard

Financial independence isn't a concept that is encouraged
But finding a rich husband is more than welcome!
(yes, it's as sickening as it sounds)

People marry for money and they also believe and think that everyone else must do the same!

"Confidence must be monitored so that it does not spoil or rot and turn to arrogance."

When things start to fall in place, it'll almost feel unbelievably strange
But then again, the universe does have its ways of working things out for you :)

"Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide."

Wake Up - Three Days Grace
~ sung by a friend with passion..
yes, I'm promoting his cover/channel shamelessly :)
#musician

"Never be envious of what someone else has. You don't know the price they paid to get it, and you don't know the price they are paying to keep it."

You want something I would never even think of wanting. I want something you don't want. Fair enough. Keep your choice with yourself and let me keep mine with me. I absolutely fail to understand (as always) as to why validation is necessary or even important! Why?
I'm not putting my nose in your life and passing opinions, you shouldn't either!

"Astrology is a great excuse to blame planets for your incompetence."

Neerja Bhanot ~ what an inspiration!
I haven't seen the movie but the story is extraordinary and so was she :)

"You haven't truly given until you have given till it hurts."

What do you think you should do? ~ A mother questioning her eleven year old in different situations, in an attempt to ensure that the child uses his/her own mind to think and isn't just instructed what to do instead
#GoodParenting

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his/her point of view, until you climb inside of his/her skin and walk around in it." - Atticus Finch
~ something I've always said and believed in
... I was genuinely surprised to know that it's a quote from one of the books that has been on my list; To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I've only added the 'her' as I do not like the male being the obvious gender even in a quotation

Before Sunrise
Serendipity
Before Sunset
#movies

"The heart has its reasons, and they aren't debate topics."

I'm aware that this post was supposed to be about Make A Difference but one more meeting with the kids is needed for me to be able to sum it up precisely :)

Take Yours, I'll Take Mine - Matthew Mole
Fall - Meera Shenoy
Boy With A Coin - Iron and Wine
The Cave - Mumford and Sons
#music

"Whenever you feel like criticising anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

The magic is in the mess

"It is an ancient need to be told stories. But the story needs a great storyteller." - Alan Rickman
#Always

It's one thing to have priorities clear,
it's another to know how different yours are from the selfless people

I consider myself fortunate that I've had the opportunity to meet some fantastic people in my life so far already
You have to be brutally honest only with those who understand honesty!
You have to colour your words with the rest.
- said to me by a very wise fifty-six-year-old independent woman living life on her own terms :)

Look around! Learn a little (even when there is a lot to) from those who're doing it without what you have! Seriously!

When you attend one of the simplest weddings ever
No showoff culture equals no punjabis criticising the food/arrangements/clothes/people's dress sense and more
When there really was so much happiness in the air that one could sense the good vibe with smiling faces all around you
Love marriages are always about struggle, aren't they?
This one could've helped an individual grow one's faith exceptionally though

The definition of travelling is so messed up in our culture/society
Staying in the five star hotels and eating food from restaurants present all across the world
Really? What did you learn? That it's all the same everywhere?
You could do that in your own city and not look outside the window of the hotel room. Haha!
[It's like someone gifting you an electronic gadget on a particular occasion, and in your head you're like; it could've been bought at any point of time after saving up enough; you didn't manufacture it, did you? So what was your (not the money's) effort in it? Yes, I'm weird.]
We don't know our own country well but we love to comment on it every now and then
Trying the local cuisines, using the public transport, exploring an area, that's what it's supposed to be all about!

And,
I have to mention this;
My friend, who is now a mother to a nine months old,
inspires me with her take on motherhood!
She is a rare example in this generation for those of us who haven't walked on her path yet.
And because it kills me a little every single time I see people around me confident that there is nothing that they could possibly learn of/from...
She is the complete opposite of that :)

Life can be as messed up as you make it.
You'll be surrounded by people at one point, and feel like there isn't a single person who's like you and then you'd have one person miles away understanding that there's something not right, just by the punctuation used in your sentences.

You're making fun of someone and you don't mean to hurt that person at all? Fair enough. Keep that person's nature in mind before doing anything. Things that don't hurt you, won't hurt them either : is the worst assumption ever. You don't know that what you're saying or doing would or wouldn't hurt them. I just fail to understand why people keep taking others around them for granted.

You have to keep your freaking equation right with some people, because you're stuck there, and for that, you have to be fake
One of the most difficult things for me to do
Why do we humans complicate everything?
Why can't people just get it? You're a certain way for a reason, and you reacted a certain way for a reason (no, the humans who don't think before opening their mouth aren't included in this list)
You want something, you want something
You love someone, you love someone
Since when did it all become about approval and agreeing with each other's opinions?
You are different god dammit. Ofcourse you wouldn't like what I like or who I like.
But why exactly is that important?
The biggest problem with us humans is; one half is seeking for validation, and the other half thinks they must validate it because it's their basic right and they were born to do just that.
There are such few people out there who actually let you be. Whoever you are, and however you are, they let you be. There is no effort needed with these people. No effort to make a conversation, no effort to laugh/smile. It's effortless because you can share silence with them without thinking even for a second that it could be awkward. These are the kind of people who get you. And most times, one doesn't find such people easily. Because you know, it can't be all that easy.

"If you are like most people, then like most people, you don't know you're like most people."

Selfish. That's what we all are.
We want things our way. We discount other's feelings on the account that it's okay to, because we have problems too. Umm, hello.. We all have problems, and unconditional love is too rare, and it doesn't work the way you think it will.

"Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone's lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don't have to compromise convictions to be compassionate."

Whenever you think how messed up life is for you,
always remember that there are people hoping they manage to get past just one more day without any more troubles.

"You should always have an opinion" is the most bizarre statement I've heard!

Mad World - Hardwell
Starlight (Could You Be Mine) - Don Diablo & Matt Nash
Waiting for Love - Avicii
Strong Ones - Armin van Buuren
Young Again - Hardwell
#music

When you've also been blessed enough to have a friend who writes to you like one would to one's diary :)

An eighty-three-year-old lady with more strength than I've seen in most people
When the closest person to her passed away forty years ago
and she also lost a child of hers eventually
She's someone who's really felt loss
And I'm a firm believer of the fact that one has to face real loss in life, to get out of their bubble
Oh yes, we're all in our own bubbles

The ones who have lesser than us tend to give more than us. It's true!
The driver named Vicky, gave away his bag of peanuts to the boy who asked for food at the window of the car..
And even though I wished I'd have had something edible with me (like in Bombay; Gems) on that day, but I didn't and he did.

It is important to keep meeting people who are different from you!
(for your own personal growth in many ways..)
The reason behind that thought is a girl I met, a few months back, someone very ambitious, who told me about a story of a person who lived in the slums of Mumbai and got through the Stanford MBA on one hundred percent scholarship! People like those are the ones setting examples for the rest of us.

HDFC Life Ad Campaign
~ Another wonderful advertisement :)

Because I started working with an NGO recently...
(yes, it is supposed to be 'an' NGO and not 'a' NGO
The articles are used before an abbreviation/word depending on the pronunciation of the first alphabet in that particular word! Phonetically, yes. So, because in this abbreviation, the N is pronounced as enn, which again begins with a vowel, therefore the 'an'. Haha. Yes, let's face it that we've all wondered about this at some point in our lives before.)

Going back to my primary thought,
Because I started working with an NGO recently;
Make A Difference
The experience so far has obviously been enlightening!
My next post will be only about that :)

There's a part of me that can't wait for the next chapter of my life to begin, a part of me that wants to be there for these kids in many ways, for as long as possible, and a part that wants to go away.

Because it is the people of Mumbai who make it Bombay :)
In their Marathi, the sorted!, the obvious vada pav
The food that added to my happiness:
Chicken Tikka roll from Sigdi, Chip Butty from Theobroma, Sardar Pav Bhaji (no, it's not meant for you if you're not a street food person or if you're concerned about your immunity getting disturbed because of all the butter and the utensils used) and the gol gappe from Right Place (Amarsons)

The typical business class families have so much to learn from the middle class. So much!
It just amazes me every single time I see a confident individual around, and most of the times, the confidence is backed by the wealth inherited. Haha. I find that hilarious.

Because good food makes life better!
And so does Chai :)

"Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they're finished."
- Daniel Gilbert

PS- Happy New Year :)