Void

I don't like this at all.What is this? This big 'Void' or 'feeling of Emptiness'. Part of me is watching the physical me perform so many day today chores yet the inner me is not fed at all. Is this void otherwise called 'Soul'. It will be a bit of shame if soul were supposedly only a void and these voids can not be fed enough.
How can I get rid of this emptiness? How easy is it? Is this the beginning of 'Soul Searching'? What can I feed my soul? Where to find the answers?

Dreams

I wanted to write about 'Dreams' for a long time. I wonder what my first dream was as a baby. I know we all dream from an early age during sleep. They say, to dream, one should go into a sound sleep.

I can't say that I dreamt a lot up until completing my undergraduation. It is during my post graduation days that I started dreaming often during sleep. Sometimes, annoyingly, the same kind of dreams appear again and again. One such dream is I am still  at my final year in secondary school and appearing for my mathematics exam. I still don't want to interpret the meaning of this dream and the insecurities it brings along.

I usually dream about people who I have already known and normally no strangers are allowed even in my dreams!!

People appear sad, happy, smiling, crying, suffering, dying etc., in my dreams. I strain myself to remember forgotten dreams and would start imagining the end after waking up.

I have to talk about the other aspect of 'Dreams'. People dream of 'becoming somebody', in other terms ambitions. 'I am a dreamer' would imply some one who is constantly persevering to rise himself to a higher platform. In reality, real dreams would keep oneself from sleeping and make him work hard to realise the goals.Such is the power of dreams.

Honestly speaking, I have never dreamt of becoming anybody. I am taking the road that was laid by GOD for me and am just walking in my own pace to reach the destiny. If I knew my destiny today, I will hardly have any interest in enjoying the rest of my life. Although this road of life is long and hard, when I reach my destiny I hope to take this deep sigh of relief that 'Yes, I found the purpose of my Life on this earth'!!.

Venom vs Poison

I don't often watch the so called 'intellectual' programmes on telly. Surprisingly, one such programme caught my attention and I enjoyed learning some informations through this.
I did not know that venom and poison are two totally different terms especially in their meaning. I learnt that 'SNAKES ARE NOT POISONOUS'. They are in fact 'VENOMOUS'.
Venom of a snake is a mixture of protein/enzymes that can be hemotoxic, cytotoxic and neurotoxic and it has to be delivered under the skin for it to be toxic.
Poison, on the other hand, is toxic when swallowed/inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Poisonous animals do not inject the toxin into another creature. Venom are NOT TOXIC if swallowed!! 
It isn't too confusing is it?

Food from Heart!

So, it is Krishnajayanthi aka Gokulashtami today. Does it mean its Lord Krishna's birthday? If so when was he born? What is his age now?
Am I obliged to answer these questions from a small kid? Probably not but apparently the birthday of Lord Krishna is July 19 or 21, 3227or 3228 BC. He is indeed very very old now isn't he?
 I started thinking about the concept of celebrating various religious festivals and their purposes. Hindu worship is idol based which in my humble opinion is the easiest form of worship to promote Bhakthi. People decorate the idols to their taste and attain a sense of fulfilment and happiness. Although I am not totally religious person, I am religious in my own way.
Part of worship is 'Neivaideyam' wherein we offer the deities whatever we have cooked /made with real devotion. I have several experiences myself where my cooking tasted better without having to taste the food during the preparation just because it is made for the Almighty and he is the first to taste them. Usually it is the men who chants verses of slokas on special occasions and neivaideyam are prepared by women. It is teamwork and probably was intended to be this way when festivals were conceptualised that it becomes a family event and the genders contribute equally and enjoy equally. It is also an opportunity to show talents and improve.

What is my stand on the modern day 'Neivedeyam'??
It is depicted that Lord Krishna likes milk, yoghurt and butter. This is  probably because these products were readily available as he was raised in a community rearing cows. So, ritually the neivedeyam consists of lots of butter mixed with raisins, cashews and fresh grapes, not to mention the sweetest 'Ladoos'.
Although it is a belief that Lord enjoys our offerings, it is us who engulf the sweets and savouries made on the day.
Assuming this is the strategy for all festivites can the 'Neivedeyams' be replaced to healthier,less fat, less sugar versions? My answer was a BIG YES (although I am perfectly capable of  indulgence and love the buttery food) , so I embarked myself to do this 'Oats and Nuts Ladoo' for Krishnajayanthi (an Internet recipe) . No refined sugar or butter was added to this recipe, so it is indeed healthy. It contained oats, figs, dates, walnuts, almonds, linseed and pistachios. Cashews and raisins were not included purposefully. (Why am I taking this on Kutti Krishna?)
Any way my ladoos were ready in 10mins and after the prayers I tasted them. They were really tasty and got the family approval.

 Is this a picture depicting our perception of  how the food itself is the 'Big' thing during festivals than the devotion to God himself?

 Baby Krishna typically pictured as eating the sweet Ladoos.

Food is probably the best way to get not only into people's heart but also the 'ALMIGHTHY' !!!

A 6yr Old's British Joke

There were two Crisps walking on the road.

 A taxi came by and asked them ‘Do you want a lift?’

 The Crisps answered, ‘No ,thank you, because we are the Walkers’!!

The Last House on the Road

I realized what a difference that a slow stroll can bring replacing a fast walk into the moor down the lane. I  have walked down the lane,on my return I took a stroll when I perceived how much of the surrounding I have missed to enjoy . When the pace of the walk is slowed down, I noticed that all the houses in the lane have a uniqueness. There is this house where a baby cries, another with a beautiful colourful garden filled with begonias, hydrangeas and roses, another with a lovely bay windows seeping the sun through, another one with a massive 4x4 blocking the invitation from within, another one with an old couple mowing the lawn, another one with a family enjoying the big screen LED, another with a broken yet antiqued fence,another with a cat sitting on the windowsill and glaringly staring at the on goers and so on...
Above all I am intrigued by the 'Last House on the Road'. It is a massive family home, I suppose. It is uniquely surrounded by the motorway, the rails and the airport noises,yet it is blanketed by the thick shrubs that protects the house like a mother embracing her beloved child. This house,often I felt,sends waves of an eerie stillness despite all disturbances. Hares,squirrels and foxes are the routine visitors to this house.
If I extrapolated my remarks of my tiny stroll to slowing down in life, I think, I will wish to revisit some of the things I have walked past in my life without actually enjoying them.  A second chance is always good if taken in the right spirit. Also to the future with the hope that there is always something to enjoy and to spot the happiness just by slowing down.