The Perfect Angle...

A dear friend asked me how it is that I can take such beautiful pictures of ordinary things – “how do you turn people into gold with a snap shot”? she asked.

I do not photoshop them and I am really just an amateur who has a love so deep for all things living…

I told her the truth- that I see the magical angle to the dullest living thing and it is really not an effort – it is a gift!

You see, there is an angle to everything and everyone in this life that never goes wrong… your own perfect angle - it is not fixed or generic, it is just yours to find.

For me, the best assets are the ones I look out to emphasize. It may be a little tilt of my neck, a little bend or just a face forward pose – you can find yours if you look out for it.

My perfect angle is characterised by so many things – calm, sheerpeace,sometimes abandon – there is a perfect angle to my face as to my life, I just take a deep breath, let go of my inner struggles, tilt my head away from the imperfect and click! I have the right angle and it is beautiful!

There are really pretty angles to the lives we are living right now no matter how tough it seems – one only needs to find them! When you find them –your poses will be the most beautiful and your life will be as “photogenic” to others as it will be to you.

You must have seen that man who is eager to see what today looks like, how light reflects on clear flower petals and what shades are the blue in the sky. That man will give everything for just one stare at the marvels he is surrounded with and yet cannot access - something so easy for you and I. To add to the injury, you just bought new shades to frame your eyes from the colour of life – the colour of hope!

… And more often than not, I take a walk around my home and wonder how free and liberating it is to move around – to take Steps of Hope, to know that without a doubt, I will reach where I am going- each step sipping my troubles away… and I think to myself, this is a great angle to my life- I can walk away my fears… I have legs and vigour and most definitely bounce!

If there is a troubling angle to your life- an area that you are struggling with, just remember that there is another angle that flatters you and all you have to do is just discover it, take the pose and smile – whether you do it with your mouth open or not, does not matter a bit – it is just great that you have found the right angle for your life photo-shot!

Now, finding your angle may need a few failed poses before your mirror – you may even be discouraged at the outcome a few first times but I can assure you that will a little squint, a certain smile and a few stares at your reflection in your private corner, you will most definately discover what angle of life suits you best– what your perfect pose is and when you do, I charge you to take your shots.

Glory in your golden angles while you live and soon enough you will forget the imperfections.

Alright then...get ready for a perfect photo–shot,
Click! … yayyyhhhh its your picture perfect day!


Luminously yours...

PM Dawn - I'd Die Without You

How To Be Alone

Dear Wana,

I don’t remember the last time I received a letter. Sealed envelope, a stamp, well sketched handwriting (always had to be your best writing), I even had a bright red kiss stamp on one – such glorious days long gone, the days before email happened and text messages rudely took over.

I remember with smiles, my best letter ever. It was from my brother and I was all alone and miserable in a boarding school. My brother, he is a miracle! He took out a dictionary and spent a whole night writing me a most famous letter.  

The Mail Attendant arrived with a bulk of letters to my class – JS 2 E and I decided to practice an exercise on faith that I had only learnt the Sunday before. Just before hope failed me, I heard my name announced and I did my best not to look surprise, rushed on forward to get the letter, I would have literally wept if it was a mistake – not mine.

How I felt like a Princess- someone thought of me me and wrote me a letter! Close to my class seat, I tore it open and unfolded it hungrily, my eyes dived straight to the sender’s name –and it was my brother.

The letter was short and the most memorable I have ever read till date. I did not understand even two sentences of the famous letter at the time – such lines as ‘...the skyrocketing menace of our Nation’s economy is precipitous..” How the Nation’s economy affected my 9 year old brother, I guess I’ll never know.

It didn’t matter anyway, the words from him were precious, hilarious and so heartfelt – I cried all the way! He ended the letter in a much ordinary note, in his exact words- the words I can never forget  “...the house is empty because of you – empty.”

That letter gave me an unquantifiable joy – the kind I can never explain - It was thoughtful, totally unexpected and it made me believe again. It was an act of charity and it “saved” me!

There are many things that tug at our heartstrings...a lot of them bear the simple thoughtfulness of another who recalls your kind act of six (6) years ago and called you up just to thank you again, or how you said a prayer during another person's dark night...

There is always a blessing in the love we share. Unreserved, unadorned simple acts of love will never ever grow old fashioned. That kind that smiles cheerfully and with gratitude at a nanny who works the whole day and all through the week with silent, hopeful thoughts that she alone bears; the kind that seeks out the frown in an unadorned colleagues and tells him he is a joy to have around...that kind that blows a kiss at another who is hungry for a word of affection – such give-aways always on non – promo days - these are joys that bless the day and turn the dull routine of others into their miracles.

So I urge you to write a note today – an unreserved one to someone who has added colour to your existence...better still,  add colour to another person’s day with a sweet little note of love - It will illuminate the world!

ATTACHMENT

"Here is the source of every human suffering ...to see as permanent, what is in essence, passing!"-
Anthony De- Mello.

There lived a man, who cared not for possessions, approvals, titles, companions...not anything! Yet he was the most loving man on earth. He'd let you stand on his feet and dance, he will help you with your dozen bags all the time smiling, he'd visit you at the clinic, be there when you call him...he would even laugh with you in the middle of the worst crises you face and yet, he was always ready to pack his bags and move on, no prejudice, no fuzz, NO REGRETS! He very often said - "I travel light".

You see, the origin of suffering is Attachment!
Look deeply into your life, the times you have cried, the heartbreaks, the bad taste, what was the cause of it all? You either had a strong desire which you identified with, or you had a pleasure which was no more pleasurable. You simply allowed yourself to be encumbered by life's baggages.

Life is transcient and the things we "have" are impermanent!
The things we see all around us come into existence and the fade away...friends, cars, beauty, houses, everything will pass away.
Our social status, intellectual achievements, and fame – these too shall pass! Even the greatest man is just a page in a history book...
 Everything Passes!

Let us realise the need to fuzz less and enjoy more
To not let life pass us by while we attach to something or someone who had moved on
To let us love the ones we are entrusted with, without suffocating them with our emotions
To let us listen to the symphony of life and stop picking out an instrument in the lot of it all, to attach to...

My take is, discover the sweetness in the simple things of life
In the midst of your sorrow, remember that you have a heart that pumps
Discover the refreshing taste of water, the feel of a newly started smile breaking into your eyes
Enjoy what life gives and by all means, leave it behind gracefully for another sunrise.

Do you have fame, glitter! all the while remembering that it will pass...
Are you in pain, moan knowing it will pass...
Do you love, enjoy its pleasures, knowing it will pass....
Everything will pass - this, that and me
cut the strings that hold you captive and savour with freedom the life that you have been entrusted with... in the end, the question to ask is - how much of life did I allow to pass me by!

Disillusionment!!!

she held the dream close to her heart
from a very tender age, she felt
that someday a prince will sweep her away
a prince not keen about horses and limousines
just a man who breathes
and lives her tale of love.

she kept the search, she looked for him
in everyone of their eyes, she looked
she often times fell for cons and tricks
impostors ready to devour what she bore
still, she hoped as she cried,
she slept with her faith;

...when dreams came true, she said "i do"
she loved the hope that came to life
her friends were pleased for her as well
alas! her love, to have and hold.

a year gone by, the weather changed
the clouds of doubt where home again
why does he smile at drapy drapes
what makes his eyes cold as ice

she walked as she thought,
she prayed she was wrong
she even saw a twinkle in another's eyes...
what dreams made of deludes her still-
she strides on in search, she courts the wind for a Change...


These days, I see a certain smile on her lips
I dont dare ask what her secret is...
my hope is just what i think it is...,
that now she's at home with her case...and
she knows the password - that to love is to Breathe!

From me, to you!

May the morning dew bath your yester' fears
May the golden sunlight dry your tears away
May there be sweetness in the berries you eat
May all life's force tend to your needs today!

Wishing you the loveliest day of your life.

_

... THE FLOW

I have a certain love, it is swimming!
It isn't just the back strokes and the deep end adrenaline...
It is the clear blue water which beacons when I come around it
The first chill, as my feet says hello to the water
The love with which it receives my body as I fall headlong inside of it...


You see, the water is an amazing lover,
It's the kind of friend heaven sends once in a lifetime
It bears you with joy as you glide through it
It caresses you like a thousand feathers all purposed to please you
Provided you don't fuzz through it and flip flap like a penguin.


It is with life, as like a glide through water,
It has a flow...it has a rhythm to its music.
Each moment has its own joys,
Whatever pains accompanies the joys can be borne with grace,
Cos in the end, the universe knows just how to bear us as we glide along.


Oh mere mortals like us!
That we may not force the experiences of our lives to be a certain way,
But that we may receive each moment with unbridled exhilaration and grace
Peaceably discarding the previous moments for fresh new moments,
Aware that the mighty plans of God paints life with exquisite goodness...
Still aware that we are gliding with the flow of life!

The details in TODAY!

I have a friend who is high on life!

She is the one who feels sunlight on her back and can sing along with the birds...
"I catch the details in the day," she very often says.
She seldom remembers a hurt cos " whats the point wasting my time..."

She is truly refreshing to have around,
we say she carries the golden moments with her
and doesnt waste a tear on something that was not beautiful.

Her life inspired me to ask the question,
What are the details in your Today???

Everyday starts the most part, with your eyelids gently opening,
it opens to all of life...
to brightness that your eyes can see,
to the sourness of your morning breathe,
to the smell of the morning air
to the noise of life...the birds , the kids whatever it may be,

to your partner's warmth or annoying snore
to your sister's steps as she moves about
to your neighbours' regular ramblings and chores
to a chance to choose again, to live!

We awaken each day,
to a moment of decision to live above the cares,
to a choice to not be dampened by another's ways...
to a  brand new day... with brand new hopes...
to new possibilities and deeper joys...
to new challenges which takes us to our victories,
to golden moments where we have faith again and can forgive anything...

A new day with a new chance to hope that God will take care of his creation!
To smile at our scars and know that everything will be alright!

You see, it is easy to wrap ourselves in the negatives,
to remember the wife at home who nags for a living,
and the husband who plays god and is never wrong.

It pounds us in our heads, what noisy children we have,
who play unending and do not conform to the standards we set!

How can we forget the "fool" who almost ran us down on our way to work,
and our slimy, foolish, lowlife business associates,
who connive to pull us down.

We spend time thinking of all the hurts his words left,
all the pains her betrayal caused...
we string to the hope  that all our enemies will die
and plan to right all the wrongs that comes with life!

But I ask you this question,
 if you could be shown on a screen, the details of today,
if you had clarity, on the gifts of heaven to you,
What will you be grateful for today???

What are the details in your TODAY!