Things to ponder from Tsunomi!!

Take care not to let other people push their dreams on you.

The sky's the limit.

You just have to keep faith.

Never marry a man who wears more jewellery than you do.

A woman can be pretty and be strong.

Everyone has a need to feel needed.

Drinking alcohol before twelve noon is a sign of trouble.

You can't trust a man who won't look at you in the eye.

A person's as big as her dreams.

It's the things we're denied that we want the most.

Twins have powers.

It's hard to figure out what will kill you and what will cure you and how to know the difference.

Peppermint tea will soothe a sour stomach.

Even if people act like they're mad, underneath they can be really feeling sad.

Like most things in life, driving isn't hard once you get the knack of it. Getting the knack is the hard part.

Always say goodbye when you have the chance.

Regret is a pitiful thing.

Being around death makes you hunger for life.

Magical things rise up out of unlikely beginnings.

A boy who looks like a pirate can have a choir singer's soul.

Losing your head causes bad problems to get worse.

It is a mighty and terrible possibility that a person can do great harm without the least intention.

Sometimes forgiveness doesn't have to be earned.

A person's job in life is to find and follow her own dream.

The Queen of Cures is Love!

Courtesy: "Leaving Eden" by Anne D. Leclaire.

Healthy Eating!

Here are a few recipes that I came across at my yoga class. You don't need to spend any fuel to prepare these recipes. And they are healthy.

Hope you find it useful!

Beetroot salad:
Grated beetroot, soaked groundnuts, finely chopped capsicum, grated ginger and coconut, lime juice. Season and add salt, pepper, coriander & curry leaves. Mix all ingredients well.

Carrot salad: Grated carrot, sprouted green grams, finely chopped capsicum, grated ginger and coconut, lime juice. Season and add salt, pepper, coriander & curry leaves. Mix all ingredients well.

Cucumber salad: Finely chopped cucumber, capsicum, grated ginger & coconut, lime juice. Season all and add salt, pepper, coriander & curry leaves. Mix all ingredients well.

Snake gourd salad: Peel the skin and chop snake gourd, capsicum, grated ginger & coconut, chopped tomato, lime juice. Season all and add salt, pepper, coriander & curry leaves. Mix all ingredients well.

Sweet beaten rice: Thin beaten rice, grated coconut, concentrated jaggery syrup, cardamon. Mix all ingredients well.

Pungent hot beaten rice: Wash the thick beaten rice & drain it thoroughly, leave it for 45 minutes. Mix beaten rice, tamarind syrup, grated coconut, coriander & curry leaves.

Curd ashgourd: Grated ashgourd, ginger, curd, season and add salt, pepper, coriander & curry leaves.

Vegetable juice: Save the juice from grating the above vegetables. Mix together, add lime juice and sugar to taste. Serve immediately. (Do not keep the juice standing for a long while.)

Groundnut porridge: Soak groundnuts for 5-6 hours. Then put groundnuts, bananas, sugar, cardamon, and water in a mixie (food processor). Grind for 2 minutes. Add milk to taste and serve.

Coriander coffee: Powder equal quantities of pepper, jeera and dhania with a little bit of dry ginger. Add one teaspoonful to 200 mL of boiling water and heat for 2 minutes. Filter it, and add jaggery or sugar and lemon juice to taste.

(Courtesy: Isha Foundation)

The Devil's first blog!

Hi folks!

This is my first creation of any sort w.r.t writing articles. It was written for a column at my workplace. And I thought I can start my blog by putting this one here.

This is my first time on Hi Mates! I see a lot of people writing about varied and interesting things. Though I may not measure to their level, this is my modest contribution. Being the first time ever, kindly bear with any flaws that you may notice (especially long sentences) and enjoy my contribution in the spirit it is offered.

Now that I have started it, what shall I write on? There are so many things that are locked up in one's heart that are worthy of sharing. Let me describe what I feel on the aspect of realizing one's destiny.

For a lot of us, destiny is something we remember when we face troubles. I'm sure at least one of us would have bemoaned our sad fate when we think we are mere instruments in the cosmic play of God. I guess, God, bored with the Universe he'd created spends most of his time playing puppetry with our lives. After all, even if you are God, what's the point in having a dull, boring creation in which everything is mundane?

I have often heard it said that everyone has but one destiny (Remember Don Vito Corleone, the Godfather?) How many of us have given it a serious thought – thoughts of what our destiny is? Is it something that we feel is best ordained by the Supreme hand or is it something that each of us have realize and fight to achieve though it may seem impossible?

I am not sure if this has any connection, but all of a sudden, I remember Mali sir's words during our training days. He was handling 'Soft Skills' classes for us. He asked us what our goals are, what our aims are, and what our ambition is. To me, it all meant quite the same at that time. I wondered where he was leading us only to realize later that I was not alone in my contemplations. Many were in the same state of mind. He went on to explain patiently that goals and aims are relatively short-lived. In the sense, these are targets which we can achieve during the course of our lifetime. I may wish to achieve my weekly targets within the stipulated time. That is a goal. I may aspire to become a doctor. That is an aim.

But, ambition is something else. Ambition is a driving force in our lives. We hope to achieve it in our life, but we may measure up to a small extent only. Mali sir gave us a beautiful analogy too. Ambition, he said, is like traveling in a long tunnel hoping to reach the small speck of light that shines at the other end. It is not possible to reach the light at the end of the tunnel, but the mere fact that there is a light gives us the hope to go on. Ambition is the driving force for our life. We could not have gotten a better explanation.

It is true that most of us do not realize our destiny until much later in life. But, when we understand what we are destined for, we realize that life takes a whole new meaning. Sometimes, we have been forced to take decisions, accept circumstances wherein we persuade our hearts to accept the fates that have conspired to set paths that are not what we would choose. I do not know how many of you have come across this in your life. Apparently, according to Paulo Coelho, when a person realizes the purpose of his life, in other words, his destiny, everything seems to be possible, and everything appears clear as a crystal. He is neither afraid of dreams, nor is he afraid of reality. But after a period of 'beginner's luck' every man's quest for realizing his true destiny is plagued by doubts, fears, obstacles, and various setbacks. Many end up feeling that their destiny is not worth the trouble. They are foolish indeed. When such people look back they would understand how they have lost a valuable part of their life. A diamond is just a stone when it is recovered from the ground. When it is polished and cut, it attains a brilliance that proves its value. But if the diamond does not want to be polished because it feels it would get hurt, who is to blame? None, but the diamond itself.

Mates... What do you want to be – an ordinary stone or a sparkling diamond?

I also found a website that has something interesting to say about Fate and Destiny. Something for each of us to introspect, I guess! :-p

http://www.orderofthewhitelion.com/Karma@/Fate.destiny.html

Don't forget your comments!!