Tag: memories

How Many Times More?

A Wondering WandererLeave a comment

On a recent trip down the rabbit hole (while searching for something on the net), I came across something that I felt like sharing with you all today.

Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless…

This is an epitaph written on Brandon Lee’s tombstone. For those who don’t know him (I confess, I didn’t at the time), he was an actor, and the son of the legendary Bruce Lee. And unfortunately, he died at a very young age of 28.

And to give credit where it’s due, the above epitaph is actually paraphrased from a 1949 novel ‘The Sheltering Sky’ written by Paul Bowles.

The reason why I wanted to share this is because I found something really heartfelt about this quote. It just makes you pause and think about things, doesn’t it?

How many times do we really see the full Moon rise? When was the last time that you saw it? How many times do we share conversations and laughter with our loved ones? How many memories do we have that we cherish beyond anything?

The numbers may vary for different people, but one thing I think would be common for us all, is that we never think about how many more times we will get to experience those beautiful moments again. We just take these things for granted.

We are so used to certain things that we never fully realize how precious they are. We have such fragile and ephemeral lives. Anything can happen anytime. Yet, it’s like we are blind to the whole thing.

Now I do understand that there’s a practical aspect to the whole thing, and that we wouldn’t be able to function properly if we kept thinking about the impermanence of it all. I agree that we do need to focus on the present moment, and not worry about what might happen in the future, which we can not control beyond a certain limit.

But that should happen as a conscious choice, isn’t it? Not because we don’t realize the nature of these things, and are just living unconsciously, tumbling from one day to another. We must remain aware of how limited our days are. Because only then can we truly, deeply appreciate things like those wonderful memories, beautiful Moon rises, the laughter of loved ones, etc.

We get so caught up in our lives, postponing our plans for that vacation, for that conversation, for that reconciliation, for that thing that we always wanted to do, that we never stop to think what if there isn’t enough time to do those things later?

Experience what you can while you can. Go see the Moon rise!

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Pic Credits: brandonlee.com

Letting The Kid Go

A Wondering WandererLeave a comment

Even though I know,
I’m not that kid anymore,
It’s hard to let go.

– Ehsaas

Found this haiku in the archive of my unpublished drafts. It’s time for it to finally see the light of day. As they say, things happen, when they are supposed to happen.. 😅

Many of us have unpleasant memories or experiences from our childhood that still hurt us when we remember them.

And even though we have grown up now, in more ways than one, and are wiser and more mature to understand why we had to go through those experiences, sometimes, we may still find it difficult to process those emotions from our childhood.

And these childhood experiences may not even be that traumatic from an adult’s point of view. They may even be something very trivial. But to that young kid, they mattered! And they left a deep imprint.

What hurts the grown-up today is not so much the direct experience of those childhood incidents – time takes care of that. What hurts the grown-up today is the memory of being that kid who had to go through those experiences, who was helpless and perhaps alone, in being able to do anything about those events, at that time.

This is where healing comes into the picture. May anyone and everyone who can relate to this post one day reach a stage where they can embrace that kid, and yet not feel sad for them, where they can reassure that kid that despite those events, or perhaps even because of them, they will end up having a happy and content life.

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Credits: Haiku by yours truly. Pic created with Canva.

Value Of A Moment

A Wondering WandererLeave a comment

Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory.

– Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka “Dr. Seuss”

Today’s post is going to be a short one, like this month of February itself. 😄

To be honest, it’s also because there really isn’t much to add to this beautiful quote by Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka “Dr. Seuss” – he just said it so simply and succinctly!

I was recently reminiscing about a few cherished memories, and when I read this quote after that, I realized how true this is.

The specific moments I was thinking about were nothing out of the ordinary as such when they actually took place. At the time, I never would’ve guessed that one day they’ll become as cherished as they have now.

In fact, many times, if not all of the times, it seems that the value of a moment is actually that it is a memory. It is over time that these moments become more and more valuable. Sometimes, the people involved are no longer with us. Sometimes, situations have changed dramatically, such that we are no longer in a position to recreate similar moments again, and we only have what we already had. Sometimes, it’s just that feeling, experienced for the first time, that we can not really experience again.

If these moments didn’t turn into memories, they would be lost amongst the millions of other small moments we live through, and don’t even remember. Which also highlights the importance of living each present moment consciously, and not just sleepwalking through our life.

The moments that we are living through now will become a memory one day. If you are living through a tough time, it’s difficult, but it will still pass. But, if you are living through a good phase of your life, really cherish it, for, we’ll really know the true value of this moment much later – when all we’ll have is a memory of it.

And with that, I’ll wrap up this post. Wishing everyone a life full of such moments and memories! 😊

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Photo Credit: guille pozzi on Unsplash

Homesick

A Wondering WandererLeave a comment

Tumbling through a house empty,
Trudging along a life lonely,
I know now what it feels like,
To miss your home terribly.

In the rush of the rat race,
Far away, in this new place,
With so much on my mind,
I miss that safe, secure space.

Miss that life with family,
As carefree as it could be,
Sheltered away from the world –
From all the insanity.

Miss my room, my armchair, my desk –
Witnesses to words left unsaid,
To the few that were written,
And the many that were read.

Miss that comfort and that sleep,
So very restful and deep.
Miss waking up in my bed,
To that morning alarm beep.

I miss every nook and cranny,
Finding my way, at night, at three,
Knowing the place inside out,
I miss my home, with the old tree.

And I miss more than just the abode,
Even the turns and bumps in the road.
Those familiar neighborhood faces –
Miss listening to their anecdotes.

* * *

Wish I didn’t have to leave,
But needed to, I believe,
To learn, grow and evolve –
So many goals to achieve.

Time to face the world alone,
To fall and rise on my own,
See the different shades of life,
Some new, and some known.

But…

Isn’t it a little sad?
Takes living like a nomad,
Losing something essential,
To truly know what you had.

The entire world, you may roam,
Buy all the pleasures you can own,
Live in fancy hotels and villas –
Won’t find the peace of a home.

You may return to the nest,
For a couple of days’ rest,
Smoothly back into the groove,
Like you never even left.

* * *

One of the lucky few,
I wish every kid knew,
A place to call their own,
Before their time was through.

Those moments and laughter,
May pass by in a blur,
But will leave deep imprints,
Cherished forever after.

More than just bricks and concrete,
A shield from the cold and heat,
Home is the bedrock of life.
Your strength. Where you feel complete.

And,

It takes magic to turn stone,
Into the haven called home.
So, more than anything else,
I miss you the most, Mom.

I’ve been wanting to get back to writing poems for so long now. Finally, I’m able to share one with you all! I was still writing, but only the first drafts. It’s much easier to start one, but it takes effort to finish it, at least for me. Hope I get better at it over time. There are so many drafts yet to see the light of day! 😀

I don’t know if you can tell, but my poems are usually metaphorical. But not this one. It’s just about being homesick. And I was actually, literally, homesick! I was missing home so much one day, I had to take the day off from work, and just recover! Hope that’s not weird.. 😛

If you’ve been a regular follower of the blog, you’ll know that I had to move to a new city for work last year. Have been living independently since then, and there are days when I really miss my old life, my home. One such day was the inspiration behind this.

I’m sure many of you have had to face a similar situation, and hope you’ll connect with the sentiment behind this. And if you do like it, please share and spread the word! It will motivate me even more to keep writing! 🙂

Till next time…

Photo by Christopher Harris on Unsplash

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Dear Diary…

A Wondering Wanderer3 Comments

Hey there, dear diary!
Nice to meet you again.
But, after years on this road,
Time’s up on our journey.

We rarely realize,
That word after word,
Our journal fills itself,
N’ how swiftly time flies.

But, what a wonderful gift
You turned out to be.
An anchor for choppy seas,
Saved me from being adrift.

Oh, the accidents it took…
For us to come together.
For this story of mine,
To find a place in your book.

Hopes n’ dreams, anger n’ screams,
Stained your pages with ‘em all.
Yet you somehow held together,
Dangling between the extremes.

Many did I share before –
Memories too important.
Some best forgotten, but
Many still left to explore.

So, it is hard to let go.
Stitching, sketching, stretching,
What will be the last story,
That you’ll ever get to know.

But it’s a good reminder:
No one knows or controls,
The stories and pages,
They are left in the binder.

With nary a chance,
Too many end too soon.
I know I am lucky,
To get one more dance.

But here approacheth the end,
And even though,
There may be more,
None can take your place.
So, in this last little space,
Let me just say:
Thank you, and goodbye, dear friend!

If you have been following this blog, you might notice that sometime back, I wrote a post about some parting thoughts on reaching the end of a journey. When I had had those initial thoughts, I knew there was potential for a poem there. But writing one takes time and effort (lots of it!) for me, and so, at that time, I thought I’ll just go with the flow and put my thoughts into the simple words that came readily.

But since then, the idea of expressing those feelings through a poem had been on my mind. And so, here you go! It’s done, finally!! 🙂

It’s definitely not my finest work, which, so far, (shameless self promotion warning!) I consider to be this, for a variety of reasons. But even though I knew this wasn’t as good as it could’ve been, I just had to get this one out of the system! Still, howsoever the poem is, I hope you’ll at least get a glimpse of that bittersweet feeling (if I haven’t done too bad a job of messing that up), and maybe, of even the larger picture… 😉

Thanks for reading! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Photo Credit: Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash