Existential thoughts

 What is joy?

It's not a bouquet of flowers...

It's when the lilies bloom once a year after you tend to them whole year round...

What is sadness?

It's not when you lose someone...

It's when you pick up the phone but there is no one to call...

What is bliss?

It's not the absence of worry...

It's when you know you will move ahead strong inspite of fears...

What is pain?

It's not the absence of love...

It's when you have touched love only for it to be taken away...

What is love?

It's not when you look into each others eyes...

It's when you surrender and look together towards future...

What is life?

It's not the hours we live...

It's what you create, a legacy, happy memories that will survive after you are gone...

The Sunday Evening Song

 The weekend's gone

In a verse of a song

No time to find a bridge

Coz all bridges were burnt

I sit and stare

At my phone, and its glare...

In a darkened room

A mellow sense of doom

This life is not

What I had thought

I would get 

When I was 17

And my eyes had gleam

Now they are mostly wet...

But before we get all melancholy

Let me tell you, there is hope still...

But the dreams are different now

Peace and wisdom... Do take a bow.

Living like the solitary moon

Reflecting what shines on me

Every night I claim it my own

But say goodbye, by the time of dawn...

But tell if you see me

Do I make you smile?

If I do, I will take the win

And walk another mile...

Mid-Life Wisdom

 We talk about resilience. At work, in our personal lives, to overcome difficult situations, resilience is key. However, how to build this master-key resilience. Is it inherent or is it cultivated? Good news! It is a learned skill. You will find great resilience in badminton courts, in dance classes, in swimming pools, in the gym, in learning guitar, in climbing summits. Our minds and our bodies are linked. Duh! So to become more resilient, allow yourself the challenge, allow yourself to fail and then shake that failure feeling and move ahead, persist, practice, and then I assure you, one day you will meet that challenge and emerge a winner. Winning could be a good shot at the badminton court, 4 continuous laps in the pool, or playing the bar chords on your guitar. It is your challenge, you own it and then achieve it. Simple. Start small. Then keep pushing the envelope. You will see your physical resilience is morphing into mental resilience because any physical challenge at the end of the day becomes a mental challenge. And this resilience built over time will start coming in handy at work and life. Your limits are what you set for yourself. So, soar high and mighty! 

A Message to The Universe

 In a world of comets, I want a Sun

Who will shine down on me

Who will nourish me 

and fill me with it's warmth

In a world of may bes, I want a Hell Yeah!

A conviction so strong 

That it can move mountains

Meeting of two souls, certain.

In a world of darkness, I want a Light.

A light as bright as mine

Till the end of time

Shared smiles till we are old and dying...

In a world of hurt, I want a Home

That's safe and comforting

That shelters us, you and me

A home to belong to, today and forever...

So, Universe, I send out this wish

I know you are listening...

And will send my soulmate to me...

© Manashi Pathak

In This Together

 I dont have anything to say

That has not been said before

Our journeys are on different roads

May be they meet to say au revoir

Someone is running away to find some peace

Someone is floating in the breeze

Someone waiting on the past

And time rolls by fast

Someone is sorted yet fighting to be good

Good enough for his daughter

Someone is recreating the life 

With someone else together

Someone is caring for her ailing mother

And yet we smile for each other

Someone knows what she wants

But life has never been fair

Someone strives to be perfect

Needing just a lil bit of care...

Someone searches for a meaning to this life

And the struggles may look different but the pain, we share...

So, be a little kind to each other

Be a shoulder to another

A hug is much more than a greeting

We gotta keep our hearts beating...