What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?

This question has been haunting me since a long time. After spending months at home, being forced to confront my own thoughts has led me to a few realizations. The multiple covid lockdowns made me realize how everything around us is temporary. It got me thinking that with the maximum amount of time that I do get around this beautiful planet, what it is that I want to leave behind, what do I want the world to remember me by? Which also makes me realize that for me to leave something behind, I need to take actions to actually create a legacy.

India recently lost one of its iconic singers, KK. All of us 90s kids have expressed love, been heart-broken, celebrated friendships through his songs. He had a poetic death where he passed away after performing for a concert, he literally died doing what he loved. I’ve always felt that there’s a missing piece in my life even if everything seems to be going great. It is this missing part of the puzzle that sends me searching out for something more. I once saw a movie where the actor is asked – “You are doing this job to live the life you are living now, but what do you do for yourself?” To which the actor replies, “I write.” There are things you do in life which fulfil a practical purpose but we also tend to seek things that fulfil our souls.

Legacy can be anything, for some it is the wealth they earn, for some it’s their kids, for some it’s their work. I feel legacy is all about what YOU want to be remembered by and then working towards that purpose. For some it may take a shorter time, for some it might be a longer wait. However, it is all worth it to see the day you feel the contentment in your heart, knowing that this is the missing piece of my life I’ve searched for all along!

I believe that legacy also lies in how you are remembered by as a person. I still love how my loving Grandma is remembered by everyone in her town as one of the kindest souls they had come across. She also planted a few mango trees during her time and now we are able to relish their fruits even today. This inspires me to take actions today that I know would benefit not only my time on this planet, but would benefit generations to come. I still haven’t figured out HOW I plan to do it. But that’s what life is for, to search for things that brighten up your soul and keep working on them till you can!

PS: Thanks for reading through this post. It has been a long time since I wrote. But I know I’ll always make a comeback. What legacy do you envision to leave behind? Would absolutely love to read your thoughts on it!

A blooming garden

Today, you may think you’re all alone, my friend
The storm that has hit you, has shattered the windows of millions of other houses
But they say, when you look directly at the eye of the storm
Gather all your grit and strength that you would need to endure it
Holding hands of your loved ones, singing sweet lullabies
And hold your ground, staying in one place until the storm wears off

There will be a day when the grey clouds of fear will disappear
When the chaos and uncertainty will all end
And the rays of sunshine will bring along great joy
That day, don’t forget the day you looked at the eye of the storm
And think about the amount of bravery it took for you to withstand it all
For soon, there will be a blooming garden for you to walk
Just wait a little longer, my friend, together we will brave the storm. 🌸

PS: Dedicated to everyone fighting the covid crisis back in India. We are in this together. Stay home and mask up if outside! 😷❤️

We all have history, darling!

Someone said this to me a few days ago and I simply couldn’t stop thinking about it. Isn’t that true, though? You, me, all of us. We all have been through different things in our life. And that lady didn’t refer to it as some sort of a bad experience. What she meant was, we all have had brief or enduring chapters in our lives which have had a significant impact in our lives. This history that you’ve had has probably led you to become the person you are today.

Remember, how you used to sit for history lectures and listen to your Professor talk about these astounding people who fought battles, who created change, even led revolutions, fought for independence? And we learnt about these men and women because they were brave enough to do something significant that it lives on even after they’re gone. We, too, are modern day heroes writing our own chapters. Some have to fight battles with outsiders who come to rob the love that resides in our hearts, while some have to fight their own vicious mind and achieve control over it.

The scars that these battles leave, might hurt you out of the blue. A sting that hurts you so bad, you lay writhing in pain. But let these very scars remind you, that you fought the battles that have brought you here, you showed up on the battlefield! And though you might have lost some battles, don’t forget what they taught you. You always learn from your failures. And darling, you don’t have to carve out tombstones for the love that died or the people that left or your failures. You don’t need to build a memorial park where once stood a fierce warrior who fought back. But rather build an empire, that thrives with people, who uplift you and who would fight these battles with you. Build an army that would be ready to fight for you, roaring with the battle cries of hope and wearing shields of love as armor.

We are all modern-day warriors. Today, we fight. We fight against injustice, inequality, patriarchy. We fight for the things that our hearts want and we stand our guard against people who try to break down the walls of our mental peace. We are the unsung heroes, that fight bravely everyday. Because if you are going to create history, why not make it a glorious one! A history which doesn’t end up in ruins, but an empire that still stands mightily after fighting hundreds of battles. And one fine day when you will look back, you will think about the braveheart that fought through it all.

PS: This picture was taken at Lakshmi Vilas Palace, Gujarat, India in Dec 2019.

What a view!

I once saw a tv show where a guy visits an old mansion and gets a chance to meet the couple who live there. When he looks at the woman, he sees a beautiful young bride trapped in a big castle, married to a man twice her age. It breaks his heart to see this confined soul in this desolate place and he even offers to rescue her from the man. The girl only smiles at him thinking what a fool he must be. She tells the guy that she’s actually happy with the person she’s married to and that they both love each other. He cares for her selflessly and is even supporting her in continuing her education. In the end there’s a scene where the couple is shown dancing away in their vast empty palace, no one around, just the two of them, living a fairytale of their own.

Sometimes we are so obsessed about finding issues and problems in other people’s lives, we often tend to overlook the bubble they choose to live in. We are so eager to project our way of living life onto them, we simply disregard the other person’s choices and priorities. Everyone doesn’t want the same things in life. Wouldn’t it be kinda boring if that were the case? Some people are just genuinely happy with all the things they have and they’re wise enough to not care about what the outer world thinks about it. What may seem less to you, might be just enough for them. Only if we start being more mindful about other people’s choices!

People want different things in life and have different priorities. So what you may perceive as a bad situation, the other person might just be wanting that. We need to stop judging people for the choices they make and rather try to understand why they did so. And if you can’t understand it, the least we can do is try to respect their choices. We have all got this one life to live. Would you really throw it all away just for what others would think? Everyone deserves a life of their choice and there’s nothing wrong in choosing to live it your own crazy-but-fulfilling way.

My mantra has always been live and let live!

PS: The picture was taken at City Palace, Udaipur (City of Lakes), India in January, 2018.