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Finding the Light

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Ever felt like standing in the middle of a never ending tunnel? Or walking a never ending path that has no end or exit? Treading through the dark and hoping to find light coming from outside? Unsure of the fact that whether you will make it to the end or not? Unaware whether the direction you have chosen is right or wrong? Will it take you towards or away from your goal?

The question now is what to do in such situation? Keep trying or give up? Giving up definitely is the easiest option but is at the cost of your survival.  On the other hand if you choose to keep walking there is a clear 50% chance of succeeding, definitely combined with a 50% chance of not reaching the right end.

But look at the scenario from a different angle. If you succeed … Hurrah! ….. But in case you were not lucky enough to choose the right direction you will still get a chance to enjoy, learn and discover things along your way. Who knows that maybe something exciting is waiting along the corner for you to discover it? Maybe it’s a new way of getting out of the tunnel or a shortcut to the right end that you will come to discover along the journey? The bottom line is that you have to move. In whatever situation you are or at whatever point you are standing inside the tunnel you need to move ahead because movement is life.

At the end everyone wants to reach the goal but remember that as soon as you will reach it you will suddenly discover that what actually mattered was how you travelled the path to it. In the end your attitude, reaction or behaviour towards; the various phases of your journey, the ups and downs you encountered, the dangers you faced, the challenges and obstacles you conquered, the emotions you felt and the people you came across, will in actual determine your success. Not the achievement of goal alone.

Start working on your path today so that is worth it in the end. Get out of your comfort zone and start making things happen. Stand up for things that really matter to you and start loving and giving a little more. Keep focus on your goal but do not miss the bigger picture around you and keep working on your path as the path is your life of today.

At whatever point in life you feel trapped inside the tunnel, remember to just keep moving on and cherishing  each and every moment along the way.

You will definitely find the light ……

The Return to Innocence

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Sometimes I think we, the humans, are amazing creatures. How we have transformed from the wild ‘cave man’ of yester years to the man of today; cultured, civilized and sophisticated, is amazing.

The man from the caves now lives in houses that are built according to the highest standards of quality construction, elegance and sophistication. The man who used to eat raw food on the go with his bare hands would have never imagined at that time that in the later years he would be served with the most processed and aesthetically pleasing food on his plate. Accompanied by the most brilliant cutlery and assortments to satisfy his pallet. He had no connections with the people living in other parts of the world and was just limited to his own family and tribe. In fact no device to keep him entertained and connected. I wonder how he used spent the whole day without them. Poor lonely soul spent his day without any text or voice chat and had no social media site to share his ideas on. How boring life must have been.

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Thank God I am in the world of today; Cultured, Civilized, Satisfied, Healthy, Entertained, Connected, Protected and Social human being. I am so happy to have what I have. Am I happy?

Am I really cultured and civilized? Yes, I think I am. Today I know how to carry myself perfectly in the best manners of elegance and sophistication unlike the wild man I once was. But yes, I am ignorant or maybe not interested in learning about others or their needs or my role in the society. Yes, I am cultured. I do wear the most expensive linens and silks to cover my body unlike dressing myself in leaves. But yes, I do not care if other humans can even afford to barely cover themselves. Yes, I am civilized and I know how to talk in the most sophisticated manners and languages of the world. But yes, I am totally unaware of the basic language of love that in actual connects all humans who can speak or not.

Am I satisfied with the abundance and variety of food on my table? Yes, I can have the world’s most exotic dishes ever discovered by man; unlike the raw food my ancestors used to eat. In fact I have the world’s most refined tasting food to satisfy my pallet. But yes, the food I am having is so highly processed that it has no nutrition value and I understand that it is making me sick day by day.

Am I entertained? Yes, that’s the best part for being present in today. Media keeps me engaged and I can enjoy 24/7. But yes, today at the cost of entertainment, watching a million dollar block buster movie in cinema or TV, all I have to give away is just one and a half hour of my time which I earlier utilized to enjoy the small things in life that mattered the most. Am I connected? Yes, I love the way I am connected through technology to my old friends and family. After all humans are social animals and their basic need is to connect and share. But yes, in spite of being connected, I feel lonely and as if something is missing in my life. I guess it’s because I am not present in my present. I am physically sitting right in between my family but I am not connected with them. In fact I am connected to people who live in the other part of the world.

I feel protected. Do I? Yes, in addition to all the advancements man made, he has significantly grown when it comes to his protection.  Today man has the most sophisticated weapons to get rid of any life form he feels threatened from. But yes, I am not protected because man is using these weapons against his own kind.

Who are we and where are we going? None of the advancements I have mentioned above have proven that we are better as humans then the cave man was. In fact I think today we are more ignorant and savage then the earlier cave man. In fact I think we are the savages, not them.

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Still asking why? Well because:  We hunt humans, we knowingly eat the food that makes us sick, we do not value family, we do not express others or understand emotions, we are ignorant to the needs of others, we do not speak the language everybody can understand, and we do not believe in equality and respect others on the basis of how powerful they are. We are savages….

Today we need to learn who we were. Listen to our heart and instincts of nature and return to our basics – Return to innocence.

 

The Virtual World of Social Currency

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Imagine a child running to his mom after a busy day at school. He is all excited to utter out everything he did at school and what amazing things he learnt and experienced. All he wants at that time is a warm hug, a wide smile and an ear that is ready to listen to his little adventures. He is running towards his mom and desperately waiting for the eye contact with her that will acknowledge his love. Suddenly he hits an emotionless object, his mom. He grabs her leg with his little hands and to his surprise she acknowledges this contact by saying “hey just wait a second, let me send this text”. The kid suddenly loses all the excitement and brightness in his eyes and has nothing more to say. In actual he is waiting for the time when he will get the entire gadgets mommy and daddy have and he will be able to share what he feels with the world.

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The world of today, where written words speak louder than actions, where our minds and thoughts are connected but physical actions to prove what we feel are missing. We are engaged 24/7 but our productivity at work and relationships is reduced. A world where social media communication is helping us to make more friends, but is drifting our children away from us. We are strongly connected with no true feelings from the heart but through the showcasing of our thought out written emotions.

This is the world where everybody runs a show through social currency. Everybody is a celebrity who knows how to sound good, look good, put a good impression but not be good in actual. A world where you either showcase your relationships to be perfect or you perfectly showcase your relationships, in both cases you lose because the bond is weak due to no physical contacts.

A world where your wife tells you that she loves you in front of the world but there is no intimate time in the bedroom to utter those words directly. iPads or iPhones are the last things they kiss goodnight to and the first things they wake up to in the morning.  A place, where instead of spending quality time with your kids, the love is shown using a simple selfie with your kids face touching yours. A world, where you are aware of the fact that your friend just got his living room made over but are unable to enjoy or appreciate the new décor of your own bedroom. A place where you say ‘wow’ to the tempting pictures of food shared by people but never get the time to notice, enjoy or appreciate what your wife cooked because you are busy looking at what others had for dinner.

Has this virtual world taken away love and true feelings from us? The moment of pure love when a mother took her newborn for the first time in her arms is now replaced by her hurried movement to capture the first glimpse of the baby on camera. That moment of pride when your child stood up from a crawling position to a standing one was left un-enjoyed because you were busy looking for your cell phone to capture it.  Where is this all taking us? We need to stop and think.

Replace touch screen with the real touch. You don’t need to sound or look good in front of the world but in fact feel good in Real. Stop focusing on social currency, Live Every Moment, Own It and Enjoy It.

 

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[Social Currency: Creating your positive image in front of the world or sharing content which you think will add value to your status or image. Virtual: having the essence or effect but not the appearance or form]

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The Masterpiece You Are

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Ever wondered about the time when you were new to this world? With tiny hands and feet, you were helpless and the two things you knew at the time were sleeping or crying. You already knew how to take milk and get comfortable as soon as your mother held you in her arms. Even at that time, you had a unique fingerprint, an identity that did not match anyone else in the whole world. You had a unique genetic code that determined the distinguished combination of characters you possessed. Yes, you were a masterpiece of God. A masterpiece on your own!

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The series of miracles did not end here. Throughout the time when you were growing, you were amazing. How fluently you uttered your first word? How intelligently your brain mapped the path you used to guide your food from the plate into your mouth, never deviating even once? You surprised everyone when one day you stood up suddenly from the crawling position and started to walk. With every growing stage in your life, you proved that you could do wonders. Intelligence, imagination, creativity, potential, memory, curiosity, questioning, experiencing, feeling and creating are all the miracles you had, the miracles that were left unseen. Yes, human is a Masterpiece of God and you, my friend, are a Masterpiece.

If you are broken, tired, cheated, mistreated, wrinkled, depressed, not understood by the world or have any other feelings that are weighing you down, then you have definitely forgotten the fact that ‘you were once a masterpiece and you still are’. You are unique. You were born with a mind that has its unique way of thinking. You developed your own understanding of the environment around you according to your circumstances. You have no limitations of mind and there are no boundaries to your imagination. No one can calculate or limit your intelligence and control your imagination/creativity. You have a unique set of feelings, emotions and way of dealing with the world that no one else can ever achieve or copy. Yes my friend, you are unique. You are a Masterpiece.

Grab the steering wheel of our life today; extend to your full potential and discover your purpose and identity. Remember not to copy anyone; instead become the best version of yourself. Believe in miracles because you were once a miracle and you still are one. Stand up today and repeat in your heart: I am a Masterpiece, I am unique, I am who I am, I am happy with what I am and I am a Masterpiece.

 

[Note: This post is especially dedicated to my friends who have forgotten who they are. love you all :)]

The Journey that Counts

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Is life the path to the destination or the destination itself? To understand this lets imagine a mountaineer who starts at the base of the mountain, spends his days and nights climbing and facing the harsh weather and difficulties that come along his way, to reach to the top. After tiresome walking against the wind and facing all the hardships he finally reaches the top – his destination. Wow! What a view! He is finally happy as it is worth all the troubles he faced along the way. The sad fact is that no matter how good the view is at the top, he can only stay there for a while and ultimately has to return back to the base.

mountain-climbing-pictures-120-250x150Let’s analyze this adventure in the context of life. The start and the end of mountain describe the start and end of life. You are born and you start climbing the mountain. This is the mountain of age which has your goals and achievements at its top. Depending on your pace and effort you reach to the top at a certain age. Definitely the view is beautiful at the top. This all is usually the time of your youth when you are full of energy and you want the world to see you at the top and admire you. But you have to keep in mind that the time you spend at the top of this mountain is temporary and very soon you will have to start moving down to the bottom.

Imagine for a while that this is your mountain of life and you are the person climbing it. What would you think on your way back to the bottom? Was the journey to the top and stay their worth all the efforts you made? What did you gain and what did you lose? Although the feelings at the top were priceless, but what matters the most is that did you enjoy your way up and back which took most of your journey’s time? Were you so focused on your goal while climbing up that you forgot to enjoy the path? Were you accompanied by loved ones who made every moment of your way enjoyable?  Did you have companions who witnessed your success or were you alone in those moments? You might have shared this achievement through status updates or photos with your social friends and might have achieved several Likes and Comments, but at the end of the day:  Can these people take the place of real people and real emotions? While climbing down were you accompanied by people who cherished those moments with you?

The coming down from the hill is the part of life that comes after your youth, when the clock of age starts ticking fast and the rapid wind up of your life starts. This is the time when you know the importance of many things in life. It’s only when you reach the end that you wish you had more loved ones along the journey, you should have cherished the moment more and you should have held the hands of your loved one tighter when there was a storm. Most important: what did you do for your companions? Were you there for them when they needed you?

If at the end of the mountain you have your companions with you, good memories of the journey, purpose of life achieved and a life lived as an adventure; then you have definitely lived a life to its full.

Sometimes in life we don’t even reach the top of the mountain, even then if we have memories of the path we traveled and loved ones we travelled with, we can still feel contented. Always remember that reaching the top is not everything that counts, in fact it’s the journey that counts.  Life is not just about success stories and achievements, in fact it is the journey in which your goal is a stopover and it t’ries and acchievements , ins the infact its the he journey tal,l media. ies of the journey, purpose of life achieved and lifeis the journey you travel that actually counts.

Dancing in the Rain

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Is life cruel? Is life rough? Is life difficult? Is life tough? Well I am not sure about all these but one reality of life I am certain about is “You WILL NOT get out of it ALIVE”. Whether you think of life as a suffering or you live and value every moment of it, it will ultimately end.

As I sat near my window early morning and watched the rain drops trickling down, a lot of memories from the past years visited me. I think now I can very well relate life to something. I think life is ‘music’. Music that goes up and down according to its notes and that is what keeps us alive and going. It’s the music which sounds like Hard Rock to some, sweet and melodious to others and then there are a few who cannot even hear it. This music amazes me and sometimes compels me to wonder why the same music beats differently in every ear?13547_654961367866571_1161559953_n

While some think of life as a battle and give up, others dance to the tunes of its music. They are the ones who achieve the purpose of life. While dancing, it’s not that they never miss a tune; it’s just that they choose to become achievers. They never give up on their purpose and achieve it no matter how tough life becomes. They are the ones seldom thought to be insane by those who cannot hear the music. They are the people who choose not to be trapped by Dogma. They have a voice of their own and refuse to be slaves of what other people think. These are the ones who don’t fear death but fear the life that will be un-lived. They appreciate what they already have and stay focused on what they want to achieve. They don’t count life by the mere number of breaths they had taken but in fact by the moments that had taken their breaths away. These are the people who face every challenge in life with determination, conquer their fears and learn from the experiences they face. While working towards a better future they also focus and invest in their present to make current moments into memorable memories. They are the ones who dance and enjoy in the rain and are not afraid of the storm.

If you are going through any storm in your life, do not let it keep you away from dancing. Learn to face the storms and learn to learn from them. Appreciate what you already have and keep moving towards your purpose/your goal in life. If the wind you are facing is strong, don’t think of it as a hurdle. As a great poet Allama Iqbal says in Urdu and I translate it in English:

“Don’t fear the intensity of opposing-wind, O’ Eagle,
It only blows to help you fly even higher”

Take small steps and remember that every positive step you take will lead you closer to your goal. But if life puts you one step back don’t lose hope. This is the point when life wants you to dance cha-cha in which a step backwards and a step forward after it, will in the end, result into a beautiful dance. Keep your mind positive and don’t let a backwards step, or a bad day or a bad gesture from someone destroy your dance. Always remember that it’s the difficult path that makes skillful drivers and leads to beautiful destinations.

Enjoy every moment of life and dance to the tunes of it. Change what needs to be changed and take the steps that need to be taken today. Move! Make a difference. Achieve what is impossible and face the challenges that life throws at you and never stop dancing. Life surely isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; in fact it’s about learning to dance in the rain.

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Hello! Join me in a journey where we will discover our real potentials. Let’s explore that ‘one’ gift that makes you unique from the rest of the world. Let’s find out how you can become better versions of yourselves and learn how to make the best out of any situation and turn the tables in your favor.

Let’s discuss practical ways to implement and attain success in business, workplace, and relationships. Let’s create a personal brand and see how much of an edge the branding of a business can give us in today’s competitive and saturated market.

For people who had been following me on softskillet.wordpress.com, I want to thank you all for joining me here. This is my personal website and blog where I will be posting regularly from now on.

Thanks for all the love and appreciation.

Nimra.