Hope is….. Everything 💫

Kerfe’s prompt guidelines;

  • Emily Dickinson famously wrote a poem that begins with the line: Hope is the thing with feathers’;
  • Begin your own poem with the words ‘Hope is…’ and see where it takes you.

Re-Sharing a poem from December 23, 2021 with a few edits.

Hope is the brightness of universe


That cloaks our naked soul in its protectiveness


Without the shimmering robe of hope,


Our souls stands stripped, exposed


The world looks barren and desolate


Not a flower or tree in sight


Like a fairy, a wisp of light vapor


Condenses into a tangible form of hope


It anchors our heart and soul to life


Gives us a reason to wake up on the morrow


Lifts us up from the doldrums of sorrow


Dresses us in rainbows of dreams imagined


Clothes us, protects us and nurtures us


Without its shimmering robe we are defenseless

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Written in response to W3, Prompted by Kerfe, hosted by David

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Feeling the burn

Today, let’s write a haibun that references pressure, in whatever way you experience or conceive of it. For those new to haibun, the form consists of one to a few paragraphs of prose—usually written in the present tense—that evoke an experience and are often non-fictional/autobiographical. They may be preceded or followed by one or more haiku—nature-based, using a seasonal image—that complement without directly repeating what the prose stated.

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I often push myself to be the perfect mom/ grandmother/ wife! That means to be there for everyone. To be that shoulder that everyone could lean on or cry if they need to.

Is that stressful, yeah very much so especially if I, myself am not feeling so strong. But it’s an inherent trait and I have to live with it. And on top of it I don’t like to make anyone unhappy so you can imagine that the pressure builds up insidiously, and unknowingly I put myself in a situation where at times I can just feel like collapsing.

If I could cut it

I’d divide my heart among

My loved ones, fairly

~*~

Something to console

When they’re distressed, upset

When I’m not there

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Written for dVerse- Haibun Monday, hosted by Frank

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Sharing about friends and company

Di is our gracious host for Share Your World

Share your world 2

Here are this week’s random questions

1. Do you have a lot of friends or do you know a lot of people ?

I do know a lot of people. Sometimes I even forget their names. But I won’t call all of them my friends. I do have many sets of friends too, really good ones. One set is from my med school hostel days. That friendship is more than 40 years old and these ladies/ girls feel more like sisters than friends. The other set is the friends I made as a married, grown woman. These too are absolutely amazing people and since we live in the same city, we get to meet often and share our joys and troubles with each other.


2. If you are at a party and know very few of the guests, do you mingle and introduce yourself, sit on the sidelines and people watch, or discreetly leave?

First off, if I know beforehand that there’s won’t be people there that I know, I don’t go. If it’s an obligatory invite, like a wedding or something, I try to find a few people I’m acquainted with and chat with them. But if it gets too boring, I’ve been known to make an excuse and leave.


3. What is the best job you have ever had?

I haven’t worked in the traditional sense but have been lucky to hold the job title of a homemaker, a wife, a mom, and a grandmother! I think that the job of a grandmother is the easiest and the best!


4. Can you swim?

Nopes, never tried to learn.

Gratitude:

Roses and petunias blooming

I am grateful that the weather is very nice these days making fasting easy for everyone. My tiny granddaughter is 3 weeks old now and is starting to take note of the world she was born into.

Her tiny hand in mine.

Thanks Di, for these great questions.

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Gravatar – Its importance and purpose?

Blogging Insights

Dr. Tanya is back after her short hiatus and this week she has asked us;

TODAY’S QUESTION:

How important is your Gravatar to your blogging personna?

Your Gravatar(globally recognised avatar), that little image that accompanies your posts, likes, comments etc is like your calling card. It announces you to the virtual world

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Before reading today’s question, I thought that an Avatar is the same as a Gravatar!

Though I don’t have an official Gavatar for my blog, my display picture can be considered my Avatar/Gravatar.

I don’t think that whatever image accompanies my name on WordPress is as important as the words I write. I did put my real picture in my blog a couple of years ago ( I think) but even before that when it was a Memoji ( a customized emoji that looked a bit like me), it didn’t make much of a difference to how people interacted with me on my blog.

There are many bloggers that I interact with on a daily basis who haven’t put a picture of themselves on their blogs. I know them through their writing and thoughts. And that is enough for me! We all are here to express ourselves through our words and it doesn’t matters to most of us what the other person looks like.

Besides, it’s a bit risky these days to give out too much information about oneself in the digital world. So even if someone doesn’t display their real picture, I think it’s fine. As long as they project their true identity through their words and thoughts.

What are your views about displaying your avatar/Gravatar on your blog?

Written for Blogging Insights 3.0 # 5, hosted by Tanya

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Spectacular night sky

Respond to this Friday Faithfuls challenge by writing anything about outer space, or you can go with anything else that you think fits.

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It’s awe inspiring

Beyond our understanding

The sky glittering with stars

Or perhaps planets or satellites

I must confess the truth here

I am quite uninformed about them

When I look up on a clear night sky

I cannot identify the planets or constellations

In naive wonder I look up and just admire

The glittering, glimmering beauty of this display

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from our street on the night of 24th, crescent moon with Venus
The outline of the moon is visible too.

Written for spectacular solar system smile, hosted by Jim for MLMM

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Weekly Q and A from Rory

Rory has posed a few questions this week;

Is the WHY to everything important?

Not to everything! Some things we have to accept as they are. For the rest, we should ask why so that we gain more knowledge.


What would you list as your Top Five Fun Things?

Spending time with family and grandchildren

Blogging

Going out with friends

Catching a good movie with family or friends

Reading my favorite author


Should we care about the dreams of others or only our own?

Dreams as in ambitions and aspirations; yes we should otherwise we will develop into selfish people. One shouldn’t sacrifice one own dream for others at the same time.


How well do you deal with criticism from others?

If it’s coming from a well-wisher, I’ll listen with an open mind ( reluctantly!) and try to see its truth. The rest I pretend to listen to, but really am ignoring it.


Do you say YES or NO more often, and which is it?

I’m the one saying YES most of the time. I guess if you are born a people pleaser, you find it hard to break the habit.


What is nose hair for?

To stop the mosquitoes and flies from entering your nose and killing you.


What is the funniest comment you have ever received?

Can’t recall offhand! But grandkids are usually coming up with hilarious one-liners 😂


Novels or Netflix?

Blogs! And sometimes novels.


Do good things come to those who wait?

They do, but it’s all transient. Nothing is permanent in life and good and bad alternate till it’s time for the final curtain call.

Thank you Rory for these fun questions.

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#Q&A

Comforting Tranquility

How would you define comfort?

For me, comfort is when I am at peace within myself. Comfort may be physical comfort or mental comfort. But peace is an integral element of it.

Under what circumstances do you seek and/or give comfort?

When I am upset because of something that happened, something that someone said, or a remark that I made that was taken the wrong way, I get a feeling of letting people down. At times like that I need to discuss my point of view with someone close to me who understands me and can give good advice.

The sound of my father’s voice always brought me comfort. Is there a voice that beings you comfort?

Being able to share my thoughts with my late father always was comforting. Now that he is no more, I turn to my husband and close friends to share my feelings. But most of all, I turn to Allah ( God) and share the reason for my disquiet. Never have I been disappointed when I asked God for help and guidance.

Do you have a favorite comfort food?

Usually a cup of hot coffee would do the trick.

What person, animal, place, or thing makes you feel comforted?

I grew up in a time when there were no huggable stuffies, no comforting blankies, or any special toy that held comfort for me. So it was the comforting presence of my father that gave me solace.

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Written in response to Tranquil Thursday # 8- Comfort, hosted by Maggie

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Twice

Be careful they say, look where you’re going, saying

Stumbled and fell over almost verbally, more than twice

Watch your step, look for obstacles in your way

The clumsy me, always in a hurry rushing around

Where angels fear to tread I foolishly barge in

Utter words that bring frowns and wipe off smiles

Wait!

I didn’t mean to hurt you, it’s just my foolish mind!

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Written in response to;Weekend Challenge from GC andSue W is the word TWO.

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While waiting!

Imagine a big waiting room full of people

All are waiting for their transport to pick them up

Their train or plane arrives and they board and leave

The rest are still their in the waiting room awaiting their turn

Life is this big waiting room where we all come for a limited time

We all will leave when it’s our turn and new people would arrive

While waiting, we can do a lot of good to help those around us

Some kindness shown, words of encouragement spoken

All add up to make things better for others and for us too

Let’s not waste this opportunity to be kind while we are waiting

To do good before we leave for our eternal abode

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In response to Weekly Prompts- Wait, hosted by Sue W and GC

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Happyness comes from within

In this week, I’d like you to spare one minute to watch this video and reflect on it. Give it a little more time if you struggle to understand or agree with it.

Here’s the video

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The world recently celebrated international day of happiness on 20th March.

We seek happiness and expect to find it

In people, events and achievements of ours

This will make me happy or that will make me happy”, we say

But that sort of happiness is so transient, fleeting

It brings a temporary joy that evaporates like mist under the sun

Lasting feeling of joy come from contentment within ourselves

When our conscience is satisfied and we have achieved inner peace

Then every moment brings us joy for our souls are enriched

With the knowledge that we are doing the best we can

Regarding ourselves, and those around us, to the best of our abilities

That we are being mindful of everything around us

And we are giving back at least as much as we are receiving

True happiness comes from a heart that’s at peace with itself

Lasting joy is only possible if we are happy with whom we are

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Something about the spellings of Happyness- I loved the movie “In pursuit of Happynessand used these spellings to pay tribute to this wonderful autobiography

I’m sharing a link to my post; Chasing happiness that I wrote when I started my blog in 2018

Written in response to; RXC Prompt #273, hosted by Reena

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