Tag: life

Miscellaneous, My Digital Universe

Rock Vs. Water

Cheran Ratnam

Determination requires discipline and discipline requires consistency. Do the best you can and do your best to do it for the right reasons.

We can be a leaf in a stream and get taken wherever the water flows. We can also be a rock in the stream. But it’s better to be the stream.

The stream will flow where it needs to flow. It will go around the rocks or over the rocks to get there.

Consistency has power that a stale rock doesn’t. A rock can only resist. But water can overcome resistance.

A rock, that’s too heavy, cannot move. Though strong, it can only experience decay. Water sustains life. It is refreshing. It flows. It can carry. It can be useful. It can transform. If it is stored for too long, it will evaporate or seep into the soil and nourish the earth. When it is too cold, it can be hard enough to destroy the Titanic. If you boil it enough it will disinfect and get rid of the germs.

Be like water. Strength is not only what we can see or do. It is also what we can become!

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Poems

Writing right

Cheran Ratnam

When words spoken, often alter,
Unspoken, they are left to wonder.
Thoughts are better off to ponder,
Than feelings they produce, to harbor.

Why can’t we discuss without a faulter?
Listen, converse and be much broader?
If love is truly greater than the marauder,
Being right doesn’t have to be the deriver.

Better left alone than a survivor,
Of a battle fought for vain cadaver.
Feeling with intended desire,
Allows thought to quickly transpire.

Poems

Life before

Cheran Ratnam

Frolicking through gore,
While bleed turns to pour.
Hoping there’s something more,
You bear it right to your core.

Daring you enter through the door,
Staring to figure what you came for.
Tearing is what makes you score,
Blaring insides will take you ashore.

Glances, numerous you’ll store,
Whispers, spurious just ignore.
Splinters, with oil, will surely floor,
Tricksters, fade, with time, poorly wore.

Trajectory favors worn out decor,
Contradictory, yet prevails the sore.
Rudimentary, yet withstanding for more,
Multi-sensory, will not hide anymore.

My Digital Universe, Portfolio

The mind reader

Cheran Ratnam

There was a man that could read minds.

At first, he thought, wow this is an amazing skill to have. So, he went into restaurants and started listening to conversations. It was quite entertaining at first. Then, he started using his skill for his advantage. He patted himself in the back when he got what he wanted. He thought, “Huh, they have no clue that I know what they think”.

A few years passed by. He had now gotten tired of using his skill for his benefit. Now he was simply observing others. He started diving deep into his interactions. He analyzed the thoughts that were going through someone’s head when they were speaking to him. He tried to give them what they wanted or what they wished for.

One day, he was hanging around some friends and felt extremely uncomfortable. He could no longer just enjoy life. He was constantly concerned about what someone else was thinking; what they were going to say to another person about him or someone else. His life was suddenly filled with other people’s thoughts. His own thoughts were now drowning.

For the first time since his realization, he felt burdened. What once felt like a blessing now weighed him down like a curse. He looked around him and saw thousands of people that couldn’t read minds. They were just happy to live based on what they saw and heard. They had no clue that sometimes their loved ones were not being honest.

Then he wished that he couldn’t read minds. He wanted to be normal. Years passed by. He found himself getting farther and farther away from civilization. He just couldn’t deal with the make believe comments and conversations anymore. One day, he met an old man. He asked him “Son, how are you?” He realized that this man was sincerely interested to know how he was doing. He shared his experience with the man and explained why he was living in the outskirts of civilization.

The old man smiled and said “I was like you once. I too got tired of reading other peoples’ minds.” The mind reader was excited. He wanted to know how to deal with it. The old man said that he simply decided to not read other peoples’ minds one day. He said that he realized even when he read someone’s mind; he still enjoyed listening to what the other person had to say. Words, he said have power. It still takes effort to make a thought into audible, comprehendible sounds. He left the man with the poem below and said “Go back to the city if you want. It’s not as bad as you think. You have two ears. Keep them clean. Don’t let what you don’t like stick in between. Listen from one and let it go from the other.”

“Opinions are like onions,

They are tasty when cooked.

But if you peel one out in bed,

You will wake up stinking like one”

 

 

My Digital Universe, Portfolio

The cutie flew again

Cheran Ratnam

This cute little thing came crashing down and fell on the couch right behind me at this quaint coffee house in Rishikesh India. I was having a cup of coffee with a sweet Brazilian couple I met at the yoga school I will attend next week, when Jeanie said “oh my I think she didn’t see the glass”.

I’ve always had a sweet spot for animals and have rescued a few as a kid. So naturally, I was drawn to do something for the poor bird. Jeanie is a very kind hearted person, she was right there with me as I grabbed a newspaper that was on the table to get the injured bird outside, in case it tries to fly inside the coffee house and run into more trouble.

It was apparent that it hurt its feet in the process of crashing into the window. They looked crooked and unusual. I asked the waiter to bring us some water. The bird had its mouth open, and a closer look made me feel as if it was in shock. So, I figured some water might help. Jeanie’s kindness was so admirable. She was holding a napkin over the bird to keep away the sunlight.

It was apparent that the bird didn’t have the senses to reach into the bowl to get water, so I let some water drop from my fingertip.

Voila!

The bird was drinking the water!

It gave us both hope. We couldn’t help but have compassion for this beautiful creature as we caressed it gently with love, wishing for it to get better. Jeannie was constantly telling positive things to the bird and it was so pleasing to my ears as well. After a while, the bird closed its mouth, so I stopped offering it water. We got the waiter to bring us some rice hoping that it would eat it.

A few minutes passed as we both intensely stared at this beautiful bird with nothing but kindness and well wishes. Little by little, it appeared that the bird was regaining its senses. A feeling of utter joy entered my heart every second as I watched it turn its tiny head from one side to another. To me, it seemed like it was now observing us: two strangers staring at it, offering it water.

Jeanie said, “It’s amazing how this bird is trusting us”. I said, “I think animals can sense what we feel towards them”. A minute or two later, it attempted to fly. It wasn’t that successful as it landed a few inches from the table. We were very optimistic. We said “agh, its getting better, look! The feet doesn’t seem to be crooked anymore!”

The bird flew away with elegance a minute later and landed on a near by tree. We high five’d as Jeanie said, “yay, we did it”. Pure bliss and peace filled my mind. There’s so much joy in helping someone for in and of itself. There were no heroes in that moment. There was only that moment. That shared experience.

In this materialistic world, everything seems to be some sort of transaction. Sometimes happiness is doing something for someone that can never return the favor. I was the one that was blessed by the opportunity to experience that moment. To watch a beautiful bird fly again.

Perhaps nothing I did contributed to it. Perhaps it had everything to do with the love Jeanie and I showed it. But it’s not about that. It’s about that split second. That split second that we saw the bird fly again. That rush of bliss that entered our hearts. That … is worth everything. It was not forced, staged or had any sort of ulterior motive.

My Digital Universe, Poems

For a realistic win

Cheran Ratnam

Whatever you do with integrity,
When taken away abruptly,
Don’t panic, simply hold steady.

Not every victory is straightforward,
Even when you feel cheated, defeated,
Do something else you always wanted.

Let time decide when it’s over,
Use your time, it’s not forever,
Hardships inflicted may be a favor.

Let compassion be always dominant,
Without it, never try to be prominent,
Be real, kind-hearted and persistent. 
With time, your story will unfold,
It’ll bring to light the pain untold,
There’s more to life than more gold. 

My Digital Universe, Poems

Any given day 

Cheran Ratnam

Always keep things simple,
And remember to be nimble.
It won’t pay, but stay humble,
Care not much about a dimple;
Reality is more about the pimple.

Do things that may seem ridiculous,
Not to you, but for the superfluous.
Not for their sake: live scrupulous,
Follow your passions and be meticulous.

You’ll find many smiles to be dubious, 
That’s not your problem, Mr. studious!
Pay less attention to things too fabulous, 
Be careful with time, when your laborious.

Whatever it is, that helps you sleep,
Shouldn’t bother your neighbor, please!
Spread jam on toast not hate on prose,
We can only handle each other in a dose.