the pain of friends and dear ones

The pain of near and dear ones hurts. Especially when u feel u can't do a thing about it.

Have befriended a friend lately who seems to be a lot in pain - physically and mentally.
The thing that surprises me about her is Her Faith and Spiritual Strength. It is Fantastic indeed.
But for her pain and her life's circumstances she wouldn't be what she is.
Her writing skills and maturity -- words cannot describe.
Her closeness to god and the depth in her soul --- in my opinion are worthwhile gifts for the pain that she endures.
Yes, I know that this is easily said. I am not the one in similar pain. Agreed.
I have endured pain of a different kind and still do and know the value of suffering.
I also know how difficult it is to stick to God when things dont happen ur way as we expect god to do only the good and nice things in his Love for us. But.......

In Isaiah 55:9 God says
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Well there are also some others who are in lots of pain but dont want to take solace in god.
For such, i am on my knees and feel very very helpless. I even doubt whether god can do anything for them if they don't come to him out of their own free will.
As for God, our free will is very very important and he wld never interfere with it.
But at the same time -- i hope against hope and trust blindly in his never failing Love and abundant mercy for Our beloveds {naturally god's and mine.}

Romans 5: 3-5 says
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance - character; and character- hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

The power of One

One song can spark a moment, One seed can start a garden,
One tree can spread a forest, One smile can create a friendship,
One handshake can lift a soul, One star can guide a ship,
One letter can start a book, One vote can change the nation,
One candle can wipe the darkness, One laughter can conquer gloom,
One word can breathe a prayer, One step can begin a journey,
One hope can raise spirits, One touch can send in care
One voice can put some sense, One moment can speak a lot

and

One life can make all the difference.

the gandhi effect

A lot of talk is on abt Gandhigiri ie the gandhiian pholosophy -- especially after the movie Lage Raho Munna bhai. Yes it is a lovely movie and the Gandhiian thought --- Fabulous.

I was shocked to hear the effect that the Gandhiian philosophy had in those days of old -- which is to say around 40- 50 yrs back.
To discourage the purchase of foreign goods in India, Gandhiji started a movement which imbibed the philosophy of Be Indian and Buy Indian.
Khadi cloth which was home spun in India, even with very scarce resources was promoted.

The effect :
Amma ( my mil) in her late teens bought herself a sari or two made of khadi to be a part of the movement. And with a lot of determination even wore those heavy ones as against the usual lovely chiffons. {An aunt of hers wore only khadi saris.}
Reality hit when an attempt was made at washing the sari. It Just cld not be rinsed. The khadi of those days was heavier than the ones found today.

Result : Saris turned into curtains ;)
This enlightenment i got by choosing to chat with her the past few days as against blogging or orkutting.

And a little while from now -- on the 2nd of Jan 2007 we are planning to celebrate her 60th bday and celebrate her lively, strong, indomitable spirit.
She is amazing in her knowledge of the world around her. Especially politics, sports and medicine.

As we were chatting as to the choice of a memoir or a momento for the occassion -- i suggested -- A Plant -- something novel yet nice.
Immediately she said plants and pets wld be considered as good gifts abroad and not in our country.
I said that i had never heard of such a thing and asked her as to the reason of her statement.

She said that she had read such things in MILLS and BOON ;)