Wednesday, September 21, 2011

A subtle life

Subtlety is when you unknowingly bite a piece of green chili, while eating a rather bland meal, the hot juice in your mouth makes you aware that you are living.
Subtlety is when you serendipitously discover a bunch of currency notes in your pant’s pocket just before wetting them to wash makes you feel rich.
Subtlety is when you glance at the mirror to see yourself smile just for an instant and feel alive.
Subtlety is when you smell the rice fields, the aroma arising from the mud makes you realize that you are home.
Subtlety is when a cold sensation spreads from your chest to your spine and then to your mouth making you speechless is when you are in love.
Subtlety is the first few seconds of silence you hear after receiving my call, that I say I love you.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Die Slowly

He who becomes the slave of habit,
who follows the same routine every day,
who never changes pace,
who does not risk and change the color of his clothes,
who does not speak and does not experience,
dies slowly.

He or she who shuns passion,
who prefers black on white,
dotting ones "it’s" rather than a bundle of emotions, the kind that make your eyes glimmer,
that turn a yawn into a smile,
that make the heart pound in the face of mistakes and feelings,
dies slowly.

He or she who does not turn things topsy-turvy,
who is unhappy at work,
who does not risk certainty for uncertainty,
to thus follow a dream,
those who do not forego sound advice at least once in their lives,
die slowly.

He who does not travel, who does not read,
who does not listen to music,
who does not find grace in himself,
she who does not find grace in herself,
dies slowly.

He who slowly destroys his own self-esteem,
who does not allow himself to be helped,
who spends days on end complaining about his own bad luck, about the rain that never stops,
dies slowly.

He or she who abandon a project before starting it, who fail to ask questions on subjects he doesn't know, he or she who don't reply when they are asked something they do know,
die slowly.

Let's try and avoid death in small doses,
reminding oneself that being alive requires an effort far greater than the simple fact of breathing.

Only a burning patience will lead
to the attainment of a splendid happiness.
-Pablo Neruda