How to avoid Cancer !

What is cancer?
Cancer is not just one disease, but many diseases. There are more than 100 different types of cancer.
Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems.
Cancer is a leading cause of disease worldwide (GLOBOCAN estimates that 12.7 million new cancer cases occurred worldwide in 2008).

The top 4 causes being:
• Lung (12.7%)
• Female breast (10.9%)
• Colorectal (9.7%)
• Stomach cancer (7.8%)
In all these four cancers account for 40% of deaths from cancer.

Although the incidence rate in developed countries is twice as high as the developing countries like ours, but the outcome ( in terms of death and disease) is much worse in the developing countries, owing to poor detection at early stage, and poor case management. However, the incidence of cancers related to infections like stomach, liver or cervix ( which can be prevented) are more common in developing countries.

GOOD NEWS is that about half of all cancer cases are preventable. Prevention offers the most cost-effective long-term strategy for the control of cancer.
And even Cancer diagnosis is still not a death statement. If detected early can be cured.

Many reasons within our genes, our lifestyle, and the environment around us may increase or decrease our risk of getting cancer.

There are simple measures that we as ordinary human beings can take to prevent cancers to some extent.

Here are they :

Part 1

LIFESTYLE:

TOBACCO in smoke or chewable form TOPS the list.
Tobacco use is the single greatest avoidable risk factor for cancer mortality worldwide, causing an estimated 22% of all cancer deaths per year.
Cancer that tobacco can cause are of lung, esophagus, larynx (voice box), mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach, cervix and female breast.
About 70% of the lung cancer burden can be attributed to smoking alone.
Second-hand smoke (SHS), also known as environmental tobacco smoke, has been proven to cause lung cancer in non-smoking adults.
Avoiding tobacco is best, however cessation of the use of tobacco, gradually reduces the risk, and in 15 yrs is as good as for non smokers.

ALCOHOL
Alcohol is a risk factor for many cancer types including cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colorectum and breast. Risk of cancer increases with the amount of alcohol consumed. The risk from heavy drinking for several cancer types (e.g. oral cavity, pharynx, larynx and esophagus) substantially increases if the person is also a heavy smoker.
WEIGHT & EXERCISE
Obesity is a cause for most chronic diseases and cancers, including breast, prostate, lung, colon and kidney and endometrium.
A general goal of 30 minutes exercise every day and keeping the body weight in the normal range can avoid from a lot of cancer risks.

RISKY BEHAVIORS:
-Practice safe sex & do not share needles, sharps like nail cutters and razors. There may cause Hepatitis B, C or HIV infections which can then lead to Liver or other cancers. Cancers caused by infectious agents(viruses etc) are more common in developing nations e.g. Cervical Cancer, Liver Cancer and Stomach Cancer.

SUN EXPOSURE:
Light skinned especially should protection from sun by use sunscreen with SPF >30 between 10 AM and 4 PM. Skin cancers like Basal Cell Carcinoma(BCC) or Melanomas. BCC are less aggressive but Melanomas are very aggressive and fast growing cancers & kill 75% of those who have them.

PART-2
FOOD

What makes some foods cancerous?
• Refined sugars: They act as fuels for the growing cancer cells, as ready energy. Terms suggestive of refined sugars on food labels are: high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, sucrose, enriched bleached flour, white rice, white pastas, white breads and other “white” foods. Refined flour are also lacking in fibres which cause cancer.
• Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils: Besides being a cancer factor, trans fats promote heart disease, interrupt metabolic processes, and cause belly fat(obesity) that in turn are again another cause of cancer.
• Sodium nitrite (and nitrates): Added to give pink color to the meat. During the digestion process, however, sodium nitrite is converted to nitrosamine, and that’s where the cancer problems begin. Nitrosamine is a carcinogen. Nitrosamines are also found in food items that are pickled, fried, or smoked; in things such as beer, cheese, and fish by products, and tobacco smoke.
• Saturated fats: Usually of animal origin which may cause obesity which is indirectly or directly related to certain cancers.
• Some chemical additives like coloring agents and flavouring agents have also been known to be cancerous.

Top cancerous Foods:
1. Soda pops, sweetened drinks: >2 servings per week increases Pancreatic cancer by 87%. Glucose and Fructose both feed cancer cells. Women who ate the most high-glycaemic-load foods were close to three times more likely to develop colorectal cancer.
2. Fried foods: French fries, hash browns, potato chips, samosas, pooris. – Apart from calories, they contain saturated fat and trans fat, they also contain acryl amides. They should be called “cancer fries,”
3. Processed meats and bacons: burgers, sausages, bacons. Nitrosamines are produced from fat at high temperature cooking, as in tobacco smoking. People who eat a lot of processed meat may be 50 percent more likely to develop colorectal cancer, stomach cancer or pancreatic cancer.
4. Red meats: Beef. Researches show even eating twice a week, they raise a risk by 20% of cancers of breast, colon and prostate cancers.
5. Donuts, Cookies, chips and crackers: Refined sugars, refined flour and trans fats. They scream for themselves that they are cancerous foods.
6. Charred meats, smoked meats: Many studies including one from Harvard have shown a high link between charred meats and cancer of colon, stomach. Even delicious smoked meats are high in nitrosamines due to the nature of their cooking. Trick is eat them sparingly, if cannot avoid.

How can healthy eating prevent cancer?
The main principle is eat simple:
Eat unprocessed foods and base your diet largely on plants. Consume foods that have omega-3 fats and other essential fatty acids.
Eat lots of fruits and vegetables; many common ones have known cancer-fighting properties.
Get regular vigorous exercise, since tumors cannot thrive in highly oxygenated environments.
Keep your blood sugar stable to avoid being an all-you-can-eat buffet for cancer cells.

Top cancer preventing foods:
Green leafy vegetables: These cute little green trees help to fight off stomach, liver, skin, lung, bladder, prostate, and breast cancers. Broccoli contains sulforaphane, an antioxidant that rids the body of cancer-causing toxins.
Hint: Cooked Brocolli tastes mushy, so avoid over cooking, leave it crunchy, or make stir-fry, or eat raw in salads.

Berries: The darker the berry the better still. Blackberry, blue berry, strawberry, raspberry. They contain anthocyanins, antioxidants that slow the growth of premalignant cells.

Garlic: Fights the nitrosamines in the red meat.
Clue: Add garlic to your tomato puree, sauce.

Tomatoes: contain lycopene, which has been shown to stop cancer cell growth according to research. The sure fire way to increase lycopene is by cooking tomatoes.

Walnuts; are the best among nuts for fighting both breast and prostate cancers. Adding just an ounce of walnuts a day will help to keep the cancer away. Vitamin E (gamma-tocopherol) found in nuts and plant seeds may slow the growth of cancer cells.

Beans: Navy and black beans help delay cancer growth of breast and colon cancers. Add a half a cup to your diet a week, at least!

Coffee: Research shows that coffee may contain healing antioxidants as well, preventing colon cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease. An alkaloid in coffee may even prevent cavities!
Studies also show that drinking coffee helps reduce muscle soreness and improves stamina
Harvard researchers are finding an intriguing link between coffee and the prevention of an aggressive type of prostate cancer. However, it’s too early to recommend boosting coffee drinking to men, although one cup of coffee might be helpful.

Green Tea: Antioxidants of green tea are also known to be cancer preventive.

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS:
Many environmental toxins are blamed to be carcinogenic.

The topic of environmental carcinogens is vast and controversial. For details on each aspect and toxins see the link: Here

Part- 3

KNOW YOUR BODY:
Keep a regular check on your body- any moles on the skin, or your breasts ( in women) or testicles (in men), especially while taking shower, or changing clothes. If you feel any change in the shape size, or feel any lump, or feel any change in your body or symptoms which appear unusual to yourself, you must take doctor’s opinion. Please do not panic. This does not mean you necessarily have cancer or a serious problem. But even if it is, it will be detected early.

BE INFORMED:
Cancer Prevention and Early Detection strategies:
Certain cancers are known to be caused by viruses, and being infectious spread easily in developing countries. They can be avoided by using their vaccines:
Hepatitis B Virus: A set three vaccines given will prevent Hepatitis B which is a common cause of Liver Cancer
Human Papilloma Virus: A sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer. A new vaccine against HPV protects 99% against Cervical Cancer.
Helicobacter pylori: For stomach cancer. Hence when detected, must be treated promptly by consulting a Gastroenterologist.

ALSO BE INFORMED THAT: There are certain cancers which can be screened and detected early and prevent complications and premature death.

Following two blogs shall explain in detail how to prevent or detect cancer early. There are specific screening tests and issues in men and women which shall be discussed in next two blogs: Early Cancer Detection in Women & Early Cancer Detection in  Men, respectively.

There’s a famous saying: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. The ( not so secret) apple for cancer prevention is:

Take home apple, oops message is: “Half of the cancers are preventable and can be avoided through healthy living and better awareness.”

OsteoArthritis ~the wear and tear joint disease

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the commonest form of arthritis that occurs as a result of wear and tear of the joint.
As the protective cushion over the bones within the joints, called cartilage, gets worn out gradually, the symptoms get worse. The joints begin to crackle, get stiff, then pain and ultimately cause limited mobility.

Note: This is different from Rheumatoid Arthritis, which occurs in young age, and is less common, but more severe.

Which Joints?

It can occur in any joint, but the most commonly affected are those joints that are used the most- of hands, lower back, knees and hip.

What happens to the joints?

In knee joint:

In the spine:

What can a damaged joint do?
From stiffness, the joints progress to pain off and on, then more lasting pain, ultimately leading to limitation of joint movement, and restricted mobility. The damaged joint can cause blockage of blood supply to the joints, bleeding in the joint or permanent bone impairment.

Although there are pain killers, acupuncture, physiotherapy which can reduce pain, or even surgical procedures like joint replacements, which can improve joint function, but it is the wisest to slow the wear and tear ahead of time.

Risks that are associated with increased wear and tear osteoarthritis are:

• Older age.
• Gender: Women are more likely to develop osteoarthritis, though it isn’t clear why.
• Bone deformities: Some people are born with malformed joints or defective cartilage, which can increase the risk of osteoarthritis.
• Joint injuries:Injuries from sports or from an accident, hasten the wear and tear, and hence OA.
• Obesity: It is common sense that heavier the weight, faster and worse is the wear and tear.
• Sedentary lifestyle as the more the activity, the more nourished is the cartilage.
• Occupational: Jobs that cause repetitive stress of a particular joint also increase the wear and tear-like the joints of hands in typists, computer users, knees n those who stand for long like the policemen, etc.
• Other diseases.: Diabetes, underactive Thyroid, Gout or Paget’s disease of bone can increase the wear and tear OA.

How can we slow down the wear and tear of joints?

OA is not inevitable with old age one follows a healthy life style. However,  cannot avoid age related wear and tear, but one can certainly minimize the damage caused by misuse of our joints.

You can be a best friend of your joints if you:

1 – Maintain Your Ideal Body Weight : A force of 3-6 times a person’s body weight is exerted across the knee while walking e.g.being 10 pounds overweight increases the force on the knee by 30-60 lbs with each step taken while walking. The force across the hip is, at most, 3 times the body weight. Losing weight reduces stress on the joints substantially.

2 – Exercise Regularly and Participate in Regular Physical Activity For optimal joint health, it’s recommended that people perform 30 minutes of moderately strenuous exercise at least 5 days a week. It’s an established fact that regular exercise has health benefits

3 – Protect Your Joints: There are several joint protection principles, which if followed, will help to conserve energy and preserve joint function. The advice is quite simple, but you must be mindful of proper movements and recognize body signals (e.g., pain). Good posture and proper body mechanics is important.
Check the various Joint protection techniques: http://www.spectrumrehab.net/Articles/joint-protection-techniques.html

4 – Avoid Repetitive Stress on the Joints: Signs of repetitive stress include too many uninterrupted repetitions of an activity or motion, unnatural or awkward motions, overexertion, incorrect posture, and muscle fatigue. Unfortunately most of them are occupational and hard to avoid. Hence one has to create innovative ways to avoid them.
{Clue: Search on internet prevention of joint stress specific to your occupation}.

5 – Listen to Your Pain: This recommendation seems so obvious, yet people don’t always do it. Learning to view pain as a signal that you are overdoing it and that it’s time to rest requires conscious effort. Balancing rest and activity is optimal for healthy joints. It’s part of self-management to learn not to overuse your joints and to learn not to push past your limits. Consider that the pain is like a stop sign.

6 – Avoid Injury to Joints: Previous joint injury is recognized as a common cause of osteoarthritis. In joints burdened by improper alignment due to injury, articular cartilage wears away and osteoarthritis can begin to develop. Avoid injury if at all possible — and if you do injure a joint, seek treatment immediately.

Myths about OsteoArthritis:

slide-1

Reflections of a little mind !

For years as a little girl I did not know the exact literal meaning of the word ‘socialite’.

Having seen pictures in the centre pages of magazines, I knew they were pretty, mostly in full make up which looked so natural, nearly always dressed nicely and almost always wore the most enviable jewellery one could imagine.
Honestly, at times I did not even find them pretty, but everyone, in their hi-fi circles thought them ‘beautiful’ or ‘stunning’. Not quite sure if they thought them beautiful or just called them beautiful on their face. But yes the magazines did quote them ‘good looking.’

I also wondered why they took so much pride in being called “Heyy sexy!”  Weren’t they annoyed or scared, when someone called them that?  Perhaps they did not have to travel in crowded buses, or pass through quiet alleys after dusk, where if they were ever hurled that same phrase, it would have taken life out of their limbs and made them run for their life. So how would they know that?

I also wondered what was it that made them be called ‘socialites’. Did they do social work?  But I never saw any mention of that in those glamour magazines they made regular appearances in.

Imagine, I did not even have the common sense to guess they did a lot of social events like throwing birthday parties, barbecues, celebrations, bashes and sometimes even parties without any reasons to earn that title. I wonder perhaps I envied how come they were able to hop from one party to another like butterflies. And how is it that their parties always got coverage in those glossy magazines, when it wasn’t even a fund raiser for a cause?

As a little girl I also wondered, “Didn’t they ever get bored of just enjoying, partying, wearing nice dresses all the time? Weren’t they ever bored of being happy go lucky and smiley all the time?”

“If it is all a hullabaloo because they are rich, then why and how did they get rich?” I always wondered as a little girl.

I was stupid enough not to understand they had rich parents, who let them do all this. But then how could I know this, because my parents weren’t anything close to rich. They didn’t even let me have enough pocket money for buying a puff pastry in the school cafeteria, I just had to suffice with a sasta samosa, that too once in a while.

I actually wondered how their Moms and Dads raised them, “Didn’t they have to study hard to grow up, to be ‘something’ in life?”
I could guess they didn’t have to get good grades in school; just an expensive school’s name where they’ve been was enough of a merit for them.

If there was twitter then, I am sure I would have wondered why they had so many followers while they barely followed back only a hundredth of them.

And the tweets they tweeted were just too ordinary to be given so much attention.

With tweets showing off like

“Went into my helicopter to Las Vegas”,

“Ate a red velvet cake with fresh cream”,

“Wearing a ******** (big brand) pink dress” with a Fickr image of it.

Well I would certainly have wondered how was that 10k dress any better than my pink lace frock I wore on my 6th birthday, which Ammi just tailored herself after buying the lace from a bumper sale.

I would even would have wondered why some serious people were so very concerned to clarify what their tweets meant, when on rare occasions their tweets weren’t that clear and straight forward:

Example
Socialtie: Went to a spa, had a massage and got adjusted.
A follower: Adjusted?

Well, perhaps I wasn’t made of that material to fathom the depth of what a socialite is meant to be. And, understand,  I was just a little girl then.

But tell you a secret; I still cannot get the sense of the purpose of this word Socialite.

Food for thought & Merry Christmas

Come December and you see that along with the Christmas festivities, the spirit of philanthropy also gets an exponential rise.

Santa Claus , the iconic person associated with Christmas and especially with ‘gifts’ for the children are seen standing at various locales collecting charity—be it money, toys, chocolates, food items.

Writing a letter to Santa is a Christmas tradition going back to some centuries. The kids not just send in their wish list for toys or presents, but also promises of being a ‘good boy’ or a ‘good girl’. The more generous ones ask Santa to give gifts to the poorer and less fortunate kids.

What is even more exciting is that in many  countries, the Post Offices make sure that the letters they receive are replied back too.

Canada Post replies to letters in almost 30 languages each year including in Braille. Canadian postal workers volunteer to write back the replies to hundreds of thousands of letters received each year. Canada has a special address and postal code for Santa :

North Pole, Canada. H0H 0H0.

The other day I was moved to hear from a Paediatrician friend of the story of a 7 year old child admitted in a Hospital with leukemia. He mentioned that the ailing boy admitted in the hospital,  wished to see a white Christmas while there isn’t snow yet. The Hospital authorities did not want to disappoint the kid by their ‘regret’. Instead they pushed in all their efforts and finances to bring in snow to the hospital and even managed the boy to make a snow man by himself.

What made me wonder was that to how much length did the Hospital go to make a tiny face glow with smile and how much effort does the Canada Post makes so that millions of kids float in seventh skies when they receive replies to their cards from Santa.

Enslaved by my mindset, I can’t help think of our kids back home ( in India or Pakistan) .

Do our governments make any effort to make our kids smile?

Leave aside the government, do we even as desi parents really take extra care to keep our kids uphold their self esteem?

There is no two thoughts that as parents we really work hard for the kids—that they get the best education, achieve the highest grades or wear the best clothes in  parties. We even go extra extra miles to buy plots and leave bank balances to make their lives easy.
But in doing so are we really making them happy? Or ourselves?

Do we let them be themselves or do we make our own dreams come true through them?

Do we really talk to them as friends, or just command them  what to do and what not to do?

Before we ask the government or others in authority to take care of our kids, we need to take ‘good’ care of them too.
And good care certainly does not mean to dictate to them what we deem correct, but to guide them and let them realise their potential to the best.

I know all this has nothing to do with Christmas.

I just thought of revisiting the idea that if our kids will have a higher self esteem, the higher will be the hope to have a better future for us, in the years to come.

Just a random food for thought…
‎

“Merry Christmas”.

‎**_██_*。*. /★\ .˛* .˛.*.★* *★ 。*
˛. (´• ̮•)*˛°*/.♫.♫\*˛.* ˛_Π_____. * ˛*
.°( . • . ) ˛°./• ‘♫ ‘ •\.˛*./______/~＼*. ˛*.。˛* ˛. *。
*(…’•’.. ) *˛╬╬╬╬╬˛°.｜田田 ｜門｜╬╬╬╬ .
¯˜”*°••°*”˜¯`´¯˜”*°••°*”˜¯` ´¯˜”*°´¯˜”*°••°*”˜¯`´¯˜”*°

“O God, to those who have hunger, give bread, and to us who have bread, give the hunger for justice.” ~ Prayer from Latin America

A PLEDGE:
Let us make this Ramadan,
special,
by making our Iftars,
simple,
So that we may,
share
with the hungry and the poor
some food
and loads of love.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

“Eating alone is a disappointment.
But not eating matter more,
is hollow and green,
has thorns like a chain of fish hooks,
trailing from the heart,
clawing at your insides.
Hunger feels like pincers,
like the bite of crabs;
it burns, burns,
and has no fur.
Let us sit down soon to eat
with all those who haven’t eaten;
let us spread great tablecloths,
put salt in lakes of the world,
set up planetary bakeries,
tables with strawberries in snow,
and a plate like the moon itself
from which we can all eat.
For now I ask no more than the justice of eating.”
~ Pablo Neruda, Chilean Poet

“A hundred years from now
it will not matter
what your bank account was,
the sort of house you lived in,
or the kind of clothes you wore,
but the world may be much different
because you were important
in the life of a hungry child.”
~ Author Unknown

“To a man with an empty stomach food is God” — Gandhi

Coffee

On the eighth day God created coffee.

Legend of coffee discovery :

Kaldi, a goatherd, lived in Abyssinia around AD 850. One day he observed his goats behaving in abnormally exuberant manner, skipping, rearing on their hindlegs and bleating loudly. He noticed they were eating the bright red berries that grew on the green bushes nearby.

Kaldi tried a few himself, and soon felt a novel sense of elation. He filled his pockets with the berries and ran home to announce his discovery to his wife.

“They are heaven-sent,” she declared. “You must take them to the Monks in the monastery.”

Kaldi presented the chief Monk with a handful of berries and related his discovery of their miraculous effect.
“Devil’s work!” exclaimed the monk, and hurled the berries in the fire.

Within minutes the monastery filled with the heavenly aroma of roasting beans, and the other monks gathered to investigate. The beans were raked from the fire and crushed to extinguish the embers. The Monk ordered the grains to be placed in the ewer and covered with hot water to preserve their goodness. That night the monks sat up drinking the rich and fragrant brew, and from that day vowed they would drink it daily to keep them awake during their long, nocturnal devotions.

Another account suggests that coffee was brought to Arabia from Ethiopia, by Sudanese slaves who chewed the berries en route to help them survive the journey.

“As soon as coffee is in your stomach, there is a general commotion. Ideas begin to move…similes arise, the paper is covered. Coffee is your ally and writing ceases to be a struggle.”
~Honore de Balzac (1799-1859)

Common adverse effects: Insomnia, headaches, irritability and nervousness.

Daily recommendations( by Health Canada):

The daily dose of 2.5 mg/kg body weight would not cause adverse health effects in the majority of adolescent caffeine consumers.
For women of childbearing age, the recommendation is a maximum daily caffeine intake of no more than 300 mg, or a little over two 8-oz (237 ml) cups of coffee.
For the rest of the general population of healthy adults, a daily intake of no more than 400 mg.

Source: http://www.selamta.net/Ethiopian%20Coffee.htm

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/caffeine-eng.php

All about Heart

Let your heart be your compass,
your mind your map,
your soul your guide…
and you will never get lost.
~Unknown.

Our heart is the voice of the soul.
Listen carefully and in its beating
you will hear the fluttering of angel wings.
~Unknown.

The head thinks,
the hands labor,
but it’s the heart
that speaks and laughs.
~Liz Curtis Higgs.

Have a heart that never hardens,
a temper that never tires,
a touch that never hurts
~Charles Dickens.

Let your heart guide you.
It whispers the truth.
so listen closely.
~(Land Before Time).

Mom

When it was time to leave the baby asked,  “Tell me God, why are you sending me to Eartt?  How am I going to live there, so small and helpless?”

God : “I have assigned you an angel on Earth that is eagerly waiting for you to hold you and care for you.”

Baby, anxious: “It’s so Heavenly here, there are no worries. I just smile, sing and play.”

God, “Yes it isn’t Heaven down there, but the angel’s lap will be a small heaven I’ve ensured for you. The angel will always wear a smile looking at you, will sing you lullabys and will even play with you.”

Baby:  “How will I be able to live in that mad world?

God: “Your angel will blow into you the most beautiful feeling called love that will give you strength, and with much patience and care, will teach you how to live.”

Baby: “Will that angel protect me from the shrewd world?”

God said, “Your angel will never leave you in risk, will defend you even if it means risking it’s own life, even if you tell the angel, you need it no more.”

Baby: “But God, I will miss you?”

God : “Just look into the angel’s  eyes and you will find me there. Just beneath its feet, you will feel the same pleasure as that in Heaven.”

Baby: “No God, if I miss you a lot, promise you will call me back.”

God:  “Don’t ever say that. The angel  will bring you closer to me, in its care, you will thank me for having sent you there.”

God ( again): “Dear baby, delay no more, the angel is in great pain, waiting to have you”.

Baby (rushes, then turns back): “God, but please tell me, how will I know who’s my Angel?”

God: “You simply call her Mom.”

There’s nothing like the first hug,  a Mama hug.

There no word called ‘insomnia’ in the world within a Mom’s arms.

There’s nothing more warmer than a Mom’s touch, and nothing more touching than Mom’s love.

The first sense that a baby learns to identify his Mom is her smell.

The first language in which  a baby talks to his Mom is through smile.

Even the toughest of Mom’s have gentlest of hearts.

Whether from her breast or  her throat, she will do whatever it takes to feed her kids.

Kids are born with wings, Mom teaches them to fly.

A Mom teaches her babies how to swim against the rough tides.

Some more about Moms:

Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.
~Stevie Wonder

The mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom.
~Henry Ward Beecher

A good mother is worth hundreds of schoolmasters.
~George Herbert

The post is dedicated to  Moms, one and all,  of  the world who begin as the first teachers, and then never cease to be one, all their life.

Who Am I ?

Who Am I?

I am a bit of everyone who crossed my path,
I am a trace of each who traversed my mind,
I am a mark of all those who touched my heart,
I am a streak from tracks where my life has jogged,
I am a speck of stain from those who bruised my effigy,
I am even a bitsy dent from those who jolted my mettle,
Altogether, I am a flavor of all the sweet n bitter I’ve savored.
Nevertheless, I’m a grain that stays put in life’s harshest storms.

 

A video I found while searching for a pic for the above words ‘Who Am I ?’

Irresistibly captivating. Simple yet so meaningful.

Oh God! I Know you I Met with you Once Upon a Dream

One day in my dream, I went into a garden whose beauty and magnificence my eyes hath never ever seen or imagined. To give a poor description—there were streams of sparkling crystal water, lined with camps of pearls over the soil of musk. The grass blades were laced with emeralds and inflorescence of rubies hanging from the trees. I wondered where was I ?

A voice came from behind—“Don’t be wonderstruck, you are in Heaven”.

I turned back and a flash of image beyond description smiled back: “Hi I am God. Welcome to the future abode of mankind.”

Though in absolute awe, I gathered courage to ask: ”God can you spare some time to talk ?”
( wondering if I could ask Him some questions which puzzle my mind.)
“My time is eternity and enough to do anything. Do not worry and ask all those questions that boggle your mind.” Pat came the reply.

I knew as He could read my mind—for sure he was God.

With courage I began: “I know when Gabriel first saw the Heavens, he had wondered ‘the road to the heaven is littered with hardships, and By your Dignity, I am afraid if anyone would be able to enter it.?”(Tirmizi).

God replied: “There is only one path to Heaven. On Earth, you call it Love.
‘Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.’ “(Dalai Lama)

“By your Dignity, God there is hardly any compassion in this world now. All we see is misery and hatred. Will there be anyway mankind can enter this magnificient Heaven?” I asked.

God: “ Yeah I wonder that too. ‘My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, WAR, banished from the earth.” (George Washington )
“Not just heavens, Mankind is not likely to salvage civilization (on Earth) unless he can evolve a system of good and evil which is independent of heaven and hell.’ “(George Orwell ). He explained.

“Sir, did you make mankind with the way he is behaving, in mind?”

God answered in a disappointed voice: “No, not at all. I really wonder at mankind on how:
*He lives as if he will never die and dies as if he has never lived.
*He spends his health to gain money and then all his money to regain the lost health.
*He whines for the past, worries for the future and as a result spoils his present.
*And worst of all in this race to live, the mankind has lost compassion for each other.”

“What is compassion, God?”, I asked.

“Compassion is the capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too. If you cannot be compassionate through actions, be compassionate through words.”

“Words?”, I wondered.

He replied: ”A careless word may kindle strife.
A cruel word may wreck a life.
A timely word may level stress.
But a loving word may heal and bless.”

He gave a long gloomy pause after saying that, and as I placed my hands over His to comfort Him, He held them tight, speaking nothing.

To cheer Him up and to break the melancholic silence I asked: Okay but what is the thing in your creation that hasn’t really disappointed you?

Without a pause he replied: “The Mother, yes she hasn’t disappointed me. I could not be everywhere, so I created mother.” ( Jewsih Proverb)

“Why does she make you so proud?”

 ”‘Mother is another word for selflessness and sacrifice. ‘Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of little children.’ (William Makepeace Thackeray)
‘A mother gives a child, first, roots to grow strong and attaches herself to the existence of her child, and then lets him learn to grow wings to fly away with success.’ “

‘And what else would you advice Mothers to teach their kids?’,I asked.

He answered;
“The kids should be taught not to value what you have in your life, but who you have.
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. (Dalai Lama)
Compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind. “(Albert Schweitzer )

“Out of all the blessings that you have bestowed upon Mankind, what do you think should he value the most?”

“Friends.” he said.
“If out of all mankind one finds a single friend, he has found something more precious than any treasure, since there is nothing in the world so valuable that it can be compared to a real friend.”(Andreas Capellanus)
He elaborated further: “The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you’ve ever had.”

“And what virtue should we value the least?”

“Wealth, ”  came without a pause.
“Can wealth give happiness? Look around and see, what gay distress! what splendid misery! Whatever fortunes lavishly can pour, the mind annihilates and calls for more. “(Andrew Young).
“Money is the worst currency that ever grew among mankind. This sacks cities, this drives men from their homes, this teaches and corrupts the worthiest minds to turn base deeds.” (Sophocles)

“Do you have any regrets for having created the Mankind?” I dared to ask, fearfully and  slowly.

He did not feel offended, instead replied with a sad tone : “Well I regret having given mankind the mind to think, because he has abused his mind more than putting it to use. He has abused the intelligence to make weapons, warfare to destroy mankind, and has used his knowledge to misuse the resources of the mother Earth—leaving it a miserable place for the future generations.” 

“So you must be hating Mankind now for how he has betrayed himself and the earth—both being your creations?”

“No dear, how can I hate something I created with my own free wil l? Yes I do despise a word called God.” 

“Lord, but isn’t that your own name you despise so much?” I could not hide my shock.

“Unfortunately yes. And all for the hatred that the mankind spreads in My Name, the suicide bombings, the killings, the discrimination that people are subjected to because they use my different names. I never asked anyone to use My Name to seek war for their personal agendas. I feel hurt and broken by all this bloodshed. I feel betrayed in My Name.”

My head hung in shame for how much have we hurt our own creator and continue to do so. And then think that we are doing a great service for HIM. I did not have the courage to ask him anything more. I did not even have the face to look towards him to Thank HIM and say a Bye.

Alas! I had no strength to ask him anymore.

Being God, He knew what else I wanted to ask and had reserved  for the last. As I turned away, he answered my unasked question:

My advice to mankind would be:
“To dream anything that you want to dream. That’s the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed.”(Bernard Edmonds)

And Finally to convey to the fellow beings on Earth from my behalf :
“Mankind must remember that peace is not God’s gift to his creatures, peace is your gift to each other.” (Elie Wiesel )

While walking away, I thought, ” I have saddened Him so much.  Will I ever be able to face Him again ?”

I heard again, a voice coming from the back:

“Anytime, I’m always near you . All you have to do is ask for me. And I shall answer.”

And I woke up, wishing that the whole Humanity woke up too.