Kavyanjali

S he flutters her eyes open as the alarm beeps for the hundredth time this morning. She snakes her arms under the sheets to switch the damn thing off. It’s giving her a headache and the light penetrating through the window is too vibrant for her to take in at the moment. “Damn it!!” she says, pulling the cell phone from under her pillow. It’s 10AM and heck! she had to be at the mall by 11:00 A.M, ’cause she had promised to hang out with her bestie with whom she shares a love-hate relationship. She never wanted to hang out in the first place because of her late night work shifts on Fridays. But saying no was not an option, because that’s what you do; your friends ask you to do something, you do it. That’s how you fit in.  She rummages her closet for the perfect outfit because if it isn’t trendy enough, she would be outcast by her peers. Fashion sense outweighs common sense now and she has to keep up with that. Tossing her nightgown in the pile of laundry which is yearning for the Sunday

Somewhere on our run to meet societal standards or on our hike to fulfill worldly expectations or in our quest to be someone who we are not, we lose our self-worth. In the taunts, jeers, scorns, scoldings, judgements, advice and opinion of others, it shatters down into a million pieces leaving behind a frail, insecure, loathsome and broken mess. From childhood traumas to the difficult transition into adulthood, each and very bad experience that builds up inside, impacts negatively on our self-worth. It even makes us forget the real us in this journey of what we want to become; turns us hateful towards our own being.  We all have qualities, good and bad. There is no specific scale or standard to measure these qualities as they sprout from individual perception. But we are so keen on balancing this good and bad and we constantly keep struggling to outweigh bad with good. Why? Because we all want to be good; to be noble; to be saints. But to be practical, none of us, living this worldly

 It's the words I am in love with  The way they magnificently blend into verse pretty poems and hefty paragraphs Or the way they glide down as stunning stories. It's the words I am in awe of conquering worlds by invading hearts; touching souls and stirring thoughts; flipping emotions and changing lives. It's the words I bow down to manifesting minds and spurring consciousness. Brimming with meanings; fluttering with feelings; A dense jungle where I lose and find myself.  

  Disappointments, heartbreaks, unhappiness, failures, flaws, limitations. There is indeed a long list of things to focus on, cry over and sigh about. We never seem to miss these details in life no matter how minuscule they are and our mind never fails to waste some thoughts on them. The minute our life takes us on a bumpy ride, the scenic views around us are completely blocked out of sight. And all we remember about the trip so far would be limited to the bumps on the roads. Life showers u s with so many blessings that we could actually be grateful for. And we should be. For the food which fills our stomach, the water that quenches our thirsts, the education that has brought us so far, for the lovely people in our lives who care for us, for the roof that protects us day and night, for the laws that keep us safe, for the good health that keeps us going and so on. They say we should learn to count our blessings, but sometimes blessings are beyond count. And what we really

 You are not the labels glued on your forehead. You are not your thoughts or the things you have said.   You are not the names they gave you or what you are known for. You are not what you earn or the things you yearn for.   You are not your deeds or the things that you make. You are not your choices nor your deadliest mistake. You are not the pain which lingers in your tears. You are not the nightmare rooted in your fears.   You are not the fame or spotlight you worked hard for. You are not your goals or the success that you yield for.   You are not your looks or what you choose to wear. You are not your past or what your future has to bear.   You are not what- others think you are; But you are much more than you could ever discover.