Deep Dive into my Soul by Kay S

Musings on a Mid-Summer Day

 "We are born by chance, the choices we make define who we are!" - Kay S

Hello Folks!  Hope you are all doing fine amidst the lockdown and social distancing.  I decided to do some introspection today as I woke up and decided to write this to put things a bit into perspective.

The day dawned today upon me just as it did each day although today seemed a bit more different within me than everyday. I felt positive, I felt energized, and I felt as though I need to collect my thoughts together and record it somewhere.  As I went about the daily routine of mine, these profound thoughts that I always believed in kept popping into my head, one of which is the quote above that I always mention every time I get a chance to speak.  Think about it, isn't it true that we are born by chance!  I do not know any person who can say that they asked to be born and they made the decision to be in this world.  Going by that theory, it is clear that all of us happened to be on this earth by chance.  Now that we are born, what can we do to make this as eventful, memorable, and wonderful as possible?  I would say we start by making our choices, the right ones for us not for the world.  We make the right choices of being the kind of human beings we would like to be, make the right choices for the kind of things we would like to do, and make the right choices that would make us genuinely happy.  Only if we decide to do that is when we can be there for the rest of mankind, or the world, or our own families.  A happy and satisfied person can make others happy and that in turn will bring up a satisfaction to our souls.

Now, what is happiness?  Happiness to me is a state of mind where I feel one with the Universe, the beauty in it, the beautiful people I associate with, the art, the literature, and music.  I also believe that putting a smile on people's faces is as important to me as putting on a smile on my face always irrespective of how life treats me.  This may not work for everyone but it works for me.  I decided much earlier in life that I do not want to just pass off being a nobody, in sense, be born, be a good student and daughter, marry, be a good wife and mother, work, pass away.  What a boring story this would be I thought.  I decided to script my life in a way where I could inspire and motivate people to be a best version of themselves and in my small ways I am trying to do that. Martin Luther King, Jr once quipped, Life's most urgent and persistent question is, "What are you doing for others?"  These are the kind of questions I have always had and in finding the answer for this within me, I went about speaking to youngsters, children, adults, and everyone each time I got a chance and many a times it happened they were in need of advice, guidance, a shoulder to cry on, or a listening ear.  I found my calling or niche and helped whenever and wherever I could.  It started off as I was very young as a teenager with my mother as she lay on her death bed seeking to have someone listen to her story and that experience impacted my life in such a deep way that I chose to continue to do it with everyone around me, family, friends, colleagues, strangers, and acquaintances.  It became a habit that yielded great results with people benefiting from my advice or guidance or just my presence that I went on to continue with my children many years later and their friends too.

As I look back on the past years of my life, there is a strange satisfaction that I have positively impacted a few lives at least, be it in guiding them to make the right choice of education, making the right career choices, choosing to follow their passion, or just learning to be the best version of themselves.  We live in a pseudo-satisfactory world filled with hypocrisies, double standards, fallacies, and negativity.  It is up to us to absorb the best and let go of the negatives.  I had heard once that one needs to be just like a swan, which can separate milk from water as it sips.  Metaphorically speaking, we as human beings have a duty to ourselves to follow our heart, choose the right things by us and spread the beauty of thoughts within us out in the world and illuminate the darkest of days or the shadiest of thoughts.  Isn't that what we are capable of?  We are lamps that can illuminate anyone's dark life with our bright thoughts but one needs to know that it exists within us wanting to be discovered.  Each one of us encompasses the Universe itself within and can transform the world and people around us if we make up our mind to do so.  In order for us to do so, we must first learn to love ourselves, forgive ourselves, appreciate ourselves, and illuminate our minds with knowledge of the abundance that the Universe has filled us with.  Then and only then can we shine like the lamps or the sun or the brightest star in the Universe for that is what each one of us is destined to be.  One must never underestimate or give up on themselves and their dreams and never disrupt their children or their loved ones' dreams. Just as you are born to attain your purpose in life, they are too and it is up to us to help the diamond shine by smoothing its rough edges and let it present itself to the world.  Secondly, irrespective of how much life's challenges may push you down, bounce up like a spring higher for each one of us have the resilience within us, but we need to choose to use it.  No problem is without a solution in this world and no tough time will last for ever.  As they say, it is when the going gets tough that the tough get going.  This is something I have held close to my heart and achieved successfully throughout my life until now.  I never let anyone or anything in the world stop me from achieving what I wanted to and more importantly I never let anything destroy the life force, confidence, and happiness within me.  The greatest satisfaction to me is when I can help everyone I come across their tough times to soar like an eagle above the clouds learning to never let the rains hinder their flight to success and the success should be defined by what they perceive it to be and not what the world perceives.  Only then have I lived a meaningful life and shall rest knowing that I have left a legacy behind.

"I am who I am and I choose who to be, but it is who you are when you are around me that will define my worth in this world!" What do you know! There goes another quote from me, guess my grey hairs are growing out of wisdom or the great souls have been speaking to me these days.  Anyways, if I have impacted your lives in a bigger and better way, if I have inspired you to be a better version of yourself and if I have motivated you to chase your dreams, I shall rest tonight knowing in my heart that all is not lost in the time I have occupied the place in this Universe.  Adios for now, people!  See you soon again.  Until then, remember to always follow your heart and never forget why you began this journey of yours in the first place.  I leave you with a beautiful thought I read that touched my life by Shannon Adler, "Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you."  I hope I shall live to do that in the days and years to come.  Here's to my musings on a mid-summer's day and a poetry I wrote that I leave you all with....!

WORDS....
Words are all I have left within me,
To express my heartfelt gratitude to thee,
Like a river often and sometimes a creek,
They flow from my brain's private retreat!

Emotions, feelings, and expressions too
Find their way into communication too
Made up of simple and complex ones or two
Sentences made from these different words too!

I endeavor forever to unravel and present,
The multitude of thoughts that are at play,
In a story, a poem, or sometimes a quote,
For words are all I have to freely give away!🌹🌹 Kay S