Evening Stroll with My Wife in London, Ontario

I have not been posting anything on this blog for almost four years. And recently, I just happened to check the stats of this blog and got surprised to see that this blog is still getting traffic. Almost 500 visits in a month was kind of unexpected. So, I thought I should start writing blog posts again. However, I couldn't start right away. And, today, I just started writing. I really hope I will be posting very often in the coming days.

So, yesterday, my wife and I took a walk around downtown London. By the way, we are in London but not in England. This is London in Ontario, Canada. It's a small city with a population of around 500,000. Anyways, it was a hot day. And it was fairly warm in the evening. So, we went for a walk. Fortunately, we live in the downtown area. So, we can take a stroll anytime. Well, we walked around and decided to go to this place called Kungfu Tea to have some refreshment. We tried this drink called Oreo Black Warrior. It was a good one. We both are not good at finishing sweet drinks and dishes. So, we left some portion. These are some pictures taken there:

Well, we didn't stop there. We hadn't had a proper dinner. So, we went to an Indian restaurant, Jugaad. We had a Biryani and a soup. And yes, we couldn't finish it. We took the food home and ate the leftovers today. These are the pictures taken at Jugaad:

Well, I guess that's all for this time. I'm writing a blog post after a long time. So, I don't know what to write. I hope you'll write better in the next post. Thanks for reading this post.

A Brave Mother

Photo by Manuel Schinner on Unsplash

I was at my friend's shop chatting with him when this cheerful lady entered the shop full of colourful, attractive and artistically beautiful items. She had been looking for something interesting at the shop before entering in as I could see her through the transparent glass shelf. After getting in, she looked around for a while and asked for a incense box (Buddhists use this box to burn incense and offer to the deities). She kept talking to us in a cheerful and humorous tone as my friend was showing her the boxes of different sizes.She appeared frank and friendly. We wouldn't need to ask much because she shared her views and experiences so openly. She, then, chose one of the boxes and asked the price. When she was told the price, she asked for discount. When she asked how much discount she could get, my friend said "alikati" (अलिकति) which means "a little bit" in Nepali language. She asked for a good discount with a constant smile on her face.

My friend had said "alikati" which sounded like "ilikati" (इलिकति) to the lady. So she frequently kept using that word while asking for discount - like "can't it be more than ilikati?". We couldn't dare to argue further when she said it was for her daughter who was no more in this world. She then gradually began telling her story as if we are so closed to her. She told that her daughter was an air hostess who lost her life in a very young age. She also showed her daughter's photo. when she explained in detail, I remembered that the plane crash was quite a recent incident. But the mother looked so strong and cheerful as if it was so long ago. She told us about her husband and three daughters including the deceased one. Both the elder daughters had chosen their ways of life and it was only the youngest one who was living with her and was the closest to the mother.

The mother shared with us that when my friend said "alikati" with an accent, she remembered her daughter's college friends who would visit her home. She became so emotional that she shared everything with us as if we were her daughter's friends. Her words made us emotional too. She wasn't crying but the wistful feelings could be seen in her eyes. She said she had made a different room in her house for the late daughter. There she would put something new every month in her daughter's memory. The incense box was the next gift for her daughter. As soon as we came across her story, we could no more be insistent. Obviously, then my friend gave her the box at a very reasonable price.

When she was talking to us, her cell phone rang. It was her husband's call. She received the call and we could hear her saying "Yes,I had said I would go to Asan but I came to Bouddha". She didn't cry for her daughter. Instead she would walk out of her house early and keep visiting to different places to stop herself from shedding tears. It's not easy to be that way for all the mothers but she was a strong mother. I wish and pray - may she never lose her strength.

I first wrote this piece 10 years ago (approximately) on another blog, on an another site and also on my facebook note. I'm now sharing it here on this blog after all these years.

Meditation: What to Expect and What NOT

 

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Meditation, in my understanding, is a path. It’s a path to absolute peace. Meditation leads us to the unexplored part of ourselves. While we are always connected to the external world, practice of meditation helps us connect to the inner world within us. It makes us realize that the physical world is not the complete reality. Thus, meditation helps us see the reality that’s beyond the reach of the five senses.

As far as my experience is concerned, I haven't reached that level where I can claim that I have the authority to give tips and advice on how to do a proper meditation. However, I do have the experience of failing to meditate properly. So, I probably have the authority to share my experiences on what mistakes one could avoid while getting into the path of meditation.

First of all, the experience of meditation differs from person to person. What I experience may not be similar to what you experience. It’s because my level of consciousness may be different from yours. Moreover, people who have the ability to focus on a single point for a longer period of time can experience better and more positive results compared to those who struggle in maintaining focus even for a few seconds.

Another thing I have learned about meditation is that it’s not just about sitting cross-legged for some minutes and ignoring it for the rest of the day. An essential part of meditation is awareness. So, we must practise being aware of our actions each and every moment. Meditation is not done to escape reality. Instead meditation should help us to be aware of the truth and accept it as it is, rather than making up any kind of subjective perception on it. I had to mention this thing because a lot of people think that people who meditate are those who want to escape reality and live in a dreamlike world.

Next very crucial thing I need to talk about is the goal you set when you enter the world of meditation. I don’t know if I should mention this thing or not, and also I don’t know if I’ll be able to articulate it properly or not, but I will try to explain it in a simple way so that everyone can understand the gist of meditation. In a way, you have to know where you are going, in order to achieve success in whatever you do. So, setting a goal is very important. However, when it comes to meditation, you must be able to change this perception. If you are someone who knows nothing about meditation and if I have to explain meditation to you, then I can tell you that you can achieve inner peace and overcome fear by practising meditation. However, if you are really trying to explore the world of meditation, then I must be able to make it clear to you that setting a goal can be a big mistake in the path of meditation. When you set a goal, you have an expectation of achieving that goal. On the contrary, the purpose of meditation is to let go of any expectation. If you keep expecting that you’ll achieve this and that by doing the practice of meditation, then you’ll reach nowhere. Let’s say you are sitting down for a 30 minutes of meditation session. During this 30 minutes, if you are repeatedly asking yourself why you are not experiencing anything wonderful or different, then your session is not being fruitful. This 30 minutes of your day should be dedicated to meditation without any expectation, and there should not be any kind of feeling of regret once you are done with your session.

I didn’t know all these things when I first got introduced to meditation. I was so excited and was curious to know what I could achieve by meditating. As time passed, I studied a bit more about meditation and I also got more experience compared to my first attempts. And I’m still in the process of knowing meditation better and clearer. I’m still a very ordinary person. I never had an out-of-body experience. I haven’t been able to balance my chakras. I haven’t had my third eye opened. And I never had a lucid dream. However, I’m definitely a happier person now. 

And one thing I must mention once again is that the experience in meditation is not the same for everyone. What you experience in a month can be something I won’t be able to experience even after years of practice. That means you may experience a moment of bliss in a single day or maybe you won’t notice any change even after years of practice. So, you should be ready to accept this fact. This might make you a bit hopeless. However, on the brighter side, you should know that meditation teaches you to live in the present. It’s your mistakes in the past that can make you sad and wistful. And it’s your apprehension about a possible consequence in the future that keeps you anxious. If you meditate and observe your present, you won’t have anything to be sad about. And meditation makes you realize that happiness is a state of mind, which means that you should be happy because you know that you should be; not just because some external force is pleasing you. So, there are three major things I have learned from my experience in mediation - be aware of every single action you do; live in the present moment; and let go of any kind of expectation.  

(I wrote this when one of my friends asked me to write about my experience on meditation for research purpose. Now I'm posting it on my blog after some months.)

Why You Should Blog

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

 There are hundreds of thousands of bloggers around the world. They all have different purposes for writing blog posts. Some write for expressing their views, while some want to share knowledge they have gained over a period of time. Some write for improving their writing skills, while some write for revenue. Whatever may be the reason, blogging has been a rapidly growing thing. And there are lots of reasons why you should start blogging. So, I want to share my view on why you too should be starting a blog. Let's look at some reasons why starting a blog can be a right decision for you:

1. Blogging is a way of Expressing Yourself

There are several ways people express themselves. Some express their feelings through songs, and some express their views through speeches. Artists express their emotions through beautiful paintings. Similarly, dancers express their emotions through their moves. Just like all of them, bloggers can express their views, thoughts and emotions through their blog posts. So, if you have a lot of things going on in your mind and you are trying to find a way to express them, you can make blog a means of expressing your ideas.

2. Blogging can help you Improve your Writing Skills

Expressing your ideas isn't always easy and simple. And it's especially true if you are not that expressive. You might have a lot of things going on in your mind but you might have the habit of not explaining them to anyone just because you think that you mind end up having an argument or a bad relationship with people. In such a scenario, it could be a good decision to write down your feelings. If writing isn't your habit, then you'll have a hard time at the beginning. However, if you consistently write about your views, thoughts and emotions, you'll gradually improve. Every professional and successful writer begins as an amateur writer. With experience, an amateur becomes professional. So, if you start blogging today, you'll definitely become a far better writer a year from now.

3. People Start Noticing You

You might have a lot to share with people around you. However, since you are keeping everything within yourself, no one is able to know what you think and know. But once you become consistent in writing blog posts, people start noticing you as they start reading your posts. You might have been thinking, "only if a few people could hear what I really want to say". And if you write your views on your blog, not just a few people but a huge number of people will be able to discover you and relate to your thoughts and experiences.

4. You could be Earning some Revenue

People around the world write blog posts not just to express themselves. There's much more than that. Actually, a blogger with a decent amount of traffic on a blog can make a good amount of revenue. In fact, there are bloggers who make from $1000 to $10000 per month from blogging. However, it doesn't happen overnight. You have to be consistent and should work relentlessly to achieve your goal of generating a good amount of revenue from your blog. You can first start blogging as a hobby. Once you start getting traffic, then you can think of making it a full time job.

5. You have Nothing to Lose

You shouldn't be blogging if it takes a huge portion of your time. But I don't think writing a blog post will take hours and days. When you start, don't be too cautious about your vocabulary and grammar skills. Just start it and improve day by day. Write a few sentences on your first day. Next day, try to write two more sentences than the first day. And this won't take even an hour. If you think of writing something longer, allocate an hour a day for the blog post. Write what you can write and keep the remaining part for the next day. In this way, you'll have an elaborate piece of writing within a week, without losing your precious time. 

So, I guess I made it clear why it would be a great idea for you to start blogging. Well, for some reason, I've not blogged for a while. But I'm now trying to be more consistent in writing about what I think, what I feel about certain things, etc. in my blog posts. Let's see how frequently I'll be blogging. And you have made it to this part of the article, try to create a blog today. Thanks!

Nationality Vs Humanity

Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash   

    I don't exactly remember but I might have written something about this topic before. This is something I always struggle with. For most of you, this might not be a thing to ponder. However, I find it quite unconvincing. Well, I'm referring to our feeling towards nationality. It might seem quite obvious to you that you should be proud of your nationality. And maybe it's reasonable to an extent. However, I always contemplate why our identity is so much tied to nationality. We have other identities as well, but we don't tend to be liberal while talking about those sides of us. On the contrary, nationality is something we tend to take very seriously when it comes to the matter of identity. I wonder why we tend to be that way.

    There are white people. And there are black people too. There are people from African descent. And there are Asian people too. Many people follow caste system. Many of us belong to certain ethnic groups. Some of us have our own indigenous culture. Some of you might be following Christianity, and some of you are Buddhists. And the thing I have noticed about these identities is that people are flexible to talk about whether to stick to these different identities or not. In fact, if we emphasize certain aspects of such identities, we end up being called racists. But nationality seems to be completely different from all aforementioned identities. It's a matter of pride and dignity to many of us.

    I assume that developed countries are somewhat different from the least developed countries, since they have cosmopolitan cities where we can find immigrants from dozens of countries. In most of the developing countries, nationality is a big thing. Not a lot of foreigners apply for citizenship in these countries, because of which people from only certain communities are the actual citizens. In such a scenario, you can treat tourists with great respect as guests but not as your fellow citizens. Maybe because of this situation, we develop a very close and emotional connection with our compatriots but not with the foreign people. However, my concern is about the modern concept of nation. The emotion connected to nationality is so deep and strong that we are always reluctant to separate ourselves from this identity. I wonder if it was the same for our ancestors.

    I have already mentioned that we have many different identities - religion, race, caste, ethnicity, etc. However, these identities aren't as strong as the identity of nationality. I have read, heard and seen that when people fight against each other in the name of religion, race and ethnicity, they are discouraged, criticized and condemned by scholars, celebrities, political and religious leaders, human right activists and general public. On the contrary, when it comes to national interest, the scenario changes completely. You tend to support your country regardless of who is right and true. There are chances that your government could be bullying the government of a smaller country, trying to establish influence and control over them. But it won't matter to you much, since you belong to your country, and you are not supposed to show any sympathy for the people of another country. So, although I find it obvious, it somewhat sounds not so convincing to me. You might be justifying your hatred towards your neighbours, failing to recognize the fact that it's the same biased feeling of pride towards your own nation that is making you hate others without being rational.

    Nationality is in such a priority that I feel we are not interested in humanity anymore. You could be a doctor whose responsibility is to save anyone's life regardless of their nationality; you could be a teacher who must share knowledge and wisdom to anyone without thinking which country your students are coming from; you could be a comedian who has the responsibility of making everyone happy regardless of your audience's identity. However, when your nationality overpowers humanity in you, the scenario can be completely different. You might let someone die just because s/he is not from your country; you might deprive someone from being educated  because s/he doesn't belong to your country; and you might end up making someone cry, assuming that someone not from your country doesn't deserve being happy. 

    There's nothing wrong in being happy and proud of your country. But the way we have glorified nationalism is something I immensely fear. Don't you think that deep-rooted nationalism could be fatal to humanity?