Happiness

There is a (small, but) certain lightness in my being. A little bounce in my walk. A little smile that plays at the corner of my mouth at almost all times of the day.
Something has changed.

I have shed a bit of my past and the weight I have carried for many years. It all seems so irrelevant today. It seems foolish to let something that happened years ago, or even decades ago to have a hold on who I am today. Or who I will be tomorrow.
Today, Something has changed.

So many unnecessary chains I still carry. I still struggle with my occasional bout of jealousy and/ or envy. I still struggle with my prejudices about people. I still struggle with my consideration of social equations in my world view. I still struggle with my perception of my capacities and limitations. I still struggle with my lethargy and procrastination. I still struggle with standing up for myself. I still struggle with saying No. I still struggle with my loneliness.
But, something has changed.

It might be just a petite something. But it is a good something. A happy something. A something that puts a smile on my face and a spring in my walk. It is from inside. A tiny flickering light consuming the darkness around it. Enlivening the whole place up one fragment at a time.
Something has surely changed.

Bargain Books. Joy!

Yesterday, I went to my favorite book store to eat my favorite Khatti Roll. Yes it is true, I go to bookshops to eat! To my mild surprise, it is Sale time!! Don't we all love buying books at bargain price!

So I picked up three books.

1. Giving - Bill Clinton

2. Billions of Entrepreneurs - Tarun Khanna

3. India: Land Policies for Growth and Poverty Reduction - The World Bank.

.. all at 50% off. 

Somehow I thought Bill Clinton's book at a discounted ` 370 was still expensive (because of its very dirty cover). That was till I actually started to read the book.

For the its Inspirational Value and (Wealthy) Information Content, the book is worth every minute of your time and every ` of your money. Though I'm still mid-way through the book, a big thumbs up from me. A must read for anyone with a big heart.

More about it when I finishing reading it.

ps: Here is where the new Rupee font is available for downloading.

Self-Regulation

I read this term in a health magazine this morning. Research claims that people with clean homes have better health. People who keep clean homes also tend to take much better care of themselves through physical exercise or simply because household chores keep them on their toes. This is because they are "Self-Regulated".

Me being me, googled the term to see what I'd find.
First link (ofcourse): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-regulated_learning
Here is the crux of the matter.
 "three important characteristics of self-regulated learning:

• self-observation (monitoring one's activities);
• self-judgment (self-evaluation of one's performance) and
• self-reactions (reactions to performance outcomes).

                           To the extent that one accurately reflects on his or her progress toward a learning goal, and appropriately adjusts his or her actions to maximize performance, he or she has effectively self-regulated."

Link 2: (a mild digression in content): http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol4Iss1/SelfRegulation.htm

An expanded definition:

"A review of self-regulation examined basic volitional factors of goal setting, self-monitoring, activation and use of goals, discrepancy detection and implementation, self-evaluation, self-consequation, self-efficacy, meta-skills, boundary conditions, and self-regulation failure that revealed self-monitoring as fundamental to self-regulation."

Sighs.

The Opposable Mind

The Mind is always in Duality.
Between Ordinary and Extraordinary.

To be Ordinary is to be nothing.
There is a greatness in being nothing.
As One.

To be Extraordinary is to be something.
There is a greatness in simply being.
Extra.

Which.

Void

There is a void.

Inside.

Consuming.

How do I fill it?

I threw myself into this void of Silence.

Numbingly loud here.

Look for Exit. Quick.