I have been pampered in generous amounts here. I hope you read this and know, that someone truly cares about you. And if like me, you have a proclivity for canned phrases, this is for you too. :)

Dearest Tanisha,

It is so heart warming to read your note for your mother. It is wonderful to know your deep rooted and crystal clear thoughts, these are a reflection of your persona which is evolving. It is so mesmerizing to fathom your eloquence, the incisive focus that you have exhibited through your words displays your approach. As the vernacular saying goes that successful people don't do different things; they just do things differently. How you approach a subject in a precision manner is the hallmark of a successful person.One thing that I have imbibed through my years is that a fine & illustrious person will certainly have passion, kindness and an eye for detail which makes him/her reach the goal of life in an accomplished manner.Yes, we realize that you are growing; by God's grace; the attributes that you possess will assist you to scale greater height in life.Keep moving; slowly and steadily; keep assimilating all the good things in life.The blessing of Almighty God (the invisible power that makes everything move in the universe including us ) and your mother, father and brother will always remain and we hope to see you rising like a star.Brave you should be; don't be afraid of failures; these are stepping stones to success. Somebody who has not tasted failure or defeat is unlucky since he has missed an opportunity to learn, to gain strength to cope up with failure, to gain the resolve to dodge the failures.Kind you should be, the strength that you gain by seeing the smile on somebody's face when he/she gets what he/she is longing for. It brings up positive vibes.Affectionate you should be- what you give comes back to you- is an old saying.We can only thank God for seeing our child blossom into a very fine human being.Keep going strong; Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

"Sometimes you can't see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others.It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop."

"Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.""Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago."

"Once you choose hope, anything's possible." "Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value." -- Albert Einstein"

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." -- Charles Darwin"

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched -- they must be felt with the heart." -- Helen Keller"

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Failure is another steppingstone to greatness." -- Oprah Winfrey"

If you're not stubborn, you'll give up on experiments too soon. And if you're not flexible, you'll pound your head against the wall and you won't see a different solution to a problem you're trying to solve." -- Jeff Bezos

"If you're going through hell, keep going." -- Winston Churchill

"What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise." -- Oscar Wilde

There are lot of good things to learn in life; lot of things to unravel; keep going; the love of your family is eternal and will stay with you forever.God bless.

Pride and Prejudice, between the Sky and the Rose

Dear Elektrica,

I’ve been a bit too happy and optimistic lately, I wonder where that has come from.  I promise this is not pretense. More often than not, happiness is overlooked and misunderstood. But the scatter-brained child I knew has been peeking, at a boundless sea of ideas that happiness has allowed her to see; which indeed has cleared my horizon off of ambiguity. I hope that you’re keeping your happiness locked up tight if you haven’t already discarded it. In such times as these, what shall be left to the admiration of posterity?

As I took a leisurely stroll in the garden of such beauty, I was reminded of my own importance. I wanted to lay it all out, to be useful, and to be true. In all such misery, the beauty of the world will remain, then why can’t I foster mine? 

A few months back, I had thought that I would never feel again. But it must be an innate desire to experience all that is good in this world. And so the past doesn’t scare me anymore, but has uncomplicated my life to its basic algorithm. I have burned the code into my brain, though done reluctantly; I have reaped its benefits exuberantly.

And even though my spirit fluttered with such feelings, it wasn’t until I met Elizabeth and Jane that I realized the sovereignty of such emotions; and more so, the desire to master them.  Elizabeth’s brazen opinions, her intrepid and gallant attitude were not impertinent as she saw them to be. It is only because being a woman of such faculty is disagreeable. And though this shouldn’t be the case now, it is; why else would such a character as hers pull at my heartstrings? Elizabeth is not tractable, she would never settle for anything less, even if her circumstances go against such affairs.

So her resolve became my wish. Her conversations with Jane instilled a vicarious forbearance into me. Her laugh reminded me of how short life is, and how very scarce happiness can be in such uncertain times. And how very perverse bitterness and anger can be, if not addressed directly to what has pained you.  Elektrica, I pray that you hold on to your sanity and rationale, the world requires it, now more than ever. J

Oh look, how much they grow in just a day. :)

The Heroine. 

Freedom at a cost

This is a bizarre stupor to be in, with even bizarre palliatives to deal with an overbearing solitude. But I'm safe inside; where this extremely sensitive heart is trying hard to assimilate reason for the gratuitous suffering and misery of others- all is swirled together to betray a system which is anything but ideal.

All the pieces fit together, yet the heavy metal cells sway tumultuously right in my gut, tearing down the foundation. It's building up facts, where the poor have no security; and unnecessary emissions can always, and could have always been avoided. And almost everything can be done, without shaking up the planet; without hurting any animals, to put it more bluntly (pun intended).

And while I satiate myself with Jane Austen, and the lovely company of my forever friends, I'm aware. I know that some will perish in this fire that will miss me in its path, and has indeed lost me to my four bedroom walls; where I'm safe and sound. I wait, just like everybody else, for things to get better. Hoping that somewhere, someone, must be doing something. So I don't want to wax scientific jargon.

They say that the planet is healing itself, and some practical anorak might call it bullshit. But I do genuinely hope that it's true. For I can see it in the freedom of birds flying past my balcony, and the herd of cows which come to rest here everyday now. The skies seem to be clearing up too; at what cost, we all know.