Someone sat at the door sniggering I could never knock at Emotions fluttered for freedom Feet followed yet entrenched In darkness, with closed eyes I dared forward Your presence pried over my mettle A grunting sound scared me
I knew that sound Yes! I told myself – this is familiar I waited, fear throttled me Could it be you! You… who abandoned me In the woods we wanted to explore Together we started Yet alone, staring at each other!
It was not a perceptual experience or a hallucination nor any feeling of detachment from the body; it was the sensation of being aware that ‘this is the end’…‘its all over.’
There were no questions, no anxiety, no eagerness to save myself; only a strange numbness and acceptance and a refrain ‘its all over.’
Another thought – Oh! My new car…probably this thought hit me before the numbness; not sure.
This was not what researchers call ‘Near-death experience’, according to which there is an awareness of being dead, peace and painlessness surrounded by positive emotions.
Let me reconstruct that moment for you. Intoxicated by the exuberance of youth and the arrogance of driving a new car, one morning when I was going to work, the speed of my car was nearly 80 (I was living in Delhi at that point of time) and it happened to touch the central curb…I don’t know how, probably the demon of driving turned the wheel. He had whispered into my ear a number of times to drive within a safe driving speed but who takes the advice of demons or even well wishers?
Obviously my car flew away and landed after three somersaults. I went completely numb, with only one thought in my mind: Oh… it’s all over!
It was early morning and the traffic was very light at the freeway.
I was amazed at the impact! How could I escape unhurt, just with a few bruises and blood at my face? How could I request the onlookers who offered to take me to hospital to drop me near my home? How could I walk home myself with a bleeding lip and hand? That was the day I started believing in miracles.
All fears evaporated as I had met the ultimate fear. The desires of acquiring material possessions waned considerably. All arrogance melted when I saw my new car in shambles and people refused to believe it had absorbed all the impact. My husband refused to believe that it had somersaulted three times! My mom told me it was the iron used in the car, which could be lucky for me!
This miraculous escape taught me:
Life doesn’t happen as we plan, it is more like a bubble. It can burst any time, live it with abandon.
Take out your favorite crystal glasses and use them everyday for whatever drinks you enjoy.
Plan that dream vacation right now as, tomorrow may never come.
Communicate what lies in your heart; unexpressed emotions may go with you into your grave any day.
Face your fears. The power of all fears recede when we learn to encounter them.
Learn to forgive. The moment we forgive, we feel confident and powerful. It develops and validates our goodness and compassion.
This fiercely competitive, engulfing world may be waiting to devour us but we have to approach it with calmness.
Success does not just mean a lot of money and power or the house of your dreams. It is living a meaningful life.
Savor little moments of joy everyday.
Feel the gratitude for this blessing called life, which can be snatched any moment.
Laugh out louder and learn to love people around you.
I was humbled by this experience, I changed, I came back happier, with deeper love for my family and friends. I have lived the bonus years granted to me, with profound gratitude… “For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.” – Khalil Gibran.
Thank you for reading this. Please add your valuable reflections, they are much appreciated.
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Balroop Singh.
There are thousands of stories about personal transformation and the oft-repeated word is – positivity!The word seems to suggest that the moment we write that word down in our journal, the moment we start thinking about it, change within us starts.
While the stories of personal transformation inspire, there are many people whose inspiration lasts for a few moments, who like to wallow in self-pity and don’t make any conscious effort to move on from the dumps of depression.
Positive thoughts need constant ignition. That’s why one appointment with a therapist is not sufficient. What does a therapist do? He just listens to our disappointing thoughts and veers them towards positivity.
I can say with great conviction that positivity does help but personal transformation is a very slow process. So slow that we don’t even notice it.
In many cases it doesn’t occur at all…why?
Negative influence around us impedes our first step, detrimental discussions about persons who work against our progress especially at work place sway our thoughts so much that we fail to see how much such people can harm our personality.
Getting stuck in the past, whining about who hurt us and why and submerging ourselves in the sea of sadistic thoughts doesn’t let us move beyond what we are and what we wanted to be.
Obsession of success can take us far into the barren lands of transience, which seem to be so alluring that we lose connection with our own self as well as our treasured relationships.
Arrogance of wealth and power refuses to knock us down its exalted pedestal, from where we see ourselves as perfect.
All those persons who ride high on the clouds of perfection refuse to accept that they could become better persons.
I know a few who don’t even possess the courage to acknowledge that they had hurt somebody at some juncture of life, knowingly or unknowingly. Some are those who continue to hurt and say ‘why should I change now?’ They believe that people deserve the treatment that has been meted out to them because of their imperfections. Ironically they refuse to see that nobody is perfect!
If you want to change yourself…
Accept your inadequacies:
Do you consider acceptance of your weaknesses equivalent to lowering of your self-esteem? Has self-love created a rift between you and your dear ones? If so, it is time to introspect. You may be aware of the reasons; the moment you acknowledge them in your heart; you could initiate personal transformation.
Get in touch with your inner self:
Do you sweep embarrassing issues and questions under the carpet? Do you postpone their discussion? Do you live in the world of denial? There must be some fears and insecurities, which could be hampering your growth. Unless you let them reveal themselves and make peace with them, personal transformation doesn’t ensue.
Cultivate kindness:
A kind heart overlooks all mistakes and forgives all. Do one kind act everyday. It could be as little as smiling at somebody. Kindness is immensely cathartic for the body and the soul. It calms our nerves and introduces us to empathy. It enhances our confidence and provides a strange satisfaction. Studies have revealed that kind people are happy and healthy.
Understand success:
Success may be an important goal of your life but it loses its meaning when we shoot past other aspects of life. Successis being happy, being at peace with yourself; being able to look after yourself and being content. A successful person is the one who is emotionally balanced. Addiction to success often proves self-detrimental. The corridors of success are illuminated more by our emotions.
“Transformation is not automatic. It must be learned; it must be led.” – W. Edwards Deming.
I don’t remember when I started liking poetry. Probably I was born with itor was fascinated by the lyrics of Mother Nature.
When I walk down my memory lane, one image looms large and that is how much effort one of our English professors used to put into explaining the poetry of Tennyson and Wordsworth. While the latter was relatively easier to understand, the former much more complex and obviously we didn’t like the one who was more challenging.
The real challenges came my way when ‘Paradise Lost,’ an epic poem by John Milton was not taught in the class (or if it was, I must be mentally absent) and even when it was discussed, it didn’t evoke any interest!
While prose can be an effortless reading unless it is stream of consciousness writing, poetry can become quite boring if we are not familiar with its techniques and tones.
Despite the tests and trails, I continued to like poetryand slowly discovered that it is a genre par excellence. It can say a lot through literary techniques, which only an admirer of Literature can understand. I still struggle to understand some subtle messages conveyed through simple words.
I have to read my blogger friend Bela’s poemsthrice to understand the undertones that appear enigmatic initially. They also inspire ideas to compose another poem.
Ambiguous ideas in a poem provide a food for thought and chisel your creative skills.
Who has the time and the inclination to read and re-read a poem in this fast-paced world? Only poetry lovers do!
Another lovely friend Sue, who is a poet and a prolific blogger of amazing eminence inspires with her poetry.
Most of my blogger friends are elaborative when they share their reflections on my post. Whenever I post a poem, I get a lukewarm response and I often wonder – is it because of poetry?
Quickly my mind hurtles back, my interactions with teenagers get refreshed, all their expressions, yawns and glances stand before me, bringing those lovely memories of hate-love relationship we had with poetry…when we would try to convince each other why poetry is good or bad and how we could understand it better.
I am not an expert but I have figured out a few ways to understand poetry.
How to understand a poem:
All readers have their own approach and interpretation but how imagery is used defines a poem. Can you read between those special words to fathom their depth?
It is better to read slowly. Stop and ponder over at the word that seems simple but abstruse.
“If you’re curious, there is always something new to be discovered in the backdrop of your daily life,” says Roy T. Bennett. Be curious. Inquisitiveness and interest are two important elements that lead to our understanding of a poem.
Poetry can’t be scanned and understood like prose as the former demands concentration, attention and gentle reading.
If you read a poem in a hurry, you would miss the real meaning. Many times words are used as metaphors.
You have to be familiar with most common literary techniques like simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, alliteration and assonance.
Imaginative flights of poets can’t be predicted, we have to fly with them to figure out their proficiencies.
Critical analysis of a poem reveals the nuances of its theme, undertones and other signals, which remain hidden to a scanner.
Some poems are ambiguous. Probably they relate to the poet’s past or buried memory, which he wouldn’t like to reveal yet, give a vent to his emotions through writing.
“Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.” – Leonard Cohen
Do you like poetry? Do you read a poem slowly?
Thank you for reading this. Please add your valuable reflections, they are much appreciated.
If you have liked this article, please share it at your favorite social networks.
There are thousands of stories about personal transformation and the oft-repeated word is – 
