I am thankful for…
As Thanksgiving week rolls around and I see pictures of plump turkeys all around, I am struck by how close to the end of the year we are. Over the past few years, Thanksgiving has come to mean family and food to me as much as it does to my neighbors next door. While I don’t really make turkey or cranberry sauce or even the quintessential pumpkin pie, I try and have friends and family over for dinner. I also look at this time of the year for reflecting on the year gone past. To me it is a time to count my blessings. To look behind and be thankful for everything. The good and the bad for without the sorrows, I will not know to appreciate the joys. This is also the time of the

A question of being ready
Sitting in our rather large dining room at our workplace after work yesterday, I found I was the first to arrive for a four hour CPR/AED certification class offered by the American Red Cross and sponsored by our workplace. Soon the rest of the group arrived. A grand total of 7 students and one instructor. The instructor was a bundle of energy arriving with seven mannequins for us to practice on and a bunch of videos for us to watch. He did not insult our intelligence by walking over things that were already in the handout. Instead he focused on the practical aspects of handling an emergency. The four hour session was condensed to less than 3 hours and I walked out with sore knees

A question of being ready
Sitting in our rather large dining room at our workplace after work yesterday, I found I was the first to arrive for a four hour CPR/AED certification class offered by the American Red Cross and sponsored by our workplace. Soon the rest of the group arrived. A grand total of 7 students and one instructor. The instructor was a bundle of energy arriving with seven mannequins for us to practice on and a bunch of videos for us to watch. He did not insult our intelligence by walking over things that were already in the handout. Instead he focused on the practical aspects of handling an emergency. The four hour session was condensed to less than 3 hours and I walked out with sore knees

Focusing on the one
Lighting the twin oil lamps in front of my makeshift puja cabinet, I lifted my eyes to a plethora of Gods arranged in a random order in the dark cavernous space before me. Lightly touching the entrance to the space and touching my eye, I closed my eyes and prayed. Like I have taken to doing these past few months. Eyelids fluttering open, my vision rested on one little cube of glass. Rays of light emanating from all around that figurine, it has been my recent favorite. I focused my attention on that one little representation of God and willed for positive things to happen. Then humming a tune I moved away to start my morning routine of cooking and packing food. All through t

Bubbles. And life.
Often when watching people blow bubbles I am fascinated. I watch intently as the bubble takes shape almost fervently praying it should be perfect and I heave a sigh of relief when it floats away charming the world around it. I could watch bubbles form and perish for hours on end. Often the thoughts that form in my head or the impulsive things that escape my otherwise rigid composure remind me of these abstract intangible bubbles. Like when I write an email I know is out of character. I key it in, mull over it some and hit send with a little bit of extra pressure on the mouse. Like stressing my need to get it out. Out of my control and therefore putting myself in a state where I ca