In life, everything is predictable
to a certain extent…

The sun rises and sets at a certain time,
the skies play with colors in twilight hours,
sometimes pink streaks,
sometimes orange and bright red,
sometimes yellow behind wispy clouds.

Then the night falls,
The moon changes through its phases
no matter what shape it takes
it never fails to amaze with its face.

The stars twinkle
Clouds gather on rainy days
Seasons pass,
temperatures change.

It’s all predictable.

But when it comes to the workings of the human brain
predictability takes an entirely different train.
It is simple, people are either good or bad.

The good people remain good.
they do good things.
they make good choices.
Thrown in a tricky situation,
they may wander, they may stumble
they may lose their way for a while
but deep inside they remain good
There is hope in them,
They’re so hopeful that they see good even in the bad.

And then there are the bad people.

They do bad things,
not only to themselves but to the people around them.
They are bad even to the good who love them.
ā€œNo one is badā€, the good will object.
Perhaps, the bad will even ā€œtryā€ to be good.
but they seldom change.
the rotten continues to rot,
it prefers to be in a dump,
spreading lies, attracting flies
No morality.
No conscience.
No guilt.
No shame.

And perhaps that, too,
is a kind of predictability.

What is your favorite quote?

ā€œThere’s a beauty to this, actually. I like it here. And I believe I shall be fine to remain here all my lifeā€ – Brandon Sanderson

I read this quote in the book Tress of the Emerald Sea by one of my favorite authors, Brandon Sanderson.

I liked this line because of its simplicity. Tress, the main character, silently shares her sentiment of being content. No more, no less, simply being ‘here’, in the present moment.

Contentment is a state we rarely allow ourselves to be feel. It made me think that sometimes we don’t realize how we are always wishing for more, and are never satisfied with what we already have. We compare, measure, and convince ourselves that happiness is one step away: a BMW when we already have a Subaru, a house with a pool instead of a townhouse, a higher salary when we already have a stable job, a child who throws fewer tantrums, or dreaming of a Euro trip while sitting on a beach. We don’t realize to simply be alive and to experience life is in itself a miracle.

Tress does not have much, she lives on a lonely rock in the middle of an endless sea, with little to distract or entertain her. Yet, she reminded me that contentment isn’t something that the world should offer us, it is something we cultivate. Being here is enough.

Spanish Streets Steeped in History

This night wasn’t silent.
The cobblestones breathed
a cool air of relief
from the afternoon heat.

The air knocked on
old forgotten doors of balconies
a street light dims
blinking awake
to stay lit
for the ones still out
finding their way home
down the cobblestoned streets.

Alcazaba in Malaga, Spain

Elaichi

Green cardamom pods with some opened showing black seeds scattered on a wooden surface

The scent of crushed cardamoms and saffron
rises from a simmering pot of chai,
drifting through the house
from the kitchen,
up the stairs,
into the room where I still sleep.

I breathe deeply,
the khushboo of elaichi tea
a sharp cool green
opened by heat
sweetening the air,
A smile inside my dreams.

This is how the day begins
with the feeling of home,
somewhere in Spain.

When it rains, it pours
When it pours, close the doors
For it does not feel nice
To walk on soaking floors

Instead, look out the window
With your head upon a pillow
Oh look, swaying in the storm
is a lovely weeping willow

After the storm has passed
Raindrops cling upon the glass
And to hold this memory in time
You stop and take a photo.

I know, that you know, that the last line did not rhyme, but sometimes my dear it’s fine. šŸ™‚

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Book Review

Literary Fiction | Feminist Literature | Surrealism

Rating: 5 out of 5.

ā€œI had a dreamā€
That one sentence says it all.

The Vegetarian follows a woman, Yeong-Hye, who makes one decision for herself and her life goes spiraling.
She has lived according to the expectations of others for so long that the moment she chooses differently, she becomes unacceptable.

She makes a simple choice, she decides to stop eating meat.
But that choice is not allowed.

Continue reading “The Vegetarian by Han Kang”

Embracing Age

Holding onto the old
In a new world…
Like a worn leather jacket
Over a satin shirt,
Like a vase of fresh flowers
On a weathered wooden table,
Like a wrinkled hand
Holding an iPhone,
Like a mud pot brewing
Hot noodle soup.
It is not about living in the past.
It is about embracing age,
Imperfection worn with humility,
Finding beauty in austere simplicity.
It is Wabi-sabi.

A promise stretched across distance

I have always loved bridges, the way they appear
More than steel and structure.. like a promise stretched across a distance.
They do not ask why there is a divide,
They simply become the answer.

There’s something deeply hopeful about bridges
People coming together to build something that brings others closer.
It is a path for the lost,
a gentle insistence to keep going
A reminder, there’s always a way forward.
To me, they’ve always felt like symbols of courage, resilience, and possibility.
A connection linking two unknowns, two stranger lands.

And then there’s the Golden Gate Bridge, a work of art!
The scarlet red, or should I say fiery orange-red or accidental ā€œInternational Orangeā€ colored bridge,
gracefully suspended in the air which looks simply striking
against the endless blue sky and blue bay on a bright sunny day.

Continue reading “A promise stretched across distance”