by Hetal Shah on August 22, 2012
in Life
Are we alive because we believe we are, or are we alive because we know we are?
Do you feel you are alive because you breathe, walk, shit, talk, write, laugh, love? Being alive means being-a-part-of-life. It means feeling connected with the world around us. Imagine how connected you feel to nature when walking through the woods, with the sunlight beaming through the tall oak trees straight on to your warm face. Time stops. And life happens. You feel alive.
Every day, life is happening around us, within us. Yet it is not in our consciousness. Our life is happening, but not because of us; it is happening inspite of us. Try holding your breath for two minutes. Life will kick the shit out of you and take over.
It is happening inspite of us.
by Hetal Shah on July 19, 2012
in Life
Life finds a way. It appears that our arrogance has clouded our mind to such an extent that we think we are the masters of the game. Reality is, we don’t even know the rules of the game.
The image you see here is that of mustard seeds soaked in water for a few days in a petri dish and then transferred to a soil pot. I didn’t expect much. But I still got it. Life happened. Not by my doing but by the very nature of life itself. It just happened. Because it was meant to.
Survival is inbuilt in every living being. And when it comes to it, we find a way. Through darkness. Through dust. Through life itself.
So next time you feel like giving up, think of the mustard seed that survived days in a petri dish only to be transferred into a soiled pot to then sprout through the top soil as life and hope itself. It’s in your nature to survive.
This post has been a long time coming, but… Well, it’s here now. 24th Feb 2012 marked the date when I saw one of my all time favourite band live. In Concert. Unadulterated.
Their music is purely acoustic based and the duo Rodrigo and Gabriela are a magical marvel with the guitar. You’ll see what I mean in the videos below.
The energy and electricity of their music can really be felt when you are standing there in the crowd and the strum of the guitar and the bass hits your ear drums. It is truly something else.
Not allowed to carry any photographic equipment, I tried to capture the essence of who these guys are with a few iPhone shots.
The images and video you see below are all shot on an iPhone 3GS. Images edited using Snapseed on an iPhone 3GS. Video edited using Splice on an iPhone 3GS. Blogged using the Wordpress app on an iPhone 3GS. You get the picture!
To know more about this awesome band, check out their website: http://www.rodgab.com
by Hetal Shah on March 11, 2012
in Life
What are we without our emotions?
If you listen to majority of the spiritual speakers and thinkers, they preach the principle of the “no emotion state” of mind. This is the stage where you are not reactive with your emotions, but are in full control of your senses and emote when you want to emote.
Think about that for a minute. “Emote when you want to emote.” It’s almost a barbie doll mentality.
The pleasure and pain that one feels reacting to a situation can be so powerful a tool that it can cause catharsis in an individual. And if that very same tool became a controlled machine, would we still be as connected with ourselves as we are today?
Admittedly, some of the root causes of our dissatisfaction and suffering lie within our emotional state, but some of the best life experiences and moments of joy also lie within the same spectrum.
What’s really required is an understanding of the nature of our emotional states and how each state can transform an individual to become a better human being. After all, without that understanding, aren’t we not qualifying ourselves as just another animal that purely exists?
by Hetal Shah on February 28, 2012
in Life
“What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.” – Sandy Puc
Oftentimes I really do wonder what I’m giving up today to make today possible. Then I realise, if today didn’t happen, the regrets I would have of all those things that aren’t going to happen is what I’m giving up. The disappointment of not living the future as I see it. That’s what I would be giving up. So every day that goes by, I want to make sure that I live that future. Now.
The importance of today has been very marginalised by the promise of an illusory tomorrow – an event that is yet to happen, may not happen, but that which the human mind has already created, lived, experienced, devoured, and relived a thousand times over. That is the promise of tomorrow. And that illusion is what I am constantly exchanging for today.
If tomorrow is the day I allocate for my family,
Then I have exchanged them for today.
If tomorrow is the day I allocate for my conversation with God,
Then I have exchanged Him for today.
If tomorrow is the day I allocate for my own personal connection,
Then I have exchanged myself for today.
If tomorrow is the day I allocate to living a fuller life,
Then I have exchanged my life for today.
Tomorrow is today’s future, and yesterday is today’s past.
The only reality is today. And it is the only time we really have.
[This post has been inspired by a recent Zach and Jody blog post - two very inspirational human beings I look up to, and am learning a lot of life's basic principles by just reading/hearing/watching them live it.]
