Z is for Zen.....

Zen is a total state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of body and mind.  Zen is a way of being. It also is a state of mind. Zen involves dropping illusion and seeing things without distortion created by your own thoughts. You become fully aware of your present and live in the now! Each moment is filled with profound clarity and peace. Each moment has significant, and precious. Zen brings us face to face with our true nature and lets us condition it into what we want it to be.

For me, this month has been nothing short of a Zen experience. I superseeded my own expectations of what I thought this month would do to me! I had imagined it to provide a catharsis for my feelings but instead it gave me so much clarity on what I wanted in life. It helped me get over a lot of feelings and nurture new ones. As I wrote about Appreciating whatever I have in life, and Believing in my own self, it gave me Courage to Dream and strive to make it a reality by Empowering myself. I realised the burden I was carrying by habouring hatred for those who had hurt me, and the best way to unload that burden and be at peace would be to Forgive. Likewise, sharing and Giving would be the best way to Happiness! I reiterated my faith in not losing my Innocence, and trying not to be Judgmental. The laws of Karma helped me heal, and also helped me in Letting go of the baggage I was carrying. I learnt to keep my faith in God, and learnt to look at every moment as a Miracle. Being Nonchalant in the face of anger, Organising my living space and my mind, Being Positive in the face of adversity, the ability to enjoying a few moments of Quiet every day, and prioritising the pair of spokes on the wheels of Relationships, added great value to how I led my life. Slowly but surely, the Smiles returned and I decided to keep my Trust in people intact, realising that I'm as Unique as anyone in this world. That was a huge victory over my fears and doubts and VIBGYOR was not just the colour of the rainbow but my life as well. I could now be more unabashed in Wishing for love, striving for Xcellence or just happily Yap about it all. It wouldn't be wrong to call this the Zen month. 

I read Shreeja's amazing story of love, Beloo's thoughts on putting India back in Indian education, Shilpa's A-Z for a happy marriage , Soumya's candid opinions, Ushaji's comprehensive list of Indian festivals, proactiveindian's short but thought provoking anecdotes, Ankur's heartfelt poems,Swati's short stories with thoughful endings, and the sunday vistor's diary , before I ended the day with David's soulful music. And when these guys came visiting they left behind heartfelt comments that infinitely warmed me up! Aparna, Peevee, kathy, lynda, Bikram,rajlakshmi, natasha, aditi, sheetal, and so many others kept up my journey alive with their comments and kind words.  I am guilty of not having replied personally to each valuable comment, but I want you all to know, that I read every word gratefully and it made me incredibly happy to see you keep visiting and commenting on my space.

I am happy I took up this challenge and finished it too. it put an end to my dormancy besides giving me the much needed insight into my own life!