Self introspection. :)

This questionnaire was an email sent by a friend who follows my blog. He had answered this questionnaire, which He in turn had found on a local magazine.
His answers inspired me to try this questionnaire for myself.
If you like it, give it a go! :)  

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are? 
13 years old. I'm childish, but can be mature if the situation demands it. 

Which is worse, failing or never trying? 
Never trying. You don't know what you're good at till you try.

If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do? 
That's cause we're unwilling to let go of our comfort zone and venture into unknown horizons to realize what we love and do it. 

When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done? 
Happens at times, but most of the time no.

What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world? 
The pace with which we're living life. Stop and smell the flowers (unless you're allergic to them)!

If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich? 
Making people smile. 

Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
Doing what I believe in. 

If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently? 
Give more love, laugh out loud, make beautiful memories and strike off everything on my bucket list! 

To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken? 
60 degrees. 

Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things? 
Doing the right things. 

You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire.  They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend.  The criticism is distasteful and unjustified.  What do you do?
Find out the reason why they feel that way about her, give them time to get to know my friend and bridge differences. 

If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be? 
"Listen to your heart, it knows best." 

Would you break the law to save a loved one? 
Yes. 

Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity? 
Yes! 

What’s something you know you do differently than most people? 
Living life on my own terms.

How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy? 
Happiness is unique to each individual. It's a perspective. :) 

What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?  What’s holding you back?  
Extreme sports. Haven't had the opportunity yet.

Are you holding onto something you need to let go of? 
Holding on to grudges. Sigh forgiveness! 

If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why? 
I wouldn't want to move out of Mumbai, I feel a sense of belongingness here, my childhood filled with memories :-)

Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster? 
No.  

Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton? 
A joyful simpleton! 

Why are you, you? 
Because it's awesome being me. :D I chose to be how I am and where I am. 

Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend? 
On most matters, yes.  

Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you? 
Losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you. 

What are you most grateful for? 
Being able to laugh and be happy! 

Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones? 
Lose all my old memories. 

Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first? 
No, I don't think so. 

Has your greatest fear ever come true? 
My greatest fear is the death of my loved ones. It will come true one day, but I don't want it to. I will never be ready for it. 

Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset?  Does it really matter now? 
Don't remember it. 

What is your happiest childhood memory?  What makes it so special? 
Playing in my chawl with all my friends. Buying boondi ladoo and melody chocolate EVERYDAY after school! No wonder I was a fatso. :D It's special cause it was simple act with the capacity to bring immense happiness.

At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive? 
No, haven't felt that way for quite sometime. 

If not now, then when? 
When I want to.  

If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose? 
I'm reminded of a quote by Steve Jobs. 
"Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” 

Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever? 
Yes. It's a wonderful feeling. :) 

Why do religions that support love cause so many wars? 
Intolerance? I'm not sure.  

Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
No. 

If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job? 
I'd take the million dollars and continue working! :D 

Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing? 
More work I actually enjoy doing.  

Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before? 
Yes. I feel that since i've been working. :|  

When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in? 
Last Month

If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today? 
Everybody I love. I'd throw a get together party and bond with them all. 

Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous? 
If I have ten years, I'll use that to become famous. Attractive is a perspective. So no. 

What is the difference between being alive and truly living? 
Being alive is pushing through each day like a zombie waiting for it to end. Truly living is going to bed, waiting for sunrise to experience more of life. :) 

When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right? 
When that's what you want to know. You'll know that feeling. We have nothing to lose by doing what we want. 

If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake? 
When a goalkeeper misses a goal before quitting his career, do you remember the last goal he missed or the n number of goals he prevented? The world remembers your failures, not your successes. We let the world decide what is right and wrong for us. 

What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you? 
Say NO to the things I can't and don't want to tolerate. 

When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing? 
Last night. Fell asleep to its rhythm. :) 

What do you love?  Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love? 
Writing. Reading. Yes. 

In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday?  What about the day before that?  Or the day before that? 
No. 

Decisions are being made right now.  The question is:  Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you? 
Making them for myself and finding out if it is suitable for me through my loved ones.

I had a good opportunity for self introspection while answering these questions! So glad to have Mr.Henry send it to me.

L.I.F.E :) ! .. ♥ :)

Life's a beautiful gift from the Almighty. It has to be lived to it's fullest worth. Each person has the right to live life the way they want to, but always remember to live without regrets.. Because twenty years from now, you'll be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than the things that you did. So, EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER.

 There are no mistakes in life, only lessons. Always love yourself, trust your choice & EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. To accomplish great things in life, we must not only ACT, but also DREAM, not only PLAN, but also BELIEVE.

 Never be afraid to cry. Your tears are only warm drops of light that remind you how to feel. Do not be afraid to laugh, for that is the sound of a world that cares. Do not be afraid to care. It is only by caring that you do what must be done. Never ever be afraid to STAND OUT.

 There are many ways to live life. You can fall in love or fall in hate, you can get depressed or you can get inspired. You can ace a test or flunk a class. You can speak the truth or lie & cheat. You can dance on the tables or sit in a corner. Life is divine chaos. EMBRACE IT. FORGIVE YOURSELF. Breathe.. And enjoy the ride. The choice is yours.

 I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will even forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. MAKE PEOPLE FEEL LOVED. Let them know that they are cared for & that they are special. Cause sometimes, all that a person needs is a hand to hold & a heart to understand. :)..

 Life lives, Life dies. Life laughs, Life cries. Life gives up & Life tries. All I'm trying to say is that life looks different through everyone's eyes. So, NEVER UNDERESTIMATE the potential in a person. Let everyone live life to the best of their capabilities.

 Learn from failures. Always keep trying, for the greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising everytime we fall. Make mistakes, but always remember that FAILURE IS AN EVENT & IT IS NOT YOU.

 I've loved my life, I've lived it, I've lied, I've hurt people, I've lost & gained, I've trusted, I've been betrayed.. Yes, I've made mistakes. Most of all, I'VE LEARNED FROM MY MISTAKES.

 I believe that everything happens for a reason. But then, I can't find the reason in some cases. At such times, I just tell myself that what's done is done. YOU HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD IN LIFE. You can't keep looking back. After all, it's just a chapter in the past. But don't close the book, just turn the page.

 NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT TROUBLES. For they are not troubles, but CHALLENGES. Challenges are what makes life interesting. And it is only overcoming them that makes life meaningful. So, face challenges, show it what your made of!

 Learn to be contended with what you have, but NEVER STOP DREAMING. There is nothing wrong with wanting more.

 Sometimes in life, you do not get what you want & you get things that you can't believe to possess. LIFE IS FULL OF SURPRISES. You never know how much you'll miss something, until you lose it. So, hold on to your loved ones & things that are important to you.

 Never predict your future. Just CREATE IT.

 In this world, you can be anybody. You can be a Marilyn Monroe, a Mother Teresa, a Mukesh Ambani, a Ratan Tata, a Sachin Tendulkar.. But why be somebody else, when you can BE YOURSELF? Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of somebody else!

 Want to know how to be yourself, if your not accepted as you?  Be who you are & say what you feel, because THOSE WHO MIND DON'T MATTER & THOSE WHO MATTER DON'T MIND.

 We are who we are for a lot of reasons, & maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can feel good about them. ♥

 Some pursue happiness, others create it. Belong to the latter & SHARE YOUR JOY with others!

 ALWAYS CHOOSE.. to live by choice, not chance; to make changes, not excuses; to be be motivated, not manipulated; to be useful, not used; to excel & not compete. Always choose to have self-esteem & not self-pity. CHOOSE TO LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE & not the random opinions of others.

 You have THREE CHOICES: give in, give up or GIVE IT YOUR ALL.

 Life is never easy; it isn't about finding who you are, but CREATING WHO YOU WANT TO BE. The most important things in life aren't things. You are more important than them. Make the important a PRIORITY in your life & not an option. Every story has an end; but in life, there are no ends.. Just beginnings.

 Sometimes in life, you have to hit the lowest point of being sad, where you can't take it anymore & you completely lose yourself, to get back on your feet again. Without fear, there would be no accomplishment & no testing our limitations. FACE FEAR & THE FEAR WILL VANISH.

 Don't dwell on the past. Your history can't be erased, but your future has yet to be written. MAKE THE MOST OF WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, instead of worrying about what you can't change. Don't waste your time being sad, because your wasting away moments in which you could BE HAPPY.

 Always LIVE LIFE, A DAY AT A TIME. Do not grieve over the past for it has gone; & do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. LIVE IN THE PRESENT, & make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.

 NEVER BE AFRAID TO TAKE CHANCES. Life is about trusting our feelings & taking chances, losing & finding happiness, appreciating memories & learning from the past. In life, it doesn't matter how long you take to get where you want, as long as you get there.

 The purpose of life is to live it, to TASTE EXPERIENCE to the utmost, to reach out eagerly & without fear for newer & richer experiences.Always remember that who you are is more important than what you look like. The beauty inside will never equal the made-up beauty outside. FEEL BEAUTIFUL, & you will eventually end up looking beautiful. :)

 If life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, brood or be sad, show life that you have a thousand reasons to SMILE.

 I'd like to end by saying that life comes with no guarantee, no time outs & no second chance. You just have to LIVE life to the fullest, LAUGH as much as you can, spend money, tell someone what they mean to you, tell someone off, speak out, DANCE in the pouring rain, HOLD someone's hand, comfort a FRIEND, have fun, fall asleep watching the sun come up, stay up late, SMILE until your face hurts, don't be AFRAID to take chances or fall in LOVE.. & most of all, live in the moment, cause when you look back someday, knowing you have NO REGRETS, it's going to be that what's going to make you smile! :)

A Birthday Letter to a Lovely Sister :-)

Dearest Lavina,

Wish you a very happy birthday! :)

I hope you have a wonderful day showered with love and all good things that the world can offer.

There’s this quote that I recently read and I felt that it resonated with us:

“For there is no friend like a sister

In calm or stormy weather; 

To cheer one on the tedious way, 

To fetch one if one goes astray,

To lift one if one totters down, 

To strengthen whilst one stands” 

― Christina Rossetti

In the short time that we have known each other, you have inspired me like none other. You’ve helped me pick pieces up and forced me to move forward, even when failure broke me apart. You taught me so many lessons that today, I feel strong enough to face life’s battles. Sometimes, when things in life go wrong, that is all we need to do, revisit the lessons we have learned. All the problems you are facing are like clouds that are blocking the clear sky, tackle the clouds - it might rain and pour down with problems - but always remember that the sun will appear. The Lord knows how much we can take and how many problems we are capable of facing and believe that he will never burden us with more than we can handle.

They say love makes life worth living. It is indeed true and I learnt that from you. There is nothing that we cannot accomplish; there is nothing that love cannot crack open. Life might shatter our comfort zones, but it will always take us to deeper levels within ourselves. It will force us to expand our boundaries and explore new things. On this new year of life that you are about to embark, I hope you take along lots of love.

Security is just an illusion. We feel that we are secure when things that we need are within our reach, when we are able to satisfy our wants and when life is at a pace we can handle. But when we do new things, there is no security. When Neil Armstrong went to the moon, what proof did he have that he would return safe? When Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest, what did he carry along for security? These great men broke out of their comfort zones and went ahead to do things they didn’t need to do. Just like how you went out your way to help a woman in distress, just how you gave your hand when the world ignored my cries for help, you made me feel secure. You’ve done great things, break the shackles and fulfill your dreams. They’re waiting for you.

Hope for better things. Hope is one thing that can bring great changes to a person’s life. Hope that your health will be better and hope that the bugs that are bothering you will be squashed. When we hope, the world aspires and comes together to make it true. Optimism doesn’t fool us that things are better, optimism makes us see things in a new light and that light helps us build our world in the way we want it.

Keep faith and pray everyday. The Lord will always watch us and never, ever let us down. He might give us a few setbacks to humble us, a few successes when he knows we’ve done our best and failures when we need to work harder. The Lord only intends to make us better people and only wants to help us live our lives to the best we can, atleast I believe so and I hope you will too. Never loose faith, for that is where life came from. 

You know, in life, there are very few people who really ask us how we are. When people ask it as a formality, we have all the right in the world to pretend that we’re perfect. But when it comes from the heart, when the intention to know how you are is genuine, let the layers fade. Let the reality come out. People say that we need to pretend, as we cannot go around sharing our sorrows. Maybe it’s true; maybe it’s not. I haven’t learnt that yet. But I know that I’m willing to take away a part of your pain by listening to the troubles you have. A problem shared is like a burden lifted off the shoulder, it gets halved. So share not only your joys, but your sorrows too. A joy when shared will multiply and a sorrow? When it shared, it will divide.

I have always admired how you have defined yourself. You’re a successful professional , you’re a daughter, a wife, a sister, a friend, a mother and I’m sure you play so many more roles in the lives of people around you. But you have always been ‘love’ to me. I love how you have no layers to yourself. I love that innocence, that warmth and that smile that you seem to carry. I love the sweet tune of your voice whenever you talk. Please never change that no matter how stern the world seems on changing it; be yourself. You’re too beautiful a person to turn into a replica of crazy mud-heads.

I don’t know if there’s too much advice in this letter, but I hope you get the message. I care for you and would only wish you the best. I hope your spirits are high and awakened. I hope that you pop open a bottle of champagne , raise a toast to yourself, face life in the eye and say, “I’m ready, bring it on! Show me what you’ve got!” For that’s how strong you are. Put on the best version of yourself and have a great birthday!! :)

Tons of tight hugs, warm cuddles and lots of love,