Treasuring My First Liebster Award Nomination!

If you notice the number of my followers, it would not take a genius to realize that I am a beginner in the blogging world. Therefore, expecting an award, so soon in my journey, is definitely flattering. I would like to thank Sandra Yeaman for recognizing my effort and encouraging me to write more. I wonder if she knows how much she has motivated me by this simple act of kindness. 

Sandra has seen the world, and in her blog, she narrates her eventful journey of life, so far. Take a sneak peek into her adventurous life and spend a few minutes in browsing her blog. Her introduction to her blog goes like this,

"I created my current blog, Sandra Yeaman: From Adventure to Mission, to build my platform to market my memoir once I complete it. Until I get closer to finishing it, I use this blog to review books and take part in blogging challenges, such as the April a-to-z-challenge, in order to reach out to the blogging community to find like-minded souls."

In the words of Sandra, "the Liebster Award is given to bloggers by other bloggers. This is a way to recognize great fellow bloggers for their work and to promote their blogs and our blogs as well."

LIEBSTER AWARD GUIDELINES:

These are the guidelines to keep this award going when you decide to accept the award.

1. Display an image of the award and write about your nomination.
2. Thank and link the person who nominated you for this award.
3. Answer the 11 questions prepared for you by the blogger who nominated you.
4. Nominate 5-11 awesome bloggers who you think  deserve this award and create 11 questions of your own for your nominees to answer.
5. List these guidelines in your blog post.

MY ANSWERS TO Sandra’s QUESTIONS:

1. What book(s) are you reading now? Very good question! I have been living inside the pages of many books since more than a year, now, and this is the first time when I am taking a break. I am a book reviewer for multiple websites and post those on my another website, https://mojitowithatwist.wordpress.com. So, taking one day's break is a big deal to me. I am booked till August for other book reviews. To answer your question, I would like to mention a book that I recently finished. Dancing with the devil by Amy C. Norman and The Reflections of Snow White by David Meredith. 
2. Who else do you think would enjoy reading it? Why? I would recommend the book Dancing with the devil by Amy C. Norman to the readers who like reading women-oriented books. This story is a real-life story of a woman, who went through physical abuse and lost her way, but in the end, she found her inner strength to fight against the prevailed injustice. The other book reflects on the life of Snow White after Prince Charming's sad demise. This book would appeal to the readers who are not satisfied with the happily ever after ending of the original book and wish to know more about their lives.
3. Which author would you like to write your life story? Why? I am no author but I would like to write my life story by myself. I believe that only I can do justice with my story.
4. Name three authors you would like to invite to dinner. Why? I would like to invite three lady authors: Amy C Norman, Ruth O'Neill, and Madhu Bazaz Wangu. Their lives have been an inspiration to me. If I got the opportunity to have dinner with them, I am sure I'll learn a lot from them within hours. They have gone through so much in life that we can all learn a lot from their experiences.
5. Summarize your life in three sentences. My life has been a rollercoaster ride. My childhood had several bumpy roads; however, my parents inspired me to follow my dreams. I devoted all my time to the books and worked hard to get good grades. Now, I am capable enough to use my brains to get anything I desire for.
6. What was the last book you read that kept you up late into the night to finish? That would be The palace of illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. If you know about the Hindu mythology, Mahabharatha, then you must know the story of Panchali. She was married to five brothers, attempted to be stripped in the middle of a court by their cousin, and then blamed by everyone for the battle that killed many. I always felt that history did not do justice with her until I read this book by Chitra. She wrote the same mythology from the point of view of Panchali. I still read it again and again.
7. Have you read a book recently you decided was a waste of time? If so, what is it? Who might like it? Well, I read a book which, I believe, did not go through even one round of proofreading. I would not like to name the book, and there was nothing in the book that I can recommend to anyone.
8. What’s your favorite genre? Why? Historical fiction is my favorite because I get a little insight into the lives of the historical figures in a fun way. 
9. What genre haven’t you read much of yet? I haven't read children books due to reasons unknown to me.
10. What would be a good title for your autobiography? The Messy Life of a Gemini.
11. What’s the title of the next book you plan to begin reading? My next book is The Girl in the Bird by Christine Talley.  I would post the review of the book on or before 14th May. Check out my blog https://mojitowithatwist.wordpress.com to read it.

MY LIEBSTER AWARD NOMINEES

I would like to nominate below-mentioned bloggers:

1. Deidra Alexander
2. Mary Hill
3. Corinne Rodrigues
4. Klinta
5. Harmony

MY QUESTIONS FOR BLOGGERS:

1. Which word describes you the best? Why?
2. Why do you write?
3. What or who motivates you to write?
4. What is your writing routine? 
5. Are you planning to write a book anytime soon?
6. Do you have any ulterior motive behind maintaining your blog, or it's only to keep your creative juices flowing?
7. If you are forced to live with only one hobby of yours, then what would it be? Why?
8. What would be your advice to your fellow bloggers?
9. If you get three wishes, what would those be?
10. How much time do you devote to research a topic before writing about it?
11. What kind of posts do you enjoy reading? Why?

Why I Absolutely Hate My Over-Sentimental Side?

Image Courtesy: http://spiritualcleansing.org

If you're sentimental then you know that you have a beautiful soul; a soul that knows the virtue of being able to shed a tear or two when you see another living being in distress. We are often introduced to our emotional side while leafing the pages of a family photo album. We are reminded of its existence inside of us when we hear of an arrival or departure of a loved one. There are many more circumstances when your sentiments overpower your other feelings. I admire a person who can put their sentiments in a beautiful string of words. However, the problem arises when one finds it difficult to face the world without feeling overwhelmed with sentiments. If I shed a tear here and there for one distressed person or the other, I would feel in control of my feelings. Lately, I have noticed that I have a problem with controlling the overflow of my sentiments. I am not writing this post to establish a deity, who cries for everyone; rather, I am writing this post in a hope of gaining a perspective or, possibly, an idea to control my sentiments. I came across a quote on Goodreads that fits perfectly with my situation:

“I drive around the streets
an inch away from weeping,
ashamed of my sentimentality and
possible love.”
― Charles Bukowski, Love is a Dog from Hell

You know, at a certain point in my life, I stopped watching news thinking that the less I know of the misery of the world, the more are my chances of being happier. You see, I chose ignorance over the truth. This ignorance eliminated my prospect of appearing in several examinations; nevertheless, that's fine by me. I vividly remember an incidence during my college days when I watched a movie -- I can't remember the name, though -- and this movie depressed me for over a week. I refused to take calls from my parents and buried myself in my own world. The extreme humiliation that the negative characters of the movie made the leading lady go through -- in front of her parents and siblings -- was enough to break my heart. I knew that it's only a plot, yet I could not stop myself from obsessing over the darkness of the plot. Over time, either my weak memory or my mom's scoldings helped me in getting over the whole thing. When I am out on the street and I see many people lying on pedestrian walks with hardly any clothes on them, I cannot stop from praying to God to help the poor. The sight of an accident, a rotting dead body of an animal in the middle of the street, and silent cry for help of the downtrodden tear my heart into a million pieces. I have started burying my face in the kindle books now; however, the requirement to be attentive on road forces me to look around every once in a while; the sight is almost never pleasant.

Now, there is another side to the story, which adds to the existing problem of this emotional fool. The quote of Naguib Mahfouz is enough to summarize my dilemma:

“It's a most distressing affliction to have a sentimental heart and a skeptical mind.”

 On reading it, I thought to myself, "Did he know me?" I am that tragic person, who has an over-sentimental heart and a skeptical mind. Well, I may be sentimental, but I do not wish to be added to the category of a fool. I would love to help the needy, but I refuse to walk into a trap and be mocked by that person, later. I wonder if the real saints, like Mother Teresa, ever felt this way. I read once that Mother Teresa provided shelter to a prostitute, who ended up stealing from her. Irrespective of the knowledge of her crime, she handled the situation gracefully without playing the blame game. She saved the prostitute from her sins. I choose to believe that she must have felt very bad about stealing from Mother Teresa; however, I don't know the after story of this incident. So, of course, Mother Teresa and saints like her were never scared of becoming a mocking stock or being fooled by others. They just wanted to help and that's what they did. I, on the other hand, am cursed for life to struggle with being an over-sentimental creature, who does not wish to let her guard down.

P.S. This post is dedicated to the Daily Post's prompt for the day - Sentimental.

What Makes One Voice by Bilz and Kashif One of The Best Songs Ever

Image Credit: http://medias.unifrance.org

If you have not heard the song, One Voice, then you are really missing out the rhythm of unity. Here, sharing a few lines of the lyrics to the readers:

We're living in the 21st century
But we're still fighting for peace
Wars, hate crimes and terrorist attacks
It's making it hard to breathe
We're investing in weapons of mass destruction
When the third world is hungry
You and I have the power to create a future
Without violence and poverty
Get informed, Get inspired
Stand up, speak out and break the silence
Build awareness, Share the knowledge
Stop ignoring and deliver the message of peace
CHORUS
Just a breath away to make a change
One voice can make a difference
Just a breath away to make a change
One voice can make a difference

The vision of a hatred free world is close to every unblemished soul, and this song captures the essence of these souls. My heart craves for the world that is free from fear, violence, and crime. When I listen to this song, the real world slowly disappears, and I begin imagining the world free from all the vices. Don't you ever dream of walking freely on the streets and not keeping your guard up all the time? I, most certainly, do! 

Today, when we have claimed our victory over technology among other things, and yet, we are fighting over inconsequential aspects of life and materialistic things; then, what have we really achieved by inventing and discovering anything? I wish with all my heart to God every day to help people see the error in their ways, lift above the unimportant issues, and embrace the beauty that prevails in this world.

Other than the beautiful message, this song has Gayatri Mantra in it, which sounds very soothing to my ears. It calms my nerves and makes me feel connected to the divine. 

Everyone should give this song a try. I'll wait to read what you have to say about this song or any other song that may have motivated or enlightened you.

I have written this post as a part of ‪#‎Fridayreflections‬.

Let us Spread the Light of Goodness and Humanity!

Image Credit: www.quotationof.com

Today, when our world is struggling against the darkness prevailed all around, I choose to look at the goodness in the hearts of the strangers, whom I had the opportunity to come across. After all, one cannot defeat darkness with the darkness; one must spread brightness to get rid of the darkness. A very good friend of mine once said something very interesting -- and quite mind-boggling -- that I wish to share with the world. She said,

"We are in an age when both evil and virtue are at their peak. The problem is that our mind is being put forth to too much darkness by the news. Of course, media's task is to report whatever is going on around us, and much of the attraction and interest arises to the mishaps; however, this is for us to decide whether we wish to be entangled with the darkness or witness the light. There is a large number of people who are devoting their time and energy to the welfare of the human beings; trust me, when I say this, the number of these people is a lot more than the evil-doers. Nonetheless, they do the deeds to make a difference and not to make the news."

 I'll have to admit that, though her words were powerful and made sense, I did not agree with her. I wondered whether there was any truth to her statement that in this age goodness and wickedness are, both, at the peak. After a few days, I decided that I would notice the goodness around me, and see, if there is any reality to what she said. I witnessed many people going out of their way to help others. This was very inspiring to see that even in this fast pace of life, anybody would try to give any time to a stranger. Even in the news, I started reading about the parts that had nothing to do with how terrorists are terrorizing the world and claiming to crush everybody to prove whatever it is that they wish to prove. I am happy to announce that I found plenty of gems to admire.

I am dedicating this post to two of the gems that I came across a few days back. I am learning the French language, and in order to improve the usage and pronunciation of this beautiful language, I needed a partner. So, I checked out a website called http://lang-8.com/. This is a very nice initiative to bring different language speakers on one platform and help one another out in learning another language. I met a lady named Francine on this website. She went out of her way to help me in learning this language by communicating with me on a regular basis. One may think that this is not a big deal, but for a busy lady -- like herself -- taking out time to e-mail me, is a big deal. We, often, don't share these experiences with others, and that's why the instances of humanity and care are lost while the disgusting acts of evil make the headlines. I thank Francine from all my heart, and I hope she doesn't mind that I wrote her name in my post. I'll apologize sincerely to her, in person, if she felt that I intruded her privacy. 

Another person, I wish to talk about, here, is another gem of a person, Kim. I believe many of you might have noticed that I make a few mechanical errors in my writing. I was feeling very low and decided to seek help. I wrote in BlogHer Writing Lab group of FB about the problem that I was facing. To my surprise, a wonderful lady, Kim asked me to send her a copy of my work. When I sent her one of my posts, she edited the whole thing, and she was quite humble about it, too. I have never seen anybody go to such an extent to help a fellow blogger. Not only I admire her, but also, I am inspired by her. Thanks, Kim!

I believe, if we all share a few of the good deeds with the world, we cannot eliminate the evil, entirely; however, we can spread a little light in this, otherwise, dark world. What do you say? Do you have any anecdotes that reignited the fire of humanity in your heart? I am sure that everyone would love to read about other experiences of goodness, too.

Are We Thanking Our Parents Enough?

There have been a number of times when I did not agree with my mother's opinion. It feels like only yesterday when I was in college, and she called me to say that I shouldn't stay out of my hostel for long. A few times, she scolded me for being late. My reaction used to be of a typical teenager. I used to argue with her with lame excuses, without understanding the selfless love and care of a mother. As the time passed, I have got a sense of what she must have felt. How does it feel when we care for somebody and instead of acknowledging our sentiments, they turn us down? I have no words to express my remorse; however, I am thankful that I got back to my senses before it was too late.

I am writing this post, not just, to ask my mother for her forgiveness, but also, to ask every kid to value their parents, while they have time. Our parents do everything to ensure that we get the very best in our life. Although at the moment we may not understand them, we will begin treasuring them soon enough; let us just hope that soon is not late. 

Image Credit: http://cdn.playbuzz.com/

When they ask us not to go on a trip with our friends, they are not trying to stop us from having fun. They are simply ensuring that we do not put ourselves into danger. As a parent, it is their responsibility to keep us safe; as a child, it is our duty to act as a bridge between two generations, and help them understand the changes occurring in our time. 

Of course, there is one exception. If our parents are following the rules that do not make sense, and if they are sticking to the evil traditions of society, then we should try to explain the wrong in their ways.

Whichever may the case be, treasure your parents while you can; love them, care for them, express your gratitude towards them. Time travels with the speed of light; do not spend time planning the perfect moment to thank them for everything they did or are still doing for you. Let us live a regret free life. 

I do not wish to waste another second keeping my feelings bottled up. I love you, my mom and dad. I hope I never argue with you on unnecessary matters. I wish to treasure you, cherish you, and appreciate you, forever.

Image Credit: http://geniusquotes.org

I urge everybody to love your parents and value them.