An Angel’s Bedtime Song

Hi Sis,

I’m in my rocking chair with my little man sleeping on my lap. He’s in a deep sleep otherwise he would prosecute me for typing on top of his air space! He is not fond of the tic tic tic tic noises of technology. Instead he prefers eye to eye human contact when awake and the perfection of silence when asleep. It makes sense.

I just typed up the bedtime song I sing to him every night. It is nothing extravagant but it is straight from the heart. It has taken form organically over the last 3 months – the words strung together by smelling him, holding him, observing and watching him. He has elevated the meaning of love for me, his perspective is a breath of fresh air, he constantly teaches me.

Little-est Little One

We love your curious gaze,
We adore those bouncy little feet,
And those Sherlock little hands,
We love your explosive smile,
We adore the expression in your language,
How we do,
Yes we do,
We rejoice in your every little progress,
You are the sunshine in our smiles.

Chorus:
You’re our darling little angel,
You’re our little-est little one,
Oh my goodness,
How we love you,
Oh my goodness,
Yes we do,
You’re our every little thing.

You’re our angel,
You’re our gem,
You’re our temple,
You’re our heaven,
You’re our every little thing,
You’re in our every single prayer,
You’re in our every single thought,
You’re in our every single dream,
And every single little goal,

Tomorrow when the sun will shine,
The grass will grow,
And the flowers will bloom,
The trees will leaf,
And the birds will sing,
The wind will blow,
And the oceans will flow,
The seasons will change,
The minutes will pass,
And the hours will too,
All the way through,
All the way through,
We love you,
We love you,
All the way through we love you.

- SKDS

How to get over your egg curry

So I made egg curry with potatoes the other day – my first time, and it ended up being a life lesson.

I had leftover boiled eggs from breakfast so I decided to make egg curry in the slow cooker because it would be an easy meal to prepare for dinner with little effort while working away. My hubby’s a big fan of the dish, but I’ve always had a negative facial reaction to it since childhood just thinking about its taste and smell. But I decided that I had many reasons to do it than not – it’s an easy and somewhat nutritious meal (beats kraft’s brilliancy), 50% of the household population will likely enjoy it, and all these years later, I should at least try and stand up to the big bad egg curry in my head!

Continue reading

The Right to Choose

On June 13 2010, France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy was determined to introduce a bill to ban Muslim women from wearing burqas or niqabs, despite warnings from France’s highest constitutional body that the ban would infringe constitutional rights.

Under the guise of liberating Muslim women from the full veil, the bill passed in France’s lower house with flying colors; 335 votes were in favor of the ban, while 1 vote was against the ban.  If the bill passes through the Senate in September, which Sarkozy believes will not be a problem, our Muslim sisters will face a 150 Euro fine if seen covering their face in public.

Whether you agree with women wearing full burqas is not the point.  The point is that the government of France is targeting Muslim women and criminalizing them for the way they practice their faith, all in the name of gender equality.  When has revoking women’s basic freedom to choose ever resulted in gender equality?  Imagine the heavy decisions that lay ahead for our Muslim sisters.  What will they feel on the day that the law is implemented and they are forced to decide between the law and their faith? Continue reading

Standing in truth

have you got the

will to surmount mountain-high obstructions? if the whole world stands

http://www.iranian.com/Arts/Dec97/Neshat/

against you sword in hand, would you still dare to do what you think is

right?

– Vivekananda

A friend posted the quote above as her facebook status and it sent chills up my spine.  The pointed questions and truth in the quote challenged my core and quite honestly felt like a punch to the stomach.  I think my reaction clarifies the amount of work that lies ahead of me in order to react positively to this question.  The goal is to ultimately be so grounded in our truth and values that when challenged by the strongest powers, we stand in our truth – no matter what.

What were your initial thoughts, insights and feelings upon reading the quote?  What do you think it takes to stand up for what you believe in?  How can we ground ourselves in our truth(s)?

Quick and Dirty Tips by Grammar Girl

I was recently reintroduced to Grammar Girl, a short and fun podcast that provides ‘quick and dirty tips’ on grammar and writing.  Some of you may be questioning the fun factor in the podcast, but founder Mignon Fogarty, does a great job of breaking down writing rules and providing anecdotal examples and tips.  With a New York Times bestseller and over 57,000 followers on Twitter, she is bringing the sexy back to good grammar.   She even tweets full sentences!

You can listen or read online here.

Dear bhuaji

May 15, 2010

Dear bhuaji,

Earlier today, I found myself in a conversation with you.  Although it took place in my mind, I felt comforted being in touch with you.  It has been awhile.  We last saw each other 12 years ago when you came over and dad broke the news to you about what happened.  You left the next day and confronted your husband, who denied everything.  And our relationship was over.  We never saw each other again.

How does this happen?  How do situations in life become so complex that a lifetime of love disappears?  It was like you never existed anymore. Continue reading

Bridging the Gap between Radical & Tradition

I recently watched Kavita Ramdas’ engaging TED talk on Radical Women, Embracing Tradition and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.  Ramdas, the president & CEO of the Global Fund for Women, explains how the concept of ‘tradition’ can be brought into radical thought and be used as a tool to create social change.

She calls this solution a ‘third-way raga’ that challenges some of the most common Continue reading

Power & Memory

By Guest contributor, Sara Andha

“The struggle of [wo]man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.”

-Milan Kundera, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

Some thoughts and feelings at the intersection of race, gender and memory…

To some, feelings are momentary. The emotion comes over you, like a wave, it consumes and throws you around. Mercy to the power of your physiological response to an external stimulus…  and then it recedes. The wave has been felt and passed. To others these feelings still haunt. Not always, but its there. Waiting. Hiding behind corners until something triggers that feeling again. As Southasian women I believe we carry more than our fair share of emotional baggage. Growing up, the violence, whether covert, overt, emotional or otherwise are enacted on us. Continue reading

Reaching for the stars? No, just a little lower

Reaching for the dust of the feet of the saints

The line above is a common expression in gurbani, which relates to a state of utmost humility.  Although I have read this expression many times, I must admit that I recall once scoffing at the literal translation thinking that it was unattainable and perhaps even a little dramatic. Luckily, I had the opportunity to revisit my negative judgments during a conversation with a close friend, who recently brought this state of humility into my reality and day-to-day experiences.

We came upon this topic as I reflected on how I was struggling to find validity in my work and career. Despite working in the field of my desire, I have found myself at the ‘bottom of the pyrimad’ with little room to apply my knowledge and experience in meaningful ways. My ego was suffering, to say the least. Continue reading

Ever ask a question?

Psychedelic Woman © Camille Le Roux

Ever feel lonely?
Look in the mirror to
find out why there is
no one you can talk to?

Ever need to justify
why there’s no reason
that it feels good to cry?

Couldn’t they be
the cries of the kettle
that just need to fly?

Isn’t it a part of nature
and by keeping it captive,
aren’t I committing treason?

Are they given the devil’s crown
because they’re only seen
as the smile that’s upside down? Continue reading