My Father, My Soldier For Life!

 

The first man in any girl’s life is her father and ditto with me.  He has been my first-love and the source of inspiration who taught me to believe in myself, the biggest endowment he has bestowed on me which has stood me in good stead through the crests and troughs of life.  He has been my soldier from the day I was born.  My birth was unfortunately not welcomed the way it should or at least could have been as my conservative family was quite taken aback by the birth of a daughter.  Instead of happiness on the occasion, there was more a veil of disappointment which was very hard on my parents, who were supposed to be ‘celebrating’ their first-born!  My father stood stoically in the face of it all, as though in the dock his only ‘crime’ being the birth of a daughter.  Seeing the antagonistic hostility all around was perhaps the biggest compelling factor that made him more possessive about me than ever.  I became the cynosure of all his love and attention.  He actually became my soldier in thought and action, sheltering me from the vicissitudes of life like only he could.  He explained to all those opposed to my gender that he was responsible for it and not mom who had come in for immense flak for no fault of hers.  Dad taught me to set my own standards, and achieve them for he said that his daughter would not follow the beaten path but set her own trail.  He imbibed in me principles of believing in my capabilities never mind what others thought or had to say about them.  His has been the strongest shoulder all my life and his jadoo ki jhappi works as fine today as it did yesterday.  All my life I have been the pivot of his existence and am referred to as his Princess even today.  He never gave up on me even when I faltered, unsure of myself.   He has amply lived up to the statement that a dad is someone who wants to catch you before you fall  but instead picks you up, brushes you off, and, let’s you try again!  My father’s protection of me has been the greatest gift of my childhood to me!  I take pride in being daddy’s little (!) girl.  In life I did find my prince, but my daddy is my still my king. My daddy strongest and best-est! My Father, My Soldier For Life!

 This post is a part of #soldierforwomen in association with BlogAdda.com

My Dreams, My Aspirations!

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I nurture an aspiration to contribute my mite towards society in the humble way I can.  I have been doing so consistently for the past two decades in rearing my two children to be conscientious global citizens and contribute positively towards the betterment of society.  Seeing them develop into mature, responsible young adults with their heads firmly on their shoulders, stimulated by standing up for what they know is right, makes me feel like this dream has taken root. 

 I educate two unprivileged girls and wish them educated and standing on their own feet because education is the only weapon with which one can aspire to change one’s status and the world.  This has been one dream I have fostered from a young age, believing that if I can educate even one girl child, it would mean educating a generation.  I sincerely follow this principle and have tried to illuminate a few lives with the lamp of literacy.  I have inculcated this aspiration in my kids that they have now voluntarily promised to bear the onus of educating at least one if not more who otherwise would have been lost in the mire of illiteracy and consequent degradation.  When we know better, we obviously do better is what prompts my son who is only fourteen and brilliant at studies to devote half an hour everyday to tutor the maid’s son.   I see this as the seed taking ground to flower and bear fruits and makes me feel complete as a mother and an individual of the conviction that education is the foundation stone towards arriving at a better tomorrow.  My children have vowed to put aside a portion of their earning towards creating a charity that would sponsor a needy child all the way to higher education which is a dream that will live on longer than I do.

I have a myriad of dreams which make a beautiful spectrum and keep alive the flame of living life meaningfully.  Of these, I aspire to leave the earth a better place for coming generations and have promised myself not to degrade the environment.  Therefore, I have banned usage of plastic bags in my house, am very conscious of water conservation and do not spill a drop more than that what I strictly need.  I do not even use chemical disinfectants, pesticides and deodorizers at home and try to keep a clean and fresh-smelling home by using herbal concoctions.  This is my way of working towards the dream to contribute something towards the generations to come. 

The words of James Dean remain with me at every step, “Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.”  My dream of educating someone will live on much after I am dead and gone through my generations that will see the tomorrow which I will not.  Just as I have faith in them, I know that all things are possible to a heart that dreams and believes in their coming true.

My Dreams, My Aspirations!

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What is life sans the constant urge to keep alive dreams or aspirations to do something, reach a goal or be something?  It’s never too late to cultivate and cherish these emotions and reinvent oneself in the course.  These components are cornerstone of living because we are as good as dead minus them.  Without this motivation, life would be insipid and full of ennui.  When dreams are absent, life’s intrinsic value pales into insignificance.  For man to be alive and life to maintain its essence, dreams and aspirations are inextricable.  I am in my forties, yet harbor dreams which basically keep me charged.  It is the most effective way to give thumbs down to any negative thought or energy which may pull me down, even briefly. 

Eleanor Roosevelt rightly said that, “The future belongs to those who believe in the future of their dreams.”  My dream to succeed in every endeavor is much stronger than my fear of failure and this keeps the magic alive.  Only when we strive to rightly blend dreams and aspirations can we hope to succeed for all dreams come true if we have the courage to pursue them. 

Merely dreaming and aspiring without active participation to spur oneself and convert them into action will lead nowhere.  Idle dreaming is different from active dreaming.  Dreaming and aspiring go hand in hand with toil and perseverance.  While dreams alone cannot sustain life, only acting but not dreaming and planning is also futile.  Merely sitting in the shade and aspiring for a beautiful garden is impossible.  Constant toiling in the sun would ensure its coming true.  Also, only acting without foundation of a dream is pointless.  Herein lays the crux between empty dreams and meaningful ones.  One has to aspire and act on one’s dreams with open eyes to translate them into hardcore reality.  A dream can be reality when one works towards materializing it with guts, determination, sweat and patience.

If it were not for the passionate dreamer, life would have been handicapped.  Every invention or discovery is due to the madness of a dreamer who dared to dream differently from the rest, a dreamer who must have asked himself, “Why not?”  Today’s dreams are indeed tomorrow’s answers for only a zestful dreamer can contribute towards the progress of society.  Daring to dream is what keeps progress moving in the right direction. 

Dreams bind human beings in a common vein.  A man, who does not aspire, lives in vain for men of action are primarily dreamers.  For a future we have to dream today else the former will not be and the best way to make our dreams and aspirations come true is to wake up and take charge.  When one ceases to dream, he ceases to live.  Industrial pioneer Dhirubhai Ambani too was a dreamer.  He envisioned something, conceptualized it and finally built his empire by translating his dreams into functional realism.  The mind will take a fresh breath only if we dare to dream!  Calling all dreamers, take a bow!