Life is but a dream :)

Row row row your boat

Gently down the stream....

Merrily Merrily Merrily Merrily

Life is but a dream ...

Almost all children of the world would know how to sing this rhyme ! When i was just a child, the rhyme didnt mean the same as it does when i am grown up. I realised that as a kid, i sang that song literally ...imagining myself rowing a boat down a stream....but once i grew up, i realised that the words meant something else...like to row your boat gently down the stream is to live your life simple and taking it easy while the next two lines meant , to be joyful and passionate about life with an understanding that this world isnt something permanent.

But then, i experienced another meaning to it when i actually got the chance to row my boat gently down the stream....for real !! Last year when i went to UK, we went to visit some friends in Colchester. And they took us boating at Dedham.

At the entrance to the boating place

  It was such a beautiful place that i fell in love with it the moment i got there ...absolutely peaceful, and so pretty ! 





Once we got there, i was all excited about boating. Though i have been on boats here in Malaysia and India, it wasnt the same with the kind of view and also i have never rowed the boat myself ! So it was the first time ever ! 

I always thought we need to be really strong to be able to row the boat by yourself and that its very difficult to get it going straight ...but i was going to try it for sure ! Wouldnt miss the chance here ! 

The view from where we get into our boats

Once we got into the boats, we first tried rowing two by two, my brother and i started rowing together. Then, he asked me if i want to try it myself ...i was of course happy to !! So i took over, with my aunt , brother and a friend in my boat, i rowed all by myself ! The first thing i realised was , it was not so tough as i thought or as i heard it would be ! In fact, it didnt take much effort to get the boat moving...of course in the beginning i was going a little zig zagged but then i got it within minutes!! Except when there was other boats coming the opposite way and we needed to stay on one side of the stream and when the wind was strong...the boat went a little off the centre...but otherwise i was ok ! In fact our friend was really impressed at how quickly i got the hang of it...as she has been living there for years and have been boating many times and yet she finds it a little tricky ...She asked me..." is this really your first time? " and i said " YUP !" 

                           

So...i rowed all the way ....made a u turn and rowed all the way back to the boathouse all by myself , i think we paid for half an hour :) Wow! i was so proud of myself then ...hehehe...

and all along the way, there were so many lovely ducks, and swans...even dogs running along the bank and taking a plunge in the stream ...really it was magical ! 

Thats our friends and my sister on the other boat 

So now after my boating experience, the rhyme means this ....

Life can never be understood by what we hear, read or see, no matter who explains it to us. Life depends only on how YOU yourself experience it ! We need to row our boat ourselves...well the rhyme clearly says Row YOUR boat...and not just row A boat isnt it ?? :) ...

so never mind if someone else finds it hard or boring. Never mind if someone warns you of the danger of rowing your boat. Only you know your strength. Never mind who is rowing the opposite way, you have your stream, you have your own breathtaking views along the stream. Just watch everything that comes your way but stay focused on your stream , enjoy the ride and come back joyfully ! :D 

ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT
GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM
MERRILY MERRILY MERRILY MERRILY
LIFE IS BUT A DREAM 

Rumi with Roomies :)

Lately ive been reading some quotes and poems by Rumi shared on FB by my friends. The one quote which got my attention was this..

" If you are irritated by every rub, how can you be polished ? " 

I found this line to be...a super HUGE message in the simplest words !! What is there to discuss further...its crystal clear ! A message that needs to be explained in a whole book put in 12 simple words..! We dont have to be scholars or geniuses to understand the message here , right ! So , i got interested to read more about Rumi. 

I have another two good friends who also love Rumi's work. So we started sharing more quotes on FB. One of these girls is now working in New Delhi, India and to my delight she told me that she is buying a book on Rumi for me !! The book is called "The forbidden Rumi " It sounded so interesting that i could hardly wait to read it then.

She came down for Deepavali and we took the chance to meet up for tea in KL with the other friend too ! All three of us are uni mates and were room mates for a year ! So thats why we called the group "Rumi with Roomies" :) 

Anyway, when we met for tea...she handed us two books !! One was THE FORBIDDEN RUMI and the other was THE ESSENTIAL RUMI ! Yay ! two books filled with magical words of Rumi ! ... what ? you dont think its magical ? 

Listen to this ...

"You are the magician caught in his own trickery. 

Cut the breath of self and be silent"

______________________________

"We rarely hear the inward music,

but we're all dancing to it nevertheless"

______________________________

"He is a letter to everyone. You open it. It says, Live."

_______________________________

"In order to enter into your rose garden

the soul makes peace with the thorns.

Choose Love. Choose Love.

Without this beautiful love

life is nothing but a burden. 

________________________________

These words are hardly a drop in the ocean of Rumi's work ! 

I just finished both the books my friend bought for me ...

Erm...just in case you notice the Jimiki ( indian traditional earrings ) placed on the books, it was a gift from the other good friend who went on a pilgrimage to India...she bought me these pink pair of lovely earrings because she knew i love these indian earrings..and why pink..? theres a story to it..will share it in my next post :) Now lets get back to Rumi !

So, anyway thats how i got into reading Rumi's work. Now i am totally indulged in it and cant wait to get more books ! It isnt easy finding some of these books here in KL. Hope to get some in Klang maybe. Otherwise in my next trip to India sometime !

Over all , i find his poems totally joyful and enlightening. Its breathtaking even ! Of course this is a translation and i cant even imagine how beautiful it is to those who can read it in its original language ! Still it sounds so amazing in such simple English ! Well...i guess life is simple ! We are the ones who keep it complicated always...theres nothing but love to be felt , shared, spread and be indulged ! What is so complicated about that ? As always its easier said than done ! i know..!

Still, i am reminding myself to keep on the path of love through my journey. Of course there will be some wrong turns here and there...but as long as we ask for directions and make some u turns and take a few short cuts...we will be back on track each time. The important thing is not to be totally lost ! :D dont you think !?

And when you read his work, you cant help feeling the LOVE ! Love for your self, family , friends, pets, plants, bugs , butterflies, rain ..sun , moon ..stars...and the entire existence dancing in love with each other and you might get a little dizzy in it !! 

The one magical thing about love is...it does no harm no matter HOW MUCH you love anything and everything...unlike other emotions , anger makes you sick, holding grudges makes you miserable, being jealous only keeps you in bad mood...but love is the only emotion that gets better with more of it and theres no end to it !! you can love a million things at ONE time...and you will only float in joy ! Try hating 3 ppl at one time...!! And you might need to take off from work feeling sick !

So, its evident that LOVE is the ANSWER... !! No matter what our question is.... :) Simple and clear and yet we let ourselves be engulfed in darkness ....

Lets keep the LOVE growing and bring more light to our selves and to others always...

Have a LOVELY day all !!! 

:)