Teachings from my youngest Guru: my daughter Guneet

Guneet is my younger daughter. She is now 6 years old. There is something about her which is not of this world, which is divine. I enjoy looking at her, her eyes, and try to feel life thru her. There are so many things to learn from her. Once, we are playing "Ladder and Snakes". We used to be happy when we would go up the ladder, and sad when bitten by a snake. We will pray for a number so that we could step up the ladder, or silently praying for a number for our opponent, so that he gets bitten by snake. Everybody wanted to win and not lose. Among us, there was Guneet, who was happy just by having a turn to throw the dice. She wouldn't bother what number came on the dice, whether she is ahead of us or behind..... just getting the chance to throw a dice would make her happy. I learnt that playing itself is so enjoyful, every part of it, without thinking of losing or winning. Same is true for life. Living itself is fun and not winning or losing.

Another time, it was the last swimmimg class, and the kids were to get their report cards. Simran and Guneet passed and moved to the next level. We were happy that they passed. But Guneet was sad, coz she wanted to be with the same teacher in the same level. She was so unware of the worldly concepts of winning, succeddding. She was just concerned about the happiness that she is deriving from the current class. As Osho says 'Whenever you enjoy something, you are in tune with yourself and you are in tune with the Universe, because your center is the center of all…so do only that you enjoy, otherwise stop’. And he also says, nothing fails like success. The philosophy was same. Enjoy what you enjoy. Don't put labels of success, win etc. on things.

I am waiting to learn lot more things from Guneet. She is one of my masters.

Fall from the Top

Yesterday, I watched a documentary on Rajesh Khanna, an icon in Bollywood. I watched it on outlookindia.com, a magazine-cum news website. Today, I watched a documentary on the music composer R. D Burman. Both Rajesh Khanna and R. D. Burman were legends in their own fields. Both tasted the success like a very few do. Both touched the peak, and both saw the downfall too. It was eye opening that these people too feel insecurity, they too had bad days, they too feel loneliness and depression, frustration. 

What to Carry for vacation like Carabean

What do you need to pack for a vacation like Caribbean?

Clothes:

1.  At least 2 pair of swimwear: Because you would be going into and coming out of water every day, sometimes 2 times a day, you need at least 2 pairs of swimsuits.

2. Cover-ups: For ladies, it’s nice to have cover-ups when you relax on the beach or pool or need to go to get food directly from beach or pool.

3. Number of UGs/ clothes= 2* no. of days of stay.

4. Dresses for the night. You should have 2-3 nice dresses for the night programs.

5. Take 1-2 full length pants and a sweater for the cold days/nights.

Shoes:

1.     Slippers or beach flip/ flops for regular days,

2.     Some dress shoes to go with your dresses for the evening,

3.     One pair of walking shoes.

Medicines:

1.     Fever, cold are the regular medicines.

2.     Other than these, do keep some pouches for dehydration or food poisoning. On our last trip to Cuba, my daughter had dehydration. She ate some wrong combination of food, and was throwing up a lot. We had to go to the doctor and pay $100 just to get the powder pouches to recover from dehydration.

Hair and makeup

1. Do carry your own shampoo and conditioner. The ones available at the resort may not suit your hair.

2. As you hair will get wet every day and you will be shampooing every day, make sure you take some hair oil or serum.

3. Toothpaste. Resorts don’t give the toothpaste in general.

4. Flowers (hair accessories, available at $ store) to wear with the dresses.

5. Earrings/ clutchers/ hair bands etc.

6. Curler, mousse, straightener (these are optional)

Sunburn:

1.     Carry some hats.

2.     Sun glasses

3.     Sun screen. Keep 2 bottles, cause you will be using it every 3-4 hours. Cream should be preferred than the spray.

4.     Even after applying sunscreen, sometimes you may get sun-burn. So keep some lubricant/ gel for sunburn.

Food:

1.      Some snacks/ cookies/ cracker etc. to eat with coffee/tea when in the room. They were useful to us when my daughter couldn’t eat the resort food. She was living on cookies.

Others:

1.     If you are going as a couple, make sure you keep your own money. i.e. in converted form too. Sometimes, you want to buy something and your spouse may not be around. The same is true for camera etc.

2.     It’s a good idea to read about the history and culture of the country before leaving. It helps in understanding the nation and people.

3.     It’s a good idea to keep around 25-30 one dollar bills. You may need them for tips for house cleaning ladies, or at the resort dining area.