I love it when I get to relax with chai at my favourite temperature! It IS a blessing that evokes gratefulness in me.
Especially with a good read - magazine/blog, and warmth.
So here I am reminded of a certain chai I had at my grandmother's house last month - I missed the custom of drinking from these ceramic bowls, painfully cheap (each is handmade/hand painted or stamped, and they sell for literally a few rupees each, so my heart goes out to those who make and sell these for a living).
I insisted on drinking from this, and sat stubbornly sipping from my little bowl above while the villagers sipped from their cups and mugs around me.
I let my tea go cold, so I could have the pictures and memory to keep.

Fly, soar. Or fall;

There seems no other choice dear soul.

Above Pic: My grandmother's ancestral home

Soft cold, cold rain

The first rain, much awaited by the region, has just begun to fall softly closing in on a truly freezing day in Lahore at midnight.
As I drink my third cup of tea today for some warmth (I rarely do three) and cozy up with some great reading, I pray for all those with no choice but to be out there experiencing every element of winter,by necessity or by poverty, may God keep them safe and warm.
One of my vague dreams is to be able to construct a shelter in Lahore for those who have none... so they may have a choice to come in for a meal and blankets.. and be safe from the streets.

Amazing.

I found this so touching, I am copying here with a link to the source so I can keep it to reread:

An article in National Geographic several years ago told of this......
After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, Forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's Damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. Then the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, The mother had remained steadfast...because she had been willing to die, so those under the cover of her wings would live.
http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/showthread.php?tid=14921

Just a thought.

Cease forever questioning, it obscures your answer.

Beautiful things said unintentionally..

Often people don’t even know what a beautiful and heart rending thing they have said, that flies straight from their heart to strike a chord in another person.

Shama works as a maid at our place. In her twenties, she doesn’t know her exact age like most others who were born into poverty, and life has not given her much choice but to work for a living since she was much younger.

‘Were you ever naughty in your childhood?’ I asked her this evening.

‘I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything at all from my childhood!’ she exclaimed, and then laughed. ‘All I do remember is one thing, that I would always be playing.’

I can’t explain why this is so beautiful and sad to me at the same time.

I know there are problems, but I can’t help have fun.

Imagine this. And then hope it doesn’t happen to you, except for the good part.
You finally step out of a prison.Out in the open, you’ve still got your burdens, your problems, your past, yourself to deal with and you’re clueless as to what next.
But while you stand there, look. You have time. A clock does not signify the same commands anymore.
There’s a blue sky, as marvelous as ever, but it’s suddenly got the power to capture your attention in a way that makes you grateful.
Those birds soaring, brilliant sunlight cutting through the cold air, they make you feel alive, and think up thoughts that if you could just grasp, would pull a Forest Gump of their own.
You hope you’ll come to feeling fresh and alive again.

A step back from stress, a step out of it, is a wonderful thing. Most for the fact that you can, without excuse, examine yourself and where you have faltered or decayed, and where you must go from here to be that better person you want to be. And not knowing the road you stand on on a beautiful day, and beating down fear, it’s a great place and time to start, and it should help get you there. A great friend can be a great help as a push, a guide or inspiration.

A gift : To be willing to enjoy simple everyday things, big and small, and to appreciate anew when you rediscover.