YOU.

In this life, we meet so many people.

There a few who will let you rise. Then there are others who pull you down.

There are some who would want to fly with you but their fears would not let you.

Lastly, there are some who let you go.

You. Have. The. Power. To. Choose. The. Person. You. Want.

You deserve someone who makes you feel better about yourself. Not with manufactured lies but with the sole knowledge that you have a power within, untapped, undiscovered, unknown. That power, when it comes out, it shakes the roots of your existence, it brings together all of your self into one being. 

YOU. 

image source: thisiswhatimean

I am Conflict.

I, recently started with my Masters program at one of the premier colleges for social work. 

On the very first day of our 9-day orientation program at college, our field director asked us to use this time to introspect upon our decision to choose social work. 

All of us thought, she was being arrogant. That she was wanting us to willfully leave because in her opinion none of us deserved to be here... to be in the field of social work. But, sure we were. Hadn't we prepared for months altogether to get in here? Hadn't we survived the interview sessions where our professors grilled us to our core? 

Sure, we deserve this! We deserve this and more. 

A couple of days before, another professor asked us to define conflict. We all had our own definitions. Some of us believed it to be a clash of ideas, of philosophies. Quite a few believed conflict to be the difference between needs and wants. When wants are more than can be satisfied- boom! there was a conflict in the making. I, for one, didn't have a definition. 

I am like that. I make my opinions later when all has been said and done. 

On the last day of our orientation program, we were taken for field visits- a  very important component of social work. 

There, we were, 96 of us, walking carefully on the mud-bathed roads of a thriving slum.  

It had been raining the day before and it will continue to rain for another couple of days. Flies burst out like shooting stars on a black night. People walked with conscious steps, skipping a puddle or two. Thatched roofs leaked in the merciless rains. Children ran and laughed, nonetheless. 

On another rainy day, as I sit and think about tomorrow, my tomorrow includes what dress I will be wearing, what classes I can bunk or attend, I am warm, protected, and blessed. 

I am blessed with the knowledge that I have a dream that I am working on. I am blessed because I have more than I need. 

But, how is it that we are so comfortable and warm even when it rains outside while for someone else, everything would be similar if not worse? How is it that I get a chance to better my life when someone births and dies without much promise?

I believe, this is conflict. 

If I get a chance, so should everyone else.

Maybe, I am conflict.

Is It So Hard To Find Happiness?

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We bring to you our very first contributing writer Pritika Khera.

Of what we know of her, we could easily bet that she is a sunshine girl with the kind of vibes that make people happy if they are sad, happier if they are happy, and smile if they have forgot how to. She is the girl who loves bangles, dancing, and her friends. She is the person you would want to have around you because her cheerfulness is incredibly contagious. 

We leave you with her thoughts on happiness...




I have heard people say that happiness is hard to find, but is it really that hard….???

What is happiness? Maybe how we define this word is the answer.

Happiness is something that brings a sweet smile on your face. It is something that brings a tear in your eyes. It can be a snorting laughter or a sweet smile through blushing cheeks. Happiness is what we call Khushi in Hindi.

But, is it really that hard to find this Khushi?

I believe no. I believe finding it is as simple as the belief in God. If you believe in happiness no one in this whole wide world can make you sad.

And I found this answer today while coming back home from office in the same small RTV bus named 'Prateek' that I take from office everyday. I know it sounds like a guy’s name but no, it's the bus I travel in. Although I take this bus almost every evening but it was a special journey today. People who travel with me in the bus were also the same yet something was different.

May be the belief….The belief in happiness that I just talked about.

Yes, I could see that everywhere today. That happiness on everyone’s face. Be it the teenage girl sitting next to me smiling while talking to her boyfriend; a woman  sitting across from me who met her old friend after a long time; a group of old friends who were gossiping and giggling, filling the bus with sounds of laughter and positiveness all around; or the man on the last seat of the bus who swung left and right on every turn the bus took.

The best part of today’s journey was offering my seat to a  5-month pregnant lady . The charm and the glow that she had on her face was incomparable. Everyone seemed to be happy today as I wished to find that happiness even on this boiling and humid evening, because today I realized that I should believe in finding my happiness in the happiness of my loved ones or even strangers.

I realized happiness is so simple to find in small things, things that may or may not be connected to us. It is we who decide what we want from life, how we want to spend this day which we call present, a gift.

And, at the end of my bus journey today, I must confess I noticed the bus’ name—PRATEEK—meaning symbol, which too sounded funny to me. It made me smile once again.

You can spill your thoughts, advises, opinions, blunders, and wisdom on the pages of  Oh! Dear Giggles. Write to us at ohdeargiggles@gmail.com

People. Just people.

Sometimes I think people forget that other people are just like them. Human. People. With stories and hearts and hurts and reasons. 

All of us. We're just people. 

I wonder if we'd relate to each other better if we remembered that. Instead of looking at each other as walking agendas, or time bombs, or obstacles. 

Recently I read Bob Goff's beautiful book, Love Does. It's one of those books that I might never lend out. Not because I wouldn't recommend it, but because I want to keep it within eye site at all times because it reminds me that people are people. And that there is good. And love, well, it does. 

In one of my favorite chapters, Goff tells the story of how his children wrote to world leaders and asked for a chat. A visit. It was post 9/11 and he had asked his three kids "...what would you ask them [the world leaders] to help make sense of life, faith, hope, and the events that are unfolding around them?" and his children responded 1. invite them over 2. ask what they were hoping for 3. if they wouldn't come for a visit, could we meet with them and do an interview to capture answers from question #2. 

So they wrote letters to all the world leaders, sent them off, and then started getting responses. And they went to visit world leaders. Bob Goff and his wife and three kids. A world road trip of sorts.

As people. 

{this story is much better told in Love Does. I'm summarizing, and can't help but share the story, but it is really worth the read. As is the rest of his book!! I bought the book myself... no one told me to write these words...}

Goff writes:

"Now, if the leaders were talking to grown-ups like me, they would talk about boring things like having more jobs, gross domestic product, better schools, and more roads. You know, the kind of stuff crafted for public consumption. But they weren't talking to me they were talking to our kids. Sweet Maria and I were just roadies carrying the cameras.

  

What would happen more often than not is that the kids would begin in an official reception room and have an official meeting with the leader. But then the leaders would realize these were just kids who had no agenda other than to be friends and they would invite us back to their private offices where they could just talk as friends. The kids would ask questions about the leaders' families, how they got into public service, and what their hopes were for the future. The Leaders would talk about their children and grandchildren, what they were doing when they were our kids' ages, and their dreams of friendship between people from our two countries."

People. Talking. Listening. 

I wish we could all keep that child like naivete that understands that there are important things to discuss, but that the most important things in life, like family, our hopes and dreams, are what bind us all together. And ask about those things. Not just the stuffy political stuff that - yes - matters... but we speak with compassion when we understand and remember that we each have hearts. We're just people. 

My favorite quote from the chapter, maybe even the whole book is,  "I want to live in a new normal where I can reach out to people who are different from me and just be friends."

Yes. Let's make that the new norm.