“ Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go, it is the fragile blossom that opens in the snow. ”
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~Alice Mackenzie Swaim
“ Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go. ”
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Sunday, December 20, 2015
Great Quotes from Simple Truths
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
and Dreams come true..So Dream On....sharing our journey as best friends and true love to the day of our marriage..
This Post was first posted in September 2013..and has been re-posted as a Mile stone of our journey as two strangers who found each other 15000 miles way from home..
There is a Song from the movie `True Grit.'.which is a classic wild west movie..the song is sung by the legendary singer Glen Campbell. The name of the song is..Someday little Girl.... This is a song that brings tears to my eyes and makes my hair stand on end..it is a song that gives me goose bumps..because each word is so true..it is almost exactly the kind of words that my father said to me as he lay on his death bed 25 years ago..and it is also a song of promise and hope that I should live my life with courage and grit and that one day the true love of my life.. a man of kindness and courage would come along and the pain would vanish..
When I was a young girl in India..I would love to hear the stories my father and mother would tell me about their time in Canada and America, I would love watching cowboy movies and always dreamed that the man I would marry would be a true cowboy..tall handsome..rugged, brave and loyal and unpretentious..a man who would spark something in me that no body else ever has..a man like the salt of the earth brave, free in thoughts and spirit and above all noble..and kind..( the inner qualities of my Dad)..
Yet authentic, American cowboys do not exist in India..so my dreams seemed so unrealistic to many.. My brother often laughed at me and so did most people..because I just refused to let them `find a good husband' for me. I revolted strongly whenever the plans to find me a match started and led quite a rebellious life on that count. I did not believe in `arranged marriages' then and I do not believe in them now..
The funny thing was I actually believed in my dreams and visualized exactly what my true love would look like and be like...and Yes you are right..the man I always dreamed about looks exactly like my true Canadian Love who became my husband Brian..so uncanny..but yet so true..
My father loved the songs of Glen Cambell..My father and Mother had lived in N America in the mid and late 60s and had a deep love and respect for the men and women of this land.
My parents returned to India to fulfill their family duties towards their old parents. All of his short life ( Dad died at the age of 52) my father was known as a man of great courage,an indomitable spirit and of a great heart...He knew that my heart and spirit longed for something that would take me across the oceans to his beloved land Canada one day..and though I was a young girl/ woman when he left us..he told me to be true to what I believed in..to always be a little girl in my heart and that one day..I would find the man who would be waiting for me..
This is the song from the Movie True Grit..which he spoke of..
"True Grit"
I have fought many battles in my life..I have tried to live my life with courage.,..to never be hypocritical in what I do or say.. When I was a lone lady crime reporter back in India..I always tried to write the truth and live up to the ideals I had set for myself and seen in both my father and my grand father..
Coming alone to a far away country like Canada was perhaps the craziest thing I ever did..but not giving up on the fight to make it.here..despite the great pitfalls and defeats .was the best decision I took.
If you want to under stand life and human nature and the true character of the people you meet the best way to do that is to face the world alone with out the protection of your father or family name and walk alone incognito in a far away land . The best age to do this is from your twenties to your forties..how people treat you will reveal a lot about what they stand for and who they are..and who you are too..
The people who discouraged me the most in my journey alone here were sadly men and women from India who were also immigrants..settled or struggling here. some were friends and others family as in relatives. The people who ridiculed me and laughed at me the loudest for preferring to be in a relationship with a ' Canadian Cowboy' were also from the same background . Interestingly the worst of the lot in heckling a woman alone as she lives her life in her own terms..were those married and influential women that pretended to be the `pillars of society' proud of their high status and their husbands played their parts in bullying and threatening whenever they could . There is so much of hypocrisy in the `little expatriate communities' in Canada and many shades to racism...that is often laughable how many masks men and women both wear.. ..I am proud of the great spiritual heritage of India and the love and simplicity which marks the character of the homely common man back there..but definitely not the 'sophisticates' who hide the `Shark hearts' behind their fake smiles..
.It is here in Canada in my experiences within our Indian community that I saw the mean, jealous , selfish and inhuman side of the human character..however I will also say that there are many great men and women in that same community..true men of God..Reverend Swami Pramathananda maharaj, revered Swami Kripamayananda maharaj( Vedanta society of Toronto) and some like Professor Vijay Kumar Murty ( U of T )who are light houses of knowledge, Light and inspiration and have touched lives across the globe with their contribution to society and their true spirituality. I am honored and blessed that I have had the privilege and blessings to meet and be blessed by these great people during my life here in Canada.They represent the highest spiritual , intellectual and human values of India and her great Vedic heritage.
We have both also faced our share of `racism ' from many Canadians especially the older generation of `White` women as well as those young and old who have never traveled out side of N America..and do not approve of mixed couples..it is Brian's great hearted ness that he swiftly tells off anyone who has ever tried to put me down in front of him. ( Note here many Indians of Indian origin are more `color driven and racist than Westerners).
This much I will say for the younger generation of Canadians in the big cities of Canada..they are in one of the world most multi ethnic environments and so almost 60 % of children who are in school here today are likely to choose a partner of an ethnic heritage different from their own and they will hopefully be one of the most integrated societies in the world of tomorrow
The strongest communities in the world are the ones that stand by each other..and the weakest those that try to pull each other down. India will be weak if we are a billion people divided among st ourselves in India or abroad and not one who respect and support the dreams and aspirations of each individual...
As every individual knows In our search for love in life we also often meet the wrong person who can cause deep wounds and make us lose trust in humankind.Sometimes life can get us down..its not been easy coming to a far away land alone almost 15 years ago..and there have been dark and lonely periods when I almost lost trust in the `light of hope and dreams' that always lead me in life..I turned inwards to my God and my faith and that has given me everything I wanted and more..
I never ever believed in arranged marriages..I know the pressure and injustice that a woman and a man have to endure to choose a partner `arranged' for them and most often the criteria is always for the wrong reasons. I have seen the tragedy and pain behind many of these arranged marriages in my own family of cousins,.. I remember turning down suitor after suitor in my younger days and the hell I had to face because I stood my ground..I was even prepared to walk alone for the rest of my life..if I did not find the right one and I walked alone so long because of my stubbornness..but it has all been worth it..
So every cloud has a silver lining, I followed the music in my heart and the drum beats of my soul..and ,The best friend I ever found..was my Cowboy Brian..and when I met him..I knew..he was the one my father had told me about..he was kind and deep and though incredibly handsome and gifted in many ways and ...he is one of the most unpretentious and noble minded persons I have ever met.
Someone who's kind, someone who is fearless like you
The pain of it will ease a bit.. When you find a man with true grit
Being homesick.. was really rough..until I met Brian in the spring of 2009..it is ironic that he came into my life..just as my Mom who was here on her 'once in a few years' periodical visits was getting ready to fly back to India..
I have always been honest and open with her and never hidden any friend or any secret from her.
..Brian was just back from a two year stint in Vancouver and was getting over a really dark period in his life too.. he had posted something really funny on a dating website..It was the day I was searching for something or someone who would be my best friend and my life partner..When I read his post it cracked me up.I laughed so hard..I wrote back saying how much I enjoyed his whacky sense of humor..
.I sent him a pic of two ground hogs looking into each others eyes and asked him to guess which one was me.
.One week later we met in real life ..He whisked me off to Niagara Falls ..it was the last week of March 2009..the falls still had frozen icicles at the edges..but I had a warm feeling about the man I had just met. Tall and handsome..a sweet, quiet and yet warm and friendly aura about him..his simplicity..non pretentiousness and honesty blew me away...two weeks later he came to meet my Mother.." I wanted to honor both you and your Mother" he says now..I found it touching then and still do now..
As a journalist girl I have met many men in my life. before I met Brian...Indian , Middle eastern, European and North American..Every human being has something beautiful in them..some people touch others and bring happiness, joy and blessing into their lives but sadly.there are others who poison the very water they drink..that is their legacy to the world...
Often we meet a few individuals who are driven with a selfish self conceit that makes them evaluate themselves so highly that they have nothing to give but pain and a bitter experience to those they touch...and this vanity and superficial sense of self importance in such individual s has always been enough to make me run.. and I remember my father's words warning me that its time to run when you discover cruelty and selfishness that can poison your life if you chose the wrong friend or partner.
When Brian came to meet my Mamma..I was nervous...but I had no reason to be..
My lovable and sweet Mother had lived in Canada for almost 4 years in the late sixties with Dad( 1965-69) had a lot of love and respect for the true Canadian pioneering folks and their decedents such as Brian who are the heart and soul and salt of this land..Brian's grand Mother was a very brave Scottish gal who had crossed the oceans and come alone to Canada in the early 1930's..and so he thought what I did in 2001..was on the same lines as a his Scottish Grand ma..Brian's Grand Pa was a handsome strapping American Cowboy who met Grand Ma in Sunny Side Toronto and the rest is history..
I was wondering if they would understand each other...Mamma is a bit hard of hearing and has a distinct British and Indian accent..Brian is all Canadian Cowboy with more of a California drawl than the boring low monotone of many Toronto Canadians..
While I was heating Samosas and brewing coffee in the kitchen I was surprised to hear the two of them laughing and sharing jokes like old friends. When I walked into the living room He was complimenting her on her crisp Cotton White Sari and she thought it was so touching the way he smiled and blushed when she asked him to sing.. ( My cowboy like all good members of his tribe..is a guitarist and singer when he is not busy at work )....after he left she said.." This is the man who will walk with you and hold your hand until you draw your last breath of life.." powerful. Especially since it was just a week or two since we just met..She also commented that there was something about Brian that reminded her so much of my Dad..
I cried like a school girl being left alone at the airport when Mamma flew back to India...but my Cowboy Brian was there to console and warm me..I would learn bit by bit the personal pain and shock which he was overcoming in his own life and even though nursing his own wounded heart he was there to comfort mine..
That year 2009 took me to the Good Friday play at the Queensway and.When the choir sang " Amazing Grace" my strong Cowboy Brian cried .and I knew then at that moment that he was the only guy for me..
Summer turned to winter and that was the year of yet another kind of flu hitting the city..one day I lay sick and weak in my bed when I got a call from my cowboy..was I ready to go up north to Midland to see the Snow squalls..Brian is as passionate about the winter weather as any true Cowboy..I am no less of an adventurer and we set off into the snowy wilderness to take on the Canadian winter..flu and all..so we both drove up north chasing winter storms and that was an amazing experience for me..
That Christmas week we played in the snow..he swam like an otter in the warm pool in doors and we drove across Lake and mountain country which was frozen over. from the little town of Bala to Gravenhurst..from Bracebridge to Midland...everyday we drove by the Martyrs memorial at Midland... a piece of history I would never have known on my own...and explored the snowy hills alone..just he and me and the elements..was this not the dream and the man I had waited for all my life and was this not the reason I came to Canada..? That was the first time that he said he loved me.. For.a man of few words ..who means what he says..each word is worth a million diamonds..
Over the years we have had our scary moments..A couple of times at public functions and social events we were not prepared for what happens when you invite a handsome man to a gathering where some men and women harbor dark secrets in their hearts..the seemingly `harmless' and least suspicious women who you thought were your best friends suddenly become your worse night mare . Yet the test of a strong relationship is the integrity and trust partners have for their relationship and for each other in such dangerous encounters and we came away stronger and closer than ever before.
The years have flown.during his beloved father's funeral in 2010.I got to meet his Mother Irene and then his sister Karen and her family and eventually become part of the Cowboy's happy and warm family...They are laid back, unpretentious, happy and down to earth folk..hard working and very Canadian with the ability to share they hearth and their hearts with those who can respect and embrace them and be part of their lives......
The years of being ' so lost at sea' in a far away land..had ended for me..
Our marriage was a deeply spiritual experience for both of us and we both cried with emotion and joy as we took our vows and exchanged wedding bands in a simple yet deeply loving and moving ceremony in Toronto. All of that day the spiritual head of the Vedanta Society of Toronto Swami Kripamayananda Maharaj prayed for us and gave me spiritual guidance and assurances. My Mother in far way India was on the phone with me through every second of the auspicious hour. Our Marriage minister prepared an extraordinary prayer and vows that took the beautiful verses and hymns from the Bible which Brian wanted and also spoke an universal prayer that means that we promised each other our Love, our life and our loyalty till the last day of our lives and beyond.
..
When I am by Brian's side .listening to old music on the radio...and the song from True Grit comes up..I say to him...It is a song that was written just for me..
All of us have dreams..some are fundamental..To love and be loved. true stability begins with that...some people have dreams that are great and extraordinary..to fly to the planets..to touch the stars..to save the world..to be like Mother Teresa..unless we truly love those who are closest to us and around us everyday..how can we claim to love the world..and care for human kind ? The greatest dream they say is to one day find God..but the journey starts here in the true love and dreams we have in our time on this earth...
..
And no matter how many years pass..or how impossible the dream may seem..no matter how many people berate you or belittle you and laugh at your dreams..and at you..believe in yourself..and believe in your dreams...
for each word of them is true...The great sage Swami Vivekananda once said..we cannot believe in God unless we believe in ourselves and the proof of that begins when your Dreams come true..
It does not matter if your dream is as insignificant as longing for true love in a far away land.. ..it may be even as great as wanting to save the world and even better saving the last of the species of the almost extinct bright pink whale that lives somewhere near the equator. Your dream may be for a better life..for freedom from oppression, for Truth..for .knowledge... .for fame...to reach the top of the business empire you or someone else built..to win American idol and the greatest :To be a blessing and not a curse to everyone you meet on your journey..No matter how small or big your dream..I do believe we must each have the right and freedom to choose our own lives..and to every little girl out there who dares to dream I will say.. .
One day, little girl, the sadness will leave your face
As soon as you've won the fight to get justice done
Someday little girl you'll wonder what life's about
But other's have known few battles are won alone
So, you'll look around to find
Someone who's kind, someone who is fearless like you
The pain of it will ease a bit
When you find a man with true grit
One day you will rise and you won't believe your eyes
You'll wake up and see
A world that is fine and free
Though summer seems far away
You will find the sun one day
( Lyric from the Title song of the Movie True Grit)
By Lipi Read
formerly Lipi Mukherji
lipiwriter@gmail.com
There is a Song from the movie `True Grit.'.which is a classic wild west movie..the song is sung by the legendary singer Glen Campbell. The name of the song is..Someday little Girl.... This is a song that brings tears to my eyes and makes my hair stand on end..it is a song that gives me goose bumps..because each word is so true..it is almost exactly the kind of words that my father said to me as he lay on his death bed 25 years ago..and it is also a song of promise and hope that I should live my life with courage and grit and that one day the true love of my life.. a man of kindness and courage would come along and the pain would vanish..When I was a young girl in India..I would love to hear the stories my father and mother would tell me about their time in Canada and America, I would love watching cowboy movies and always dreamed that the man I would marry would be a true cowboy..tall handsome..rugged, brave and loyal and unpretentious..a man who would spark something in me that no body else ever has..a man like the salt of the earth brave, free in thoughts and spirit and above all noble..and kind..( the inner qualities of my Dad)..
Yet authentic, American cowboys do not exist in India..so my dreams seemed so unrealistic to many.. My brother often laughed at me and so did most people..because I just refused to let them `find a good husband' for me. I revolted strongly whenever the plans to find me a match started and led quite a rebellious life on that count. I did not believe in `arranged marriages' then and I do not believe in them now..
The funny thing was I actually believed in my dreams and visualized exactly what my true love would look like and be like...and Yes you are right..the man I always dreamed about looks exactly like my true Canadian Love who became my husband Brian..so uncanny..but yet so true..
My father loved the songs of Glen Cambell..My father and Mother had lived in N America in the mid and late 60s and had a deep love and respect for the men and women of this land.
My parents returned to India to fulfill their family duties towards their old parents. All of his short life ( Dad died at the age of 52) my father was known as a man of great courage,an indomitable spirit and of a great heart...He knew that my heart and spirit longed for something that would take me across the oceans to his beloved land Canada one day..and though I was a young girl/ woman when he left us..he told me to be true to what I believed in..to always be a little girl in my heart and that one day..I would find the man who would be waiting for me..This is the song from the Movie True Grit..which he spoke of..
"True Grit"
One day, little girl, the sadness will leave your face
As soon as you've won the fight to get justice done
Someday little girl you'll wonder what life's about
But other's have known few battles are won alone
So, you'll look around to find
Someone who's kind, someone who is fearless like you
The pain of it will ease a bit
When you find a man with true grit
One day you will rise and you won't believe your eyes
You'll wake up and see
A world that is fine and free
Though summer seems far away
You will find the sun one day
As soon as you've won the fight to get justice done
Someday little girl you'll wonder what life's about
But other's have known few battles are won alone
So, you'll look around to find
Someone who's kind, someone who is fearless like you
The pain of it will ease a bit
When you find a man with true grit
One day you will rise and you won't believe your eyes
You'll wake up and see
A world that is fine and free
Though summer seems far away
You will find the sun one day
I have fought many battles in my life..I have tried to live my life with courage.,..to never be hypocritical in what I do or say.. When I was a lone lady crime reporter back in India..I always tried to write the truth and live up to the ideals I had set for myself and seen in both my father and my grand father..
Coming alone to a far away country like Canada was perhaps the craziest thing I ever did..but not giving up on the fight to make it.here..despite the great pitfalls and defeats .was the best decision I took.
If you want to under stand life and human nature and the true character of the people you meet the best way to do that is to face the world alone with out the protection of your father or family name and walk alone incognito in a far away land . The best age to do this is from your twenties to your forties..how people treat you will reveal a lot about what they stand for and who they are..and who you are too..
The people who discouraged me the most in my journey alone here were sadly men and women from India who were also immigrants..settled or struggling here. some were friends and others family as in relatives. The people who ridiculed me and laughed at me the loudest for preferring to be in a relationship with a ' Canadian Cowboy' were also from the same background . Interestingly the worst of the lot in heckling a woman alone as she lives her life in her own terms..were those married and influential women that pretended to be the `pillars of society' proud of their high status and their husbands played their parts in bullying and threatening whenever they could . There is so much of hypocrisy in the `little expatriate communities' in Canada and many shades to racism...that is often laughable how many masks men and women both wear.. ..I am proud of the great spiritual heritage of India and the love and simplicity which marks the character of the homely common man back there..but definitely not the 'sophisticates' who hide the `Shark hearts' behind their fake smiles..
.It is here in Canada in my experiences within our Indian community that I saw the mean, jealous , selfish and inhuman side of the human character..however I will also say that there are many great men and women in that same community..true men of God..Reverend Swami Pramathananda maharaj, revered Swami Kripamayananda maharaj( Vedanta society of Toronto) and some like Professor Vijay Kumar Murty ( U of T )who are light houses of knowledge, Light and inspiration and have touched lives across the globe with their contribution to society and their true spirituality. I am honored and blessed that I have had the privilege and blessings to meet and be blessed by these great people during my life here in Canada.They represent the highest spiritual , intellectual and human values of India and her great Vedic heritage.We have both also faced our share of `racism ' from many Canadians especially the older generation of `White` women as well as those young and old who have never traveled out side of N America..and do not approve of mixed couples..it is Brian's great hearted ness that he swiftly tells off anyone who has ever tried to put me down in front of him. ( Note here many Indians of Indian origin are more `color driven and racist than Westerners).
This much I will say for the younger generation of Canadians in the big cities of Canada..they are in one of the world most multi ethnic environments and so almost 60 % of children who are in school here today are likely to choose a partner of an ethnic heritage different from their own and they will hopefully be one of the most integrated societies in the world of tomorrow
The strongest communities in the world are the ones that stand by each other..and the weakest those that try to pull each other down. India will be weak if we are a billion people divided among st ourselves in India or abroad and not one who respect and support the dreams and aspirations of each individual...
I never ever believed in arranged marriages..I know the pressure and injustice that a woman and a man have to endure to choose a partner `arranged' for them and most often the criteria is always for the wrong reasons. I have seen the tragedy and pain behind many of these arranged marriages in my own family of cousins,.. I remember turning down suitor after suitor in my younger days and the hell I had to face because I stood my ground..I was even prepared to walk alone for the rest of my life..if I did not find the right one and I walked alone so long because of my stubbornness..but it has all been worth it..
So every cloud has a silver lining, I followed the music in my heart and the drum beats of my soul..and ,The best friend I ever found..was my Cowboy Brian..and when I met him..I knew..he was the one my father had told me about..he was kind and deep and though incredibly handsome and gifted in many ways and ...he is one of the most unpretentious and noble minded persons I have ever met.
Someone who's kind, someone who is fearless like you
The pain of it will ease a bit.. When you find a man with true grit
Being homesick.. was really rough..until I met Brian in the spring of 2009..it is ironic that he came into my life..just as my Mom who was here on her 'once in a few years' periodical visits was getting ready to fly back to India..
I have always been honest and open with her and never hidden any friend or any secret from her.
..Brian was just back from a two year stint in Vancouver and was getting over a really dark period in his life too.. he had posted something really funny on a dating website..It was the day I was searching for something or someone who would be my best friend and my life partner..When I read his post it cracked me up.I laughed so hard..I wrote back saying how much I enjoyed his whacky sense of humor..
.I sent him a pic of two ground hogs looking into each others eyes and asked him to guess which one was me.
As a journalist girl I have met many men in my life. before I met Brian...Indian , Middle eastern, European and North American..Every human being has something beautiful in them..some people touch others and bring happiness, joy and blessing into their lives but sadly.there are others who poison the very water they drink..that is their legacy to the world...
Often we meet a few individuals who are driven with a selfish self conceit that makes them evaluate themselves so highly that they have nothing to give but pain and a bitter experience to those they touch...and this vanity and superficial sense of self importance in such individual s has always been enough to make me run.. and I remember my father's words warning me that its time to run when you discover cruelty and selfishness that can poison your life if you chose the wrong friend or partner.
When Brian came to meet my Mamma..I was nervous...but I had no reason to be..
My lovable and sweet Mother had lived in Canada for almost 4 years in the late sixties with Dad( 1965-69) had a lot of love and respect for the true Canadian pioneering folks and their decedents such as Brian who are the heart and soul and salt of this land..Brian's grand Mother was a very brave Scottish gal who had crossed the oceans and come alone to Canada in the early 1930's..and so he thought what I did in 2001..was on the same lines as a his Scottish Grand ma..Brian's Grand Pa was a handsome strapping American Cowboy who met Grand Ma in Sunny Side Toronto and the rest is history..
I was wondering if they would understand each other...Mamma is a bit hard of hearing and has a distinct British and Indian accent..Brian is all Canadian Cowboy with more of a California drawl than the boring low monotone of many Toronto Canadians..
While I was heating Samosas and brewing coffee in the kitchen I was surprised to hear the two of them laughing and sharing jokes like old friends. When I walked into the living room He was complimenting her on her crisp Cotton White Sari and she thought it was so touching the way he smiled and blushed when she asked him to sing.. ( My cowboy like all good members of his tribe..is a guitarist and singer when he is not busy at work )....after he left she said.." This is the man who will walk with you and hold your hand until you draw your last breath of life.." powerful. Especially since it was just a week or two since we just met..She also commented that there was something about Brian that reminded her so much of my Dad..I cried like a school girl being left alone at the airport when Mamma flew back to India...but my Cowboy Brian was there to console and warm me..I would learn bit by bit the personal pain and shock which he was overcoming in his own life and even though nursing his own wounded heart he was there to comfort mine..
That year 2009 took me to the Good Friday play at the Queensway and.When the choir sang " Amazing Grace" my strong Cowboy Brian cried .and I knew then at that moment that he was the only guy for me..
Summer turned to winter and that was the year of yet another kind of flu hitting the city..one day I lay sick and weak in my bed when I got a call from my cowboy..was I ready to go up north to Midland to see the Snow squalls..Brian is as passionate about the winter weather as any true Cowboy..I am no less of an adventurer and we set off into the snowy wilderness to take on the Canadian winter..flu and all..so we both drove up north chasing winter storms and that was an amazing experience for me..
That Christmas week we played in the snow..he swam like an otter in the warm pool in doors and we drove across Lake and mountain country which was frozen over. from the little town of Bala to Gravenhurst..from Bracebridge to Midland...everyday we drove by the Martyrs memorial at Midland... a piece of history I would never have known on my own...and explored the snowy hills alone..just he and me and the elements..was this not the dream and the man I had waited for all my life and was this not the reason I came to Canada..? That was the first time that he said he loved me.. For.a man of few words ..who means what he says..each word is worth a million diamonds..
Over the years we have had our scary moments..A couple of times at public functions and social events we were not prepared for what happens when you invite a handsome man to a gathering where some men and women harbor dark secrets in their hearts..the seemingly `harmless' and least suspicious women who you thought were your best friends suddenly become your worse night mare . Yet the test of a strong relationship is the integrity and trust partners have for their relationship and for each other in such dangerous encounters and we came away stronger and closer than ever before.
The years of being ' so lost at sea' in a far away land..had ended for me..
Our marriage was a deeply spiritual experience for both of us and we both cried with emotion and joy as we took our vows and exchanged wedding bands in a simple yet deeply loving and moving ceremony in Toronto. All of that day the spiritual head of the Vedanta Society of Toronto Swami Kripamayananda Maharaj prayed for us and gave me spiritual guidance and assurances. My Mother in far way India was on the phone with me through every second of the auspicious hour. Our Marriage minister prepared an extraordinary prayer and vows that took the beautiful verses and hymns from the Bible which Brian wanted and also spoke an universal prayer that means that we promised each other our Love, our life and our loyalty till the last day of our lives and beyond.
..
When I am by Brian's side .listening to old music on the radio...and the song from True Grit comes up..I say to him...It is a song that was written just for me..
All of us have dreams..some are fundamental..To love and be loved. true stability begins with that...some people have dreams that are great and extraordinary..to fly to the planets..to touch the stars..to save the world..to be like Mother Teresa..unless we truly love those who are closest to us and around us everyday..how can we claim to love the world..and care for human kind ? The greatest dream they say is to one day find God..but the journey starts here in the true love and dreams we have in our time on this earth...
..
And no matter how many years pass..or how impossible the dream may seem..no matter how many people berate you or belittle you and laugh at your dreams..and at you..believe in yourself..and believe in your dreams...
for each word of them is true...The great sage Swami Vivekananda once said..we cannot believe in God unless we believe in ourselves and the proof of that begins when your Dreams come true..
It does not matter if your dream is as insignificant as longing for true love in a far away land.. ..it may be even as great as wanting to save the world and even better saving the last of the species of the almost extinct bright pink whale that lives somewhere near the equator. Your dream may be for a better life..for freedom from oppression, for Truth..for .knowledge... .for fame...to reach the top of the business empire you or someone else built..to win American idol and the greatest :To be a blessing and not a curse to everyone you meet on your journey..No matter how small or big your dream..I do believe we must each have the right and freedom to choose our own lives..and to every little girl out there who dares to dream I will say.. .
One day, little girl, the sadness will leave your face
As soon as you've won the fight to get justice done
Someday little girl you'll wonder what life's about
But other's have known few battles are won alone
So, you'll look around to find
Someone who's kind, someone who is fearless like you
The pain of it will ease a bit
When you find a man with true grit
One day you will rise and you won't believe your eyes
You'll wake up and see
A world that is fine and free
Though summer seems far away
You will find the sun one day
( Lyric from the Title song of the Movie True Grit)
By Lipi Read
formerly Lipi Mukherji
lipiwriter@gmail.com
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