It has been so many months since my last entry. Somehow time seems to just fly by. I got caught up in my day to day activities and despite my efforts to write on a more regular basis - I somehow forgot to write. I even forgot that I had a blog!

Its good to be back again though. Good to be in a place where I can occassionally pen down my thoughts and reflect on my life and write about the things I see around me and what they make me feel.

Its been great to look back at my past entries and to see the things I felt at a certain stage in my life and think about where I'm heading. Very often we are so busy - just moving without taking the time to reflect or think about wh ether we are truly happy about where we are going. So that me for today - just reflecting....

Eating green vegetables and fruits - for better health?

Anyone will tell you that for a well balanced diet, it is essential to eat lots of green vegetables and fruits. We are fortunate that in Bhutan a wide variety of fruits and vegetables that are grown. However what is grown is not sufficient for the population. Further due to the climatic conditions, there are seasons when there are fruits and vegetables in abundance and other seasons where we depend a lot on imports for our consumption.

The recent rupee issue has highlighted the importance and the necessity of enhancing domestic production of fruits and vegetables. According to a data collected by the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives (DAMC) in March 2012, a ‘majority of vegetable imports take place during winter and early spring. Furthermore during the lean season in Bhutan (November to April), vendors based at the Centenary Farmers Market in Thimphu import about 208 MT of assorted vegetables per week valued around Nu 3 million, which totals about 5,000 MT of vegetables valued at about Nu. 83 million’

This is a substantial amount of imports and a significant drain of our hard earned foreign currency (for the Rupee, as we are now very aware, is a foreign currency). While there would definitely be need for some import, it is important to now work towards actively promoting our own domestic production and towards the ultimate objective of self-reliance in this arena.

A recent kuensel article further compounded my concerns - albeit for a slightly different reason. According to the article called “Our source of all things green” the author takes us to a wholesale vegetable market some 80 km away from Phuensholing. A large thriving market, it appears that a substantial amount of vegetables and fruits from this market are purchased by Bhutanese vendors. What, however, concerns me is that the farmers appear to use pesticides on almost all vegetables and fruits. According to the article, pesticides are used for better yields, protection against infection, artificial ripening and faster growth of vegetables and fruits. It appears that synthetic fertilizer or pesticides are used excessively during cultivation and harvesting and lots of preservatives are used during processing, storage and transporting.

This is very disturbing given that much of our consumption of fruits and vegetables are from such areas and from people who may be more concerned about their own profits rather than the consumer’s health.

Numerous studies highlight the direct link between exposure to harmful toxins and our health. It is alarming to think about just how much toxins are being put into our bodies every day - all in the effort to eat well and live a long life. And to think that we tell our children that they must eat their greens to stay healthy.

(And that is only just for fruits and vegetables – I shudder to think of all the chemicals and growth hormones that may be injected into the meat.)

When I was growing up, I was always encouraged to eat lots of apples with the peel. The peel, I was told, was very nutritious and good for health. So I relished biting into the apple and eating it whole.

Nowadays, with all the chemicals and pesticides that are infused into fruits and vegetables to, we are advised not to eat the peel of the fruits such as apples as they have direct contact to pesticides to keep them from getting spoilt quickly. Imagine biting into an apple and instead of taking in nutrition, you are directly consuming something that has chemicals that will in the long run make you sick.

So in a way – the recent rupee situation has been quite an eye opener for us. It has made us realize just how important it is for us to enhance the domestic production of our fruits and vegetables. This will need to be done through a well strategized plan of action with support to farmers and producers and with the collaboration from many different stakeholders. It is no doubt a big task but one that is necessary and timely. I understand that efforts / studies are already being undertaken towards this at the national level (this is a subject that merits extensive discussions and not one that I wish to discuss here.)

In our own individual capacities, however, we also need to support our domestic producers by purchasing their products. First of all, by supporting our farmers we are encouraging more rural based employment and enhancement of rural income. With more demand for their products, they will be encouraged to expand, mechanize and collaborate with other farmers / cooperatives. In the long run through a proper and systematic network and linkages, the supply and prices can be stabilized and that is in the best interests of everyone concerned – the farmers, the consumers and also the country as a whole – for less imports means less demand on foreign currency.

Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that the Bhutanese products are more ‘organic’ in nature – simply because no / less pesticides are used. As such, organic products fetch a premium price in all countries where people have increasingly begun to understand its value. And so for the reasons that I have mentioned earlier, I feel that while Bhutanese products may be a little more expensive, in the long run it is an investment that is well worth it. Think how much you will ultimately save in medical bills alone.

Aimless

I am floating in the air

Softly and gently, ever so lightly

Dancing the waves of the blowing wind 

Wavering here and there, reaching nowhere

I am nothing more than a whisper

Quiet murmuring words that line a page

In time growing pale and yellow

Fading to nothingness  

Breaking Bricks

If you are willing to look around and reflect on life’s lessons, you will find that there are lessons for learning everywhere. You can find it in your interactions with people, in your observations of nature and in everything that is happening around you at all times. 

Interestingly, you can even find it in the games on your phone.

Waiting outside the dentist’s chamber can be quite an ordeal. I sat there this morning, overwhelmed by the large number of people who were waiting patiently (and impatiently) around me, and feeling slightly apprehensive about what would invariably happen once I got to the dentist chair.

So to ease my mind and to pass the time, I took out my phone to play a game. The only game that is there on my phone is the Brick Breaker. I don’t know if you have ever tried it but it is quite an addictive game. Basically there is a wall of bricks on the top of the screen which the player must smash by deflecting a bouncing ball with a paddle. The player can move the paddle around horizontally to keep the ball on the screen and to aim at the bricks above.

The idea is to destroy all the bricks and advance onto a new level. At times when you hit certain bricks there are special points that shower down and if you can catch it you get certain benefits like an extra life, or more bouncing balls etc. While the latter is good (it helps to destroy many more bricks all at once), it also results in a chaotic situation. I found that by trying to save all the balls, one ends up missing all the others and before one knows it, there are none left on the screen and one life is lost.

This happened a few times before I came to the realization that it was far better to have one ball on the screen and to slowly (and with precision) target all the bricks one by one, rather than to juggle too many balls at once, lose focus and ultimately lose a life.

So, not surprisingly, the lesson I took from the dentist’s chamber this morning was not only that one should not indulge in eating too many sweets but that:  It is better to focus on one thing at a time and do it well rather than focus on many things and have little to show for it in the end.

For Today

This morning as I was driving to work, I looked up and suddenly saw the mountains. They were all around me – gentle sloping hills that rose to greet the clear blue sky. Ancient and sturdy, they had been here all the while but somewhere along the way I did not see them. 

I looked around and saw soft cotton-like clouds that dotted the sky and lime green willow trees and pink peach blossoms lining the streets. Where had I been all this while? When did winter blossom into spring?

Thinking about it, I realize that often times we are not a part of the present moment. Every moment we are either living in the past or in the future. We are thinking of what we should have done and having regrets of the past or we are worrying about the future – about what could happen and what should be done.

And before we know it, this Present moment which was spent worrying or planning has become a part of the Past and we are already in the Future – and we are not sure where the Present moment actually went.

Minutes go into hours, days into months and our time is going by fast – and all the while our present is lost.

So I say to myself – forget about the yesterdays, forget about the tommorows – think only of Today and of what I can do to make it worthwhile and memorable.

So for Today I will take deep breaths – and let the clear mountain air flow into my body giving me energy and hope. I will breathe out slowly and release all the tension and negative energy.  I will enjoy the companionship of my friends and family. I will try and bring smiles to the people around me. I will try to make a difference (even if it is small one) to at least one person. I will give thanks for all the blessings in my life. 

I will look around and see the gifts of nature. I will see the mountains and the clouds, smell the fragrance of the flowers and taste the freshness of the mountain water. 

For Today, I will live my life meaningfully.

Fireworks during the Royal Wedding (15 Oct 2011)

Under a crystal clear October sky
thousands are gathered
on the steps of the national stadium –
Changlimithang.

Strangers and friends
stand amidst mingled breaths
and joyful laughter
this clear frosty autumn night
waiting - in collective anticipation.

Then with a loud cracking sound
a fiery red flame shoots into the sky
and with a ‘pop’ bursts into a thousand stars. 

The second follow and then the third 
and soon the night is a splash of colors –
golden sparkles, streaming silver
crackling green and sparkling blue.

And with each ‘Phak pok Phak”
and every ‘Woosh’ and “crackle”,
there is  a vivid explosion in the night 
a brilliant shower of colors
Frizzling and streaming
spiraling and dreaming
cracking, flaming, dizzying…

Strangers become friends 

and adults become children.
For in this timeless moment

                                      everyone comes together in joyous harmony 
                                           as history is made in the Dragon nation
                                                 under one clear October sky.

The Power of the Mind

The power of the mind is phenomenal. As Marcus Aurelicus once said centuries ago ‘Our life is what our thoughts make it.’ Similarly many learned people across the ages have observed the importance of the mind and how it has an extremely significant bearing on the way people live their lives.

The ultimate aim of all human beings, as we know it, is happiness. Yet the very concept of what is happiness is elusive because it is relative and personal. To some people happiness is material well being, to others it is emotional security, and yet to others spiritual growth. Would a person be happier if he had more wealth, more fame and more security? Often happiness is associated with results, with greater achievements, more glory, more wealth, always something more, and something better. However, does this actually guarantee happiness?

I have never ceased to be surprised when I pass by people living in sparse conditions, having little possession and living hand to mouth – yet seemingly happy with the life they have been born in and what fate has dished out to them. Then on the other hand, there are many people who have been blessed with so much material possession and have fame and prestige in society, yet seem so discontent in life. The question that often arises in my mind is why this difference?

It has also never failed to amaze me that two people born of the same environment and value system can look at the same situation and see it differently. This different light in which the situation is perceived is the result of the human mind and the attitudes of the people. Happiness, as I see it, is a state of mind. It is all in this little space in our head that determines whether we are happy with what has been given to us. Ultimately, it is a choice we are making. As the great poet Milton wrote nearly four hundred years ago ‘The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell and a hell of heaven.’

In the end, your state of happiness is what you make of it and how you choose to perceive a particular situation. After all it is not so much the situation that matters but rather how you choose to look at it. I recall reading a story sometime back of a man who once got robbed of all his belongings. He chose to look at his loss lightly and saw it as a good opportunity to have gotten rid of his old belongings. However, his friends and neighbors kept telling him how sorry they were for him and how unfortunate it was. Then having heard it once too often, he too began to feel the sorrow and loss of his belongings.

This story made me realize just how much one’s thoughts influence one’s perception of situations and of life in general. It is not the situation but rather our mental attitude and our perception that causes the suffering. Once that is realized, you will find that happiness is within your grasp.

This I think is comforting – the knowledge that happiness is within our grasp and that it is not the situation or achievements that will make you happy but rather your perception of the situation and your choice on how to handle it. Then, you will find, your life is as happy as your thoughts allow it to be.

Autumn

Autumn

Leaves falling

    In the evening light

Autumn