Price or Prize

What are you thinking about ?

Today I was confounded by a rather pressing thought. 

Having been blessed with fulfilling opportunities to work by means of writing and training projects, I felt overwhelmed thinking about the price involved. i.e., the cost to my client which in turn would be my prize. I kept thinking about what is largely at stake - their money, their investment of time, my reputation etc.

What price am I paying?

The price that I am paying is my time away from my family, the extra hours of work, juggling around to make things happen, investing in new ideas, pushing myself out of my comfort zone.

I guess what makes it worth it is when the price you are willing to pay equates or is lesser than the prize that you will receive. 

I began to measure mine and wondered what to focus on...

Earlier today ...

My son and I placed a bet on a Digi-game of carrom. Whoever lost owed the other Rs.50/-. 

As bizarre as it may sound, I began to get stressed. I focused on the price - had I to lose! and then, I lost!

I realise that when I divert my energies to investing in the thought of cost or price involved, or what's at stake, I waste away. It's really no good for me to do that.

This analysis has helped me take my next best steps clearly - Focus on the task at hand, no matter the price or prize.

What do you think Jesus focused on - on his way to Calvary?

Crown or Cross? 

The glory that was to follow ? 

or 

The most brutal suffering he was to bear?

In the book of Genesis , we are given a peek into the nature of God himself. We are made in his image and likeness. Which means, he is a lot more like us than we could imagine. Humanity and divinity together are reflected in his son Jesus.

And so, I would like to believe that the human Jesus too, conquered sin and darkness by focusing on the task at hand.

One day at a time, one step at a time (in his humanity)

with you and me on his mind (in his divinity)

The Last Supper, The Agony, The Betrayal, The Scourging, The Piercing, The Carrying, The Falling, The Getting Up, The Nails, The Thirst, The Handing Over of Mary, The Forgiveness, The Surrender!

I doubt any of these would have been possible if he had got lost thinking about price or prize. 

And now, following his example, neither will I :D

His Love Is All Around

In the coolness of the breeze,

The swaying of the trees,

When children whisper to me,

The breath of God I feel.

The comfort of warm conversation,

The rays of the sun. 

The hugs and smiles of loved ones,

The joy of heaven is reborn.

His peace is in the knowledge,

That His love is very real,

And even in the darkest night,

His word can wipe every tear.

So if you wake up feeling purposeless,

Or find that hope is gone,

Look all around and remind yourself;

Through you His love lives on.

This Father's Day

Each Father’s Day I pray for dad;

Among the blessed we are but a few,

Today as I did, it struck me downright,

I ought to be grateful for two!

For one has shown me how to live,

The other, the meaning of life;

One calls me his little baby girl,

The other, he calls me his wife!

Being a dad is much more than the title,

It is no easy road;

For a father must carve a path so worthy,

His children might reach their goal.

It’s not always about blood or gender,

Or if you’ve been harsh or too mild;

To qualify the part, it is quite enough…

…that your heart was once home to a child.

Women's Day - Today and Everyday !

It takes painful courage for a woman to fight;
The crimes against her body & mind, her throne.
At the moment of her birth;
Is the expectation set -
The wealth of her husband;
She will beget,
She has no lasting home.

Rendered by her growing years self-conscious, uneasy..
By inescapable schemes of prowling men;
Shamelessly victimizing her immense potential.
Her image, her choices,
She struggles to defend.

Yet it takes the heart & hands of a woman;
To mould a house into a home.
She has the irrefutable power to conquer;
Those mighty storms all on her own.

Don't ever find yourself in wanting
Of a wounded woman's wrath.
In protecting and loving her while you can;
Is the core strength of being a man.

A woman adds a special substance;
She is a gifted, indispensable pearl.
Accept or deny, the fact remains;
The world relies on the future of a girl.
 
-VenAura
(Women's Day, India, 2015)

At Midnight

Sometimes I fail to understand
Sometimes I'm scared to try
Most times I give up and retire deep into sleep
Hoping that the next sun beam will help me peak
A little more into what you feel
Every time I say something I think I'll regret.

I conclude that keeping it all inside is best
But I wake up after that bad decision
Sucking in air that I cannot breathe
Hoping that a mild tranquilizer
Will shut me back to sleep.

Confessions of A Teen

I am concerned how you view me,
Although I pretend I don't care.
It hurts when you compare me;
I'm afraid when you stare.

The world is beginning to look a lot;
Like a place I should explore.
I grasp whatever I find interesting,
It helps me learn some more.

I find instruction tying me down,
Guidance - unwanted advice,
Yet wonder what is right from wrong;
As I surf through books and websites.

Stepping into adulthood,
Leaving childhood behind,
I'm somewhere in between;
A lot is on my mind.

Sometimes confused, at times so sure,
There are days when I feel bemeaned.
All I need is love and understanding,
Don't judge me, I'm just sixteen!

She

Long before substance could hold her;

Wisdom her older sibling;

Not height or depth, no word un-kept;

Can fathom her dimensions.

She comes before and after for the next;

Profoundly lingering at will.

Not for too long; she has many to fancy,

And heed her needs to fulfill.

She is triumphant when her wand she squishes;

And Lo! There flows an essay.

From inked feather to pen and paper;

To typists she fastens away.

She ends up in rise or fall;

Sometimes crumpled into a ball;

And fist-ed out of the window

Never to return;

Fated by her owner.

Some days she sweeps in with emotion;

Sometimes she refuses to enter.

She has power to uphold a nation.

Bejeweled, she is ‘Inspiration’