Author: Ajmal

Vicky.

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While looking at some old notes from 2016 that I wrote when I watched this short video in 2016, I can see that I had left a note in a book to write about it sometime in the future. This is done very brilliantly. The theme, visuals, and the overall message is ferried well to the listener and what’s wonderful is that it’s beyond any language or geographical barrier.

For some reason, I remembered the cat that we had around at our home when I was in Kerala. It used to be around all the time. When I used to walk to college, this would come long for a little long. This cat is no more. It passed away in 2010. Life is fragile.

mind magnet

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I have read somewhere that mind is akin to a magnet in a certain sense.  It’s concomitant of the thoughts espoused within. If we put our thoughts about blessings,  the mind tends to attract and discover blessings and their deeper meanings. In the same manner,  channeling thoughts of problems would bewitch and attract problems and restlessness. Nurturing and cultivating good thoughts would help in assuming a positive and optimistic frame of mind. That’s a lifetime of learning. Remember the humble life illustration?

Being calm about everything allows your mind to find solutions. Calmness is also a state of trust. Instead of overthinking and overreacting, you just surrender for that moment and allow yourself to receive guidance for what doesn’t make sense – Idil


I’ve personally felt that the strength of calmness is often derived from a trust in the divine timing of events happening and not harboring or apprehending any internal dissent or distress in the way certain things are in the way they’re supposed to be and in accepting certain aspects on the way they are. I believe that’s a quality that’s to be built up with time and experiences and everyone would have different journeys. God bless.

cross-purposes

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“Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outre results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable.”

― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
A 2017 photograph from the streets of Tbilisi, Georgia.

Serene Pastures

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A montage of some indoor plants.

“No matter the state of the world, or how dark the shadow that has fallen on our city, I find it curiously comforting to know that if you plant a seed and give it sunlight and water, it will grow.”

“Serene Pastures”

― Sarah Jio, All the Flowers in Paris

plant tread.

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Remember those days where we passionately spoke of Golden pothos propagation craft and the flora shelf. Finally ticking a long term pending list scroll, I potted some money plants and other flora out of the roots of them which I had in water containers for quite some time now.  I made use of this 20 l potting soil. Had a couple of pots available on the shelf that were waiting to get potted. Here are some of them. I shall try to put in a video montage of these new ones soon. Delve into the simple golden pothos propagation technique.  This is where we started the plant stand. Happy gardening!
Love aqua-scaping? We’ve got stuff to keep you interesting : )
Matshona Dhliwayo, a Canadian philosopher said: “A seed is its own world, a garden is its own universe.” I had an experience during a vacation to my home town that kindled within me the seed of love for plants and pruning them in whichever medium I find plausible. I shall try to write that little story sometime soon. Keep reading!
Thank you for the warm messages and letters I received from various readers. I’m very grateful for the time you spend reading these lines. I hope everyone loves the new design for the website as much as I do. God bless.


vitreous worlds

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It’s about having the eye to see the internal within the external. It’s to probe purpose and beauty in chaos and noise. It requires patience, intention, and humility.

“Intellect is the knowledge obtained by the experience of names and forms; wisdom is the knowledge which manifests only from the inner being; to acquire intellect one must delve into studies, but to obtain wisdom, nothing but the flow of divine mercy is needed; it is as natural as the instinct of swimming to the fish, or of flying to the bird. Intellect is the sight which enables one to see through the external world, but the light of wisdom enables one to see through the external into the internal world.”

–Inayat Khan

round pegs in square holes.

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“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

These are the famous words from a rebranding slogan “Think Different” which Apple ran in 1997. I have read that, more than for the public, the ad was basically intended to its employees to inspire them. This was written by Rob Siltanen, chairman and chief creative officer at Siltanen & Partners. After Steve Jobs passed away, someone dug up an old video from archives in which Steve Jobs personally spoke the words of the same ad in his own voice. I saw this many years back, but its timeless theme still strikes a chime.

exhortation of the dawn.

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“Listen to the exhortation of the dawn! Look to this day!
For it is life, the very life of life. In its brief course lie all the verities and realities of your existence. The splendor of beauty, the bliss of growth, the glory of action. For yesterday is but a dream And tomorrow is only a vision. Today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well therefore to this day! Such is the salutation of the dawn” – Excerpt from a 2100 BC script

Photograph from the Memorial Museum of Orbeli Brothers, Yerevan.

reboot

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It’s been more than 3-4 years that I played around the appearance of the page. I’ve been lately researching a lot on stripping down all the noise and bringing everything to a more minimal refined state and if you’re reading this now, probably you’d be reading on the new look of the website.

For nostalgic purpose, here’re some screenshots of the old page.