Travel – The Border of a Mind

seeds of passion

February 10, 2023February 10, 2023 by Ajmal

The art of gardening and decorating has always had a special place in my heart. I I remember a journey that intensified and deepened my zeal, a trip to a quaint hill station in Kerala called Peermade. A place where the mountains rose high, creating a barrier between the regions of Travancore and Madurai in ancient Tamilakam. I was staying in a guest house, a two-storied cottage, with my family and my brother helped to find this cottage. The family who owned the cottage lived on the lower floor and the guests on the top floor. Little did I know that my perspective about decor and integrating plants would be forever changed by the experience I had there.

The family’s love for plants and gardening was a sight to behold. The proprietors of the cottage, a family with a deep-seated passion for horticulture, left a lasting impression on me. Their abode was a veritable jungle of flora, with an imaginative use of pots, cans, glass jars, and even repurposed waste containers to cultivate an astonishing diversity of plants. The cottage was filled with an abundance of greenery, and the owners would go around with a green plastic plant mister, talking to the plants and showering them with love. That stay opened my eyes to the possibility of making our surroundings beautiful and leaving our signature on them, no matter where we are.

Upon coming back to the UAE after my vacation, I sought out methods to bring greenery into both my home and work cabin. The capability for growth and knowledge housed within a seed never fails to stun me. Dreaming and planting a garden, born from imagination, symbolizes a declaration of autonomy of the soul. It is within these unique areas and touches that we can discover innovative ways to reconcile our sense of beauty with our living spaces.

Gardening is not just about creating beauty, but also about embracing the imperfections and limitations of life. It’s about finding joy in the simple things. Embracing the art of gardening and decorating, enables to leave our mark with a space that speaks of our soul.

snowy symphony

January 8, 2023January 7, 2023 by Ajmal

This is a memory from a travel to Georgia in 2017. As I embarked upon my journey through the Gudauri snow mountains in Georgia, I was filled with a sense of excitement and wonder. It was my first experience with snow, and I could not wait to immerse myself in its frosty embrace.

The journey itself was a revelation. As our vehicle wound its way through the winding mountain roads, I was struck by the breathtaking beauty of the landscape. The snow-capped peaks loomed above us, a majestic testament to the power of nature.

And when we arrived at our destination, I was awestruck by the sheer majesty of the snow-covered slopes. The crisp, clean air invigorated my senses, and I felt a sense of pure joy and bliss as I took my first tentative steps onto the powdery white surface.

As I glided down the mountain, the wind rushing through my hair and the sun shining down upon me, I knew that this was a moment I would always treasure. The Gudauri snow mountains had given me a gift, one that I would carry with me always – the memory of my first, magical encounter with snow.

lessons from the current

December 29, 2022December 24, 2022 by Ajmal

Time, like a flowing river, is a force we cannot halt or contain. Each moment that passes is irretrievable, a current that moves ever onward, leaving us behind. Thus, if we are presented with an opportunity for growth or benefit, we must seize it with determination and steadfast resolve. For every perceived setback or defeat, there are valuable lessons to be gleaned, lessons that can serve us well in the face of future challenges. There are no true failures, only chances to grow and become wiser, more attuned to the currents of life.

A calm evening from Khorfakkan, United Arab Emirates

magic of artifacts

December 10, 2022December 10, 2022 by Ajmal

The survival of human-made objects from the past holds a certain magic. A piece of jewelry, a cup, a sword, or a sandal that has survived the passage of time has the ability to bridge the gap between us and our ancestors, bringing us closer to the world of ancient civilizations. A collection of such artifacts can provide a glimpse into a lost civilization, its daily life, art, culture, and beliefs. They can show us how people made war and conducted trade, and give us a glimpse into their rituals and beliefs.

Imagine standing in a museum gallery, surrounded by objects that you can barely make out in the dim lighting. As you look closer, you begin to recognize shapes: a basket, an arrow, a beautifully decorated carving, a shield. Some of the objects are unfamiliar to you. Imagine if these objects could speak. What stories would they tell about themselves? How were they used? Where did they come from? How did they end up in this museum? Who do they belong to?

the fleeting dream

August 16, 2022August 13, 2022 by Ajmal

For a moment, assume you’re relaxing on the banks of a river on a beautiful spring day. Consider how a gentle wind cools and refreshes the air. Can you hear the gushing water? Can you notice the beautiful blossoms, each more beautiful than the last? Image yourself chatting to a beloved friend while admiring these beauty; imagine yourself inhaling the fresh perfume of the flowers in the air and listening to the pleasant singing of the birds. Imagine you are enjoying all of these feelings when you wake up and find yourself in bed (!). In such a circumstance, you would understand that all you thought was true was, in reality, a dream: a fabrication of your mind that abruptly evaded.
Let us now envision the identical circumstance after you have woken up. Assume you’re chatting to a close friend while taking in the views and sounds of a beautiful river.If you were asked, “which of the two would you prefer?” after having experienced both, you would of course say, “the one after I woke up.” The reason for this is that what happens in our dreams stays in our dreams and does not assist a person in real life. Nobody can really be sad for what he or she has lost in a dream since they know it has no bearing on actual life. No matter how much delight a person receives in a dream, it will never be as pleasurable as when he or she is awake and in the real world. Now, let’s question this “reality”.

In the same manner, this world’s existence is a dream, exceedingly brief and transient in comparison to an afterlife. What makes us so sure that we are currently not in a dream ? When you’re in a dream, you don’t realize that it’s a dream. The life of this world, which seems so real today, will soon come to an end, and your actual, everlasting existence will begin, similar to returning from the realm of the imagination to the real world upon waking from a dream. After our deaths, our “souls” would wake up from this “dream’ of “life”. This is an ultimate truth of this finite life of ours and it is truly magical.

The world is inside you.

Some of the other chapters from the Ponder Series that you can read on :

> Perceiving Time
> Is it a dream ?
> Ornate Blossoms
> Visual Narrative – Ponder Series
> Reflecting on Shadows
> Stumble over Pebbles
> Ethereal Quality | Petals
> Golden Ratio
> Vision – Pondering on the intricacies
> Ruminating on Bird Nests
> Living Embellishments
> Pondering on Birds
> Perceptions

bruvver’s dubai

August 9, 2022August 6, 2022 by Ajmal

Bruvver’s Dubai – Video

My brother took a short visit to Dubai last year. I had some brief sequences and graphics that I wanted to edit and work on in order to relish in the memories of his visit. Editing travel visuals is a delightful experience that inspires us desire to embark on another excursion. After years of traveling, carefully curated footage and photographs are the plane, train, and road of our memory travel. They are the destination as well as the journey. It was his first trip to Dubai. I can’t think of anything that inspires more childish awe than traveling to a place where you know absolutely anything. You are suddenly five years old again. Your whole existence becomes a string of intriguing intuitions. I have fond recollections of his memorable visit.

cushions of cream

August 7, 2022August 5, 2022 by Ajmal

Tea would arrive, the cakes squatting on cushions of cream, toast in a melting shawl of butter, cups agleam and a faint wisp of steam rising from the teapot shawl.
Gerald Durrell, My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy, #1)

un-rushed

July 25, 2022July 22, 2022 by Ajmal

Principal Photography: Netta Edited & Styled by The Border Of A Mind Studios

The pace of the world has slowed from within through a gradual change in perspective. I’ve mirrored the same. I’ve made more time to listen—to my heart, to the new season ahead of me. At these times, I choose happiness over disorder. These are the times when my steps sing with delight. These are the times when I am my most authentic, real, and honest self. In silence, I realize how much I run throughout my days. I realize how infrequently I pause to collect my breath. This reality kindles something within. It weakens because I know I’m not supposed to spend my life swayed under this rush .The more I pray about my pace, the more I realize it has taken me nowhere. I’ve only discovered emptiness in the midst of the chaos. But in my slowness, I’ve discovered richness. I’ve merely found potential for growth and recollection. I’ve just come to believe in more and more grace. When I go back on my recollections, I just want to remember the quiet, simple, and peaceful moments. Nothing is more precious to me now than chasing harmony via divine affirmation rather than earthly approval. The world is continually in motion. And all too often, I emulate its shaky steps. I strive to keep up with its unpredictability and unbalance, but I always fail in its middle. In silent and peaceful prayers, I come to respect how I was never intended to seek anything other than pure, honest, and sincere rest—the sort that takes me to the route I was always meant to travel and the tale I was always meant to live. In short, try to feel and experience every moment. God bless : )

comfort bubbles.

December 16, 2021December 16, 2021 by Ajmal

From a stroll through Buyukada Islands in Turkey in 2016

“Comfort is a drug. Once you get used to it, it becomes addicting. Give a weak person consistent stimulation, good food, cheap entertainment and they’ll throw their ambitions right out the window. The comfort zone is where dreams go and die.”
Mind Journal

For everyone, there are these invisible bubbles around them. Within this bubble, there’s a safe haven of familiarity, safety, easiness and security. There’s a broad, wide world of experiences outside this bubble. Growth advances significantly during adversity, when we’re outside the bubble or when situations force us to delve out this bubble. Writer Shaa Zainol says in one of her writings that moving beyond of your comfort zone does not mean that you must grow outside of your familiar surroundings, but rather that you must try something new in order to add different gems to your life. It all begins with your own heart, which should resemble conviction, enthusiasm, and consistent determinations.
Peacefully tackling uncertainty outside the comfort bubble is a key to different beauties of life. Like how we perceive universe as so vast, so are the faculties of mind and to expand the boundaries. Even in small things, if we change our thoughts to be more embracing, more agile, that changes the way we see and handle things. God bless ! : )

wanderlust.

November 20, 2021November 20, 2021 by Ajmal

It’s with much desolation that I read the news that Mr Vijayan is no more. He’s a tea seller from Kerala, India who travelled the world with his wife.

Copybook films has made a beautiful short film about them. It has been really inspiring and is deeply touching. It kind of supercharges your mind. Rest in peace.

Invisible Wings