Don't bug me! Hug me!

This is an amazin story that i read in the book -Chicken Soup For the Soul and i had to share so read on..I still cry everytime i read this story.

The Hugging Judge

Lee Shapiro is a retired judge. He is also one of the most genuinely loving people we know. At one point in his career, Lee realized that love is the greatest power there is. As a result, Lee became a hugger. He began offering everybody a hug. His colleagues dubbed him "the hugging judge" (as opposed to the hanging judge, we suppose). The bumper sticker on his car reads, "Don't bug me! Hug me!" About six years ago Lee created what he calls his Hugger Kit. On the outside it reads "A heart for a hug." The inside contains thirty little red embroidered hearts with stickums on the back. Lee will take out his Hugger Kit, go around to people and offer them a little red heart in exchange for a hug. Lee has become so well known for this that he is often invited to keynote conferences and conventions, where he shares his message of unconditional love. At a conference in San Francisco, the local news media challenged him by saying, "It is easy to give out hugs here in the conference to people who self-selected to be here. But this would never work in the real world." They challenged Lee to give away some hugs on the streets of San Francisco. Followed by a television crew from the local news station, Lee went out onto the street. First he approached a woman walking by. "Hi, I'm Lee Shapiro, the hugging judge. I'm giving out these hearts in exchange for a hug." "Sure," she replied. "Too easy," challenged the local commentator. Lee looked around. He saw a meter maid who was being given a hard time by the owner of a BMW to whom she was giving a ticket. He marched up to her, camera crew in tow, and said, "You look like you could use a hug. I'm the hugging judge and I'm offering you one." She accepted. The television commentator threw down one final challenge. "Look, here comes a bus. San Francisco bus drivers are the toughest, crabbiest, meanest people in the whole town. Let's see you get him to hug you." Lee took the challenge. As the bus pulled up to the curb, Lee said, "Hi, I'm Lee Shapiro, the hugging judge. This has got to be one of the most stressful jobs in the whole world. I'm offering hugs to people today to lighten the load a
little. Would you like one?" The six-foot-two, 230-pound bus driver got out of his seat, stepped down and said, "Why not?" Lee hugged him, gave him a heart and waved good-bye as the bus pulled out. The TV crew was speechless. Finally, the commentator said, "I have to admit, I'm very impressed." One day Lee's friend Nancy Johnston showed up on his doorstep. Nancy is a professional clown and she was wearing her clown costume, makeup and all. "Lee, grab a bunch of your Hugger Kits and let's go out to the home for the disabled." When they arrived at the home, they started giving out balloon hats, hearts and hugs to the patients. Lee was uncomfortable. He had never before hugged people who were terminally ill, severely retarded or quadriplegic. It was definitely a stretch. But after a while it became easier, with Nancy and Lee acquiring an entourage of doctors, nurses and orderlies who followed them from ward to ward. After several hours they entered the last ward. These were 34 of the worst cases Lee had seen in his life. The feeling was so grim it took his heart away. But out of their commitment to share their love and to make a difference, Nancy and Lee started working their way around the room followed by the entourage of medical staff, all of whom by now had hearts on their collars and balloon hats on their heads. Finally, Lee came to the last person, Leonard. Leonard was wearing a big white bib which he was drooling on. Lee looked at Leonard dribbling onto his bib and said, "Let's go, Nancy. There's no way we can get through to this person." Nancy replied, "C'mon, Lee. He's a fellow human being, too, isn't he?" Then she placed a funny balloon hat on his head. Lee took one of his little red hearts and placed it on Leonard's bib. He took a deep breath, leaned down and gave Leonard a hug. All of a sudden Leonard began to squeal, "Eeeeehh! Eeeeeehh!" Some of the other patients in the room began to clang things together. Lee turned to the staff for some sort of explanation only to find that every doctor, nurse and orderly was crying. Lee asked the head nurse, "What's going on?" Lee will never forget what she said: "This is the first time in 23 years we've ever seen Leonard smile." How simple it is to make a difference in the lives of others.
Jack Canfield and Mark V. Hansen

Shanti.................we'll miss u!!!!!!!!

A wonderful soul i knew passed away today. I just can't believe she's gone. We were in the same class in college. She was sum1 who was known for her luv 4 nature and animals and ironically thats wat killed her.
She luved trekking and she died when she fell off a cliff on her last trek.

Its sad when amazin people like her die. There is so much bad happening in the world today and it just makes u wonder when is all this goin to end. Shanti was one of those amazing people who had the ability to find goog in each and everyone she met. On our last day at college together she had made a card for each and everyone in my class..i.e about 60 students with a personal message for each one of us. Thats how amazing she was. It breaks my heart when i think of how her family will cope with this loss. I just pray to god to give them the strength to overcome this loss and may her soul rest in peace. Shanti u'll be missed by each one of us who knew you, for you had the amazing gift of touchin people's lives when u met them.

A New Day...

I am a big fan of Celine Dion ad i hope someday can go to Las Vegas to see one of her hows, this song by her very aptly describes my current state of mind



A new day...
A new day....

I was waiting for so long
For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on and don't shed a tear

Through the darkness and good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I had it all
But I was waiting for you

Hush, love

I see a light in the sky
Oh, its almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun...

A new day has... come

Where it was dark now there's light
Where there was pain now there's joy
Where there was weakness, I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy

Hush, love

I see a light in the sky
Oh, its almost blinding me
I can't belive
I've been touched by an angel with love

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun...

A new day has...

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun...

A new day has....come

Ohhh, a light

Hush, now

I see a light in your eyes
All in the eyes of a boy

I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love

I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love

Hush, now

Hush, now

Good Bye My Friend...........

OK this one goes out to the person i've been really mad at for sometime now and though the he hasn't apologized i just want him to know that - I forgive u........

It might not matter to u at all (and trust me i won't be surprised) but it matters to me , infact it matters a lot. Because at the end of that day we get mad at only those people who we care about. And u did at one point of time. See the thing is by being mad at u i am just hurtin myself cos i hate being mad at people, i hate being angry and anxious. Besides i am not gonna learn anything by blamin u am i? I take complete responsibility for my actions if u were a jerk to me then i shud have seen that instead i just choose to see what i wanted to see. I know that i am to be blamed for my own misery. But i am gonna learn from my mistakes and move on. And i forgive u cos thats the only way i am gonna be able to move on. So my friend i forgive u with all my heart for everything u've said and done and by doing so i am just setting my soul free from the prison of your memories. I wish u well, i hope u do well in life and may u get all the luv u deserve. But i also pray to god that u never hurt sumone else like that way u hurt me. Good Luck and have a good life.

P.S.- Forgiveness is a virtue i thot i lacked i guess i was wrong.

3 Kinds of Love............

This is sumthing i heard a couple of days ago and i felt like i have to inculde this in my blog.


There are 3 kinds of luv : Just Love, Big Love and Great Love.

You'll get over Just Love in 2 months

You'll get over Big Love in 2 years &

You'll need a lifetime to get over Great love because it changes your life 4ever when it happens. And when a person loses his/her great love then sumthing inside that person just dies. And in this case the person just settles for the person he loves 2nd most.

MY GLASS IS HALF FULL!!!!

Its been ages since i last wrote, life's been super busy. But u know wat i don't really mind it. I like it this way. Running around all the time can be a little exhausting sumtimes but at the end of the day its worth it.

For starters i have finally finished readin Shantaram. Its easily one of the best books i have ever read. Though i must admit it took me 4ever to finish it. The writer Gregory david roberts like me loves the city of Mumbai. Its kinda nice to see that a firang luvs the city like we Mumbaikars do. Its fun readin a book when u've actually been to the places that the writer is describing. This book is definitely a must read. I must admit that i don't agree with the choices the main protagonist in the book Lin makes. I feel like sumwhere he refuses to except responsibility for his action. He basically commits all these crimes just because he wants to be around people he cares for, i mean that just stupidity. And if it is based on a real life story, then how did the writer end up in jail as mentioned in the end of the book? I mean the book's already about 900 page a few more pages wudn't hav hurt. But at the end of the day its a good book and i recommend to all book lovers. The character of the Prabhaker has been very beautifully sketched and u can't help but fall in luv with this funny man. The author mentions in the book that he feels like he more of an Indian than anything else and its kinda shows no wonder he ended the book with a happy endin like most of our Indian movies. After readin this book i feel like i want to know more about the war in Afghanistan, i felt very ignorant about the conditions there as i read about the author's experience there. Its unbelievable that a person can go through so much in one lifetime.

It was my B'day a couple of days back and me and my close friends were havin dinner when one of them asked me how had my year been? And b4 i cud answer a very dear friend of mine answered the question sayin that " She worked at a place where she luved wat she was doin, got over her jackass ex and is now studin sumthin she really enjoys, i think life cudn't have been better for her".
And its funny because if i had answered the question i wud hav probably said that - I almost got homeless, lost the person i luved more than life itself so basically it wasn't a good year for me.
But thanx to my dear friend at that particular moment i realized that my glass is half full and i have no reason to complain. Its all about your perspective, there's always sumthin good/right in our lives i wonder why we always choose to focus on the wrong. I am glad i realized this and wat better day than my B'day. Also this year people who i hav barely been i touch with called me to wish me and i must say it felt good. In fact it felt gr8 to know that in sum way or another maybe i had touched their lives and thats why they cared enough to remember and wish me. Thats all for now will try writin more often, but then who the hell reads my blog anyways;-)

MOHE RANG DE BASANTI !!!!!!!!!

Happy Independence Day to all u fellow Indians. 60 years of freedom, now thats an achievement.
When i was in school all this day meant to me was a half day at school (it was compulsary to attend the flag hoisting in the morning). Though i havn't attended a flag hoisting in ages but this day means more than just a day off now. Last year this time i was in the States and like most young Indians today i wanted to live the American dream. But as they say the grass is always greener on the other side. We might not have the best of roads here, but atleast we have public transport (in the US unless u live in a big city there's none). We might not have the best of neighbors here but atleat we know their name and can count on them in case of an emergency (in the 4 months i stayed in the Us i didn't even see my my neightbour's face leave alone knowin his or her name). We might not have the most co-operative bai's here but atleast we have them ( Trust me its not fun when u have to wash your own clothes and clean the bathrooms everyday). On a more serious note i never had to think ten times b4 goin to a Dr here, the Doctors here might not be world class physicians but i don't feel like i've been ripped off every time i go to one.
On my way to the States they showed the movie Rang De Basanti on the plane. Its happens to be one of my favorites. I always feel very patriotic when i watch the movie but this time i felt i like i was running away from My Land, My Culture, My country that gave me everything. I felt like a coward who was runnning away from her responsibilities. (By thw way if u havn't seen this movie then u my friend shud run this very moment and get a Cd of the same and watch it u can read the blog later. Unlike most patriotic movies this one's specially for the youth of today. Its not jus tellin us what the freedom fighters of yesteryears did but it also tellin us what we as young Indians can do to make this country what we want it to be. The passion of the filmaker jus cums across in every scene. Its a master piece. Movies like these are not made everyday. And when i am old and grey i'll tell my kids i belong to the time when the movie Rang De Basanti came out. Rehman's music rocked in the movie ).
My stay in the Us was obviously not very long. There were a no. of reasons why i decided to cum back one of them being that if i had to work , if i had to be sumthin, if i had to contribute to the economy of a country then why not my own. There is this sayin that "Charity begins at home ". If u want to contribute towards the society then why not the one that has given u everything. I see many young Indians who want to settle abroad today. I am sure all of them have their own reasons. But i just wanna tell them that there is no place like home...................
With my first step at Mumbai airport when i came back i could breathe freedom in the air. Trust me when i say this but i've never felt more free in my life. Freedom to live life the way i wanted, freedom to travel on my own (i wanted to hug the BEST buses, no kiddin) as late as i want to. I know its not possible in every city in India but its is Mumbai (I luv this city, there is gonna be a separate blog on my darlin Mumbai). The freedom to talk in Hindi. The freedom to play Holi on the streets. And how can i 4get the food. No more payin 12 $ for badly cooked Indian food buffets. The tasty vada pavs, the amazin raste ka pani puri, the delicious Juhu beach ka pav bhaji and golas, i had it all (that kinda explains the weight i've put on now). But its all worth it. As u can see i am a true blue Indian today. I am proud of the country that i live in. This is my culture and these are my roots. And this is where i belong.

My Song

This is one of my favorite songs sung by the band Junoon. Junoon was one of the first pakistani bands which performed in India. I hope i can go to one of their concerts sumday. This is not one of their popular songs. But i luv it. Hope u guys like it too.

Mitti main mil jaein gaey bhoolo na

Jaein gaey to phir hum laut kay na aaein gaey
Bhoolo na

Khwab hain jo teri meri aankhon main
Saare mitti main mil jaein gaey
Bhoolo na

Geet hain jo teri meri sanson main
Saare mitti main mil jaein gaey
Bhoolo na

Raaz hain jo teri meri baaton main
Saare mitti main mil jaein gaey
Bhoolo na

Mitti main mil jaein gaey bhoolo na
Jaein gaey to phir hum laut kay na aaein gaey
Bhoolo na

If Luv & Marriage are a mystery to u then read on to get the anwers

The story given below was mailed to me by a friend. Its sumthing that i felt i had to share. Its so true..........................

A Student asks a sage, "What is love?" 
The sage replied, "in order to answer your question, go to the wheat 
field and choose the biggest wheat and come back. But the rule is: you 
can go through it only once and cannot turn back to pick." 

The student went to the field, going thru first row, he saw one big 
wheat, but he wondered.... may be there is a bigger one later. 
Then he saw another bigger one... but may be there is an even bigger 
one waiting for him. 

Later, when he finished more than half of the wheat field, he started 
to realise that the wheat is not as big as the previous one he saw, he 
knew he had missed the biggest one, and he regretted. 
So, he ended up went back to the sage with an empty hand. 

The sage told him, "...this is love... you keep looking for a better 
one, but when later you realise, you have already missed the person....its too late"* 
"What is marriage then?" the student asked. 

The sage said, "in order to answer your question, go to the corn field 
and choose the biggest corn and come back. But the rule is same you can 
go through it only once and cannot turn back to pick." 

The student went to the corn field, this time he is careful not to 
repeat the previous mistake, when he reach the middle of the field, he 
picked one medium corn that he felt would satisfy, and came back to the 
sage. 

The sage told him, "this time you brought back a corn.... you looked 
for one that is just nice, and you had faith and believed this is the 
best one you get.... this is marriage." 

Things i wanna do before i die

This really nice guy i had known for years died a couple of days back. He was just 27. He left behind him a very young wife and a beautiful baby girl. His death came as a shock to the family and the cause of his death is still a mystery. His death has made me realize how unpredictable life is. For all i know the angels of death could be knocking my door tomorrow. So i have decided to make THE LIST. You know the list of things i wanna do before i die.....that list. I know this sounds kinda cliche, but i don't really care.
I don't wanna die thinkin there were so many things that i wanted to do but never had the time or the resources, etc, etc....
When i die, i wanna be at peace. I don't want to have any unfulfilled wishes. At least i am gonna try not to have any. So here it goes, this my friend is my list. Warning: i think its gonna be kinda long so pls read it only if u hav enough time to waste.

1. Learn yo speak a foreign language.
2. Get a tattoo that says FREEDOM .........i hav been wanting 2 get this 4ever.
3. Go backpacking.............its one of my dreams
4. Study psychology.......It fascinates me
5. Volunteer for a Children related cause
6. Learn to play a music instrument.........i've given this a shot already, didn't really work out. But i am gonna give it another shot for sure.
7. Date a firang..........would be an icing on the cake if he has blue eyes;-)
8. Travel to Ladakh......if u see the pictures u'll know y i wanna go here
9. Adopt a child.........I am so sure i am gonna do this, i think its my purpose on this planet. I jus hope i am a better person when this finally happens
   
10. Go river rafting...............i don't know how to swim though so i guess thats next in the list
11. Learn to swim...........I almost drowned once. But its high time i conquer my fear
12. Send my sister to Italy...........she has been wanting to go there 4ever. May be i'll accompany her
13. Read all the e-books i have.............this is gonna take a veeeeeeeeeeery long time.
14. Celebrate Valentines day with someone special.............my ex didn't really believe in all these days Which includes the anniversaries, no wonder it didn't work out;-)
    
15. Go to a concert of my favorite band Junoon....................these guys are awesome
16. Learn yoga
    
17. Gift my bro a car............he's an amazing brother; i would give him the world if i could
18. Learn to cook..........this one is gonna require a lot of work
19. Go sky diving...........ok the thought of this scares me but i think thats the reason i wanna do this
20. Throw a surprise party for sumebody........i luv the surprised look on people's faces
21. Get along with my parents.................the chances of this happening are very steep LOL!
    
22. Get my own house..............i really want this to happen hopefully in the near future
23. Donate money for a charity...........i am a good person u know
24. Learn photograhy.........this is sumthing that interests me a lot
    

Ok so this is my list for now. I am kinda surprised that its over. I thought its gonna be longer than this.
Will add more things that i have missed out in the next couple of days. In the meanwhile have to start workin on stuff mentioned above.

4/01/08- A quick update on my list.

20. Done- threw a surprise B'day party for my sister. Cudn't manage to surprise her as i wished cos she kinda had an idea. But alls well that ends well. Had fun arrangin the whole thing.

23. Done- Donated money for this charity Asha Kiran which works for educating Street children, but i am sure i can do more.

18. & 24 are in process- Baked a cake which by the way turned out pretty decent and have started readin articles on photography. Infact even went to shoot pics of Marine drive a couple od days bak. The pics were not that gr8 but i cudn't hv started takin pics at a better place LUUUUUUV Marine Drive

Will keep u guys updated on THE LIST....

20/3/08- Latest updates

4. So it turns out only people who have taken psychology at graduation level can take it at PG level so this option is ruled out. In fact i even tried findin a course on counseling but that too requires gradution in psychology or medicine which i am not. But don't worry folks i am not givin up that easily will try findin a long distance course or sumthing. In the mean while if any of u know anything abt sum course then your suggestions are most welcomed.

5. I am officially a CRY volunteer now so no. 5 has started though havn't been able to attend their meetings as regularly cos of college, also i was kinda let down cos their work doesn't really involve direct interaction with children. So planin to join sum other NGO now

6. This actually is not mentioned in my list as no 6. but its sumthing that i felt like doin cos i hav never played a sport in my entire life other than the kiddy games we played in our building as kids but i have started playin tennis and though as of now i suck at it but i think i'll get better with time. But i am enjoyin he whole learin process!

19. Went prarsiling sum time bak and though i hav done it b4 this time it kinda seemed more scary. Also though i cant swim i went for a banana boat ride and i luved it.

I am not cheatin or anythin but was jus wonderin, 2 times parasailin + banana boat + jet sking is almost equal to sky diving isn't it. Well wat the heck am i supposed to do they don't hav sky divin in India!!

7/5/08

Ok so i am very embarrassed to admit that i havt been able continue no.'s 5 & 6 mentioned above cos of college, exams and my laziness. Also the tennis coach was a pain in the ass and 5 in the mornin is nor really my fav time 2 play any sport....

4. I hav decided that i don't need a bloody degree or certificate , i like the subject and i am gonna read abt it anyways.

Life Is Beautiful !

There is sumthing about this picture. Everytime i look at it, it makes me smile. I can't help but wonder wat are these 2 lil angels happy about. They don't seem to be livin in the best of conditions. Unlike most grown ups kids don't over think things. I guess thats wat makes childhood so amazing.

Its true when they say that happiness comes from within. If you have a positive outlook then even the worse situations don't seem so bad. Its how we look at it. In the end what matters is inner peace. Every time i have gone through a bad phase in life, its has just made me stronger as a person and wiser. I think the key lies in not wondering why it happened but learnin from it and movin on .....

WATS LUV GOT TO DO WITH IT?

I am goin through the post break up blues these days. I can't help but wonder why of all the amazing people that i hav met did i fall for the least amazin one. Well as the sayin goes " LUV IS BLIND". And after my not so gr8 experience i kinda agree. Wat is it that gets us attracted to a person? What is it that makes two people fall in luv? Is it plain old Lust? Or may be its destiny or miracles. Science says its a couple of hormones, which by the way get exhausted within a year after u meet that special sum1. Well then wat is it that makes all those couples stay together? Is it luv or is just the fact that they have gotten used to each other. And the comfort of bein with that person is too hard to give up.

Sumwhere i feel those stupid movies are to be blamed as well ; " they happily live forever" stuff is just a myth. There is nuthin like happily ever after. And why is it that we need that kinda luv to make ourselves complete? Wat happened to the luv that we hav for our family and friends( and pets incase u hav any). Isn't that good enough..........

I don't think any person on this planet can make me my happy unless i am happy being by myself. And i am .....
I am not sure if i'll find luv again. Most people are lucky if they experience it even once in their lifetime.
In the meanwhile i am gonna be content with the luv i am being showered with by my loved ones.