What's in a name?

Someone happened to ask me why I chose to title my blog as "Starry Nights". So I felt I should share my thoughts that I had when I created my blog way back in 2010. I have mentioned in many of my posts that I am a nature-lover. The different sights of nature has always left me wondering how insignificant we are in the true realm of the universe which is so vast and intriguing. 

I remember a few occasions of my childhood that I spent in the hot and humid Pondicherry. I have a lot of lovely memories attached to that place. One such memory that is fondly etched in my mind is the time we used to spend in the terrace of our home gazing the night sky. We would spread the durrie and lie down sky gazing. Sometimes Dad would try hard to show me the falling asteroids but I would never sight them. So, right from my childhood I had a fascination for the Starry Nights. Hence, the title!

I was also asked why I had chosen twinklingeyes for blogspot.in link. Well, some of them found it to be soppy and mushy. The truth being, I just wanted my name to feature in the URL of my blog link and when I tried putting my name in different combinations, most of it was already taken - thanks to the common English word "twinkle". By choosing twinklingeyes, I just meant a perspective about life through my eyes. Surprisingly, a friend mentioned that I had her clean-bowled with the choice of twinklingeyes for my blogspot, i.e, to quote her exact words. Now, I feel I should have gone for a more serious, pedantic name! ;)

The Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh (Courtesy - Wikipedia)

I also happened to find this very famous painting by Vincent van Gogh titled  The Starry Night. Indian author and columnist Shobhaa De has written a novel titled Starry Nights. I got to know about the novel when I googled Starry Nights. I was unaware of this when I started my blog. Hope no one sues me! Strictly coincidental!

P.S: The title for this blog post owes its credit to the one and only William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".

The Yin and Yang

Courtesy: Google Images

Of late I have not been posting anything on my blog. No specific reason as such. If I wanted, I could have found time to post something. I wanted to but couldn't make myself do it. Though, I do visit my blog at times, I leave without updating it. Recently, a few friends who read my blog, motivated me to blog more often. And encouragements and motivations work well with me. I decided to give my blogging skills a try again.

When I retrospect my life, I feel I have accomplished quite a bit. I don't mean any monetary or material accomplishments. Every day of my life has taught me something or the other. Every year, I have matured. I understand things in a better light. I have been able to analyse and understand people in a better way. Observation has taught me quite a bit. I believe only when one introspects and keep introspecting, one has a lot of insights about oneself.

People around me have also enlightened me a lot. A few experiences have left me baffled and clueless after my interactions with some people. I feel sorry for certain people who are grown up yet not grown up. If I share a few of my thoughts, it is something like this: Some people are always interested in other people's lives, some try to intimidate others to hide their own flaws, some people worship others for reasons only they know, some people lose their individuality and are just superficial existences. Some are so negative that one regrets the time spent with them. Some spend their whole life apple-polishing. Some appear to be so sweet and refined but talk behind your back the moment you leave. Some try their best to camouflage their malice but it spills out and they cannot hide it. Some take pleasure in bossing around people. Their arrogance puts you off. For some, the only existence of life is to GOSSIP. I have also been part of grapevine but it was not my sole objective in life.

I have also had the pleasure of being in the company of people who have made me a better person. Some inspire you by the way they lead their life. Some work so hard that you are motivated to be like them. Some have a strong reason to thrive and survive which makes you find your own reasons. Some are so compassionate, you soften in their presence. Some are so disciplined, you try to find some discipline in your own life. Some are ever so cheerful, it is contagious. Some are so understanding and loving, you can always find them ready to lend an ear. Some are so sensible and level-headed, you can try to be like them. Some are so bold and courageous for all the right reasons, you can follow them.

By sharing this, I don't intend to give anyone even the faintest idea that I am perfect or flawless. I know myself. I have my opinion on things that matters to me. I will never try to persuade or change anyone. No one can change anyone but oneself. So I changed myself. I chose to ignore the negative influences around me. That makes me happier. I was under the impression that I am way beyond silly ego clashes, cat fights and taunts. But I find myself in the midst of it all. NO. I have not indulged in a cat fight yet. I thought I was very adaptable. But I realized no matter how hard one tries to adapt and adjust, there comes a point when one loses all calm and decide to sever ties with people who cannot be tolerated any more. When some people repeatedly try to hit your raw nerve, you might lose your cool which you don't normally do in public. 

So that's it for now. Certain incidents triggered these lines of thought and am happy that I could blog after such a long time.