Wordsmith at work

  Escalators –I have never stepped on an escalator and don’t know when I will or whether I ever will. The concept of a moving staircase scares the daylights out of me. At railway platforms, malls and airports I‘d rather use the staircase than an escalator. I say an escalator is as fearful as a creepy-crawly alligator A moving staircase 😅That would be straight out of a Harry Potter. My friends join me in the elevator Cajoling me to step on the scary people - mover I am terrified! Ha Ha! An escalator to me only spells disaster.   Snakes – Snakes may be beautiful and fascinating to some, but to me they are simply slippery, slimy creatures who bring on nightmares even during the day. I fear snakes and I can’t even bear to look at one for long.  Many moons ago, my then toddler brother went to pick up something that he thought was a black ribbon, but which turned out to be a snake. The disaster was averted in time by my ever-vigilant parents.   Spir...

  Teaching and taking care of my parents kept me quite occupied. My social life was nothing to write home about. Not being married didn’t bother me. I occasionally had thoughts about Sam but didn’t dwell on them. Pleasantly plump with wavy black hair and sparrow brown eyes. At thirty - six ,  I considered myself moderately attractive. Preparing for the Christmas pageant was both exciting and tiring. The day had seen numerous rehearsals, costume – fittings and over-excited nine-year-olds all over the place.   It was 4 p.m. when I slowly walked out of the school gate and decided to stop for a coffee at the coffee shop at the end of the street. Sitting in the cosy café, enjoying my steaming cup of coffee I smiled as I thought about the enthusiasm of the energetic youngsters. How full of life they were! I drew from their energy and spirit.  Outside, the snow fell gently, turning the world into a pristine white blanket, while inside the café the aroma of freshly baked...

  Ageing is as natural a process as the sun's rising and setting, and no one is spared. Can you come to terms with this inevitable part of life or do you spend your days counting your wrinkles and going on fad diets? Embracing the fact that you aren’t as sprightly as a twenty-something and have to now take on certain physical and mental challenges would mean that you have decided to age gracefully and holistically. You want to be healthy and happy in these challenging years. Slowly and steadily you get down to adopting practices that help you navigate the inevitable occurrence of ageing. You strive to replace fear with hope. If you have ageing family members, then you help them move from negativity to positivity. Ageing brings on a number of fears: ·        Declining health L   Loss of independence ·        Lack of adequate funds ·        Living alone – loneliness and isola...

  A World Without Books   I for sure cannot conceive or imagine a world without books. Books seek to inspire, motivate, entertain, inform and educate. Without books, it would seem as if a limb were missing. Technology provides us with much of the information we need, but there is nothing to beat the pleasure of leafing through a physical book or getting immersed in one to fulfil your needs. Be it a dusty tome or a brand new book, books take you to another level altogether. If books were absent from the world: There would be a certain darkness in the world. Books preserve knowledge. Today, we can source information from digital media and store the same on digital media, but digital media is subject to loss and degradation. You would miss out on the pleasures of visiting a book library to pick out a book or simply sitting quietly, garnering the information that you want. I grew up, as most children are, packing a school bag for the next day, making sure that all th...

  Bookmark You love to read But the day is fraught With chores galore Oh! What a bore. Then you place me On the page where you left off Coming back to read When your tasks are complete. I may be fancy, quirky or just plain But by you, dear bookworm I am needed time and again.

  Lessons Learnt Until Now.   1.    Change is the only constant. Our life on earth is not permanent. One day we shall all depart. Circumstances, situations and people in our lives are all subject to change. Changes happen for the better or for worse. We are happy when the change works in our favour and are called to accept, adapt, adjust and accommodate if the change works against us.  Sometimes, though you dislike the change, it is good for you. The change may bring to the fore your abilities and talents, and see you coping in adverse circumstances or simply break you.  A financial setback has changed a lot of things for me. Yet, it has taught me to count my blessings and be grateful for the smallest of blessings. Hence, as often said, 'change is the order of the universe and nobody or nothing can defeat change. As much as I would like to live in a comfort zone, I have learnt that life has this knack of making you most uncomfortable.  ...

Peace, not pieces   If there was one thing I could change in the world, I would want to wipe off the ugliness of evil from the face of my beautiful world. Evil takes many forms. War is one such evil that I would love to banish. War arises from the lust for wealth and power. War is so useless and hopeless. No good ever comes from war. This horrendous act creates death, destruction, grief and poverty. The time, energy and money spent on wars could be put to more productive use.   The perpetrators of war rejoice in their extended boundaries, their enhanced power and wealth but cause a brokenness among their people that may never heal. I wish I could simply wave a magic wand and create a world that was a haven of peace, understanding and love where people lived in harmony and accepted each other’s differences.   This post is part of the Blogchatterbloghop featured category.