Anyone can blog!

Haven't we all dreamed at one time or another of writing a book? Seeing our name splashed across the front covers of a book? Strangers turning to wave and acknowledge as we walk down familiar streets. People rushing up to us in restaurants or cafes asking for our autograph, or bringing their book and asking us to sign it. Travelling across the world and sharing our thoughts and our passions with eager listeners. Putting all our energy, time and love in getting people to recognise what their passion is. There's absolutely nothing wrong with having a dream like this, and the beauty is that it doesn't have to remain a dream and stay in our imagination. 

It's been said that the best and the fastest way to build your credibility and boost your reputation is by writing a book. Especially when you have something of value to offer, and you know that people need what you have to offer. So what stops us from realising our dreams? What hurdles do we need to jump over to get to that point where people value what we have to share? 

Perhaps we lack the courage to start. Or we're not sure where or how to start. Maybe we lack the right skills to write a book or just plain self-doubt. The good news is that there is a very simple solution to all of these challenges. That solution is blogging. You may ask; how can blogging help me write a book? 

A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step- or the first blog in this case. Blogging is simply a platform for you to express yourself with freedom, to be able to share with people your passions and your interests. You don't need to be afraid or fearful because the worst thing that can happen is that people won't like what you write. Which is fine because we can't please everyone anyway. However there will be people who will like what you have to offer, and you may even inspire someone to follow in your footsteps. So simple.  

The more you blog and write, the better you become and the more you discover about yourself. It may force you to read more, research more, which is great because you'll be expanding your knowledge base at the same time.  Perhaps you'll start new hobbies, or a new business. Make new friends; both on-line and off-line. It may boost your sense of self-confidence which in turn enhances everything you do in your life. 

How do we get from blogging to writing a book? Once again, its very simple. Through regular blogging you would have already established a following. Putting all your blogs together, with a little editing here and there- and voila! your book is ready to be published. 

So what do you have to lose? Start today and experience a whole new world! 

Sniffing our way through life.

Not too long ago, a close friend of mine blogged about sounds; sounds that follow us around from childhood into adulthood, and memories that we associate with certain sounds. Along the same theme and using another of our wonderful God-given five senses, I thought I could do the same with smells. Good smells. Aromas. Horrible smells that make us want to pinch our noses shut in distaste. We can all identify certain smells that we link with happy moments. Or with moments that we rather not remember. There are smells all around us; there is no escape. Even now if we take a moment and just sniff, we could probably smell something. Whether that's a good smell or a not so good one is for our noses only!

One of the first smells that wafted past my nose as a young child was the smell of warmed milk. I loved drinking milk as a child; not so much now. When I smell warm milk now my mind goes back to my childhood. Smells of rice being cooked, not using a modern-day rice cooker but on a wood fire stove. You could even taste the smoke when you ate the rice. The roasted smell of chapatis frying. Onions and garlic caramelising; it was a foretaste of a very yummy curry. Every coffee drinker can attest to this; the smell of freshly brewed coffee percolating. Drinking the actual brew is almost anti-climatic. Vanilla essence always reminded me of cookies and cakes.

How about the smell of freshly- laundered clothing ? Clean sheets and towels. Mothers can identify their own baby by their smell. The smell of freshly washed hair. Natural smells that even perfumes cannot compare with, no matter how expensive. One of my favourite smells is the smell of wet earth just after it rains. I would not even know how to begin to describe it; it needs to be experienced. Then there are people smells. Each of us has our own smell. Ask anyone in love; there are moments when we get a sniff of something and we stop and remember someone close to us. Life rushes by but perhaps we should take time to stop and smell the roses- and more.

Heart throbs and heart thumping!

There's something about watching a Bollywood movie that makes one fall in love with the whole experience. Perhaps I'm a little biased, being an Indian myself. Then again perhaps not. Most people when asked, remember Bollywood movies for the kaleidoscope of colours, the  foot-tapping, body-swaying beats, and of course how could we forget the handsome men and gorgeous women! There's something in them that appeals to everyone across borders from the young to the even younger. There's something more though, I feel than just the visual and auditory experience of sitting through a three-hour long movie. 

In rural India, movies are an event. People work hard the whole week, or the whole month and then they spend part of that hard-earned money to watch people- people that they have never met and might never even meet- on a big screen that does not guarantee a return on their money spent. Sounds crazy and maybe even stupid. Yet the movie industry in India is the largest in the world, churning out hundreds of movies every year. We can't argue with the numbers.

Everyone loves a good movie; so what is it about a Bollywood movie that makes a person come back again and again? It's more than just the music and the good-looking actors. I think it's about dreams. It's about fantasies. It's about being transported into another world. Sometimes its about escape from reality. Pretending that we are the one's in that movie. The hero who does all those stunts. Or the beautiful woman who captures the heart of the hero. Living in another world and another's life. It's really all in our imagination and the beautiful thing is that the movie gives one the freedom to imagine that life could be different. That each of us could be someone different than who we are today. So what if that were true? What if we really could be different and live a different life than we are today? If everything is really all in our mind, and if we create our own reality; then the only thing holding us back is the extent of our imagination.