Sunshine: A Way of Life

Hello Readers. I am Ira Pandey and I am an engineering student. I am not qualified to write about depression, anxiety, or any other mental disease as such. So why am I posting this blog? Because I am qualified enough to listen, I am qualified enough to be trusted and I am qualified enough to say, "Things will be okay, believe in yourself." Why is it so important to say these words? Because sometimes people need to hear these when they can't say these to themselves. Depression is a state of mind and can be caused by multiple factors. The least you can do as a friend, parent, and colleague is to talk to people around you and tell them that you could be their safe space. I won't talk about stats because they are depressing and disturbing. Suicide is an impulse and shouldn't be an option. Don't ever tell and say anyone that suicide is for cowards, it's not.  It's high time that we talk about mental health. It's high time we normalize the stigma around ...

Before we all collectively declare the year 2020 as "The Worst Year", let's take a moment to understand it. The year started off with news about the Australian forest fires, the huge loss of habitat and many species becoming endangered, but amidst all this, COVID-19 would remain the news of 2020. A pandemic broke and affected thousands of people and causing the death of many. The virus outbreak took place in China and then spread throughout the globe before we realized. I know there is nothing good about it, but it was 2020 the year we wanted but needed. The year brought a number of realizations to humans, one of which is you can't plan everything.  We, as humans, state ourselves as the most intelligent beings and wouldn't hesitate to say that we rule the planet. But do we really?  It took a mere virus to tell us the things we knew but couldn't really accept. We call nature our mother, but we kept on degrading it, and dropping pollution levels during the lockd...

To the world's best teacher, Thank You. Thank you for telling me that it's okay to think differently, Thank you for letting me be myself. Thank you for telling me to follow my heart. Thank you for imparting wisdom to me. Thank you for hearing me out when I needed to talk. Thank you for correcting my mistakes. Thank you for guiding me in class. Thank you for guiding me in life. Thank you for praising me at my best. Thank you for scolding when I needed to be. Thank you for appreciating my poems. Thank you for motivating me to write. Thank you for keeping my secrets safe. Thank you for teaching me to listen before I speak. Thank you for teaching me to read before I write. Thank you for giving me opportunities to grow. Thank you for telling me to think calmly. Thank you for your love and care. Thank you for telling me that it's not important what others think. Thank you for telling me that it's okay to not listen to a few voices. Thank you for tellin...

Lack of appreciation, constant targeting, and most importantly lack of acknowledgment are a big NO in a healthy work environment and what about our homes? Home sweet home is pretty wide concepts to elaborate in words but that is what we need in this time when we all are locked in our house for our benefit and health. Demanding acknowledgment and counting of favors are far two different concepts. As for an example, "I write because I like to express myself, my readers acknowledge this fact and tell me how good or bad the writeup is." I, as an individual, is very loud and clear about my choices and whether or not to do a certain task. I also expect other people to be the same while communicating with me. My attitude towards my tasks and hard work is not any kind of favor to anyone.  My father always asked me to enjoy my work be it be in any kind. I follow this mantra partially.   Now here comes the requirement of acknowledgment. If the work isn't acknowledged a...

I woke up to the rising sun, I went up to the window, I didn't see the laughing club, Neither any yoga mats. It was silent and unusual. I saw the sunrise, I heard the birds chirp. Switched on the TV, They said some illness prevails out, Asked us to stay at home. I heard the news all day, Only to realize how evident the results are, When we disturb the mother nature. Spent the day reading about what humans have done, From hunting and poaching for their pleasure. To hang the heads of the wild as the medal of their pride. About the slaughterhouses and butcher place, They take lives away for what they serve in plates. It didn't just end here, It went on and on. These selfish humans didn't even leave bats to their peace. It wasn't the first pandemic that spread, It looks like they didn't learn from the books they wrote. The humans went on to butcher the nature, For now, it was time to teach us a lesson. Locked in homes, we wish to roam out, Rem...

We all have special people in our lives, in all different manners, there being special in your life has a lot of different reasons. The reason and purpose of that person no matter how different it is but the love and affection towards them are unconditional. I generally don't write dedicated or appreciation post but this is surely worth sharing. I got out of a toxic friendship, and there was he with his dumb baby face with no idea what had just happened. And what he saw, well, even I don't know till date but it clicked. It was like getting a human you have been praying for, just like a human diary-keeping all your secrets safe with them. I had mine. I have mine. Not even a year back when I was facing soo much, all at once. He held my hand and let me out of all the toxic around me. I don't know what would have I done if it was not for him. Remember when Chandler told Monica that she's the most beautiful lady in most rooms and you want that kind of someone. I had hi...

I wandered in the streets, Looking for humanity. I wandered in the streets, I met inhumanity. I met the last pieces of humanity crushed and broken. I met the ashes of the violence. I wandered in the streets, Looking for sanity. I wandered in the streets, I met insanity. I met the raging fires. I met the burning crowd. I met the fear of angels. I met the broken glass. I wandered in the streets, Looking for peace. I wandered in the streets, I met with violence. I met the demons. I met the noise. I stand in the street now, A deafening silence surrounds me now. For the children don't play in the streets now, and look at their schools burnt down. For the music of  celebrations have been turned down, for it's just the silence that surrounds. For humanity have left the town, as the demons reside here now. -Ira Pandey

Life may or may not always give you what you ask for, I can't complain, rather I just accept everything, I face all the problems life throws at me. We can't do much, actually nothing when you continue to hold back what you feel. It's necessary to say what you feel. Holding back of emotions may make you look emotionally stable on the outside but deep down, you know the truth. Emotional stability doesn't come with a smile or so, well I manage to smile even when my mind and heart are all messed up, I know faking a smile is far more easy than actually talking about stuff which continues to bother you. There are things which tend to suffocate us, make us highly prone to emotional breakdowns. Stress, pressure and constant negative comments and statements about oneself are highly damaging and do nothing but adds up to the issue of emotional instability.  It might be okay to cry, well, no one is here to judge, but it's not okay to only cry. You need to say and talk abo...

On a lonely evening, On a lonely path, She walked ahead and ahead, Determined and focused as she was. Nothing could divert her. Nothing could distract her. On a lonely evening, On a lonely path, She stood individually, Confident and creative as she was. Nothing could stop her. Nothing could affect her. On a lonely evening, In a wheelchair, she sat. She couldn't walk, But she can write. Her words became her backing. Her words became her wings to fly. She is a girl. She is a woman. She is a strength to the world and herself. She shapes her future, She lives on her terms. She is meant to shine. -Ira Pandey

We fail before we succeed. We fell down before we started to walk. We just made lines before we learned to write. We fumbled before we read. The bird didn't fly in its first attempt. It failed and tried again. It tried until its first flight. I know that writing about failures and just giving out positive messages is far more different and tough than actually facing one and most importantly overcoming them. Failure on a bright side is just life-giving you another to groom up yourself and achieve what you couldn't achieve in the first go. Let the failures hurt you but never let them stop you. The moment you let them stop you, that's where everything will collapse. How to deal with it? Well. Patience and hard work together always pays off. Being consistent. trying harder each day to achieve your goals is all you need to focus on. It's difficult getting over a failure especially when people around keep putting you down each day a little. You are to decide ...