Not Just Another Nurse

I always wanted to become a teacher so when I completed year twelve of my schooling I was looking for courses available , but somehow I was advised to take nursing as a course of study as it was a faster option for becoming a teacher . However to cut the long story short and ten years down the line with five of them and still going on as a nurse I don't regret one bit about my decision. Anyhow recently my brother finished his schooling and so I was looking up colleges where he can study some Arts courses but he kept on insisting that he wanted to study nursing. At first, I was hesitant and I told him it's not easy being a nurse .It's not something you can do unless you like it and enjoy it. But he kept on insisting , so I finally gave in and enrolled him in a nursing college.It took me two of my four years in nursing school to accept my chosen vocation after the initial shock of having experienced the hospital firsthand in the first year of my training. If I knew then what I now know about nursing , I wouldn't have opted Nursing as a career choice but thank God I didn't know . Like me ,after high school , many people do not know what exactly a nurse does other than giving injections. So let me elucidate some of the things we do and what nursing is about.

1. The First and the Last : Being a nurse I realised that we are involved in many the firsts and lasts of people who come to the hospital. Nurses are the first people you encounter inside the Emergency and the last one to see when you go home on being discharged. It is the nurse who is the first point of contact when you come in.Also having delivered babies in the labour room and given multiple death cares I can say that nurses are the people you see but don't remember when you are born and the last people who respectfully deal with you when you die in the hospital before your family comes in . So yes we see you in your problems , we see you go home safely ,we help bring you into this world and see that you depart this world with dignity and respect.  
2. Hawk Eye :  Having worked in the emergency and ICU/ITU, I can say that when things go downhill it happens in the blink of an eye .Nurses are the ones that have a hawk eye over the sick patient that is in their care . Once all has been said and done and the doctors have decided what they want to do after changing their orders over a gazillion time and left , it's the nurse in the ICU/ITU that has to keep watch over the vital signs to ensure you see another day. In other words ,we make sure your condition doesn't deteriorate on our watch and if it does we do everything we've got to bring you back to see another fight.
3. Body Fluids: Anything said about nurses is incomplete without body fluids ..It's almost synonymous. We've had vomits ,poops , urine, amniotic fluid , saliva everything being splattered at us and each time we grimace and do what we have to do. I believe nothing can gross out a nurse ,having seen it all, they can carry out a perfectly normal conversation about poop at dinner time with you provided you don't gag . Yea you can call it code brown or whatever colour you want but it's what we do: clean you when you are unable to ,move you when you aren't moving and feed you when can't yourself.
4. People : Last but definitely not the least , it's the people that we meet daily.People is what makes nursing different from other professions and each one is to be treated  in the same way as the other with dignity and respect irrespective of their cast , colour , creed or gender. Every day at work we meet different people , each with his/her own story , their problems and troubles People come to us at their lowest , when they are dependent on us especially when all their life they were fiercely independent.So we meet people angry , frustrated anxious and vulnerable .It is then that this job tests your character , your patience .Someone once said the character of the nurse is as important as the knowledge they possess. 

Nursing is a combination of skills and knowledge and character .So finally to conclude I would say that nursing is easy as long as it remains in the books but add a little uncertainty of life and an eclectic mix of people and their emotions then it becomes a different ballgame altogether. 

Belated Birthday Musings !!!

So the other day my younger brother went on overdrive liking almost all my pictures on Facebook . Some of the picture I couldn't even recognize , for some I cringed wondering how on earth did it reach there. Anyway long story short the picture on the right is a childhood which my brother liked. {I won't tell where I am, you might as well try guessing } However seeing both the pictures and having had my birthday almost a month back I went into retrospection mode and matters didn't help when one of my friends wrote "happy birthday, enjoy the last year of your 20's". I had nearly three decades of my gone, poof !!So here are 3 principles from The Book of Life  that I have learnt and would like to share with you all..

• One of the principle I learnt was in the early formative years of my life when I was being brought up with 25 other boys , I found people can be fun ,compassionate and kind, they can also be viscous and hard at times,they have the capacity to be unpredictable, and the only way I could make sense of it is by following a principle which I found in the Bible,"For whatever you want men to do ,do also to them .." This is also called the golden law in the the bible.This was an answer for me because as long as I followed this principle I noticed that people became kinder, respectful , easygoing and fun .It's not that everybody changed, some were just mean by nature but upside was that life became easier to deal with .This could never be more relevant to us than the present . The problems of war, illegal immigrants, hate, discrimination. For everything it would be an easy answer if we did exactly how we would want people to deal with us when faced with a similar situation as theirs. This world would be a safer , better place for all those inhabit , only if we cared. 

• " And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."  Love is something I learnt the hard way,by falling flat on my face a couple of times, and each time I learnt something. But when you finally meet the ONE , you know that she/he was worth all the wait. You look back and think , Gosh what was I thinking then, thank God it didn't happen. I know love has many dimensions but I just wanted to focus on one aspect only. Love is truly the greatest gift that one can ever get.It's in our design to love and be loved. To revel in the feeling that someone truly ,really loves you, your flaws as well as your perfection.  But sadly we can be confused by lust, especially when we get carried away by butterflies,tinglings and a racing heart. But that's not the way to discern love , here's the list" Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful;  it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (RSV)". I wont add anything else as it couldn't get clearer than this.

• "It came to pass." The phrase occurs again and again in the Old Testament in the Bible. "It came to pass after four hundred and thirty years that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt." This verse really sums up the latter half of my life. It came to pass. Life is never easy ,it has it's up's and downs , more like a roller coaster. So through all my struggles I have learnt one thing, that no matter how hard or precarious our life might become, never , ever give up because the problem didn't come to stay, it came so that it could pass. It came to build your character and pass, it came to challenge you out of you comfort zone and pass , it came so that you push yourself to reach you potential and pass. So remember no matter what you are facing right now , no matter how low you might have fallen it's just a season that will pass. Yes as it is written" it came to pass ...."

Salt and Light !!!!

Since my time here in UK there is one thing that I have come to value and that is salt. I don't know about my other friends here but I have found that the British are very stingy when it comes to salt in their meal.I still remember among my first few meals in my early days here was fish and chips, [chips : my Indian friends is what they call french fries here but bigger in size] and to my distaste neither of the two had any salt. Since then I have a greater respect and appreciation for Indian food. However food is not what I am going to write about today.

 Recently as I was reading Matthew I came to these verses that I had read innumerable times, "you are the salt of the earth , you are the light of the earth ".  Usually it is taught that we need shine the light of the Word into the life into others,but in reality it's the other way round.  Light is something that we can't ignore in the dark .It will draw our attention. We might get irritated when someone flashes light on our face or we might be thankful that someone has flashlight when we are searching something in the darkness , whatever may our reactions be , we can't ignore the light in the darkness. It pulls us towards it like trapped miners trying to scramble through to the sliver of light at the end of the tunnel. So if Jesus wanted us to be light and salt it means we need to be a people that the world is either attracted to us or hates us but whatever may happen it shouldn't ignore us.Just like salt and light,  love them or hate them you can't ignore them.

From a very early age I was taught all about Jesus and being a christian.I went to a christian school and christian college , so for me to be a "christian" was second nature , just like breathing .But over the past few years living outside the Christian sphere of influence , I realised that being a christian is more than what I am used to being. I had become so comfortable in my own skin as a christian that it was okay for me to be a christian as long as I didn't gain any attention or have people ask questions about my faith. I was more like a closet christian to say the least. Many times people realised I was a christian only after they asked me about it in a conversation regarding religion. And the funny part it never struck me odd that people had to ask me to know whether I was Christian. It is easy blending in the world.

So maybe we need to slow down and let people notice us , just like Jesus says "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify God in heaven ". So in other words it's not necessary for you to be a preacher to make people know God. Let's make people sit back and want what we have. Just like a food without salt this hurting world doesn't realise that a this world is tasteless , dark and empty without God . The recent upheaval all over the world makes us realise that the world is bitterly divided like never before, hate is the word of the season. But as we approach the Christmas season , tis the season of love , the reason we celebrate , so let's be light in someones life and flavor their life with a pinch of salt. So here's me wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas season.God bless!!!
P.S I know it's early but Christmas always makes me excited , can't help . 

SELAH !!

I lived in a valley all my life as a kid surrounded by mountains and then my first job was in the mountains so for some reasons unknown I have an attachment with the mountains. The thing that I miss the most of the mountains is the peace . quiet , calmness and above all the scenic beauty ; be it the snow capped fir trees or the cloud covered mountains. They always fill me with a sense of awe , wonder and peace.So when I read the Psalms especially Psalm 23, it just feels as though that Psalm is all about rest and comfort . It somehow gives a picture of sheep grazing the mountains carelessly without a care in the world unaware of any danger lurking nearby and in complete trust on the shepherd.
But needless to say I have since then moved from the mountains to the plains and presently residing in the island that didn't want to become a part of Europe. My life seemed to be running the race of it's own and I became oblivious to God. But then God always get our attention one way or the other and He gave a word: Selah

Selah is a term I usually find in the Book of Psalms in The Bible, As a kid I always wondered why Selah was placed in the between the verses , they seemed more of an interruptions rather than anything else.At times I thought they might be a musical notation that the psalmist wanted to add to the songs of praise. I never gave it much of a thought until recently when my world was sort of turned turtle and I was lying haplessly on my back , not knowing what to do. And in that position there is only one place you can look i.e the sky above and call on the Lord. As I spent days praying and crying out I found out what Selah means: SELAH (see-la) is a Hebrew word meaning 'a musical interlude; to pause and think about what was just said or sung; or to pause and watch for a visual demonstration of what was said or sung.'

God seems to be telling "Hey Son ,hey daughter just Pause and think. So it got me thinking that sometimes all God is asking is Pause and think . See what's important and hold on to them, remove the excess baggage , it'll only bog you down in you journey of life. Prioritize people, family , friends and time spent with loved ones. No one is too important to take your peace by withholding your forgiveness, Just let it go.
 Every machine breaks down on constant use without rest and repair, our mind, body and soul are also  something similar, it's time we just Stop Pause and Think .
God Bless ... Selah !!!

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Worship

John 4:24New King James Version (NKJV)24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

This is my first Christian post and hopefully I can keep it coming. I had just come from the Hillsong Conference Europe 2016 . The conference had roughly 15000-20000 delegates probably even more I'm not sure . I had gone to the conference without any companion or friend.  Yes I did talk to a few people ,who like me came alone to the conference. But in this huge crowd it's so easy to become lost. .But that's not what I'm writing this for .

In the O2 Arena  which was filled to the capacity , you turn around and you are surrounded by a sea of people. It's so easy to get lost in this sea but this what is so amazing about worship. Even though people from 70 nations (not all English speaking) had gathered , we were all under one roof , under one Name Jesus and that was what bound us all together as we worshiped Him in spirit and truth.Every arm raised and every tongue confessing that Jesus is the Lord. Bible says " Where two or more are gathered in My name ,I am there." Now imagine 20000 gathered together on the name of the Lord. It is here that I felt we were all one , each connected by the divine love as we sang and worshiped: the church , which Jesus said the gates of hell won't prevail against. That's what's so amazing about worship, it transcends boundaries, barriers, prejudices and brings us all together right to the level of an individual.Each one with his own story , struggles, problems and hope bound together by the love shown on the old rugged cross.The best that you or me can give is, worship. A worship that's in Spirit and truth, that holds nothing back.

 Its amazing and probably beyond words how it is to worship the Lord Our God. Singing and shouting at the top of your voice with one purpose that is to praise Him. It is here that as we 20000 people sang together to the Lord in unison with one purpose and heart that you could only get a minuscule idea of what praise and worship in heaven might be. 
I had always had this nagging thought in the back of my head at times that "How will we be  worshiping the Lord in heaven at all times? Won't it get boring? But my time in this conference left me wanting to  worship the Lord ceaselessly and I know that's what I'll do there.

Why all Indians should watch BBC'S India's Daughter

Last night being restless and insomniac , I thought of watching the banned BBC documentary " India's Daughter" which I had downloaded just before you tube removed it. What followed the 59 minutes was gut wrenching and just unbelievable. I had to pause in between as Mukesh nonchalantly explained the crime in such chilling detail. There was hardly an iota of emotion, remorse or guilt of any kind, which left me wondering as to why this monster was even breathing.

The activists, government et al are all up in arms against BBC and Leslie Uwdin. And the government did what it does best, bury it's head in the sand and ban it , hoping the storm will die down. Irrespective of what the motivation was for both Leslie Uwdin and BBC (some suggest a greater conspiracy in which we are forever going to be pushed around on the basis of foreign agendas masquerading as concern for human rights.) There might be a myriad of reasons for the documentary to be made and released,despite India's vehement refusal to release it in India. But setting aside the fact that a foreigner had come and washed our dirty linen in public leaving us all naked and morally wanting and scandalized. The documentary shows the mirror to the state of our regressive minds today.
I'm not talking about the illiterate, slum dweller Mukesh, as nothing can justify his crime but of those two defence lawyers ,who are not even worth naming. Some might say that they were just doing their jobs , but their statement exposed the sheer intellectual poverty they possess. Their misogynistic attitude and patriarchal mindset might even leave the Islamic fundamentalist read ISIS to shame. But what surprises me is that these statements were not made by some wayside , slum dwelling vagabond but by the so called defenders of justice in their plush offices. So the question today is , has education made any difference in our mindset . Has our education system failed us and made us so morally bankrupt that we can't accept the the other gender as our equals. Are we so entrenched in our self made cocoon that we have all forgotten to become good human beings. In our pursuit to be literate have we forgotten to be educated.

Another thing that will most likely be forgotten in the hullabaloo of Mukesh's arrogance and the lawyer's misogynistic statements is the statement made by one of the lawyer, who said that there are around 250 sitting parliamentarians who are facing charges of murder and rapes. I can't vouch for the exact figure but it appalled me that our system allows such criminals to formulate laws for us. Our conscious has been numbed to such an extent that nothing can shock us , except when something as brutal as December 16 gangrape happens and shakes us all out of our collective reverie.

A couple of months back I was was talking to some young school going boys in their teens a long time back and to my chargin , these guys held the same thought that Mukesh had " that it takes two hands to clap". In other words indirectly insinuating the victim also as responsible for rape. So where have we all gone wrong as a society. Instead of passing on the buck ,it's time we all take a collective responsibility. The malaise lies in the deep seated patriarchal attitudes that's so well encumbered and protected in our society that whole system needs a overhaul. Be it the khapland dikats or the right wing fundamentalist rantings. Such discourse has no place in a civilized society and the government shouldn't pander to these fringe elements. We have inherited a rich and diverse culture , and every culture comes with it's downside and these pitfalls are  coming to the fore. Skewered sex ratios and gender inequality , violence and discrimination etc shows that all is not well with our " culture".
The documentary exposes us for who we are , ' a country for no women'. It's something we knew right from the start and never made any amends but when an outsider comes and points out our failings, all hell breaks loose. So instead of finding excuses and circumventing the issue into something unrecognizable let's take suo moto cognisance of the issue and take up the problem head on.We can't keep ducking the issue now. Tomorrow it could be someone from your family.So my dear friends wake up from your slumber, it's time. I for one would want all men of this country be made to sit and watch this documentary. Let's all become uncomfortable with the truth that is in our midst. Unless we as a society become ashamed and squirm in our seats nothing will change.
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Au revoir!!

I've never been good at goodbyes. The last time I had to say bye to a friend I didn't know how to react. The environment gets laced with an emotional charge leaving you numbed. I would rather meet my friends a night before than having to say good bye the next morning at the station.
But despite all that there is someone I'd like to bid adieu to as soon as possible. It's like I'm literally dying to say sayonara ,irrespective of the fact that she had been in my company for the last 12 months. Yea though our relationship has not been that pleasant and memorable throughout, it did have it's moments in the sun. And in the last couple of days as the year draws to a close,it puts me in a very somber mood, as I look back to the year gone by and the relationship we had as I say one final goodbye to her probably for one last time.

She came with a bang, with snowy flakes from heaven , the mountains with their firs drenched all white, as I looked out of my window. Yea this postcard picture perfect place was where I started my acquaintance with.At first I thought that she would be perfect, what with the almost flawless entry in my life.
But alas my friends that was not to be, like the old adage goes , looks can be deceiving.
The heartless thing gave me a choice , to be or not to be at a wedding of someone for whom my heart had lost it's direction for. This was the first dilemma in a series that would follow, that she cruelly kept on giving me.
As if that wasn't enough, to test my loyalties toward my priorities.( Talk of a jealous woman),she gave me three choices whether to take the government job handed to me so unexpectedly or keep trying for foreign shores or complete my masters in the college I always dreamed of going.Such a barrage of options left me confounded.
So with a heavy heart and leaving all my emotional and physical baggage I decided to make a sea change in the scenery, as I adopted to the hustle and bustle of my new city, away from the langley pace of life which I had become so accustomed to since the past two years hoping to get rid of her "pichha", but sadly that was not to be the case.
She forced me to say goodbye to my relatively new friends and some very good old friends probably never to meet owing to distances both physical and otherwise. Then she brought in Old friends, who entered my life like classic re-entry of the hindi movie hero , who everyone thought had died after falling off a cliff. These guys brought a semblance of sanity and order to the insanity and chaos called my life.

Couple of months following the reentry. Like they say yeh dil maange more, and so I craved for something more tangible and satisfying , so somehow she led me to this awesome fellowship that has helped me countless ways emotionally , spiritually etc.
Here she did me a huge favour because as an added bonus she was unselfish enough to help me forge some new friendships. In one of these friendships came a puny little package. And in this package I've found a friend who hears me , guides me , counsels me , making me wonder how one so small can be so bright and intelligent. Thank you dear friend and hope this friendship lasts. Here's to a friends who are rare to find, and when you combine all these rare people, this one will be rarer still.
Oh oh I digress, anyhoo here I am , at the end of the year and it has been one hell of a ride since the past 365 days. It was well worth knowing you cause if you weren't there I wouldn't there too, such was the nature of our relationship. One couldn't do without the other. Yes she made me cry , she made me laugh,she gave me moments I'l cherish for a lifetime and some valuable lessons which I'l remember lifelong , but time has come to bid goodbye to someone whom I'l never meet again. So adieu my friend 2013 . So long my friend, so long.