its the first monday of 2010

its the first monday of 2010 and i was thinking that wouldn't it be nice if the first monday morning email of the year actually went out on a monday morning :-) its the first monday morning of 2010 and the monday morning club wishes you the happiest of years. 2009 was tough yet i suspect that there were some who were happy nevertheless. if there is one thing that life has taught us, its that, counter-intuitive as it may seem, happiness is a choice quite independent of its circumstances :-) so heres to an year where we all exercise that particular choice of happiness repeatedly, unfailingly, and quite happily! its the first monday of 2010 and once again we (shobhana and deepak :-) are on the morning train from palghat to ettimadai. among all the mornings that life has offered us, these journeys have really been among the most beautiful. the quiet hustle & bustle at the railway station, the race to book our window seats :-), the gentle almost unnoticed hymn to the daily trip as the train begins it slow crawl out of the station, the wakeup call at palghat junction when the tide of our brothers and sisters rushes in - eager, single-minded, and not to be denied (!), and then the part most looked forward to - that spectacular stretch of mountain and forest between kanjikode and walayar - the dance of the wind, those hundred and one shades of green, the picture-book cows meditating on picture-book fields, the carefree play of the clouds, and those mountains - timeless, silent, utterly magnificent! of course all journeys do come to an end! and this one does too. on the other hand, can't really complain about where this one ends - ettimadai! our mist-erious, verdant, and so very human planet-e :-) its the first monday of 2010 and i intend this to be a regular weekly email - welcome to the monday morning club! do acknowledge the receipt of this mail and let me know whether its ok to keep sending you these musings. captive audience as you may be - you do have a choice! its the first monday of 2010, life's a journey, and this time's poem is from a series by emily dickinson - have not read much of her poetry but boy does she write beautifully! life If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain. emily dickinson much love, d&s