Beauty through my eyes

Anybody who knows me would agree, more or less, that I'm crazy. The definition of crazy here includes extreme sentimentality. During certain bouts of emotion, my closest friends refer to me as Senti Goel. This was me laying down a rough introduction and justification before disclosing the fact that when I first visited Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, I couldn't stop tears from rolling down my face despite extreme embarrassment. And it went on for a while.

Recently I felt on the verge of tears again. This too was a church. I gasped as I entered the awe-inspiring space. I just stood there, looking around at the tall spaces, ribbed vaults, stained glass windows, the massive expanse of space built all from stone with little technology. And when I eventually noticed people praying, I realised why these spaces made me feel this way. It's the same emotion that runs through my veins when I watch Phantom of the Opera and certain dancers on So You Think You Can Dance. These are times when I can appreciate the emotion of the artist, the creator. They put their heart and soul into this creation and as I start to understand that passion, I am overwhelmed by it. It is this passion, and this passion alone, that to me, makes life worth living.

One may feel passionately about creating, learning, or even a person. One of my best friends finds her passion in curiosity. She's curious about how the world works. She always wanted to be a research physicist, before I even knew what physics really was. When my brother talks about his work with that sparkle in his eyes, even though I understand little, it is the most beautiful thing in the world.

But following a passion isn't easy. It's hard to stubbornly keep following it even during tough times. But that's the beauty of it. When you truly love something that much, it's part of your existence. You breathe it with every breath. It lives under your skin. Life is as much about aching hearts as it is about lovely smiles. What strings together these little pearls of precious moments- warm, exciting, painful and wonderful, is love.

The Cat Lady

She's the crazy cat lady
She lives all alone
But she has her many cats
That trouble her all day long

She take care of the cats
And tends to her flowers
But most of all she enjoys
Her abundant garden of memories

She lived a great life
Full of travels and adventure
She collected her memories
Across far away lands

She lives in the present
But has brought the past along
Through yellowing pages
And fading photographs

Those dog-eared books
With broken, tattered spines
They speak of lost love
Of dreams of yesterday

But these dusty pages
They speak only to her
This garden is destined to be lost
For time is a heartless lover

Come Back Home

The sun glared down and burnt your skin

The heartless wind froze you to the bone.

The dark night haunted your life like a nightmare

And the endless rain left your shivering alone

When you walked the stones shredded your feet

The birds left their little droppings in your hair.

The predators roamed free and confident

And you were out there, exposed to all nature.

So you built yourself a home.

You built shields from everything that made you afraid.

You built a shelter to keep you warm and safe

And filled it with comfortable cushions.

But never again did you see the stars in the night sky

Never again did you hear the song of the birds.

You heard no howl of the wolf nor growl of the dog

And never a baby cry.

Now you wrap yourself in all the warm blankets

But your heart grows colder every day,

For you need to get wet in the rain

To feel the joy of crisp linen.

Smiles that dance around the corners of mouths

Cannot be found in supermarkets

And it's only that force of nature, of love,

That can put the song back on your lips.