Five Lessons from Candy Crush Saga

As I crossed level 100 on Candy Crush Saga, for the second time - because my phone had to be formatted and since I did not sync the game with my social account, I had to start all over again. Just to be on the safe side, now it is synced to my Facebook account.

Candy Crush is not just a game, it's a self help application. I learnt and those who want to know, read on:

Self Help Lesson # 1 - Failures should not stop you: When I encountered repeated failures while struggling to crack levels of Candy Crush saga I found this hidden lesson. Some levels are easy and some are not. You keep failing in some, while you get past some easily. It is the addiction to succeed that keeps you going.

Self Help Lesson # 2 - Help from your friends makes the game smoother: There are some levels that you need your network to help you in order to pass through, otherwise it will take more time - you have to get past three previous levels, all over again. Seeking help is normal, you may require help to make a tough task easier. Be open to receive it, and be generous to give it.

Self Help Lesson # 3 - There is no short cut to success, your strategy matters: After being stuck on a level for more than two months, I was thinking about a shortcut. What stuck me was there could be a trick online, may be somebody might have uploaded a video to indicate how to crack the level. There was nothing, just a little wisdom - get rid of the chocolates first. Now, on Candy Crush saga, chocolates are like weeds here, they keep growing, diminishing your chances to clear the level. Strategize to kill the weeds, keep climbing to the next level.

Self Help Lesson # 4 - Some trials are not forever, number of attempts are bound: Now there are bombs, which are moves-bound. On the level that I am, it requires the user to diffuse those bombs in order to survive through the game. Similarly in life, you have to burn a few bridges, in order to pass through. 

Self Help Lesson # 5 - Chocolates (weeds) and Bombs (time bounds) may co-exist: As you go further, there are levels where you will find both - Chocolates (weeds, point 3) and Bombs (time bound, lesson 4). Do not give up, fight harder. At the end of each success there is repeated failures, many obstacles and a sense of getting past them.  

P.S.: Those who fear driving, should opt for racing games. A few crashes, and that addiction to keep trying to reach to the next level could take away your fear to hit the road. 

A Letter: On completion of 6 months of marriage!

Here comes a letter from a husband who completed 6 months of marriage today. This is a guest post by a dost Ravi Maurya, dedicated to his beautiful wife Bimalpreet Kaur. Before you start reading this post, I would like to take the opportunity to wish this newly permanent couple, years of happiness, love, good food,  badminton, cricket and understanding. Happy for you dost!

Here goes the letter and the first guest post on my blog:

Dear Wife,
 
With due respect, I wanted to bring to your notice that it has been 6 months since I have been assigned the role "Husband".
 
With pleasure, I can proudly announce that today, I have completed my probation under your command and would like you to discuss my performance objectively for confirmation and strengthening my position under your influence.
 
As you are aware, to make this process categorically open and competitive under the guidelines of Universal Marriage Act, which knowingly and unknowingly abides by all married partners across the globe, is a tough task. But since we are following WAWM level 5 (Wife Always Wins Model level 5), we need to go through it.
 
Under this probation review, you need to make an assessment of my skills and thereby provide me a grading on the basis of fulfillment of my Key Responsibility Areas (KRAs). The grading of my KRAs will prove my position and assert whether I have proved to be a good resource for you or not. This assessment will make me eligible for further performance incentives, in case I am found to be a strong contributor throughout my probation period.
 
In the lack of underlying evidences of good performance, non-fulfillment of my KRA and negative feedback, you have every right to penalize me. The penalty may include expensive gifts, unconditional shopping extravaganza, tours to the most exotic and expensive locations and last but not the least, wasting money on jewellery.
 
Please list down the important parameters on which you will judge me. Please share the KRAs template with me where I can self–review against the completion of each goal. After a self-review, I’ll submit my performance goal sheet where you will share your feedback and assessment grading. We’ll go further and evaluate significance of each goal and discuss them thoroughly against the desired level of achievement. After successful evaluation we’ll be in a good position to have a broader vision for our mutual growth. 

Looking forward for your co-operation during this tedious process yet lovely process.
 
Yours Sincerely,
Just A Husband

And this is what the wife has to say:

P.S: Thank you Ravi to allow me to go ahead and copy this. It was the first message I saw in the morning on my Facebook feeds. All I wanted was to have it as a guest post.

Smile Please

Smile smile, please smile
Smile is so profound
Yet so hard to get

Source: http://www.mrwallpaper.com/

It is all over - On Domino's posters, on TV Advertisements, tele-series trailers
But not on everyone's face

Every kid has it
But kids do not make the world
Human make kids
As kids grow, they forget to smile

It is not just for the time
When you are clicked
It  is also for the times
When you are alone

Pass it one to someone who needs it
Give it on to a kid who looks at you
May be your street dog too
To the one who u see from inside a mirror


P.S.: There is nothing as seductive as a smile, there is nothing more beautiful than a smile...

P.P.S:
Did you smile today?
Did you make someone smile?
And did you smile with all your heart?

Author's Note: My question is how many of us are actually burdening us with a useless frown, when a smile can replace it.

Breath

As the door slammed on her face.
She could either fall or rise.
She took her time and decided to rise.
Higher than what she could the last time.
Because she always believed that
As long as she can breath, she will be alright!

Blessed

Life is what happens to us when we are busy making other plans. It is when we are trying to understand if we are a unicorn, mermaid, dragon or batman, but the reality is that we are we, and not a fictitious character.

While being high on Sex And The City, I cannot help but wonder (pun intended) what is all that fuss about a single women in New York? I have my own share of stories coming right from the horse's mouth - a single woman in New Delhi.

So if you are a writer - by profession and passion, just as I am, what is it that you are looking for? Here's are the few important ones:

- First thing that I look for is my mobile. It is not like school anymore, when my parents use to shout - get up you are getting late. You have to take responsibility of getting up in time. Parents are always a back up when you mistakenly cancel your alarm, when you meant to snooze it.
- The next thing I look for in the morning is not my tooth brush. It is recollecting which day is it and how far is the weekend. How much time can I take out for myself today. And if it is a weekday, the answer is zilch minute!


It makes me come to think about the 24 hour clock, in which we have to catch up with work, commute to work, stretch at work, eat at work, and work work work! Still the work never gets done, we always have a to do list for a tomorrow at work. You get home, to find your mom with a detailed account of how did her day go. And all you do is listen while of-course working on your laptop. And hello it is not that work work, it is your personal work. Remember that pending internet bill, or the mobile bill that you will have to pay online. I am sure we do it while having our dinner. By the time your mom tosses off to sleep, after feeling ignored and not complaining about it, you have your best friend. And here's that call - you could be super busy - but you know that you need it. You need to hear that voice and that you are blessed to have it!

Author's Note: This one is dedicated especially to those late night, cheerfully joyous calls. Love you my special people and all my friends.

Generalisations - Wolf in Sheep's attire

I lately realized that some people really invest time to cook up stories and lie. They are so compelled to lie that they lie to even those who have nothing to do with their stories. Such people do not have a Pinocchio nose, might not display typical traits of a liar, but they lie with real conviction!

This post of about generalisations. I hear a lot of generalisations - and sometime I am myself into it. What I believe is that people with small eyes are deceptive, those with piercing eyes are dangerous, those with huge popping eyes are greedy - more of often then never I have seen that these generalisations conflict somewhere. You can best know a person when that person is completely transparent - about the factors you are studying one for.

A friend asked me once that why do I think everyone tells the real story. It got me thinking. How many of us are actually transparent with others? Everyone has an image to maintain, and they fear that image to get ruined, to be judged. I also have an image to maintain, some actions/confessions are reserved to those who I believe will not judge me. This could be a reason for why generalisation exist - people do not show their real self to the world outside, and the world picks up clues from whatever they see or hear and generalise. It could be a case that you are talking to a wolf dressed in sheep's attire.

So if someone has a long nose (considered to be a feature of people who have good administration skills), do not assume that person lies a lot. A person with small nose can be into a lot of big or tiny white lies - which are still lies.

PS: People who think that I believe their lies and cooked up stories, need to know that I mock them. I might not confront you, but I am good at reading a liar.

A part of me

Sometimes when I am up to sleep
A dream knocks on my mind
I am awake and dreaming
and this is what I find

Here's a long road
And not a sight of life
It is all deserted brown sand
and a zig-zag concrete line

I look back
It is similar both sides
Some move back, some move forth
It is a matter of a fight to find me

A part of me moves ahead
A part of me stays there
And a part of me goes back
Here's what I find

I moved back to pick up my broken self
I stayed to wait and see
I move ahead to embrace the unknown
Each part of me was more wiser when they came together.

Author's Note:  There is no right or wrong, it is just that each step teaches us something new.