Neelima Khemchandani - Nesting the Garden of Life

Neelima Khemchandani 2021

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the author.

Although every precaution has been taken to verify the accuracy of the information
contained herein, the author and publisher assume no responsibility for any errors or
omissions. No liability is assumed for damages that may result from the use of
information contained within.

First Published in January 2021

ISBN: 978-93-5427-143-4

Price: INR 142 /-

BLUEROSE PUBLISHERS

www.bluerosepublishers.com

+91 8882 898 898

Cover Design:

Jasleen Ashta

Typographic Design:

Ilma Mirza

Distributed by: BlueRose, Amazon, Flipkart, Shopclues

AUTHORS PREFACE

There are certain dreams we see with our eyes both open and closed and writing for me has been one such dream. I discovered my love for writing when I was in my last grades of schooling but I never took it seriously enough to pursue framing an entire book. It was when I randomly started receiving compliments on the quotes I used to post on Whatsapp, Instagram, and Facebook that my courage slowly allowed me to turn them into blogs. Getting enough traffic on my blog site pumped more courage in me and ultimately led to the writing of this book.

Writing a book is no different than conceiving a baby. It gives an immense feeling of love when you begin framing those first ever lines. Day and night, you begin thinking about the time when you would first hold it in your hands. It would be all about the love and dedication you put in through all the months. Each day the attachment increases and keeps on increasing as you proceed writing it more. You just want it to be the best book out there in the entire world and it is said that when you create something with all your love, it cultivates into love only.

I started writing this book in 2018 but never ever got enough hours to complete it. Ironically, it was due to the most unfortunate event in the history of the world, the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown, which enabled me to complete the book. Somewhere I found the light in those days which enlightened me through the nights too.

It is said that family is the most important pillar in anybodys life and so are they in my life too. My mother Pooja, my father Vijay, and my sister Pratibha all have been my motivation throughout. They are the first ones to pick me up when I fall down and the first ones to celebrate my flights when I take off. My sister had been my constant listener even when she was not in the mood to listen. While writing this book I used to steal her time and narrate my verses to check if she would love reading them when she holds my book in her hand. My mother had been a story teller throughout the pandemic during dinner and her short stories gave me more examples and lessons to quote in this book. Her love and warmth has been enclosed in this book because my thought process is the gift given to me by her. My father is the strongest man who has always taught me to be independent, respectful, and has given me all the power to conceive whatever I want to in this life.

My friends Naman, Shivam, Priyanka, and Nidhi (the list is endless though!) who always kept on checking on me and the book, to ensure that my pace is maintained. They are the constant inspirations who have always told me that I should create a collection of my quotes, join writing clubs, and spread my words.

Other important people have been those who have followed my quotes constantly and ensured that I receive the praise for the lines they loved to follow. That includes my cousin Dharna, my dance professor Pooja maam, dance colleague Aman, and various official links whose names I cannot mention here.

It is always tough to begin something you have always really dreamt of but once the plane takes off, do not land before you complete the distance. I took one year and seven months to complete and handover this book to my publisher BlueRose who guided and supported me in bringing this all to the table. My consultant Megha has been my lamp during the journey of publishing.

I truly believe and hope that you all would love Nesting the Garden of Life, my first ever book. Thank you for choosing to read this. It contains all the love I could put into words.

INTRODUCTION

This world, indeed, is a beautiful place. The bright flowers of the spring, the tawny shedding leaves flying along with the autumn wind, the foggy winter mornings, the fruits of the summer, the birds flapping over the tangerine sunset sky, the traversing blue clouds, the profound oceans and the courageous mountains, the fragrance of the first drop during the onset of monsoons; everything in the world is just flawless. And we are a part of this unblemished universe. In fact, humans are known to be the most important members of the nature.

Think it over, if the nature in itself is so perfect and impeccable, then how can its most influential creatures lives not be absolute? No one in this world has ever been born to live a life of despair, misery or dullness. We all have the power to bring about the best of the changes in our lives. We can rule and lead our life as we have always wished to. Many of us might have realised this fact by now and many of us might still be exploring it, nothing in life comes as a pre-written script. Everything lies beneath us, held is within us. There exists a whole cosmos inside us which communicates with the outer, powerful sphere.

Our life is like a garden and everything we are sowing in the soil of our mind appears as its harvest. The seasons do change but shielding our garden from each climate change is what helps us master the art of living. Nothing ever less than perfect is what we all deserve. The best is already waiting for us to grab a hold of it! Let us step outside the comfort zone, and let us sow the seeds of the best life. We will find that in the entire world there is enough good to go around, there is more light than darkness, there is more joy than melancholy, there is more satisfaction than lack, there is more food than malnourishment, there is more success than downfall; and such a world does exists, but only when we believe so and align ourselves to the frequency of receiving the good; our garden would become the forever burgeoning one.

UPROOTING REMAINS OF THE
PAST

If you dont allow the old leaves to wither off,

how would the new ones be born?

Stop holding on to the grizzled ones,

And let the tender ones grow

Isnt it so similar to maintaining a closet? If you keep on buying as many new clothes and accessories as you want for yourself, but, unless you make a space for it in your closet, they wont fit in! You have to make space. Life works pretty much in the same way.

We all have crossed the seas where the waters did not treat us well, the ship was wrecked, the sky was angry, the stars were nowhere to be seen, and the path for reaching the bay was bleak. In some cases, we could find the bay after a little pain and in few of the cases, we had to struggle much. The suffering defines and prepares us for the life ahead. But, again, we would be able to figure this out only if we allow ourselves to overcome the shadows of the past.