Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

In recent times I’ve come across a number of quotes through social media. Not all are by established or renowned people. I’m anyway not an avid reader or a follower of any philosopher / writer/ poet, but I do understand & like some of Buddha’s teachings. When I think of ‘words of wisdom’ , I think of Buddha immediately. His quotes are simple & easy to understand and can be put to use at any stage of life that one is in. Having said that they’re easy to understand, they’re not that simple to practice day-in and day-out in life. Sigh!

I’ve made a note of 10 of them that really resonate with me. I think these are applicable irrespective to the time or phase of life that one is in.

1. You only lose what you cling to.

2. In the end only three things matter : how much you loved, how gently you lived and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.

3. Before you speak let your words pass through three gates. Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?

4. Weak people revenge, strong people forgive, intelligent people ignore.

5. Never regret being a good person to the wrong people. Your behaviour says everything about you, and their behavior says enough about them.

6. Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth

7. Faith and prayer are both invisible  but they make the impossible things possible.

8. Pain is certain, suffering is optional.

9. The root of suffering is attachment.

10. The mind is everything, what you think you become.

Have you come across any other quotes that you relate to? They don’t necessarily need to be by Buddha.. Share in the comments below!

Have a wonderful weekend you all. It’s summer here in India, may we tackle this heat with a cool mind. Namaste!

Lots of love,

The Silent Hummer.

Franchua D’Souza

 

 

 

Take a sad song and make it better

This line from the famous song “Hey Jude” strikes a chord with me. Love how it inspires to improve whatever it is that’s not good.

2017 so far has been an eventful year for me personally. It started with bringing in the new year in beautiful #Thailand. In case you have missed out on that post, you can check it here. I’ve even completed my swimming classes, have learnt enough to enjoy picnics at water parks and resorts. There’s still room for improvement though. Then, I’ve moved into a new challenging role on the work front. It’s something that keeps me occupied 12 hours on weekdays (which is why my blogging has taken a back seat, sorry).

Call it growing up, getting mature, caring a damn or anything you’d like.. But I’ve even become calmer in my ways of dealing with life and it’s pressures. There used to be a time when I’d get hyper at the drop of a hat, but now I’ve learnt the art of letting go or simply ignoring all unwanted mess. ‘Keep calm’ is my new mantra.
In fact I’ve even reduced my social media usage altogether.

The travel bug has definitely bitten me and in fact I’m even open to exploring places as a solo traveller. Can’t wait for my next trip whenever and wherever that is.

Of course l enjoy writing and that’s why this blog came into existence in the first place, but lately I tried my hand at getting poetic too. Here’s something I had recently put up on my Instagram account. In case you aren’t already following me on Instagram, follow @franchuadsouza now!
The intention is to get better at whatever I do and improve the overall quality of my life.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend ahead. Stay happy always.

Lots of love,

The Silent Hummer,
Franchua D’Souza.

Karma Chameleon

It’s summer here in India and it gets crazy hot during the day. I remember how last year it was impossible to shoot this post without perspiring which was a total put-off .

Summer or not, during the week I prefer wearing tops and dresses with sleeves to work, sometimes saving the sleeveless formal tops for Fridays. While at home, you will find me chilling in the shortest pair of cotton shorts and a tee or a super comfy loose shirt that lets me breathe. I happily borrow clothes from my mom’s closet sometimes just because they’re lose and comfy! She doesn’t mind.

Over the weekend while stepping out to visit a friend, I decided to go the simple yet chic way of wearing a tank top and jeans. Something I could lounge in for hours on end. What was meant to be just a visit to a friend’s place ended up being a photo shoot for this post. I loved the fact that the green tank top matched the environment around me, maybe even camouflaging with the grass and trees in some pics (Hence the post title).

There really were a lot of pictures, but I’ll share just these for now. I’m sure the rest will see the light of day on the blog soon too.

One thing I’ve come to realize about shooting pictures for my blog is, it’s very important to share a great rapport with your photographer as it let’s you just be yourself, totally natural and candid. There are some blogs I’ve seen online, where it’s easy to tell that the model/ blogger is not at ease as yet with the photographer. You don’t want your blog/ pictures to come across like that. It’s best you find someone you can be comfortable with and then go clickity-click!

OOTD Details:

Green Tank top: Mom’s closet (I said she doesn’t mind)
Denims: Tokyo Talkies
Orange Ballerinas: Zovi
Watch: Gift
Hairband: Hill Road, Bandra

How are you coping up with the weather out there? What is your go-to for summer? Any blogger/ photography tips?
Let me know in the comments below and follow the blog to stay updated on my musings.

Also, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

Photography: Nolasco Alphonso

Lots of Love,

The Silent Hummer.
Franchua D’Souza

Roses are red my love

Roses are red, yellow, orange, pink, black and what not! Flowers are beautiful, there’s no denying. They smell lovely is an added incentive. Frankly I’m not quite a floral person when it comes to gifting them, as it’s disheartening that they last for just a few days. I’m more into practical gifting. However as I mentioned, flowers are beautiful no doubt and even a bunch of them make can make some peoples’ day bright. They have the ability to turn a dull day into a romantic one and a depressing day into a motivating one. Imagine what happens when you see a complex full of flowers everywhere, like literally. That too in Mumbai!

Over the weekend, a few of us accepted an invitation to attend a flower exhibition put up in town. If you’ve lived in Mumbai, you’d know that unfortunately we are not lucky enough to see nature in all it’s glory. So the invite seemed too lucrative to be ignored. The complex that hosted the exhibition had about 35 gardens with different floral set ups, each one-better-than-the-other. The organisers did everything possible to make this event grand. They set up the place like a dream- the flowers were the stars, they got 1853-style trams to take us around all the gardens, and they even got the navy band to perform live. Refreshments were served at a few corners so even the 4pm heat couldn’t do much to bother us. Looking at all this beauty, we completely forgot that we were still in Mumbai and realization only struck after exiting the complex.

My pics are just a glance of the weekend that was. I bet you will have to return to see the actual flower display. It’s going to blow your mind!

In the mean time you can check the previous time I posted about my floral experience.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram. I’ve even joined Roposo- @franchua  recently, I’m yet to learn it, but join me there too!

Photography credits : Nolasco Alphonso, he’s the best.

Lots of love,

The Silent Hummer
Franchua D’Souza