15 Park Avenue- sunshine doesn't always get through all windows

When I watch movies at home, I usually watch them in instalments, a little now, and a little later and later and later. Sometimes my films stretch to days, sometimes to weeks. Very few films captivate my attention. Like 15 Park Avenue did. I was so engrossed, sitting on my couch with pain in my heart, and tears in my eyes, I didn't realize that the movie had ended, of course the movie's climax was abrupt to add to my curiosity. My heart surely went out for Konkana kind patients (schizophrenic), who are entitled to a life sentence of pain and grief, for no fault of theirs.
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For those of you who are not aware of what 15 Park Avenue is, here it is in a nutshell (review from apunkachoice.com)-
It is the address that exists only in the mind of a young schizophrenic girl. It is on this address her imaginary husband and children live.
Aparna Sen’s movie ‘15 Park Avenue’ is a touching film with a sensitive subject. It is a film that will appeal to selected audience, not the masses. The movie is slow paced and the culmination to the story is open-ended.
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The film awakens in you, a transcendent part, that probably has been lying dormant for time immemorial. In this world where millions of beings suffer from millions of diseases, inborn or acquired, we live a life full of luxuries, yet there's no dearth to the complaints that we have for various reasons. I am no saint, nor do I deny that I have my own share of cribbings. Am just trying to pen my thoughts here, those which crossed my small mind last night. On this planet, where misery and agony reign, we are lost in our own world, worried about getting a job, tying the knot, reproducing etc. Has the thought ever striked us to adopt a baby, give a life to the less fortunate. We are worried about the life that hasn't entered this world, when we have the opportunity to give life to an under- privileged one.
I am not sure if I am one of those who would practice what they preach. I am trying to be one.

So if you are one of them who loves to see real- life films that touch your heart, do not miss this one- a treat to the heart.
The climax of the movie is still a little bizarre to me, so those of you who could make it out- kindly highlight.

To the parents of a child......

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit,not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
-- Kahlil Gibran

Lessons on Life

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

Moral: Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later.

Keep smiling :-)

Are you husk or the grain?

If you don’t have faith, you’re nothing. During the time of reaping the harvest, the farmerholds a broad sieve and puts all the grains into itand stands on an elevated platform and shakes thesieve. What happens when that is done? If it is mere husk, it just flies away in the air andis lost. If grain is present, then it falls to the ground andstays. So too in our life, we must have faith. Faith issomething which we have inside us.

When many situations surfacein life, are you able to face all of them with peace,with a stable mind and faith? If you do not have faith, if you go into fear, then you will fly awayinto the air, like the husk. You will be nowhere. You will not have anything to hold onto. But if you have faith, you will be able to find aground. When you have faith that every thing be alright, whenyou are in peace, then everything will settle down. God expects only one thing from you, “your unshakeablefaith”. If your faith shakes very quickly, if it keeps shakingtoo often, or if you realise that you do not have anyfaith at all when difficulty strikes, then it is akinto being like the husk. Look into your life; are youmere husk or the grain? How many events take place in life! Many situationsarise. Are you able to maintain your equanimity inthose conditions? Your work is to maintain yourequanimity in this world. Not everything in the worldis sweet. Some things are sweet and some are bitter.If you are grounded with faith like the husk withgrain, then you will progress. The grounded grains aregathered in a sack and replanted elsewhere or used insome manner. Isn’t it?

Take this decision: “Whatever happens I will be there.I will be grounded. God’s protection is there on me. Whateverhappens, I will never go down. I always have God’s hand withme”. This much is enough to pull you up. Keep your mind inpeace in all situations. It is enough if that much is doneby you and the rest will be taken care of. You have to takeat least one step forward, which is to be in peace andequanimity. “Oh! Nothing happened. Nothing of my work happened” –If you are able to laugh in such a situation, then understand that you have protection with you.

The world is filled with love. Everybody has love inside them. You have to see that in your mind. Have you ever seen with this view? Whenever you are ina crowd, have you ever watched the crowd and thoughtin your mind that “all is love”? The whole world is a celebration. Fairs happen hereconstantly. Everyday celebration happens here. Parrot,cuckoo and other birds sing. The procession is movingconstantly. We are the idols who are moving in theprocession. You should be happy in life. All other businessesinvolve ups and downs which is very natural. If there is a body,then it will get cold, cough, fever or something else and itwill go away. But take care to see that happiness isalways established in you. That is known aspurashaartha. Our love, faith and belief should bedeep-rooted, and then everything else moves on itsown.