You are calm when you understand your own feelings… All of us can achieve such a state without being Zen masters by accepting others, their sensitivities and sensibilities.

I am back in Norway now, and have filled the pots again. It has been several days and the sparrows have not returned. I wake up in the mornings hoping to catch a glimpse of a sparrow feeding on the food from the pots. Have they found an alternative? Are they safe and sound? Have they managed to scrape through the coldest part of winter? Will they back soon?

One does not really need the spiritual might of a Swami Vivekananda to inspire the youth. Even a little girl who left behind her thoughts in a diary can have a lasting influence on the way one thinks, feels and behaves in life.

When New Year’s Day dawned, January 19 seemed far away. The mind flashed back to a set of January Firsts, between 1999 and 2003, when I used to await the dawning of the day — when I would pack my bags and head westward or eastward out of the country, in search of greener pastures.

A poem on life, and why we think the way we think.