Redefining Strength

Daggers in my heart,

I should have known from the very start.

That life is not what I think it is.

And that the society has got it all wrong,

Strength was never meant to be defined like this.

We are living in a society,

Where we have made the strongest minds feel the weakest,

And the weakest ones feel the strongest,

So, here I am,

Making an attempt to redefine what strength truly means,

This is something everyone should know,

Schools should teach this to kids and preteens.

Strong are the ones who can feel,

Strong are the ones who can cry,

Because only those who can feel real pain can feel real pleasure,

You are strong if you fall hard because you care and you love,

You are strong if it breaks your heart to say goodbye.

You are strong if you find yourself fighting every day,

You are strong if you keep trying even if you can’t find a way,

You are strong if you haven’t settled with what’s keeping you down,

And you are not entirely comfortable in your life,

Because a great soul once said,

That a champion is always fighting something,

You are strong if each moment of your life is a struggle,

You are strong if your life feels like more of a boxing ring.

But if you have settled, it doesn’t imply that you are weak.

But the truth needed to be said for the sake of the strong,

That if you don’t feel like settling, you are not wrong.

You are strong if once in a while, or sometimes too frequently,

You experience a mental breakdown.

Because a warrior will want to keep learning and changing,

And constructing new and fresh mindsets, seeking and arranging,

Doing that sometimes can give you more than a frown.

Because new mindsets cannot be constructed,

Without breaking down the old ones,

And that can make you feel weak sometimes,

Even the strong ones can feel the urge to escape, avoid and run.

But just because you feel something, doesn’t mean that it is real.

You don’t have to act on it,

You don’t have to be a victim of the weak; your reaction is a choice you make.

Having strength doesn’t mean to resist your emotions,

It means to allow yourself to feel, and not let the emotion control you.

There is strength in your emotions, because no matter what you do,

You can’t have physical or mental growth if you don’t have the emotional energy,

You don’t have to torture yourself to move forward with your life,

No, Strength is not cutting your emotions out of your heart with a knife,

Rather understand the importance of replenishing your emotional energy,

Every day by doing at least one thing that makes you happy.

And when you are going through something,

Strength is in finding an expression,

 It is a really necessary and wonderful coping mechanism.

It could be anything talking, crying, writing, dancing or any other art form,

No, please don’t suppress your emotions,

Suppression is depression; you don’t have to listen to what people say,

You don’t have to follow the societal norm.

Strength is in self-love, self-worth, and self-value,

And also to feel others’ pain, to embrace your sense of empathy.

You are strong if you feel compassion for other beings,

But a great soul once said, that if your compassion doesn’t include yourself,

It is incomplete.

Strength is having the courage to say no,
Strength is in forgiveness, and in the act of letting go.

It is in understanding that you are not obligated to serve anyone,

Not a single soul in the world, not your friends, partner, or family,

No matter how much they tell you to believe so.

Strength is in putting yourself first, because if you don’t fill your own cup,

You can’t help another being if your own energy storage has gone bankrupt.

Strength is in seeking a life of abundance,

No matter how many struggles you go through,

Keep empowering yourself,

Because God wants your praise,

That’s what the Bible says.

You are strong if you stand up for yourself and defend yourself,

No matter what other people say.

If you learn to carry with you both an armor and sword,

Strength is in knowing that you are important,

Because the grave cannot praise the Lord.

Copyright © Upasana Goyal 2018

A woman’s heart

She sheds tears for you,

Breaks down your fears for you,

Even while crying she only wants to wipe your tears,

And then she smiles with grace,

Hoping that her tears go unnoticed and disappear from her face.

She nurtures every one of you,

Sometimes she nurtures pain too,

By making herself endure it longer than she should,

But only a few can see her struggle,

Only a few can realize that she can endure only because she is strong.

Hatred can’t really stay in her heart for too long,

For her every moment is brand new.

She is forgiving, generous and kind,

A mirror for those who can see,

And a light for the blind.

A woman’s heart can enter your heart with ease,

Just like the flow of a wind breeze.

You’ll feel it happen, but you’ll never be able to see,

When and how she uncages you, and sets you free.

O man, never underestimate the heart of a woman,

If you ever hurt her, just remember,

She can be as loving as Goddess Parvathi,

But as fierce as Durga and Kaali too.

Don’t ever think that she is weak,

When the power of her love turns into powerful pain,

She can make the world go round, change your fate,

 And bring the universe at her feet.

She may also make you feel like you’ve gone insane,

In a good way only if you respect her,

She can heal you if you realize her power.

But if you don’t, then you might not enjoy feeling insane,

Without doing a single thing, she can turn your rainbows into rain.

So fear a woman’s heart, because the energy of pure love it contains.

And only in pure love there is God,

So if you hurt the true purity of her heart,

You hurt your universe, and you hurt God.

Copyright © Upasana Goyal 2018

The Spirit Remains

There is happiness,

There is pain.

But the spirit remains.

Tears come,

Tears go,

But the spirit remains.

Yes, we cry,

Both in joy and in sorrow,

There is always an unpredictability for tomorrow,

What had been black and white may now be bright,

What had been colourful may now be plain,

The world keeps changing,

But the spirit remains.

So we must not wait too long,

For choosing a life of fearlessness and truth,

In spite of the pain let’s not stop ourselves from being strong,

Yet we must not be impatient, because one way or the other,

The universe will right the wrong,

 The body may decay, and so may the mind and heart,

But that won’t stop the spirit from making a fresh start.

So, work hard, but besides your karma, your faith must be maintained,

Life may put you down, and strength may not be an easy choice,

But as long as you live, you have that choice.

So never let your heart be filled with the ghosts of regret or shame,

You may lose everything, but the light in you will never be defeated,

Nor will it ever lose its divinity until you are victorious,

Because the spirit remains.

Copyright © Upasana Goyal 2017

The Dark Side

And she looked up at the sky

Laughing, her heart soaring

Like the birds flying so high.

With so much sparkle, they shined so bright,

Carrying more laughter and spirit than her lips,

Were her eyes.

White frock she wore,

Painted with pink flowers and green leaves,

She knew she could achieve anything in the world,

As long as she believed.

Her arms spread so long,

Like wings with which she could spin around,

Metres above the ground,

And glide along a wave,

Throughout life without any hardship,

Or crossing any path that was tough,

Prancing around from crest to crest,

From trough to trough.

With hair so long, that touched the ground,

She heard no noise, music was the only sound,

She felt like she wanted to celebrate everyday,

She was not afraid of life, come what may.

But when she put her feet on the ground,

Reality was something to which she had to abide,

And that’s when she got introduced to the dark side,

And that’s when something in her died.

She was no longer soaring in the sky,

She was floating without gravity in outer space,

There were no birds, only demons and ghosts,

Roaring in her face.

She had lost her spirit and sparkle,

Her face was pale,

Her lips were white,

And there was a constant innocent sadness,

Carried within the depth of her eyes.

Colours seemed to fade,

And so did her beliefs.

Gray was her shirt,

Gray was her dreams,

With no strength up her sleeve.

Life was still a wave,

But hardships began to be seen,

Everyday, every person seemed so mean.

It was hard to move from trough to trough,

It was hard to move from crest to crest,

Without feeling a weight in her chest.

And then she woke up from her sleep,

And realized that it was all a horrible nightmare.

She decided that she wouldn’t get conquered by the dark side,

Sometimes there may be less rainbows than rain,

Sometimes there may be less pleasure than pain,

But the choice of response to the demons within her,

Wasn’t just her experience, but her responsibility,

And she was responsible towards herself,

For creating a life which would make her happy again,

Even when the rest of the world seems insane,

So, with a smile on her face and a hope of a better dream this time,

She went back to sleep beside her king,

And covered her teary eyes with her beautiful hand,

Which, for the first time, didn’t have her favourite ring.

Copyright © Upasana Goyal 2016

Different Kind of Beauty

No, nothing can stop me now,

Yes, I was weak.

But now I am strong.

Now I will let my chains loose,

Because, now I realize,

Strength is not something that comes to me,

Strength is something I choose.

When I was younger,

I was caught up in myself,

Thirsty for life,

Crying for help.

I remember walking into a room,

A room full of friends laughing at me,

Thinking to myself, that I’m not enough,

And that I’m not how I’m supposed to be,

I felt so consumed,

Not knowing that I was a different kind of beauty.

Everyone is beautiful in a different and unusual way,

But it takes great experiences and a big heart,

To look without judgemental eyes,

To promote more love than hatred in others’ minds,

And to understand that it’s better to laugh along,

The laughers who laugh at you as they laugh—

Only because they are truly empty inside.

Now that I’ve grown older, wiser and stronger,

I choose to set myself free,

And to embrace who I am,

Because I’m a different kind of beauty,

And that’s who I’m proud to be.

Copyright © Upasana Goyal 2016

Free flow of energy

I wish there was an easy way

To feel what we want to feel

To do what we want to do

I wish there was an easy way

An easy life for me

An easy life for you.

I wish there was more sunlight

I wish there were more cars

Then people would take more road trips

The world would be dominated by

The power of love

Not the love of power.

I wish there was more kindness

I wish there was more light

People could talk more humbly

People could talk more lovingly

Then no one would treat another like a mess

And every person would feel more beautiful

More comfortable with themselves

Then people would live their life

By creating more beauty around them

Come what might.

I wish there were more games

More carom boards, more chess and checkers

And hearts wouldn’t bleed of sorrow

Then life wouldn’t be so lame

I wish there was a free flow of energy

More hearts who know how to receive love

More hearts who don’t have any trouble in radiating positivity

I wish there was more laughter

People could then embrace themselves for who they are

No one wouldn’t need any material object to be happy

Each one would live their life feeling like a Hollywood star.

I wish there was more mercy, more love and more charity

And people wouldn’t concentrate their possessions to themselves

I wish there were more people who didn’t beg

More people who were willing to help.

I wish it was easy

The free flow of energy

To find ways to fill this entire world with kindness

To fill this entire world with positivity

I wish people would realize

That they are the only reason

Why they live their life on Earth

With both joy and suffering

Only if everyone believed in themselves

And allowed themselves

And everyone around them

A free flow of emotional energy

This planet will be called Heaven instead of Earth

And everyone will prosper

And everything would work out beautifully.

Copyright © Upasana Goyal 2016

When nothing works out, I believe.

When nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe in the unseen,
I believe in the unsaid,
I believe in the unwritten,
I believe in the unread.

When nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe in the darkness,
For darkness is the purest, simplest reminder,
Of the necessity of light.

When nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe in the beauty of the night,
For the night tells us,
That we should give happiness a chance,
When we feel completely low.
Just like when it’s full of complete darkness,
It gives a chance for the stars to glow.
Tiny Stars twinkle in the bed of much darkness,
But that’s what makes the sky look beautiful-
In the end.
So when I’m feeling dark inside,
At least, to myself, I won’t hide or pretend.

When nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe in the opportunities,
That slip away from my hands.
For I may have had great expectations,
But that means,
God had greater plans.

When nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe in the uncertainty,
For only uncertainty has enough power,
To make us explore,
The infinite possibilities lying unfound,
In the deep corners of our soul.
And knowing those possibilities will help me,
To choose my path,
The path that I want,
The path where I’m supposed to go.

When nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe in the consistent failures,
Failures of minds, hearts, bodies and souls.
For if everything and everyone succeeded at once,
We’d all take success for granted,
And there’d be no progress in this world at all.

When nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe in every little flaw,
That lies within me.
For if I was perfect,
I’d never be able to make mistakes,
So I’d never be able to learn and grow.
And if everyone’s insides weren’t somehow a mess,
People would only be attracted to bodies,
There’d be no such thing as inner beauty,
Or the attraction of souls.

When nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe in the hopelessness,
I believe in the inability to try,
I believe in the everyday troubles,
I believe in the power of the tears I cry.
For no one can get out of a maze, unless they’re stuck in it.
And when I get out, I will be utterly polished.
And through this challenge, at least I can acknowledge,
That I’m still alive.

When nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe that I can’t give up,
Because somehow I’m still meant to try,
I believe that I can’t try,
Because somewhere I’m meant to give up.
I believe that I can’t let go,
Because there’s something I’m supposed to hold on to,
I believe that I can’t hold on,
Because there’s something I’m supposed to let go.

When nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe in the unsolved puzzles,
I believe in the unanswered questions,
I believe in the locked doors,
I believe in the unfathomable emotions,
I believe in the restlessness of the mind,
I believe in the dissatisfaction of the heart.
For without these we’d never know,
How much certain things mean to us,
Certain things, precious things,
Like solutions, answers, keys to the locks,
Understanding, satisfaction and stability.

When nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe in the negativity that comes to me,
Through within or without,
For it is not a problem, but only a gift,
It’s the gift of a trigger,
As it triggers me to start my hunt for positivity.

When nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe in the mysterious force,
Some may call it God, luck, destiny,
Conscience or the sub-conscious mind.
I believe in the ways of this mysterious force,
That are righteous, positive and divine.
And when nothing works out,
I believe.
I believe that this mysterious force will show me,
Show me the way to shine.

Copyright © Upasana Goyal 2016