An old man with wispy hair and wrinkled skin Sits by the fire, with a twinkle in his eye Thinking of the love that he’s known within His heart still beats with a passion that doesn’t die *** His wife, his partner, his rock and his friend She’s been by his side through thick and…
By Sunil Saxena The idea of leading a retired life rankled initially. I hated being reduced to the ranks of “their time is over” workforce. One day I was a productive member of the society. My colleagues and my team looked up to me to take decisions. Next day, I was living on pension. It…
By Sunil Saxena Should we lie to our parents to save them distress when one of them dies? Please don’t do so. Here are two heartbreaking stories that I witnessed. The first is about my neighbours who had been married for over 50 years. During this period, they must have had their moments of joy…
By Sunil Saxena Back in our teens, life was beautiful. There were heartbreaks, but there was love also. Every day was radiant, beautiful. Most important, our bodies were young. My heart would pound whenever a beautiful girl passed by, even when I did not know her. There were stealthy glances, and hope that next time…
By Sunil Saxena After retirement, there is only one way to keep the effects of ageing at bay. It is refusal to allow yourself to become redundant. This means that you must keep yourself busy, even after you retire. The engagement should not be superficial or skin deep. It should jog your mind and keep…
By Sunil Saxena I had never thought that family albums can also be a source of pain till I picked up an old family album that was lying at the bottom of the bookshelf. The album cover had frayed with age and some of the photographs had turned yellow. But it was not the condition…
By Amitabh Sharma It seemed that a curse had been cast on Euphemia from the day she was born, it wasn’t ending anytime in her lifetime. Thrust to her father as soon as she was born, abused by stepmother, hers was a life which one wouldn’t even curse one’s enemy with. Euphemia, as she grew…
By Sunil Saxena I gave the dementia medicine for the first time in the night around 8 pm. She woke up around 11 pm. I could hear her calling out for me. There was fear in her voice. When I rushed into her room, I saw her standing next to the bed holding the walker…
By Sunil Saxena Can you slow down your thoughts? You can, if you practice Mindfulness Meditation. This amazing practice, which is based on breathing, helps you calm your brain and body. It trains you to focus on the moment. You are less distracted, and more peaceful. As the name suggests, this practice has two dimensions…