I really don’t have any time to call my Mom! What’s your reason?
Photo copyright Suresh Gundappa 2007. Buy this Image from my Gallery
What’s your reason for not calling loved ones for so long?
You have grown up and moved on ! and now you are so busy that you just don’t have time to
call loved ones!
When was the last time you took sometime off to call your Loved ones?
Picture note: Lobzong -Woman in picture lives in a Cave alone 18000ft above ground near Himalayas. She is still hoping that her children, all grown up and left her will come back and spend sometime with her. Everyday she prepares sweets and milk expecting one of her children might turn up without telling her.
It’s just 15 years since she is waiting.
Gypsies like me who travels often to hills consumes sweets and milk kept for her children.
But Lobzong still haven’t lost hope or smile. She still lives life of smile and life of hope! she still believes they are all truly busy to come and meet her
May be - You have sometime today to call your Loved ones . Old friend, Sister , Brother or anyone who cares!
Again! You did’t answer my question ,
What’s your reason for not calling loved ones? take a deep breath and answer yourself. better just call.
Love and lots of it dear ones
Suresh
thanks Suresh. I know why you wrote this. Only thing I wish I can be as lively as Lobzong.
Thank you so much and god bless you.
I didn’t call her becasue she is your mom …you call her.
sorry, Outstanding post for an As***le like me. I still need to call her. thanks
Good one Anonymous - At least you could have shared your name with me. This is the best one liner I read in recent times.
Anyway thanks for commenting. Just for blog sake I have masked your swearing word although it is obvious!
I talk and call my loved ones all the time - sadly my brother does not fall into that category.
What an excellent image.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, Suresh.
It’s funny, I was just moving that article from Spaces to WordPress. I never expected anyone to comment so thoroughly.
The photo site was something I spent more time on in the past. With a baby on the way, and still so much to do with my regular blog, I haven’t had a chance to update it.
My photography blog is more up to date.
Thanks again!
I call my family members often and keep in touch. My mother died when I was very young. I can’t imagine why people who have mothers ignore them. They don’t know that having loving mothers is a priviledge, not a right.
Ah, shucks, I guess I’ll call mom! I am so busted!
Suresh - Your post reminds me of what Kiran Bedi said in an interview. ( http://www.pbs.org/adventuredivas/india/divas/bedi.html)
“After I lost my mother, I’m fearless. There’s no more fear. I think the only fear I had was to lose her, and I’ve lost her. So I have no more fears. You’re afraid of something you love most, of losing something you love most, and I think I loved her the most. And I lost her. And after this, there’s nothing more to lose, nothing more to lose. I’m today fearless.”
I am also reminded of my cousin who stopped speaking to one of her aunt’s. A few years later the aunt was bed-ridden and remained in that state for 7 years. But my cousin refused to visit her or speak to her. But when the aunt died a year ago, I found my cousin sobbing and regretting that she had never visited her aunt or spoken to her. If we stop to think of those loved ones and friends who are no longer alive and with whom we can no longer speak…….. I guess we will not hesitate to open up to those in our midst.
Thanks for your wonderful and Insightful comments. I guess your cousin story is no more different than thousands of them. Hope at least one of them will pick up what you are saying!
I appreciated your reminder about how a busy schedule can take priority over what really matters. We don’t really have to wait for a tragedy to occur, do we? Thanks for the moving message powered by a photo that inspires emotion.
Suresh,
Thank you for visiting my blog. I’ve been reading Vincent Versace’s recent book, “Welcome To Oz”, where he talks about warming up B&W photos.
So I thought I would try it. I like it too.
Double thanks for the ‘calling loved ones’ message.
Ironically, I’m waiting for the official word on some good news so that I can call my sisters.
Finally, supreme thanks for photographing and sharing the beautiful spirit, Lobzong. I absolutely love that picture.
Now, I will tour your blog!
Peace,
“Guided by the Ancestors”
Oh…. last weekend, when I called my Mom, she told me, too, that whenever she cooks and something turns out really nicely, she hopes that me and my boyfriend would pay a surprise visit…. *sniff* … she hasn’t met him yet, but now we have made arrangements to visit her in two weeks!
Wonderful thought, Suresh. At first Shabari of Ramayana came to my mind. Adding to the though, a very beautiful portrait there.
Wow - this is so beautiful and poignant.
Thanks for sharing!
ಬಹಳ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದೆ. ಆಕೆಯ ನಗು ಅದ್ಭುತ. ಶಬರಿ,ಅಹಲ್ಯ(ಕಲ್ಲಿನ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ), ಶಕುಂತಲೆ, ದಮಯಂತಿ ಇವರೆಲ್ಲ ಕಾಯುತ್ತಲೇ ಇದ್ದರು!
ನಾವುಗಳು ಕೂಡ… !
Hi! came in through your comment on my blog. My first time here and I must say, I cant stop looking at the photographs. I especially like the spider and its web one. Beautiful.
I moved away from home 30 years ago and the Calls Home have seen all sorts of frequencies (including me going MIA for a couple of weeks on end when I was a 20something). These days, as my mom approaches 75 years old and lives alone, I rarely let more than 3 days go by without a quick chat on the phone. Because I consider my commute (about 1.5 - 2 hours/day), and I’m not much of a Phoner once I’m home, I use my commute time to catch up on my calls. I learned a long time ago this truth: Life can alter dramatically in the blink of an eye - don’t leave any room for “regrets”. PHONE HOME, all you E.T.’s
(Extraordinary Terrestrials)
Suresh: Great picture.. even greater question posed… I guess as we get busier and start getting “caught up in the rat race”, we start forgetting the people who made all this possible..
What a gem of a picture!!
A saint in the form of Lobzong. A smile that can instigate a thousand more. A brilliant effort in highlighting it. I am speechless.
Thanks Suresh.
Srik.
Very interesting blog, Suresh!
Thank you everyone.
Thank you - Shruti, srik, Vijay, Grace, Hema, Veena , Ashwathy, Prashanth,Anaj, Geder, Susan, priya, Naturalhigh, Quilldancer, Nicola, jorge, cathy , anonymous(!)
Each one of you have made this blog richer with your comments, I am overwhelmed and overjoyed by your compassion!
cheers to all of you! And tons of Love as Usual!
I’ve just started touching base with people around me ,,,actually with myself again
Lovely pics …especially flowers
Lovely blog and beautiful portrait…I hope her children visit…
Your article does indeed reflect the true experiences in the lives of not only the nomads in mountainous regions but also urban and rural families in many parts of the world in modern times
We must never ever forget our parents and family..
….Mother is of course extra special,,,she is our “kann kanda deivam” Without her tender loving care and kindness we would not be alive
We must all attempt to make a difference in the lives of others by bringing in a ray of sunshine and a SMILE on their faces We must never forget the hand that fed us
May God bless you all
Your photographs become more touching as time goes on. Absolutely Beautiful!
Your words as usual, continue to inspire each and every post…
Happily, this time, I’m not guilty of neglecting my loved ones. The love of friends and family make this world bearable.
Love to you Suresh!
Robin
Hi Suresh,
I’m really sorry to intrude on your space like this, but I came to proposition you and everyone who reads your blog. Now, don’t delete me, hear me out.
I’ve just started a new blog, it’s Oh, what a preeety world, and here is a little something about it:
Please stop by and comment on this week’s topic. We would really appreciate your view on the subject.
Btw, I speak to my mom constantly. We live 20 minutes away.
I once let five years elapse without a word to or from my father or the side of my family that he represents. Then one day for no apparent reason I recieved a phone call from his daughter, my half sister. She wanted to get to know her brother. Through that phone call I credit her with reviving a dead relationship with my father.
Recently my wife, son, and I were on vacation and had made plans to spend time at my father’s house. On the night before we began the last leg of our trip to see him, he phoned to inform me that my half sister had been abducted two nights prior, and that she had been found that day in a terrible state.
I have left many messages but had no real contact with her since that sad day. In a strange twist of fate it is only through my relationship with my father that I receive any news of her like her recent marriage and that she is pregnant with a boy. I have stopped calling her or leaving messages content with the bits of news I get from my father. It is my hope that someday she will again call for no apparent reason.
Thanks Preety I will do that, and Stephen Sorry to hear about your incidents. I wish you could have let some link where readers can share their own thoughts with you.
Inshalla! what a site! from Rumi to jesus to Buddha - I have never seen a Blog adddressing so much variety and so many way!
Allah bless you and You have most outstanding photos along with your Writing.
You should write about Sufis sometime as I heard you practiced Dervishes in Turkey! ( I came to know your blog thru your friend Ghazala!)
by the way I live with my Mom
Thanks Mansoor and I heard lot about you from Ghazala! I promise I share my experience In Turkey sometime in Future. Sufiana is the Greatest love affair with God and My blog is all about Love! So I am going to do It.
The westernization of relationships!!!
Good take suresh
Cheers
mohan!
Thank you for visiting my site! I was touched by the comment you left me, and here I am visiting your site and touched some more. You have a true gift. Let’s visit more - thanks!
we don’t know, how things get changed. we become selfish without knowing.
The world around us and desires within us makes us selfish.
The small difference’s between loved ones gets bigger, We stop talking/calling/visiting. Internally we will create a hell within ourselves, ultimately gets trapped as a insect in spider web.
These times, you have to make an serious effort, to come out of this. Remember these words “Forgiving is divine”. try to become divine.
Does she have a phone in a cave? I don’t think so unless she lives in the Batcave.
The issue was definitely nothing to do with phone call. Issue is about your life’s priorities. It’s about what has become important to us. I guess I have not made my point well.
Thanks for visiting.
Because I live with my mom!
Ok… just nitpicking… I did make a call to my sister who lives away and whom I’ve sort of ended up neglecting in a while. She was really pleased about it and we spoke for quite a long time (thanks Suresh!)
In India we look down upon the western idea of moving away from the parents, and we look down upon the concept of “Mother’s Day” saying that that’s not needed for us as we mostly live together.
But what I’ve learnt to become careful about is that its possible to live together… and yet become distant! The moment we see the same person every day we are really really suceptible for taking them for granted. And then if this happens - it is almost impossible for those actually in this situation to acknowledge!!! I’ve found it makes a lot of sense to look at even the most familiar near and dear ones with a fresh perspective every day, to put in the heartfelt commitment to love them a little more than we did yesterday - everyday! To see the extraordinary in the ordinary.
[...] this post for starters; I really don’t have any time to call my mom. What’s your reason? Check out the accompanying photo of [...]
Suresh, your blog and photos are truly lovely. Thanks for sharing with the world.
I don’t call my mom, or anyone in my family, because since my dad died, my family is not a family anymore. My dad was my best friend and I talked to him everyday. My family has never read my blog, they don’t answer my emails, they never call me, and when I call them they’re too busy to talk. I don’t plan trips home anymore because I’ll just end up sitting in my mom’s house alone. I have never felt more lonely than when I go home.
Recalled something I’d meant to say earlier…
When specifically mother is considered, it looked like a contradiction with another post that said:
But reflecting on it, I realised its not really a contradiction, because the river may flow to the ocean, but its still always connected to the source.
Which is esp reflected in the last para…
Whenever they need, serve them, be available.
Very nice image, but i would try to put the subject more out of the center of the image to the left side.