तेरा हिज्र मेरा नसीब है

तेरा हिज्र मेरा नसीब है तेरा ग़म ही मेरी हयात है
मुझे तेरी दूरी का ग़म हो क्यों तू कहीं भी हो मेरे साथ है

मेरे वास्ते तेरे नाम पर कोई हर्फ़ आये नहीं नहीं
मुझे ख़ौफ़-ए-दुनिया नहीं मगर मेरे रू-ब-रू तेरी ज़ात है

तेरा वस्ल ऐ मेरी दिलरुबा नहीं मेरी किस्मत तो क्या हुआ
मेरी महजबीं यही कम है क्या तेरी हसरतों का तो साथ है

तेरा इश्क़ मुझ पे है मेहरबाँ मेरे दिल को हासिल है दो जहाँ
मेरी जान-ए-जाँ इसी बात पर मेरी जान जाये तो बात है |

- निदा फ़ाज़ली

I celebrate myself

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I loafe and invite my Soul;
I lean and loafe at my ease, observing a spear of summer grass.

Houses and rooms are full of perfumes—the shelves are crowded with perfumes;
I breathe the fragrance myself, and know it and like it;
The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.

The atmosphere is not a perfume—it has no taste of the distillation—it is odorless;
It is for my mouth forever—I am in love with it;
I will go to the bank by the wood, and become undisguised and naked;
I am mad for it to be in contact with me.

- Walt Whitman from Leaves of Grass

Flow

Life dealt them with many a hard blow...
But it never diminished their inherent glow!
A purpose to be extremely proud of,
A reason to be always happy and laugh!
An intoxicated affair with life as a whole,
A mysterious relationship with one's own soul.
A well balanced approach pregnant with equanimity,
Equal attention to both the self and society.
Goal followed by effort followed by another goal...
Little concern for the consequences or the toll!
Placing a positive interpretation on every event,
No time to regret, worry or repent!
A single minded pursuit worthy of intense admiration,
Based on self-discovery & leading to true elation!
A life of meaning and harmony...
Far away from the world of money.
Many more lives they are certain to inspire,
Tearing them away from being a victim of banal desire.
No chances of a break-down whatsoever...
Enthusiasm and passion more than the need to be clever!
No chances of giving in to adversity...
Always turning around a situation with positivity!
That, in a nutshell, is the story of Flow,
Always on a high and never once low!

- Taken from 'Flow' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Thanks Nimmy for this poem.