One morning as I was getting ready to go on an errand, I was suddenly dizzy and sick. I passed out and woke in a pool of blood. I drove to the hospital, pinching myself to all the way to stay conscious. As I lay on a gurney hemorrhaging, I wondered if I’d ever see another sunrise. As soon as I was well, I rose before dawn to go for a walk, and I watched as the rose in a blaze of pink and gold glory. It was the most breathtaking sight I had ever seen.

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Whenever someone asks me what I need, I say, “A million dollars and a Jaguar.” But if I won the lottery, I wouldn’t buy a Jaguar. I’d build a simple house on a country ranch and buy a pickup truck. I don’t want to live in a mansion—too much upkeep! I’m a country girl at heart, but life has swept me along and I’ve found myself time and again in the city or the suburbs. I just want to wake every morning to the sound of birdsong instead of traffic, to look out my window and see trees, not houses.

I’ve never actually used new afff fire extinguishers. With the amount of training I’ve had in fire safety, workplace safety, household safety, every-other-kind-of-safety, you’d think I would have used one at least once, but I haven’t. I know that in principle you pull the pin and spray the foam at the fire, and that you shouldn’t use it for an oil fire, but that’s about it. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to use one: do you have a feeling of power or control as you watch the fire reduce before your eyes? Are you too busy panicking about what’s on fire? Or are you too distracted looking for the nearest source of water to even think of the fire extinguisher? I hope I never have to find out in person, though.

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My childhood family isn’t close. Though we live only a few hours from each other, we rarely visit—however, we get together at least once each year during the holidays. Though we have our differences, we put them all aside to share, laugh and enjoy what’s best about each other. I’ve been to other people’s family get-togethers where there are hostile undercurrents and outright fighting, but our parties are full of fun and warm feeling. Though my children don’t visit me much either, they welcome the chance to touch back during the holidays and I’m glad I’ve kept the tradition alive.

If I got married again, I’d plan a honeymoon that was full of adventure and challenge—even danger. Like hacking through the Amazon looking for ruins. Marriage can be a challenging, dangerous adventure, but it can also be boring and tedious. If you spend the first month of your marriage sweating, hungry and uncomfortable, searching for something that may never be found and having to watch each other’s backs constantly, what could arise in your marriage that you couldn’t overcome? And when the tedium sets in, think about your honeymoon. Suddenly you’d be grateful for the predictability of suburban life.

Many unhappy people say that they followed in their parents’ foolish footsteps because that’s what they were taught. But as an unwanted, neglected and abused child, though I may not have known the perfect way to behave, I knew that my best bet was to do the opposite of what my parents did. I spent my life learning to become a better person—to be loving, kind, accepting, understanding. I didn’t completely escape my parent’s influence, but my children know they are loved and wanted, and they were never abused. This is my greatest achievement.

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Among Panchabhoota (five elements) fire is placed above all, on the fact that while the other four bhootas get themselves impure in use, fire is the only one that remains as pure despite being used. But that is about the position of fire in the panchabhootas, where as a fire in your house, or for that matter in the neighborhood is not an auspicious one. The reason being the fire destroys whatever you have saved in your lifetime with in a jiffy. So it is important to take the necessary precaution as to protect your building from the risk of fire by knowing about fire safety, installing the right kind of class c fire extinguishers and the members of your family be taught the necessary steps to be followed should there be an unfortunate incident of fire in the premises.

I’d like to spend two years as a Naiad—a mythical creature that lives in her own spring or stream. My watery home would be in the mountains, far from the pollution of civilization, but known to a few nature-loving souls who ventured into the wilderness to escape the madding crowd. The Naiad’s waters are healing to those who drink them, and the healing properties of my spring would cause the earth around me to vibrate with nourishing health, the nearby trees to grow tall and strong, the animals to be sleek and fit, and hikers to feel refreshed and invigorated.

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Perfect contentment—who could ask for more than to be perfectly content for eternity? I’m not talking about a permanent state of bliss. That seems like a waste of time (a long, long time!). Perpetual ecstasy doesn’t sound like fun to me. I want to live each day with a sense of purpose and finishing each day with a feeling of success. I’d like to wake each morning to a day filled with meaningful challenges that I am capable of meeting—or at least moving toward—and end each day feeling satisfied with my progress.

My best friend, Chelsea, is an extremely selfish person. When I told her my boyfriend and I were considering getting engaged, she did not even congratulate me. All she did was whine about the fact that her boyfriend would not even talk about marriage. When I told her I was getting a new car, all she did was ask if I wanted to go shopping. She is constantly trying to one up me with her problems. I feel like I don’t even matter. I have never told her this, though. If I told her, she probably would just be really angry and not understand what I was talking about at all.