taking it easy...

temper... one of the most important aspects of our intellectual beings that takes control of us during emotional circumstances... keeping the calm and taking it easy is much more easily said than done... neverthless, it is reasonable to say that the universal fact remains: the temper and the anger are almost always "after-the-fact"...

keeping a cool head not only defines patience, but also character to a certain extent... if only we could put ourselves in the shoes of the other person... every harsh word spoken is a hard unerasable stain in the mind and heart of another person... there have been a lot of harsh words spoken to me, at me, by people whom i had even considered near and dear... but my lack of worldly-wisdom at the time made me react too strongly internally and take things to heart... but now i do realize that to-each-his/her-own, and it is only human to err... i'm sure i have committed a lot of mistakes knowingly or unknowingly (NO, am NOT going to go to Jesus to bear my sins on his shoulders...)... i do however understand that its not the end of the road, and i will continue to do my best in working toward the greater good and following the inner truth from the heart...

if only i could, i would...
take away the pain and suffering from the struggling...
take away the evil from the selfish rich...
take away the sugar from the lying...
alas i have more ego than power...
for, all i can, is to take care of my own...
and take care not to step on someone for the sake of doing so...

there shall be a dawn, to follow the dusk...
when there will be light, and there will be freedom...
in the name of goodness, people will stop bloodshed for
religion/land/lust...

there shall be a time, a time soon enough...
when we'll all be together...
working toward a common cause...
of being humane... and being true...

if i could, i sure try would! to make this a better place!

- Me

sweetness...

out in the woods... i lay on the floor of mother earth... watching the starry night and the mighty skies... for a moment i think i am dreaming, as the only sound i hear is that of the birds chirping and the leaves swaying in thin air... i can still smell the sweet earthy smell all around me... i have no emails to worry about, no cell phones to attend to...

i look to my side, and find an angel with the sweetest of smiles... the one i'd been secretly praying to god, to have as my best buddy for life... being lost in her eyes, i now live in a different world, even more serene and calmer than the world around me... in the silence i hear a thousand words of truth, of love, of trust, of a promise... in this phase i slowly realize how blessed i am, to be in the company of my guardian angel...

while i know that the sun will soon rise, the stars will soon slide, the moments never set aside... i also know that i'm now ready... ready to take on anything... now that i have my angel by my side...

high and dry...

no. am not talking about the chartbuster metal hit by Def Leppard, but am talking about the emotional states of mind that we go through... when we are high, we sometimes feel the world is not ready for us, and when we are dry we feel the world is too fast... the energy, the enthusiasm, the zeal, comes from within... there are however a lot of factors that are the driving engine behind a livewire...

"Karmanye vaadhi kaa raste maa phaleshu kadaachanaMaa karma phal hetu bhurma te sangotva vikarmani"
- Lord Krishna, Bhagavad Gita !

somebody once said 'show me your friends, i'll tell you the kind of person you are'... although i do not completely agree with this, i feel it is true when it comes to the overall energy levels in people... the people around you, more or less influence you in your way of thinking and even mannerisms in some cases... these influences caused, may be as minor as an 'accent' or as major as 'philosophies' and 'outlook/perception of life itself'...

it is reasonably safe to bet that no two people would experience the same set of things at the same instance of time from the same perspective... we can always put ourselves in the other person's shoes, but whether we REALLY understand what it is like to be them, is only questionable! philosophizing is very easy, and comes naturally to a lot of us who are good in expressing ourselves while drawing our own social limits and sticking to it... as long as we remember that we can NEVER preach what we dont practise... only then does every single word of wisdom and experience becomes of invaluable measure...

while all of us can and will enjoy these high moments, the toughest challenge in our lives come when we are faced with a crisis in our laps... one of the quotes in the national basketball association's (NBA) motivational campaign series of ads on television says 'greatest glories are not acheived by not falling, but rising every time we fall'... the strengths of character, and the courage of the heart... more easily said than done... neverthless, once we make an attempt sincerely, 'to try' even when the odds are not in the favour, make us grow into an entirely different level than mere mortals...

inspiration comes standard (no, not the chrysler ad!!!)... its the heart to follow it, and ears to listen to one's self that makes the difference!

silence is golden... or is it?

1. have you ever wondered how the quite ones are often assumed to be the intellectual ones in a group?
2. have you ever wondered why somebody is not taken seriously when they talk a lot?
3. have you ever wondered about drawing the right balance between active participation and passive participation when in a group, to actually get your voice heard?

just like most questions, the answer for these also tend to be 'well, it depends'...

imagine scenario 1: you are in the middle of a group discussion session, and your primary objective is not to make your point favourable to the group but to make sure that your participation is visible to the judges, you DO forget about question 3 from above, and go full throttle...

imagine scenario 2: you are in the centre stage of a classroom, set to be an instructor helping a bunch of students over a certain subject... it becomes imperative to be communicatively effective, for starters... here, you DO forget about questions 2 and 3 from above, and selectively talk about topics per the audience/requirements...

while these imaginary scenarios are of frequent occurence and acceptably implementable, the tough scenarios are when we have to follow the thoughts from answers to question 1 from above. while maintaining the thin line between arrogance and humility, we learn to adapt based on the group members, context and sensitivity of the topic under discussion, knowledge and wisdom about the context and subject, all play important parts in our ways of expression... add to these, the natural inclination of an induvidual to be either introvertish or extrovertish or ambivertish, the actual outcome becomes unpredictable...

as we learn and adapt, we also tend to become opinionated, and hence influenced to choose how we want to respond in situations and then participate... the critical moment does arrive when one's actions either leads to a catastrophe in an inter-personal or professional relationship, OR leads to a lost opportunity... every chance not taken, is a lost opportunity to be heard... every bond broken is a chance wrongly taken despite having the power to choose...

to talk about it? or not to?

a month ago, i had made a call to my apartment office... the lady who picked up the phone, asked me how she could help me... i told her that one of the ladies at the apartment administrative office was handling my new lease application, and that i was calling in to follow-up with her... then, after a moment of silence, i could not believe what i heard... the lady in all coolness and totally no realization of the impact of her statement, asked me 'is she black or white'... i was extremely shocked by her question, and chose (rightly i think) not to respond to that question... i did tell her that there were only 3 ladies at the small leasing office, so it had to be one of them... i did eventually get through the line and complete the purpose of my call, but what happened in this phone call started making me wonder about a lot of things that go on everyday that people dont even stop for a moment to think about...

the fact that 'black or white' popped up in a casual conversation was not the only bothering issue for me (irrespective of who mentions it), but the fact that the sensitivity of this issue was not even on the mind of the person who told me made me realize that its still inside all people who claim to be 'irrespective of' to have a classification in their psyche 'on the basis of'... i thought of it to be completely disgusting...

a good friend of mine from Texas (back in the days when i was at grad school), now is the vice-president of 'Race and Ethnic Studies' at Texas A&M University, and i remember clearly about her mentioning some of the distinct challenges in such a position at such a State with history, present and potential future filled with lots and lots of people with prejudices and patterns (genetic or otherwise)...

along these lines, it is extremely saddening to note that, in a country like India filled with intellectuals at every level, a hopelessly cheap and political-benefit-only acts like the quota system... the concept provided by people who implement such things is that they want to reduce the gap between the different sections of the cultural divisions... but thinking about it, rather than reducing, it only emphasized the fact that there is a split in the sections... on the basis of merit, and merit alone, reservations could be made, but not on any other factor... just because someone is born in a certain family should not, and must not make it easier or harder for them to get admitted into an educational institution... it would be a shame if we are to see a day when the country is burning the rage of castismic evil... education is the heart and essence of the shape of an induvidual's personality, and it is unfair to set a quota based on caste, or for any other factor other than academic merit...

even a country like the u.s. of a. took its own time to sort out fundamental issues of segregration at the big level... and for a rapidly changing and urbanizing India, it will only be fair to hope... to hope that the sun will rise, for one and all irrespective of caste, color, religion, sex or any other factor... infact, some words like black, white, caste, etc should be eradicated from the dictionary...

having the listening ear, while being assertive...

a lot of times people tend to forget that what they have, is merely a personal point of view and try to impose on others... it is only human that most of us, including myself have fallen prey to this fine line of imposing-an-idea-forcible syndrome... but while we think that we are doing it for the best, we must also realize and put ourselves in the shoes of the listener...

having a strong opinion on something does not, and should not be completely unchangeable, for we all know that change is the only constant phenomenon that we witness all the time... however at the same time, how far would someone go trying to support self-driven perspectives on worldly idealogies? and how easily would one get convinced by another person? i guess its highly subjective and the answer is usually 'well, it depends...'

when it comes to personal decisions, we all tend to follow either a) conventional wisdom, or b)personal instinct, or c)peer-pressure... the significant point to note is that at most times, we choose based on a) or b) and only a few times like while making a professional decision that we are succumbing to peer-pressure... the key to holding these in a nice balance is to sort-out the plan in the psyche and have a listening ear to the 'wise' ones... and once a brain-storming happens between these two, being assertive helps gain the final steps in crossing the bridge successfully... again, the 'wise' ones, may be just a relative concept, and completely contextual (a baseball card collector may be an expert in it, while he may know NOTHING about aeronautics...)... the street-smart take it a step further and do some personal research before making particular decisions... this personal research may include but not limited to looking into historical/statictical data for similar decisions taken, surveying the potential market and do an evaluation of it...

nothing else matters...

Lyrics - Nothing Else Matters - Metallica

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are and
nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say and
nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view and
nothing else matters

never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
but I know

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are and
nothing else matters

never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
but I know

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us, something new
Open mind for a different view and
nothing else matters

never cared for what they say
never cared for games they play
never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
and I know

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No, nothing else matters

somewhere down the lane...

a few years back in my memory lanes, at a space observatory in the largest state within the united states of america, there were a few moments of introspection, that has haunted my thoughts ever since...

this is about a simple philosophy about which someone once said

'its funny but as kids we all desire to become grown-ups, and as adults we all
desire to return to innocence and become kids' - anonymous

how true are those words... while a bunch of us were happily enjoying the demonstration given the lead physicist at the observatory that day, seldom did any of us adults realize that we were merely going through a mindless drill of been-there-done-that routine... until one small kid started a series questions asked by a set of kids in that group... at the end of it, the physicist did make it a point to sweetly but surely let us all know that the strength that lies in the courage of a kid's innocent question, can never be attained by the ever-diminishing quest for knowledge in adults, mainly contributed due to the ever-inflating ego growing within them to huge extents...

a pompous lifestyle, and a stereo-typic so-called high-society life, is one of few things that suffocate me when i imagine how dark it must be out there, in the minds of those mindless people... flying thousands of miles across oceans for business meetings, being amongst the richest people in the world, or even being THE most celebrated personality in the world, is of absolutely no use if we do not learn to live life in its truest sense and see the world with those inquisitive and innocent eyes of the mind... the day we think we know, starts our downfall... (ofcourse, this is assuming that the thin line across the confidence-issue is already crossed over...)...

people inspire me, as well as make me feel sorry sometimes... the greats are often the silent ones, while the ones making all the noise more often than not, turn out to be charlatans... this may be a sensitive topic to open up on, but organized forms of preached-philosophies coupled with fear-driven religion is something that i totally cannot accept personally... this being a whole topic in itself, would just leave it open-ended for the moment...

what's so civil about war anyway?

Guns N Roses - Civil War Lyrics

"What we've got here is failure to communicate.
Some men you just can't reach...
So, you get what we had here last week,
which is the way he wants it!

Well, he gets it!
N' I don't like it any more than you men."
Look at your young men fighting
Look at your women crying
Look at your young men dying

The way they've always done before
Look at the hate we're breeding
Look at the fear we're feeding
Look at the lives we're leading

The way we've always done before
My hands are tied
The billions shift from side to side
And the wars go on with brainwashed pride
For the love of God and our human rights
And all these things are swept aside
By bloody hands time can't deny
And are washed away by your genocide

And history hides the lies of our civil wars
D'you wear a black armband
When they shot the man
Who said "Peace could last forever"
And in my first memories
They shot Kennedy
I went numb when I learned to see
So I never fell for Vietnam
We got the wall of D.C. to remind us all
That you can't trust freedom

When it's not in your hands
When everybody's fightin'
For their promised land
And I don't need your civil war

It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
I don't need your civil war

Look at the shoes your filling
Look at the blood we're spilling
Look at the world we're killing

The way we've always done before
Look in the doubt we've wallowed
Look at the leaders we've followed
Look at the lies we've swallowed

And I don't want to hear no more
My hands are tied
For all I've seen has changed my mind
But still the wars go on as the years go by
With no love of God or human rights
'Cause all these dreams are swept aside
By bloody hands of the hypnotized
Who carry the cross of homicide

And history bears the scars of our civil wars
"WE PRACTICE SELECTIVE
ANNIHILATION OF MAYORS
AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
FOR EXAMPLE TO CREATE A VACUUM
THEN WE FILL THAT VACUUM
AS POPULAR WAR ADVANCES
PEACE IS CLOSER"

I don't need your civil war
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh

And I don't need your civil war
I don't need your civil war
I don't need your civil war
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh

I don't need your civil war
I don't need one more war
I don't need one more war
Whaz so civil 'bout war anyway

birth, actions and truth...

"Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true. " - BUDDHA

janma - the birth...

"so... do you really believe in rebirth? or do you believe only in eternal hell and eternal heaven?" a couple of questions often asked by people in search of opinions and points of view from the second person... to say the least, these are real tough questions to answer... the main reason for the complexity involved in giving a reasonable answer is the lack of scientific evidence or practical proof to any theories...

if there is anything that is really hard to measure in this world, it is the absoluteness of a new born's innocence... innocence - what a beautiful concept... if anyone tells you it does not exist, it is out of ignorance... every time when we learn something new, we must realize that we have either not known it thus far, or have learnt to ignore learning about it thus far... 'the signs' are all around us asking us to learn, every single moment...

another tough thing to describe, quantify and frame-in-a-box, is to recognice the 'value' of someone's life... i mean, in terms of 'what', 'why' and 'how much' somebody has done in their lifetime for the greater good... we all have a race against time, in the course of which we have an inbuilt overhead of safeguarding one's self against disease... an analogy would be the concept of installing an anti-virus program in a computer... it is not part of the plan to acheive results, but it is a necessity to guard the system against evil viruses... while a major part of everyone's lifetime is consumed heavily by this guarding process, a lot of time is also spent in survival essentials... from our earlier analogy case, we can correspond this case to the power/space requirements...

apart from all the time used up for promiting self-interests, there sure comes enough time when we make the 'choices'... these choices dictate our actions... and our actions our destiny, sometimes even others' destinies...


karma with dharma - actions with 'truth'...

our actions... for the most part, we do think that we have an idea of 'why', and some other times we learn 'why' with time... it becomes of utmost importance to realize the value of 'the greater good' and 'contextual truth'... contextual truth - not the one we all conveniently like to use for promoting self interests and gaining financial and materialistic gains, but the one when the greater good IS kept in mind and does not directly or indirectly alter or affect another person's balanced life in a bad way... the 'intent' being truthful, and the 'consequences' being for the greater good, is what is called for...

the only point of reference for us being ourselves, pointing to another person's mistake and claiming truth in it would be not just absurd, but would be against the truth in the first place... every action done against the call from the heart, be it as small as a penny or as big as the pacific ocean, is like adding fuel to the burning fire, in this corrupted, lying and selfish world that it already is... the fruits of planting such seeds lie not in the present, but in the future...

while there are seasons every year, the cycle for the seasons is within every year... the best part in this context being that, the present does not stand in a specific season, but in the head and heart of the living soul...

a fresh start...

after a fun-filled and eventful January, 2006 kicks off in my blogoshere...

it is most often that we take resolutions for every new year... it is very often that we forget them.. it is quite often that we consciously skip it... it is often that we plan to get back to it in the near future... and it is hardly often that we follow it successfully...

one of the primary resolutions that i thought of for the year, is to accelerate this process of self-improvement, in multiple facets of my personality... true to its sense, am still seeking the link to the escallator... as vague as it sounds, i'm quite sure that the thing that gives me personal satisfaction, is on its way in the coming year... for me as well as my near and dear...

and this brings us to the most non-generic and self-centred blog post that i've typed in so far :) but the intent is, to get this blog alive again...

cheers and thanks for reading!

this day that year...

December 29, 2004... the day i posted my first article on this blogsite...

its been a great experience so far, and i only hope to continue for as long as i can, in the times to come... to start with, 2005 proved to be a year where there were great opportunities for me to go to more places, meet more people, learn more about communities, more about compassion, more about love... the wish is for the journey to continue further, in the new year to come!

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2006...


a synopsis from articles i posted in 2005:

• what does one have and what does one not have?: If one possesses the knowledge of the fact that 'anything is possible if a sincere effort is put into it', then, not possessing knowledge on any subject matter is not actually not knowing it...
• points of view: while the challenge lies in constantly being able to take a neutral stance despite all temptations to form opinions, and make judgements, the tougher part is not controlling these temptations but overcoming the default way of communicating what one might think is a WELL-THOUGHT-OF judgement... so, if you ever feel that you HAVE TO let someone know about something, make sure that you do it the RIGHT way...
• lessons from nature: to be able to observe beautiful things its one thing, and to be able to observe the beauty in what one might think are ordinary things is an entirely different thing...
• the importance of courtesy: the value of education is not in all those textbooks that one may read to get through all those tests and grades, but is infact in things like these, where an educated person must be able to distinguish clearly between cultured and uncultured behaviour at a social as well as an inter-personal level...
• moments of silence: those moments of silence, when one reflects with one's self... are probably the most important moments defining someone's personality...
• the extra effort: at every step in the everyday life, it becomes so important to always do the right thing... and by doing the right thing, i mean, an action which does not affect another person in a direct or an indirect way as far as the knowledge of one's conscience is concerned...
• essentials in life: To live, To love, To learn, To leave a legacy...
• the importance of well being: this life is probably just that temporary phase of a fascinating journey, of which no one knows the absolute start or the absolute end points... all that are known, are the times that one's conscience comprehends and the times that one's psyche co-operates and co-exists with...
• the significance of being insignificant: what one must actually take to heart is that, since this world (and life) is made up of all kinds of perspectives, all kinds of cultures, all kinds of intellects, all kinds of circumstances, all kinds of experiences (good, bad and neither), this concept could easily be argued differently at different points in time by different people, living at different places!...
• oh... those wonder years: it is indeed special to cherish every single special moment around, and merely to be thankful that it happened atleast for that little bit... for, there are those who live to tell the tales, when they do not even know what you are talking about!...
• the art of negotiation: such an art associated with the philosophy of making everybody involved happy, involves a lot of situations as to what may be termed 'win-win' situations...
• what a wonderful world: Lyrics By George Weiss / Bob Thiele
• the hidden patterns in chaos theory: amidst the chaotic real world, is this calm and peaceful inner world, which longs for nothing but peace!...
• squeezing time out of 'no time': the difference between an ordinary being and a difference-maker is determined by small mental adjustments to the increasingly mechanical life-styles of an urban living...
• the thin lines between: as we take our stance on certain qualities that we possess, seldom are we aware of being caught at the thin line between two extremes... the thin line between lack of confidence and self-confidence, the thin line between self-confidence and over-confidence, the thin line between over-confidence and arrogance, are all examples of typical caught-in-betweens...
• defining the absolute sense of satisfaction: an absolute sense of satisfaction, while sought after very hard by every single person, can probably be only be achieved ONLY if one tries to correct himself/herself... to start leading a moral life...
• introspection: about me - the results of some online quizzes i took recently...
• taking a deep breath: what you do, does not matter if you do not do it the right way... how you do it, does not matter if you do not do the right thing... what you do and how you do it, does not matter, if you do not do it when it is needed the most!...
• simplicities and complexities: there is not a complex problem that does not have a simple approach, but we approach even the simplest problems with a complex approach... the need of the hour? take a simple approach, have a simple attitude, and stay positive!...
• the side of the greener grass: something to look forward to, almost every single time, even if one succeeds completely(again, a relative term)? getting the big picture is as important as attention to the inner details of things...
• finite yet infinite: it is not what it actually is... it is what you perceive it to be...
• from being static... to being stable: what lies in a heart is the only truth, and nothing else matters!...
• impressionable perspectives: one of the most important lessons that a western living has taught me, is 'being a self-starter and being self-dependant for most things'...
• today: today i will NOTs and today i wills - today and everyday...
• pride... and prejudice: pride - one who knows that he knows not much, knows it all... prejudice - a sad state of mind when one refuses to put one's self in another's shoes... and Lyrics by - Hoobastank
• ethics: Quote By - Arthur Dobrin
• ignorance, instincts and conscience: Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment; The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance - Benjamin Franklin... Criminals are none but those who get caught for things we all do in our everyday lives - Source Anonymous
• coming back to life: Classic Lyrics - Pink Floyd
• the controllable domain: Be the change you want to see in the world - M K Gandhi
• oh... think twice: Lyrics - Phil Collins
• the chaos and the calm: while some may say they prefer the chaos, and some may say they prefer the calm, the reality remains that there could be calm within the chaos and chaos amidst the calm, and to choose those parts of what one wants, would be upto the induvidual!!!...
• 'intent for incentive' and 'the passion': 'buy a man a fish, and he'll survive a day... teach him how to fish, and he'll survive for a lifetime' ...
• so far away: Lyrics - Staind

so far away...

Lyrics: Staind

This is my life
Its not what it was before
All these feelings I’ve shared
And these are my dreams That
I’d never lived before
Somebody shake me
Cause I, I must be sleeping

Now that we're here,
It's so far away
All the struggle we thought was in vain
All the mistakes,
One life contained
They all finally start to go away
Now that we're here
its so far away
And I feel like I can face the day
I can forgive and I’m not ashamed to be the person that I am today

These are my words
That I’ve never said before
I think I’m doing ok
And this is the smile
That I’ve never shown before

Somebody shake me
Cause I, I must be sleeping

I'm so afraid of waking
Please don't shake me
Afraid of waking
Please don't shake me

'intent for incentive' and 'the passion'...

oh those countless hours... spent in front of the television... while they seemed to be lost in the calculations of our 'well-spent' time, are often only observed by a third-eye...

imagine an everage person in the coprorate world, and his/her biggest complain... 'i dont have any time'... while it may sound reasonable to agree to a certain extent based on their perspective, philosophy and thought-process behind it, it only seems a lame excuse for not being able to find a suitable answer in the long run... a related line of thought would lead us to the question 'how many of us do REALLY consider doing the things for the sake of REALLY doing them? and how many of us keep trying to do things for the sake of the incentives associated with the actions?'... a principle-oriented work-routine could be a good start... 'buy a man a fish, and he'll survive a day... teach him how to fish, and he'll survive for a lifetime...'

inspiration is almost always drawn from others, by seeing how 'other' people live... a classic example: if an MLK had looked only to draw inspiration from others, he probably would not have been the GREAT person he was... instead he chose to draw it from within as well, and serve a purpose in his lifetime, one which could only be cherished for the times to come forever...

i've seen people who work up to the specified minute and leave right when the clock strikes, and have also seen people who take projects as personal challenges and consider them as objectives in the true sense... ofcourse both extremes would be a combination of personal choices and corporate culture in organizations... the point is: at what point does one need to work for an incentive, and at what point does one work for a mere passion for something?

the 'big picture' would probably be different for different people... but lets just say that there could be some common denominators that apply to everyone like 'volunteering' for a noble cause... while many of us tend to think of it at most times, only few of us have the privilege and joy of actually getting to implement... the key is to 'think' and then to sincerely 'try' to make a difference...

the chaos and the calm...

a peaceful coexistence beetween humans are often defined by people without taking into consideration the environment, density of population, and the culture that exist in the society... often we find people living in chaotic urban environments telling you about how little they care about another human's existence... on the other hand, for someone living in a relatively quiet suburb or rural part of a country, the way of life may be more driven by how the society is structured and influenced from a bigger picture...

a classic example of the urban culture could be found in many big cities around the world... new york in the u.s., bombay in india, shangai in china, cairo in egypt, etc... ALL face a similar problem... lack of space, lack of time, lack of money, lack of human values, lack of peace... all that there remains, is ALL THAT JAZZ that come associated with the hype and the buzz surrounding it... to me personally, i dont care if i do not work at times square or dine at an exotic french restaurant, or for that matter live in an estate home in long island, new york... i would much rather prefer a place where there is 'value' to an individual in the society, not merely coming out of an economical status but out of character and out of integrity...

on the contrary, a complete opposite would be to live in the middle of country-sides either rural or suburbian, away from the maddening crowds... for people who live here, the rest of the world doesnt matter... in-fact often times they are happy and self-contented to live where they are put up, for the rest of their lives and for future generations to follow... the quiet may or may not include mixing with the nature depending on geography and an animal-life presence, but sure enough there is great simplicity amongst people who live here...

unfortunately life is not defined to be simple enough to be able to categorize everything into such simple divisions... there come these people who have been exposed to the two extremeties and often left with a choice to make, either based on professional interest or due to family circumstances or due to a personal frame of mind... in most cases, professional interests take over, and influence the decision made, as to where the destination would be, to form an identity... theoretically observing, it is quite not possible to create a permanant identity for one's self at any place whatsoever not matter what, even if a few generations in the family have managed to stay in a single place... for, all that we are, are nomads in search of bread and butter...

this thought about divisions in living environments and societies came to my mind when i was visiting a national park in texas a few years ago... we had gone there to find some peace and quiet away from city-life for vacation... a lady at a counter in one of the convenience stores there remarked 'you come here for your holidays in search of your peace, and we as small town people go to big cities like yours, to find ours...'... that remark, made me realize how perspectives are merely relative and is different from one person to another... right from day 0 till day N, the kinds of experiences we go through, form all these impressions somewhere deep in our minds, and unfortunately at some point we lose the essence of the bigger picture (of-course in search of which we all roam around restlessly in this place called earth)...

while some may say they prefer the chaos, and some may say they prefer the calm, the reality remains that there could be calm within the chaos and chaos amidst the calm, and to choose those parts of what one wants, would be upto the induvidual!!!

oh... think twice...

Lyrics: Phil Collins

She calls out to the man on the street: 'sir, can you help me? '...
It’s cold and I’ve nowhere to sleep...
Is there somewhere you can tell me? ...

He walks on, doesn’t look back...
He pretends he can’t hear her...
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street...
Seems embarrassed to be there...

Oh... think twice...
it’s another day forYou and me in paradise...

Oh... think twice...
it’s just another day for you...
You and me in paradise...

She calls out to the man on the street...
He can see she’s been crying...
She’s got blisters on the soles of her feet...
Can’t walk but she’s trying...

Oh... think twice...
Oh lord... is there nothing more anybody can do...
Oh lord... there must be something you can say...

You can tell from the lines on her face...
You can see that she’s been there...
Probably been moved on from every place...
cos she didn’t fit in there...

Oh... think twice...

the controllable domain...

"Be the change you want to see in the world"
- M K Gandhi

at the time of sunrise when you see a flock of beautiful birds headed out of their nests straight above that water-body in which the tree rests, you realize from the river-front that you are witnessing one of nature's best demonstrations of life... you, the mere mortal, are witnessing the scene right at the very moment because you 'chose' to be there, 'at that time', 'at that place'... they do not fly for their audience, neither do they fly for any other external factor... they fly for their own living, its their basic nature...

alas! if only, mankind had the will, simplicity, and the courage to live per their basic nature... this world may indeed have been a better place to live in... for, when 'he chose', he chose money... he chose lust... he chose land... what a pity that the damned box was opened, and pandora lived to only tell tales of how 'pleasantville' used to be...

however, the most crucial point would be to have a few clear realizations, in order to get out of this sunken feeling...
if there were a tertiary state for people (other than good and bad), it would have to be a lie...
the falls are meant to be, so the rise could be called what is called...
the ONLY part of this universe that one could control, is one's self...

simple things go a LONG way in making it an easier place to live in, for generations to follow... examples could be drawn out from real life situations and every moment... a personal example would be trying to control littering from a personal level, irrespective of local laws... another example would be to adopt a 'live-and-let-live' policy with fellow-men and save the so-called-protests, spending more time usefully on leading by example, in the society... sure it takes a lot of influence, media-hype and public exposure through word-of-mouth to reach out to people, but things like protests, especially in developing countries, often kills the average-person's living...

an extreme level of thinking would lead to: 'what could i do, in order to help make life better, for people whom, i can understand and realize, have lives that deserve to be more normal... and how do i start'... i often come up with a thought 'life is too short to be wasted fighting over petty things, misunderstanding people, and acting greedy... it could instead be optimized in trying to come up with a sincere effort to something extra, than what we do today!'

coming back to life...

Classic Lyrics: Pink Floyd

Where were you when I was burned and broken
While the days slipped by from my window watching

Where were you when I was hurt and helpless
Because the things you say and the things you do surround me
While you were hanging yourself on someone else's words
Dying to believe in what you heard

I was staring straight into the shining sun
Lost in thought and lost in time
While the seeds of lifeand the seeds of change were planted
Outside the rain fell dark and slow

While I pondered on this dangerous but irresistible pastime
I took a heavenly ride through our silence
I knew the moment had arrived
For killing the past and coming back to life

I took a heavenly ride through our silence
I knew the waiting had begun
And headed straight..into the shining sun

ignorance, instincts and conscience...

Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment - Benjamin Franklin

trying to identify with the right and wrong, is an endless process for each of us... however, there do seem many a things that are either outright 'right' to all or 'wrong' to all... or atleast to all who live with a conscience...

lets start by looking at these 'wrong' things, and correlate to their origin... typically they could be categorized into broad reasons... acts out of ignorance... out of instincts... out of conscience or lack of it rather...

ignorance is bliss, as some may want to perceive... but probably Benjamin Franklin also got it right when he said "The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance"... being ignorant about something may be acceptable once, or twice, but not every time... there's something fundamentally wrong if someone tries to use it as an excuse for wrong-doing...

most of us end up going through an emotion described popularly as 'regretting after'... the root-cause for this is our inability to hold ourselves back and falling into the trap set by this materialistic world, and act on instincts, in an impulsive fashion... a lot of times, we 'regret immediately after' and sometimes it takes a realization to even understand the concept...

and then, there are the set of us, who for no rhyme or reason do things completely aware of the fact that the actions are being unreasonable and evil to fellow-men and co-existence... selfishness; greed for land, lust, money; psychological disability to distinguish the needed versus desired... call it whatever, this is the most dangerous of all the causes for bad things happening in everyday lives...

"Criminals are none but those who get caught for things we all do in our everyday lives" - Anonymous

the counter-arguements often used is the 'threshold' of bad things we do every day... but then, who sets and/or defines these thresholds? law-enfoecement? administrative bodies? compliance groups? the answer is quite simple... we as individuals, set these at every stage, every second, every moment, as we do little things... the transformation must be within, to get results at a global level... "it take only a drop of poison to spoil a whole gallon of milk"... every drop counts... and being the every drop that we are, it hence becomes of significance to lead a life without ignorance, witholding and talking control of our instincts, and merely leading a life with a genuine conscience...

ethics...

A Humanist Code of Ethics (Quoted By: Arthur Dobrin)

Do no harm to the earth, she is your mother
Being is more important than having
Never promote yourself at another's expense
Hold life sacred; treat it with reverence

Allow each person the digity of his or her labor
Open your home to the wayfarer
Be ready to receive your deepest dreams;
sometimes they are the speech of unblighted conscience

Always make restitutions to the ones you have harmed
Never think less of yourself than you are
Never think that you are more than another