Confessed

“Ouch! It’s paining again…” said Andrew to his wife Sadhana. Andrew was suffering from migraine for the last 17 years. He was under medication all along but nothing seemed to help.

Sadhana turned and looked at her husband teary-eyed, "Oh dear! I can’t bear to see you wriggling in pain everyday. Why isn’t the anything helping?”.

Andrew was a man of few words. He was a gem of person, always smiling. If there was anything that anyone needed in their neighborhood people readily knocked his door. He had a daughter named Sarah. Sarah was 12 years old and looked up at her dad as a hero. She always introduced herself as, “Sarah Andrew” before she was finished she puffed up with pride.

Andrew said, "It’s okay dear, I can take it. Please don't worry? I will be alright in an hour or so. But with every passing second the pain seemed to go from bad to worse. He wondered, “why me?” . 

After about 5 hours the pain subsided and he calmed down.

“Hi, can I meet Sir? It’s very urgent. There are not letting my daughter write the exam…”, it was a shabbily dressed man standing near the door. 

The man was interrupted by a voice, "Mathew, come in. Why are you standing there? Sadhana, can you please get Mathew a cup of coffee,” asked Andrew. 

Sadhana walked towards the kitchen admiring Andrew’s patience.

Before Mathew could finish his story Andrew gave him money and said, "Pay up what you've the school, you can think of about other things later.” 

With tears fogging his sight Mathew thanked Andrew and walked away blessing him.

It was raining the whole day. 

Sadhana had gone to her mother’s place as she was not keeping well. So Andrew had to look after his daughter.

“Krrrrrr……” rang the door bell “Comingggg!!!”

As soon as he opened the door a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, “Good evening daddy!” 

“Good evening dear.” They exchanged a warm kiss.

Andrew went into the kitchen prepared her a drink, "Dear, what do u want to have…” He did not get an answer and so he looked down at her. 

She was looking at him without blinking. Andrew was surprised. He walked up to her, kept his hand on her shoulder and said, "Sarah…?”

Before he could complete his sentence,” Dada, I LOVE YOU,” saying so she planted a kiss on his cheeks.

A chill ran down his spine, his hands trembled, his eyes became red. He was sweating profusely. The migraine returned with a vengeance. He was feeling weak. He dropped to the ground unable to bear the pain.

Sarah stood frozen to the ground. She did not understand what had happened to her father Luckily, Sadhana was just back and helped him to bed.

It took him three hours to become normal. He laid there in his bed weak. He was lost in thoughts. His eyes were wet with tears. 

Sadhana walked in with her daughter by her side. She looked at him and said, "Andrew what happened? Why don’t you…?”

“Sadhana and Sarah, I need to tell you both, something. I need to confess,” without waiting for their reply he continued to confess his heart out. Words poured in rhythmic to the pitter-patter outside. 

“During my college days I lived by a river side in a small village. There was a little girl around 12, helping me with my household work. She used to call me dada. She had bright eyes and used to spend most of her evenings with me. One evening, the village was hit by a storm. From my college back to my room I had to take a boat. Since it was raining heavily Diana (the little girl) came searching for me. and bought me back to my room in her boat; even though there was a heavy storm that little girl managed with courage," there was a long pause.

He continued, "As we were nearing the shore the current became stronger. Right before my eyes, Diana fell in the water. The girl screamed and cried asking us to help her. But, the other people in the boat asked me not to and I was suddenly taken over by fear. The boat swayed under the weight of people in it. I looked at Diana. Her resistance and fight to survive slowly weakened. I saw her drowning. She disappeared. Seconds seemed to move like years. I could have done anything but I was just a silent spectator. I reached the shore dead inside," a tear fell with a thud. 

He again continued, "I was alive but, with a guilt so strong, a guilt that I let a child die. Realizing my mistake and recovering from the shock, I ran to the river wanting to save the girl but she was brought by another boat…DEAD.”

There was a long silence. Andrew cried. Sadhana and Sarah watched him, disappointedly. 

After a long pause, Sadhana spoke, “It is a terrible thing you had done to a girl of your daughter’s age. I will never be able to forgive you. But, for all that you are doing now to the people around you I am sure that Diana will forgive you. Forgive yourself.”

Both of them left the room leaving Andrew to himself. He knew his wife and daughter would never look at him the same way, but, at least now he could live in his own skin without feeling ashamed for hiding away from his past. He looked at the sky and said, “Diana, I know I have done something unforgivable but I mean it when I say. I AM SORRY.”

Andrew was back on his feet in a week and as for the migraine it never appeared again.

It left him wondering.

Travelling Abroad - By an NRI (Nonresident Indian)

Everyone of us would have had a choice to travel, it is an enriching and depressing experience at the same time. It is like we are leaving our roots behind; we migrate aspiring a dream or in search of a better 'me'. Whatever the reason, with uncertainty engulfing our intelligence and fear fogging our vision of the future, we are lost in a journey we haven't even begun. 

Man is always torn between the urge to find his roots and the fear of loosing his roots.

Anticipation and excitement surrounding days before the actual date of travel left me weary and tired. My days were filled with buying things I thought I might need, relatives and friends 'educating' me on where to go, what to buy and whom to contact if I needed help while I was still contemplating on my decision. 


Unsolicited advice flooded my inbox since I had shared the news with friends. My nights were spent dreaming of all that I could do and be. I had so much of hope and was filled with a sense of pride for I had finally earned something I had always wanted. 


I knew I was leaving behind the home I grew up in to live a life I  believed I deserved and I was going intending to find friends in strangers in an unknown land. I also knew that with time the place I had once called 'Home' would never be the same. Memories of family and friends began to cloud my sense of lucidity and suddenly I began to wonder in self-doubt. 

On the day of travel I was oddly calm. I had dreaded this moment because I thought how intensely anxious I would be, I had asked a zillion others how they had fared in an unknown land and I was expecting to lose control and turn my back on my decision; but strangely, I was numb and unusually calm. 

As I sat in the airport waiting for my flight I began to feel lonely because I had underestimated the power of my comfort zone. I was  diving into an opportunity I thought had but, only time would tell. I gulped down water hoping the lump in my throat would disappear, rested my head on the back of the chair and began scrolling my Facebook feed already wondering what friends and family were up to in my absence. 

I realized, life would still go on even when I was moving miles away. 

It was time for me to depart, I got on the plane and I was seemingly happy because now I realized that I was leaving behind my past and this journey was the beginning of a future I was intending to create. Looking out of the window did not just show me how far I had come but it also made me realize how close I was to my dream. 

Fast-forward to now, a couple of years in the unknown land, I have built my family, friends and a social life. I have come to realize how much I am still 'my' family irrespective of the distance. I've been molded into a person and my family had played a major role. Little by little I lost track of distance and never my roots. I made the choice of stripping myself free of what I was has left me empowered and enriched. 

Today home is more of a presence than a place. I feel at home when I receive a warm smile from a stranger on a bad day, home is when someone lets me share a seat on a public commute, home is when I call my friends back in my country to share their pain and happiness, home is when someone holds the door for me, home is when I get to go ahead in line because I have a baby. I have come to realize that home is the warmth I experiences in this weary cold journey. 

There are no longer borders separating humans. In humanity I found 'home'. There are no imaginary lines separating us. To love and be loved is how we are meant to be.

I am no longer lost, I no longer wonder what my tomorrows' would be and I no longer feel I am in an unknown land. And I strongly believe that India played a major role. I am thankful to you, India, for building me as an individual and enabling me to spread my wings and fly. Irrespective of where I am my roots are still growing strong. And from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of Us a 'Thank you' America for welcoming strangers and friends alike. You are a nation of compassion and love, you can never close doors to humanity. 

Come watch a play in a theater!

Drama theater is where a soul finds peace in imperfection. Movies have showed us how dissatisfied the search for perfection and completion can be. Watch a play in a theater to experience the zest of characters coming to life. Big emotions by small people who are not any closer to you than the other's on the stage is the essence of drama. I remember going to my first play and I didn't even know what to expect; but now, 10 years down the line I still remember the characters and the play itself.

A drama script is like a mason jar, it is filled with the golf size ideas, then filling it up with a lot of pebble like emotions and sand as logic packs its tight. Finally it is fulfilled by artists who are like water, taking the shape of the character they are playing. Theater's aren't fancy because they are not trying to sell you anything. They are feeding your imagination and most of them carry a social message. Many of us don't enjoy plays because it doesn't fancy our social life.

Theater plays carry content and intrigue our imagination and questions our beliefs. Theaters don't have stars in them because it is important to have the right people in the right parts of the story. If they chose to cast big stars it would be a great disservice to the theater industry because it could just mean it is to get more people to come and watch. Theaters try and have always tried to lure people by getting them excited about a theatrical experience.

Take your children to watch plays and I assure you that you would be giving them a rich experience that they will thank you forever. Unknown faces and known emotions fill the air in a theater. Voice's of the artists' blow up to gigantic proportions giving the audience's silence a whole new meaning. Suddenly the whole play becomes more than art and script. The script itself breathes into the each member of the audience's ear a story that no one else can hear leaving them heaving to the weight of the script itself. Theaters have a lot to offer for the little we spend, we get to experience music, see costume, listen to a story, see the acting and get to feed on the orchestra; there's a lot to take in and a lot to take away.

Unlike movies, where the characters have no idea of what you feel and experience when you are watching; you emote so strongly in a theater that the artists on the stage just resonate your enthusiasm. You need to experience it at least once. When you watch a play there is no screen and nothing else that separates you from this experience. Give yourself a chance to watch a play and you'd thank yourself for this one life-like experience. Let me end with a famous quote from Shakespeare's play.

William Shakespeare, As You Like It -

“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.” 

Why read books?

At an age of images and videos flooding news feeds on Facebook and Twitter, reading has lost its' charm for many. Working against the clock, easy access to information and lack of interest has deprived the world the pleasure of reading. Reading is an enriching experience that teases the human mind to dive into the realms of the unknown. If you have never had the pleasure of reading a good novel you are depriving yourself of the most powerful feeling of pleasure.

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”- Charles William Eliot

When was the last time you sat down to read an book? When was the last time you actually started reading something just because the title or first sentence was intriguing? When was the last time you lost note of time while reading? Did you ever lose track of the outside world while reading? Remember to never ask a person to tell you the story of the book they are reading, what you will hear is their version of the book because no two people will read the same book the same way. If you read a lot of books you'd come to realize that no thought is as new as it seems to you. Every thought goes around the world just like the planets that go around the sun.

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” ― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

Sometimes, you need to go on a blind date with a book. You have to pick a book of the shelf and lose yourself in it. This is very important if you want to think beyond that which you believe and that which have heard. Without even realizing you are feeding on information from the world wide web like a hungry goat. Feed your soul with good books. Put that phone down and sometimes touch a book and reconnect to the feel of feeling alive. In a book you'd personally enjoy being defeated.

A good book, when your'e done reading will make you talk about it all day long. The more you read, the more the invisible and invincible friends you will have to discuss and argue in your very own imaginary rooms. If you thought fantasy as a myth I dare you to read a novel on fantasy; you'd be defending the angels and fairies and fighting dragons and villains in books you read. The soul finds a new counterpart in every book it encounters. You need no constant friend if you have a good book in hand. Books have been the most significant influence in human evolution, be not afraid to be influenced by literature and poetry. Like good friends and a good partner it might take time to find the right book.

“Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.”― Francis Bacon

When you read a book your imagination will come out to paint the characters in their suits and skirts and the whole book comes to life right before your eyes only for you to see and enjoy. The essence of any book is what you see and feel when you read a book, a good book leaves you living the book and a bad book releases your attention. Dare to divulge your understanding of a book to a friend you think you agree to and you'd be surprised how much you have to disagree. Read books with no pictures and you'd see a whole lot of colors and images that are not limited to the author's imagination.

Don't you remember most of the fairy tales you've read as a child, maybe not the exact words but the crux of it is etched in your memory. Fairy tales not only got us into believing the magic of life and beasts can be won with love but also that dragons can be beaten black and blue. There would have been a time you would have read a book and it would have filled you with this weird feeling that you were so convinced that your friends and family should also experience the happiness that you can never explain.

Read with a partner Read with a friend, 

Read in the train 
Read on a journey, 

Read as a family 
Read when alone, 

Read in the morning or read when it is noon, 

Read when you can or read as you must. 

What a book has to offer is you cant behold!

Read until, you are finally sold

For what you take away 
Is nothing but a new soul!

If there is one thing you'd need to pass on to your children, let it be the urge to read. Do not ask your child to read, if she or he finds you reading a book earnestly, losing yourself to the book they'd be as interested as you'd be as now you've kindled the soul. Let children of the society lose track of time in a quiet place to a book they don't have to read but chose to because they believe the book has something to offer. Let them learn the art of choice by choosing a book, let them learn the art of let go by closing a bad book, let them learn the art of love by losing themselves to a book.

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all."–Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Thiruvalluvar The (principle) God

No one actually knows the real name of the book 'Thirukkural'. But since, it follows the grammatical syntax of 'Venpa', it is believed to have been named so. Similarly, the author of this masterpiece had no face to his text. If you dig deep into the realms of literature you'd come to know that the book itself has thirty one names to itself and the author eleven. Why would an author lose credit to a masterpiece? It wouldn't have been difficult for him to include a couplet with his identity, but I believe that he chose not to. In a world where identity is and will be everything this man decided to hide his identity so that people from all over the world could read and assimilate it without being held back by their cultural differences and belief system.

Thirukkural is apt for people of any caste and religion, it is so unique that one cannot describe it in just one context. Though written in Tamil, the word 'Tamil' isn't mentioned anywhere in any of the stanza's making it all the more palatable for people from all languages and communities. We are at an age where we think we have to beat around the bush to sound ethical and honest but Thiruvalluvar defied that making each of his couplet 7 words long, crisp and clear. 

There are no digression of thoughts. Every couplet carries a message of its own conveyed in simple text that is understood based on one's own mindset. No two people need to interpret it the same way and the beauty of which is, it can never be misinterpreted. No wonder, there are so many books and websites trying to decode and encode this collection. It easily resonates with people from all over the world for which the standing evidence is the 82 language translation.

The way Thiruvalluvar went on to paint his impression in these 1330 couplets is a gentle progression of thoughts that are strengthened by ideas and then filled with emotions. Every topic has a pattern that assures the reader that the author's understanding will uphold against every argument. Every chapter begins with a couple of them defining the concept, following few taking an unbiased stand judging that which is being defined and the last few couplets dares to portray the life of one who does not adapt to these principles. 

He went on to write about every aspect of a human's life describing, dissecting and delivering the required principle of a happy life. Who would dare to write about the principles of governing conduct and intimacy with the same ethics and under the same heading? The phrases that are used to depict the a woman and the joy one derives from reading it in his words gives poetry a whole new meaning! 

Metaphor as his sword and semantics as his shield he wages a word war, only to humbly defeat. 

Unfortunately the approach that is used to deliver the message in our society is something I humbly disagree. Couplets should be first delivered and absorbed as meaning. Educational institutions should seek to give less importance to memorizing and delivering it and more towards understanding and adapting to it. I remember dreading reading the kural because little to no understanding I derived with all the emphasis on line and number of words. Couple of years of pure dedication in learning and adapting the couplets will go a long way in designing and creating the human race the world needs. Colleges should have Thirukkural as an elective since I believe it as the right time to understand the 'code of ethical living'. 

From politics to service, from love to intimacy it has all that one needs to empower oneself. When there are no ties attached and when driven by an earnest desire to understand will come the ease of falling in love with Thirukkural. When you need a helping hand look no further, your answer might just be in those 1330 couplets. Thirukkural should be our go-to bible in adversities and celebrations. It teaches one to love and govern, to succeed and keep a level head, to earn and not boast and finally to live and not preach.   

Outer Voice (vs) Inner Voice

There is so much of chaos all around us and when I say chaos it isn't just that unpleasant argument and common misunderstandings, it is beyond that. Opinions are being delivered in every form and state so that you have no choice but to absorb everything and become that someone the world wants you to become. You have people telling you how you should drive, what you should eat, how you should sit and why you should sleep. You are first created by parents, labelled by family, tested by educational institutions, judged by the community and then delivered in entirety as 'ready-for-the-society'.

You lose your identity, serenity and are tranquilized by doses of silent messages injected directly to your brain. Mom tells you how to eat, dad tells you how to drive, siblings tell you when to play, teachers tell you when to come, friends tell you who to be, partners tell you where to go - you are so accustomed to taking instructions that you forget what you want or what you deserve. Intention is not being questioned, instructions and rules are set to serve as frameworks and not meant to create duplicates. 

You don't want to be someone else's version of you, do you? 

People confuse their inner commander to their inner voice. Everyone of us is born with an inner voice that is calm and soft-spoken, barely audible. It grows in strength the more it is valued and the more it is listened to. Fortunately or unfortunately our parents voice becomes our first inner commander and that is the first time we begin this journey of mistaking inner voice to the inner commander. Most of us are 'told' what to do. We begin and travel this journey just as we are asked to do. 

Now why do you need to listen to your inner voice? It is very straightforward and simple - to live a happy life. What you might be currently listening to do might be your inner commander set by the society and all inclusive. Then, which is the inner voice you ask me? It is the sudden excitement you experience when you decide something unexpectedly, it is that loud heart beat only you get to hear as the date closes in, it is that little scream you give out when you do it or it could also be the churn you feel when you are doing something you've been asked to do, it is that sweaty palms that you are trying to wipe off, it is that shaking legs that are striving to strike a balance, it is that trembling hands that are trying to stabilize. 

Inner voice manifests itself as feelings and body language. 

When you experience a different feeling that is uncomfortable, you need to stop. Stop and listen to that little feeble voice that is trying to get your attention. Listening to others instead of yourself impairs your ability to believe in yourself and you become too tenuous to notice. Cut down the chaos that surrounds you in the form of beliefs, instructions, opinions, judgments, suggestions and requirements. Do not let someone else's opinion define you nor create you. You need to step away and give yourself some calm.

                           

If you let all the outside voices enter your being, I don't know what would be seared more indelibly into your brain - the discovery of how insignificant you have let yourself become or the convincing explanation the world gives you.

How to light a candle?

God created the world and decided to pour a magic potion into every creature he created. So he started pouring the magic potion called life.

He started with the trees, He looked at the Trees and said, “Listen, Oh mighty Tree! you have to go to every house on earth and give your fruits in return they will give you water and manure.”

He looked at the Mountains and said, “Listen, Oh mighty Mountain… you have to go around giving your stones and sand and in return after 25 million years you will be given a place to stay forever.”

He went on from one thing to the other and gave them his command. 

After 25 million years God came down to earth to see how things were going on. Only a few of them were doing things assigned to them, all others were wasting their time doing nothing. God was very upset so he cursed them and made them immovable. The world came to a standstill. There was no life and everyone was suffering. Finally when God's anger subsided, he decided to punish them by making them dependent on each other.

He created Man. He poured life into him and gave him six senses. Now he was very close to God for he could even pour life and take away life at his will. The only thing that separated GOD and HIM was his compassion for his fellow creatures. Man was loutish in his motive and his work was to get the job done and so he would take up every approach. He started using the bulls to pull the cart, the trees to shed its fruits and so on.

One day, after his day’s work he was walking home when saw a boulder. He stood there for some time looking at it and then quietly walked home.

The next morning all the creatures woke up when they heard an ear-piercing noise. All of them rushed out and saw the man hitting the boulder with a hammer. The boulder was screaming in pain…

All the creatures cursed the man and they called him a fool. They were really upset for they could not understand what he was up to; he was madly striking his tool against the rock. All the creatures gathered and decided that only God could save them from this plight. So they finally went to God. God came down and questioned him as to what he was doing, but the man was really busy and so he did not answer GOD.

God got angry and left the place in a huff.

Things went on like this for some years and… everyday creatures saw the man hitting madly at the rock.

Surprisingly there was silence that night and all the creatures were eager to know how the man left the rock for today there was no pleas and screeches from the rock.

The next day all of them rushed to the same place but in front of them stood a beautiful statue. It was carved out beautifully.

God and all the other creatures appreciated man for his effort and love.

God looked at him and asked, “Man, you could have told me that you were doing something for the good of the rock… why didn’t you tell us?”

Man looked at god and replied, “I saw this stone and felt that there was something really special about it. So I decided to hammer it.”

God smiled.

The man smiled and said, “If I had told him that he was special, the rock wouldn't have believed me. He might not see, what I saw in him.”

By the time the principal finished the story George had tears in his eyes.

Dawson looked at the kid with compassion and said, “Dear George, when someone reprimands you and hurts you they don't realize that they are in the process of making you. Just like the sculptor who beats the rock to bring out the best your adversities and problems try to bring out the best in you. You should not judge anything while it is in the making… You are in the process of being made… It might hurt but trust me, you are special. Be thankful to them for they are spending time for you and are helping you to come out with the best. Not everyone is criticized. Only people who have something special in them are criticized. Doing something for the sake of appreciation – is called PANDERING, and I don’t think you have to do that. When you are criticized remember one thing.

 “All the worlds’ water cannot sink a ship until it gets in.”

So never let the water in. Do not let the words of criticism and words of depreciation pull you down. They attack you because they cannot attack the idea. Be glad that you have an idea when there are many who have none.”

George went closer to his teacher and said with tears rolling down, “Thank you.”

When George was out of sight Dawson looked at the teacher and said, "Edward, I understand that you wanted to bring out the best in him but realize one thing. When you are lighting a candle you should not try it in out in the open air. The wind will blow out the candle you have lighted and all your effort will go in vain. Take it to a corner where no one sees it being lit. When it’s done you can bring it out.  Here when I say candle I mean a kid, every kid likes to be appreciated in broad daylight but when it comes to criticizing you have to keep it personal for you might blow them off, though you do not intend to. We need to mold and not break, so attack the issue not the person.”

Edward looked at the principal and said, “I understand that my words are valued like the strike on the rock… every strike has its own impact. My intentions were to bring out the best in them for I was sure that they were much more capable but… I was not bothered of the way they took it now I realize that it has its own impact. Hereafter I will be careful for I am here to make them not break them!”   

Letting Go

We do not fear the unknown

we fear what we think we know

about the unknown

- Teal Swan

What would we do, if we could do anything? What is that, that is stopping us from doing it? If we had all the money we would ever need, if we had all the friends we would ever need, if we had all the time we would ever need, if we had all the support we would ever need - would we pursue our dream? It is not the lack of anything that is stopping us but, the fear of losing something that we've had for long. It is not the future that we are afraid of, it is the fear of reliving the past that is holding us back.

The comforts of now knows not the joys of tomorrow. If only we could let go of that which is not in our favor - a bad relationship, a self-sabotaging habit, an insufficient dream, an uncomfortable workplace - we would open a zillion doors of opportunities that we didn't even know existed.

Let go of the need to know why you suffered so much, dissecting a problem will re-create more of it in your head and reality. Asking why questions will yield reasons not solutions. Stop comparing your life with that of others, you are unique and so are your thoughts and dreams. The answers to your dreams lie in you; all you have to do is to look within. If you have a dream - pursue it, if you have a wish - fulfill it, if you have a job - enjoy it, if you love - say it, if you received a help - appreciate it, if you have an idea - use it, if you have a story - publish it; USE IT or you (might) LOSE IT. 

  

Look out of the window, what you see outside depicts your outlook of life. Look for good, look for happiness, look for joy, look for friends, look for neighbors, look for smiles. Live life like something incredible is about to happen. Live life like everyday will inevitably end well.         

Don't go back to correct your mistakes, don't go back to saying something right, don't go back to doing it right - ALL IN YOUR HEAD. Instead say a sorry and it will mend, give a hug and it will heal, carry a smile and it will brighten everyone's day. 

Let go of fear. Let go of your past. Let go of the invisible print that is holding you back from writing the story of an incredible life you've always deserved.

The mountain goat

Sometimes, we come to a point in our life where our dreams seem insurmountable or 'reasonably' impossible. We drop it as soon as we see a big wall. We have undervalued and under estimated the power of imagination and intention. Guglielmo Marconi, was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer known for his pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. He was referred to an asylum when he proposed the possibility of communication without wires. The world lives by reference, lack of which scares the conditioned mind.  

We have been conditioned to think in terms of 'labels'. Good - bad, right - wrong, light -  dark, beginning - ending, far - near, possible - impossible. The moment we begin labeling we limit all other possibilities. We are 'conditioned' beings. It is easy for us to live our lives without questioning and the easiest way to do so is to believe whatever is being said. 

As Galileo Galilei rightly quoted: 

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." 

  

I strongly urge you to reason that little nudge/intuition that has been tapping on your shoulders silently asking you to take the hint. We never question the laws of science the moment it is labeled. Look through the eyes of a child, give her a paper and it becomes a ball, a plane and there is an unlimited possibility of what it could become. Set aside the urge to labeling things in your life, look at what else you can do with any given situation or problem. 

As Albert Einstein says:

"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it." 

Now remember that there is a reason why you held on to that dream for so long. Whatever the mind can think is actually a possibility waiting to happen. Time and Space are labels for our understanding and not for limiting our lives. Every limitation that has been set deep within us has been set by people (parents, teachers and the society as a whole) who didn't even realize they were limiting the world's most powerful force - a infinite intelligence.

When a mountain goat sees a wall, it climbs it because the 'intention' to climb is clear. To the mountain goat the wall is no different than the earth it walks. It does gravity-defying feats without a second thought. Look with the eyes of a mountain goat and everything will seem possible.  

The viral mind epidemic

There is a great epidemic that has taken over our world right now. It is so powerful that it directly affects the human mind's ability to pause and think. Now, do I have your attention? I am talking about viral (videos, messages) content that we share with the click of button (or just a click, now that there are no buttons).

Most of the time we just share messages after reading the first 5-10 lines (words). The underlying intention of any given message is as important as the message itself. The way something is written goes a long way in understanding the intention of the message itself. Memes and viral messages ultimately help people express their feelings silently.

Messages that are a parody of any genre do not convey the right sense of the message; especially, if it is written with (not in) hatred. On an average an individual receives about 128 messages a day. And I doubt if the numbers are right because these days we belong to numerous groups.

Messages that end with, "if you are...", "if you believe in...", "share if you are a true...", 'How many likes/shares/upvotes/tweets for this poor/good/true..." are annoyingly contagious. As if you aren't if you don't do what they expect you to. You are overshadowed by a feeling of guilt or feel obliged to share it immediately because your sense of 'wanting to belong' takes over and you share it. Minds behind computer masks are 'using' you to share their opinions without you realizing.

Texting is the most widely-used and frequently used app on a smartphone, with 97% of Americans using it at least once a day (Pew Internet). Text messages have a 98% open rate, while email has only a 20% open rate (Mobile Marketing Watch). With that said, what if I told you that you were/are a part of cyber bullying if you share something that is hateful? Let me quote from the internet:

"Cyberbullying" is when a child, preteen, teen (or any individual for that matter) is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen, teen (or you) using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.

Every message you share might (will) hurt someone somewhere and that is not what I trying to get your attention to. I am asking you to consider the opinions and hate speech that are being thrown out there in the internet world forcing a victim to swallow. 

How about not sharing anything you haven't read? How about limiting how many messages you share everyday? How about editing that which you share so that certain words or sentences that are demeaning and disturbing are removed? The reason we want to share something is because we believe people would enjoy it or at least it would help them. What if it doesn't, would you still share it? Would you say (all) that you just shared when you are out in the public? I seriously, doubt. Do not be a part of the epidemic losing your sense of identity to internet strangers. 

As Toba beta says: "News is told, rumors are heard, truth is implied but fact are buried."

I strongly believe that you wouldn't share most of it if you read it till the end. Next time you share something share responsibly. 

P-A-U-S-E, R-E-A-D and S-H-A-R-E. 

If you cannot read and don't think you would find time, ask the person who shared it with you if they have read. If they haven't, then you shouldn't be spreading. What you share is who you are. Wouldn't it be nice if only you could filter out the messages that you receive so that you receive that which only interest you?

There is a saying, "A man is known by the company he keeps." but now, I would say, "A man is know by that which he shares, hugs, tweets, likes and upvotes." 

The 6 hours revolution

Robert Owen coined the slogan: "Eight hours' labour, Eight hours' recreation, Eight hours' rest". 

We toil to complete the work that has been assigned to us running against the deadlines that we did not set. In addition to the long hours of commute that ensures that we live a life of nomads. Just like brain cells that cannibalize themselves as a last ditch source of energy to ward of starvation, we are cannibalizing our passions as a last ditch source of energy to ward of failure.We as a society are craving mental and soul stimulation.   

We should be managing/managed (by) energy and not time. Without wanting to fall into the same trap, it’s time we ask a better question. Is hours we clock-in directly proportionate to the output we yield? How many hours we work every day is barely important in today’s creative economy. But why does the industry still equate productivity and output to 'time'? It is because we as a society have forgotten the most important parameter that decides the quality of output. If time is ironclad why does it change depending on what we equate it to. What is near to you depends on how quickly you reach but the longer you work the more productive you are.   

Creativity and Imagination are the most important factors that decide the quality of any output. We should be working with time and not against it. All inventions that have ever changed the world are from a men and women who believed in doing things at their pace and space. Restraining the mind to time and space limits the realms of the soul. 

Albert Einstein says: “I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking” 

There are other reasons why I believe irrespective of whether the industry moves towards a 6-hour work day, we should. Have you ever worked with a crying child? It is nearly impossible to concentrate because there is a more genuine demand in your surrounding that you are naturally inclined to. This crying child is your passion. Apart from working for the by-product (money) you need to nurture that soul in you with a passion that it will be able to reign. 

If we continue to toil all our waking hours eagerly awaiting the weekend where we hope to have fun, follow our passion, nurture our soul and love our families and friends, it will lead to a wild awakening and a rude joke. If we could come back home not dreading waking up to a weekday and Monday Blues are a myth that is when we as a society will achieve what we have always dreamt.

Following our passion and working towards it so that we can give back to the society in our own way and do not have to work hoping for a retirement and to have fun like it is our everyday job is our agenda of the day. Coming back home when the sun has set, children have hit the bed, families have chores to do and we are too tired to even sit down to talk is not how we should be living our lives.

If we are preparing for the next day, everyday, then when would we live this day - today? 

It is time to wake-up to our call, our passion, our dream and a better mental attitude towards the society and our life alike. Companies and Industries should be letting their employees nurture creativity and imagination with perks. Irrespective of whether they do or not, WE should be rightfully demanding and consciously choosing the 'hours' we want to work. 

We should not live to create memories. Memories are shockingly unreliable because emotions, beliefs, cues, norms affect how accurately we remember. We have to live to 'experience life to the fullest.' Let us not come home to wind-up the day. 

Take what it takes, give what it takes to live the life of your dreams. Take a pay-cut, change job, quit the conditioned mind, urge the curious soul, stand-up for your passionate soul and live life like everyday you choose to live. More power to you to creating a better society and a better you. 

Yawning is a Warning

In the human world yawning has a lot more to say than, "I am tired or bored." Yawning is interpreted to have a variety of meanings, ranging from tiredness to i-have-had-enough. Even though yawning is very common, the physiological and evolutionary reasons for yawning behavior are poorly understood. Previous researches suggested that yawning is a biological mechanism in humans and non-human apes, such as chimpanzees, to keep the brain from overheating. 

Teachers consider it insulting when students yawn especially when they are delivering a lecture. Yawning does not always indicate sleep and yes, it cannot be stopped. It might indicate that the student needs a break of fresh air. Meeting room yawns might indicate lack of content and difficulty in focusing or concentrating. A yawn may not be polite, at least it is an honest opinion. A yawn is a silent shout screaming you to stop messing (**** up) with someone's day. 

In the animal kingdom the hippo’s yawn is not a sign of sleepiness or boredom but is actually a threat gesture, displaying long, thick, razor-sharp canine teeth, or tusks, with which it is capable of biting a small boat in half. In the language of dogs, the yawn is often used as a calming signal. It's a way of saying, "I've had enough and my patience is running out." A cat's yawn may indicate anticipation or stress.

But, what if yawning indicates other things...

Ovid "A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow."

Sometimes yawning isn't just about needing a break it indicates something more serious - a warning. It is a cue that you seriously need to stop being so serious in your life. Having fun plays an integral part of who you are. It helps you to loosen up to life's biggest challenges and opportunities. You shouldn't be so bored or busy depriving yourself of all the fun.

Dr Seuss, "When you work, you work; but, when you play, you really PLAY."

As much as you should be open to new ideas, you need to get down and have some fun. Little can change with a rational thought. Don't worry about the cynic and pessimist they can only mimic a yawn (just) because it is contagious. It is nobody's business but yours to keep yourself happy.  If the idea of having fun scares you then, you should be really worried. You don't miss out on goals by nurturing the child in you. Yawning might not mean anything at all or it could mean you are just too bored with your life.

Sometimes yawning could also mean that you have said a yes when you should have said a no or you are in a relationship you should have walked out of long ago or you are in the midst of a conversation you have no intention of paying attention to or you are with a person you just have no interest in or it means nothing more than you have to hit the bed, right now. 

Go on a blind date (movie), call up a long lost friend, cook a meal, play with your children, hug your dog, face paint, wear mismatched clothes, participate in a play, dance in the rain - fun is what you define. Stop trying to be perfect at everything. Don't let yawning mindholes swallow your intelligent self.

You don't have to be comfortably perfect in this minute because it lasts only 60 seconds. 

Living the Einstein life

Einstein was an embodiment of pure intellect and unfathomably a profound genius among geniuses. He went on to discover the unimaginable merely by thinking that the universe was not as it seemed to be. In this blog post I will now try to decode Einstein. With his quotes as framework I dare to extrapolate it to the way one could live the Einstein life - most of us dream. The man who won the 'Nobel Prize' and 'Person of the century'  lived a life beyond science. 

“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions."

Imagine the life you want to live, imagine the idea you want to conceive, imagine the world you want to create, imagine the friend you want to have, imagine the partner you want to be, imagine the product you want to make, imagine the luxury you want to experience, imagine the person you want to be, imagine every single detail of your life to the finest detail as much as you can. Add some love and sprinkle it with belief without which there is no binder to hold your dream to conscious. Mind is the most powerful source of creation, anything that exists in this world found its place only through imagination. What the mind can see clearly, the mind can create. 

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."

When you pursue an idea or ideology in life that just leaves you feeling unfit to fit-in it just means you are growing beyond the realms of common spirits. It will feel like you are unsupported and begin to face opposition from every side, remember it is because you refuse to adapt to mediocrity. People understand that which they are capable of seeing. Ignore their incompetency. Hardwork is not work that is hard to do but hard to break, it no longer means you have to clock in hours together or put in so much of physical effort. 

“Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly.”

Do not be an open book, yes, you heard me right. DO NOT BE AN OPEN BOOK. Every single day live a life that excites and provokes a curious mind. Let the people around you wonder what 'you' have to give back to the society. What new way you have up your sleeves to live a happy and joyous life. Let the world learn through your example. Let not your words state that which your actions can scream. Mystery is the essence of life and it provokes curiosity leading to imagination which in turn results in creation. The secret to creation is how well you hide your source of creativity.

“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions."

When you have intuitive ideas remember it is the 'Higher Intelligence's' way of teasing you to pursue. If someone tells you how bad of an idea it is to pursue, remember it is their limitations that they are trying to impose on you. Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down by the society and your parents. If you think your idea is silly, remember there is a millionaire walking this world and all they did was to create the 'Pool Noodle' and 'Car Antenna Topper'.

“Nature shows us only the tail of the lion. But I do not doubt that the lion belongs to it even though he cannot at once reveal himself because of his enormous size."

Unchain yourself from the need to belong to any given community. Once you strive to belong to, you lock yourself to a conditioned mind that strives to impress the community/parents/friends/partner that it want to belongs to. I do not mean that you should live a life of loner. You need to work for the society, for your life, for your fellow beings but in your own way with your little magic. Let go of the norms and guidelines. Have a team, a strong one that thinks differently but positively. Create the environment that would nurture growth and yield results. Once you release yourself of that intention a new zone of life opens up. Your life is no longer limited to the perceptions of the world. 

“My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities. I am truly a 'lone traveler' and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for solitude… ”

The aim of education is to empower you to create the life the world deserves. Do not let that which was taught to you to limit you. More power to you to live your life the Einstein way.