Lull before the storm

I do not need to generally write in third person, coz. views expressed in this blog are public and I do appreciate and respect that. I have my own diary, which is a blog too, to which only one person has access and that is ME! lol! :D

So, matters too private, are left for that blog.

Now, you may have opened this post after reading the title "Lull before the storm". Well, why did I choose such a title? :-)
To be frank, the weather outside is bright and sunny here at King of Prussia, my current place of stay. So, it is more of an internal feeling, an intuition if I may say so.

You know, when I was a kid, I used to react to situations instantaneously, sometimes without thinking. And often I paid a heavy price for it. As I grew older, with time, I realized that one should never do or say things in haste, without thinking thoroughly each pro and con. In the process, decisions may get delayed, but chances are more that I would not make a wrong decision. When I look at myself today, I do try to maintain that.

So, whenever there is a situation that tends to provoke me, I try to stay calm, keep a cool head on my shoulder and then decide. Silence does help too, as I am able to do much soul searching and introspection.
In today's age of social networking, people tend to stay busy, looking at home pages, friend's status messages, 'liking' stuff, commenting etc. But in the process, we probably tend to think less. We do not invest the much needed time. Its as if OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) only and not OLAP (Online Analytical Processing). My friends from the Data Warehousing background would know well the difference between the two. LOL :D

Sometimes I feel, life was simpler during the pre-social networking era. Relationships tended to be less complex. People had lesser chance to peep at each others' personal lives, so everyone tended to be content.
Times have changed.

A study recently published said that people who spend maximum time on social networking sites tend to get more frustrated over time. You can read through the article with the hyperlink I provided.

Anyway, it seems that solitude would be ideal for now...

Sorry, I thought I could explain my title more in this post, but figured, it would best be left for my private blog.

Until next time...

Lets not expect :-)

Hmm... in a mood to write something down. Not sure what... lol

Well, the thing is, I wish to stop expecting. But "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride."

So, I am trying to write myself a dummy's guide on how to stop expecting.

First and foremost, let us do away with the idea of give and take. Life is not a trade, is it? Most of the times, the issues arise because, we are trained to expect favors in return for favors. When that does not happen, all hell breaks loose.

Second, let us have this notion that the grass is not greener on the other side. Come on! Look closely. Each one of us have problems - one way or the other. Even the ones who think they do not have problems are in the illusion that everything is good. Its a fact - NO ONE IS HAPPY. So, let us try and appreciate the qualities others have instead of giggling over shortcomings. Let us be empathetic towards each other. Here let me point out I am not talking about sympathy, I am talking about empathy. There is a marked difference between the two.

Sympathy is what we feel when we see a homeless begging for food on the street. We look and move on, forget the feeling after a moment.

Empathy is what we feel when we imagine how it would have felt had we been in that person's shoes... begging in the scorching heat, hunger burning inside, perspiration taking a huge toll, countless glances towards us which show more of hatred towards a germ of society, rather than love. Yes, if you have ever felt that, that is called empathy.

Anyway, the third point would probably be in being complacent with what we have. Yes, in developing countries like India, the difference between "haves" and "have nots" drive people crazy. They compete against each other fiercely trying to be the first to hit the jackpot. However, one fine day, we realize that while we were busy merely running after an illusion, we forgot to live life. We forgot to have fun. We forgot to appreciate what we had. Our hair turned grey and we lost precious moments of our life.

So, it is probably important to be complacent at times, being happy with what we have, rather than brood over what we do not have.

In short, let us not expect. Let us plant a seed each day, rather than dream of reaping dividends.

At peace with myself

Hmm... a gradual home coming to the stability of my thoughts, feelings... a feeling of settling down... going back to my roots, going back to where I belong... the feeling of being grounded... accepting adversities to be a part and parcel of life... Its like that illusion of an obstacle I saw in a movie many years back... You see an obstacle, get terrified, limited by it... But someone tells you - go ahead, there is nothing there.. its only an illusion... The protagonist walks ahead, circumspect at first... But then he just transcends through it unaffected...

Obstacles in real life are just like that. They are obstacles as long as we make them as such. The moment we take them head-on, they let us pass through unaffected.

So, was there an obstacle that I faced? Probably not... probably yes.

My sense of justice and being fair to everyone does get the better of me at times, does leave me drained and strained. But that's how I am. Take it or leave it.

At the end of the day, the only feeling that I sincerely hate is the feeling of guilt - the feeling of doing wrong to someone. I would rather take the blow, than give it... :-)

I am finally at peace with myself...