Lose yourself.

'Tis all a muddle !! .. A favourite quote of mine from Hard Times by Charles Dickens. Complexities of life and human nature complicate matters of significance as well as inconsequential affairs to varying proportions. Its upto the individual to regulate this effect and keep things under control. As I said in a previous post, more often than not, philosophy stands out as a solution to simplifying the thought process, or maybe complicating 'em for some ;-)

To this effect philosophy always provides questions that are often rhetorical but when they're not, it becomes even further complicated for most of us as we never want to ponder or delve into the depths of information we gather through our senses. As a driving force that draws material from all assets of life, philosophy assists an individual to acknowledge life as it is and stand out in third person and observe his/her life as it passes by every second.

Despite all these facets, philosophy presents a rather unruly face when it becomes a way of life. In such circumstances we tend to analyse and judge a lot, making it hard to let things go. Ponder and ponder for days we do, yet to only end up with a resolution that could have been arrived at without much ado. (if only it were so easy :P) Wouldn't equate philosophical analysis as cribbing necessarily but if it becomes long-drawn and dominates your thinking and perception rather than simply being an aid, then one has to stop and look at oneself from the outside to realise the futility of it all - or as in my case you can have a friend ask you sorry tell you to quit analysing every gawd damn thing on the planet and let go of stuff easily ;-)

Once you realise where to draw the line, an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and bliss takes control and you lose yourself in the serenity of the peace of your mind :-)

kAbhI aLViDa Na KehNa ;-)

Have been listenin' to the song for the umpteenth time now and jus' had to write in sth. Impulse has always been an issue with my actions .. always wanted to act spontaneously but neva could :P

Would like to dedicate this post to all my dearest friends whom I really miss staying so far away :( . Loneliness never bugged me in the past but the past 3 and a half years have brought to my life all the joy and spirit people thirst for all their lives and only the very lucky end up with sth as valuable as a friendship to last throughout life and even beyond. Have been blessed with so many friends and some of 'em so special that it pains me to recall the numerous occassions I have deliberately or unknowingly hurt their feelings .. a sense of guilt sets in and feel like an elephant's stuck in my throat - I know am very pathetic with the imagery .. but you get the point ;-)

It actually surprises me how much I miss being amongst them .. feel alienated. People say we engineers are hard-headed and square-faced people who just go abt their jobs .. but ever looked into the life of one who spends 4 years of his life in a totally alien land and learns the value and essence of being by associating with others and developing compassion? Human emotions gain strength and a resurgence of the imaginative and sentimental occurs even amongst the most hard set as we realise that the magical journey through 4 years of rigorous training and enjoyment is approaching completion. The ups and downs we faced, the sorrow, the celebrations, the constant blabber, the philosophical deliberations, the pranks .. oh gawd am so gonna miss all that !!

Don't want to sound all mushy and sentimental .. neither do I want the topic to become a drag .. so will conclude here .. but value my friends a lot and hope they realise that too :-)

Duur jaake bhi mujhse, tum meri yaadon me rehna ..
kabhi alvida na kehna ..

Subconsciously screwed

Had a hearty meal last night with my floor mate .. had home-cooked chicken with vintage French wine .. and above all there was amongst us ma beloved .. ma love .. ma inspiration .. tee hee .. wondering who she is ? ;-) But of course who else apart from the 'beautiful bitch who scored on so many dimwits' :P Really anxious now ain't ya? Well ma sweetheart .. Philosophy .. who else?

People are under the false impression that philosophers are great thinkers and are able to look beyond the obvious. All philosophers do is that they actually look at the obvious while all others are busy elsewhere in their ignorant interpretations of life and its purpose. Philosophy is like ecstacy .. the more you get involved .. the lighter you feel - an addiction - that is what it is !! Am addicted to ma love but have seen worse cases .. everything for 'em becomes a question .. analysing everything .. dissecting the abstract human emotion and ending up with a torn and shredded scrap of what was once a beautiful blossoming concept related to the abstract !!

Damn I hate philosophising at times .. just makes me nauseous at the thought of having to think abt each and every thing !! For once would it not be worthwhile to jus' let be whateva is there ?! But as I said its an addiction and no patch is there for the kind .. c'mon am saying it here on da blog and accpeting but am sure that the habit won't vanish .. how more frustrating can it get than this ;-)

But nonetheless love ma darlin' and am happy with who I am and the way I have shaped out to become -- guess I jus' love being myself !! The worst thing you could eva do to yourself is to change for sth that was neva worth its while !! Don't jus' read ma posts but Ponder.

Gotcha !! ;-)

Race, colour, creed .. what a load of bull crap goin' round the world nowadays. People get agitated over such issues and heated altercations result. I ask why ? When sth so irrational can be dealt with simple application of wit and attitude, why crib repeatedly and create such hue and cry. If you're still wondering why I am being so indifferent to the issue well lemme relate to you an anecdote that dates to no longer than a few days ago when I left Stuttgart for Vienna.

Had just checked in my accompanied baggage at the Germanwings counter and was on my way to the terminal to board the flight 4U 2756 to Vienna. As soon as I reached the security check counters, got in queue that was being examined by a burly 6' 4" German - trust me this guy was scary !! As a routine, I removed my belt, wallet and keys and deposited 'em in the basket and started walking when a heavy voice called "Entschuldigung!!". I turned around to see 'scary' pointing towards my pocket and it took me a few seconds to realise that he was questioning me 'bout the boarding pass peeping out of my pocket. With a smile I held it out for him and informed that it was just my boarding pass. But as is usually the case, nothing normal happens with me .. I was 'told' to place the pass in the basket and alongwith all other belongings - my watch, tissue pack, chewing gum, print-out of the ticket confirmation, passport etc. while the European behind me was allowed to pass through without much ado. All this time I was just looking at the stern face 'scary' had made as if he was dealing with a scumbag that is supposedly filth on the face of this earth. In every likeness the intial emotion I experienced during all this was a rush of rage that made me go red, but then I remembered how one of my friends had got the better of someone rude in a very dignified manner and that inspired the mischief in me and the agitated temple relaxed into a simple grin on my face :P Having placed everything in the basket I proceeded to the metal detector and before I could be examined, started yelling 'Beep !! Beep !!' :D Wondering what the hell got into me ?? LOL Thats exactly what the people nearby started thinkin' .. well I went back and walked up to 'crazy' and said "Scheisse!! Ich hab das vergessen!!" and very neatly placed the piece of gum I had been chewing for the past hour in front of him .. gave the lady officer standing next to him a wink .. at which she burst out laughing .. turned 180° and walked back to the detector ..

To be honest, I was kinda scared 'crazy' might get mad and pound me to death, so I jus' played the prank and got the hell outta there .. but would have given anything to see that dumbfounded look on his face when I got the better of him ;-) Hope you get my point of bending the situation to get one up on the agitator .. guess this is what Oscar Wilde always advocated :-)

Compassion.

Received the following incident as a forward .. have a read through and realise the essence of being compassionate.

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

"When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. "I believe, that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes, in the way other people treat that child" Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play, not expecting much. The boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."

Shay struggled over to the team's bench, put on a team shirt with a broad smile and his Father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay wasscheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible 'cause Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing the other team putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over, but the pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game. Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the head of the first baseman, out
of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!"

Never in his life had Shay ever ran that far but made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to second base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team, who had a chance to be the hero for his team for the first time. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and he too intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home. As Shay neared third base, the opposing shortstop ran to help him and turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third!"

All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams and those watching were on their feet were screaming, "Shay, run home!" Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the "grand slam" and won the game for his team.

That day, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world.

Shay didn't make it to another summer and died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his Father so happy and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND, NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and
workplaces.

If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people on your address list that aren't the "appropriate" ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all
have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the "natural order of things." So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up that opportunity to brighten the day
of those with us the least able, and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.