~ Reflections ~

I recently read this article by Gloria Steinem called If Men Could Menstruate. Though I don't entirely agree with all that she says, the nerve she has touched upon is very relevant. We (and it is true for both the East & the West) belong to a male dominated society, where most terms and things, from "mankind" to "manliness" get their term from the male counterpart. Language, unknowingly has a tendency of creating a bias in our minds. Even more ironic is the way the Modi supporters have lashed out at Kavita Krishnan for her showing why she disagrees with the #Selfiewithdaughter movement. Though I don't agree entirely with what she says (yes, again !!), the essence of what she says is spot on...  There are innumerable people, from Sunitha Krishnan  to Malala Yousafzai , who have nearly lost their lives on multiple occasions, fighting for women rights.... but the root cause of the problem is closer home than we realize...  The treatment is ...

Have you ever encountered someone with a neurological condition in your daily life... It makes me wonder how anyone can cope with something like this... physical disability is one thing.. but mental imbalance due to things beyond your control is scary... My workplace had one such person who is a Schizophrenic, who was recently fired... I have not worked with him ever in close quarters, so I can't say what the "output" of all his work was... but to think that one would suddenly be deemed useless is very scary.. As if to reinforce the emotion, I happened watch Still Alice , an movie nominated for Oscars, for which Julianne Moore, the protagonist, went to win the award for the Best performance for 2014.  It is scary to think that one can slowly (or is it too quickly) lose memories, thoughts, speech and eventually control over our own life... I wouldn't wish a neurological disease on even my worst enemy, leave alone a friend.  But are we doing enough... ...

We glide through life.... not realizing what is zooming past....  We want to make a name, but don't realize what we are loosing in the process... In the hope of making a name, we loose the people who would actually remember our name... One lives in the hope of becoming a memory. ~ Antonio Porchia 

There was a time when I believed a person is either Black or White... with no Grey.... Good or Bad, with no ambiguity in that thought... But over time, and space... .and the few years that have gone bad... my theory has now evolved... to maybe conveniently accommodate the grey's.... a person is both black and white... we just chose to be a certain way in a certain environment...  PS: For those who still haven't encountered Escher till date, the above is one of his many hand drawn masterpiece sketches.... This one is aptly titled Day and Night

we Plan, we Do, we Conquer.. Plan......Do... Conquer... But when this flow of events occur one too many times, I begin to worry.. Call me a pessimist... call it paranoia... But it keeps nagging me, till there is atleast one quirk in the track... like a hiccup once in a while... to know that it will eventually fall in line..

It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one.  We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things. ~ Lemony Snicket,  Horseradish It is funny how we want to plan everything in life... and yet, no thought is given to the one definite eventuality. I don't mean that we should live in the fear of dying. But maybe we'd enjoy what we have in hand more if we are cognizant of the fact that this is all going to end some day.

Zillions of thoughts flying around.. creating the spark needed.. milestones, many, in every direction... several unheeded.... I run, with the hope catch it all And touch whatever I can before my breath runs out Gasping for air, I stop to find... I have missed more than I have found.. And then I sit and wonder if it was all worth it.. and then when my final breath is drawn it comes to me, I nail it... It wasn't to catch or just touch It was all mine to feel.. but I kept running in all sides thinking what is important is the turning wheel !!

All of us, or atleast most of us, have an ambition. For some it is a physical goal, for some a career related goal, and for a philosophical one. Whatever the goal might be, till be make an effort to advance in the direction, it is futile to just hope for fulfillment.Besides what is the point of a goal if one doesn't try to seek it. After all, the fun is in the chase :) If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place. ~ Nora Roberts

The levels of aggression and anger that most people are walking around with nowadays is almost scary. I often wonder if I will get beaten incase I accidentally scratch someones car. People now don't have time for words and explanations... they only want an end result... even if the end result is just ending someone's life..  One of the related aspects is also that people have stopped giving it another thought, when they wish to start taking the law into their hands... maybe if there was a fear of punishment, or someone holding them responsible, the incidence might reduce... Such policing  is needed, because our moral compasses are Dead ! We don't think twice before abusing someone.. one mistake by anyone, and we wish to give it back, one way or another... It's just sad how things are shaping up... for all of us.. In all of us !!!

From being mortals to lesser mortals to becoming photographs on the wall... Life just ticks along... and we just realize how time takes us along with it..