~ Reflections ~

We all talk about tolerance, towards people, their thoughts, habits... but somehow, tolerance seems to be easier to practise towards strangers than people you love and care about. Tolerance, when it comes to family and friends, is tougher to implement... because one hopes that they see the sense in what you are doing and saying...  This hoping against hope hopen is strenuous, and eats into the relationship... If only we could let go... and let others decide what they want to do, and be okay with the same... If only...

We all talk about making amends in our life... like exercising, quit smoking, eating healthy... the list is almost endless.... In this pursuit of an ideal life and livelihood, we keep trying to mend and amend our lives, and those of our loved ones.... All this when we know, but don't accept, that the clock is ticking, the ball is rolling... and somewhere in the distant (if not near) future, this will all come to a grinding halt... I mean our life ofcourse... But for all the levity and naivety that carries us through, we often miss the actual essence of our lives... to love and be loved.... to hope... to dream and accomplish.... What we should do once in a while is to pause... step back... and admire the view  :)

India is a predominantly Agrarian society... still....  And though parts of the country have evolved really quickly, parts are still trying to come to term with the changes that are coming away... The part which is in touch with what is happening around the world, has suddenly realized that Organic food is the way to go... that a healthy diet should be free pesticides and other chemicals.. that the best way to grow food, is to not use any artificial fertilizers, and instead make do with the likes of cow dung. However, what is truly ironic is that the other part of the country is still coming to terms with the fact that crop can be genetically modified... that there is the possibility of using fertilizers to make the growth and yield more efficient..... At the end of the day, one part is trying to quickly unlearn what the other part is still trying to learn !!!!

So what would you prefer - to hear directly from the horse, or an intermediary ? Even if we ignore the Chinese whisper part, hearing directly is more satisfying and justified... both for the horse and the ear :) But in all fairness, if there has been no value add by the intermediary, and the news was delivered as it was told, does it really matter. Why do we, so often, make such a big deal of not being told directly... I am still unable to figure it out...

All of us (or atleast most of us) slog at office.. We explain the donkey work in one of the many ways... financial independence... fruitful (fruitful ? for whom ?!?) utilization of time... alternate social circle..  Whatever the excuse, we always find reasons to work more... push the limits.. try and prove that we are the best ... Little do we realize, that the trade off if ticking someone off... someone you'd want to be a part of your life... for life :) Jobs are temporary... but in the strife to excel at work, we loose track of our home... and annoy (often more than once) the person you'd rather be with..... and in effect, loosing them for life.... So is it all worthwhile...  in the end...  what matters more ? "Your" life or your "Life" ?!?

walking around the streets wanderlust gaining miles beating the dust meeting new people gaining trust... travelling is a form of catharsis.. making me realize what I really want...

There is no such thing as duty. If you know that a thing is right, you want to do it. If you don't want to do it—it isn't right. If it's right and you don't want to do it—you don't know what right is and you're not a man. ~ Ayn Rand,  We The Living

a fit a burst a thought a curse just rambling no passion just ambling no reason long days sad ways life - a journey wasted away

Off late I seem to be missing the small things in life... Does it make any sense when I say that I miss those random midnight chats with friends.... being able to call anyone at anytime of the day/night.... those arbitrary discussion about a travel trip which starts with seeing the photos... the wish to have all meals together...  24hrs with no one but myself... I can go on an on...  But somehow, the sudden realization that I probably won't be able to do any of this is giving me a dull feeling of missing out on life...  Somehow it is these small moments in life that I am missing... and in effect, the bigger things being achieved seemed to look paler in comparison...

I was recently reading about Kiran Gandhi , who ran the London Marathon.. not only for a cause, but also for a purpose... something very few of us manage to achieve. Like she puts it, she was facing an otherwise simple decision... whether to run the marathon when she was menstruating.. or to defer her plan of running to the marathon for one more year despite training for it all year long.... and she finally decided to go with the flow. I doubt if even 1% of women would have the courage to do what she did... though associating this act just with courage would also be incorrect. Despite being a totally natural process, menstruation seems to be one of the most taboo issues of today's society, atleast in India.... and it takes an act like this to bring people to atleast start talking about it, even if the discussions are only limited to the social media. I am a woman, and I menstruate... No one can understand what happens during the process, and it cannot be explained eit