Marking boundaries for escapism

When you connote words to real life situations, words start symbolising meanings that aren’t a trial for our memory but condensed version of an elaborative thought. “Escapism” is one such word for me. I got acquainted with this word in my 12^th Standard English textbook. It was a story about a man who used to virtually travel non-existent places. As an explanation to his awkward behaviour, we often wrote that his fantasy was a medium of escape from the real world. Though we may not exhibit similar extreme behaviour, we all at some point in time find ways to escape our current situation. The medium can be some sort of entertainment, a light hearted chat with a friend or a little tour to our own little fancy world. All sounds good. But we may sometimes head towards other disruptive medium (say alcohol). An escape is revitalising if it directs us towards peaceful indulgence or some creative pursuit. The moment it treads us towards an atmosphere of external noise and internal loss of consciousness, escapism deviates us from our original course altogether pushing us into darkness. So let’s retain escapism in its positive application and mark boundaries for ourselves. Its relieving to get lost for a while but whiling away for long may close doors for return.

Pursuit of dreams

I was watching “Pursuit of Happyness” yesterday, not for the first time. Most of us have seen this amazingly inspiring movie.  For those of us who haven’t, I would love to share a quote “Don’t even let somebody tell you that you can’t do something. You got a dream, you got to protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you that you can’t do it. You want something, go get it”. This particular orchestration of commonly heard words never fails to ignite the spark in me to chase my dreams. More often than not opinions are laden with the burden of harsh experience. Each one of us has a past rich with the wisdom derived from failure and rewards in the form of achievement. The constant trials then skew our thinking towards accepting our unique course as the only path to success. We end up discouraging all alternative means. Whether we are on the giving or receiving end of advice, we must net out the pessimism that is associated with unsuccessful attempts. The onus of protecting our dreams and fulfilling them lies solely on us. When you embark your journey, take discouragement as a dare and self belief as your permanent companion. If you believe in something, you will turn stone into sculptures. You start digging a grave for your dreams when you let advice become obstacle. GO GET YOUR DREAM FELLOWS.

Mother's day special

मेरी माँ मेरे साथ रहती है
घर-आँगन, चार दिवारी के दरमियाँ नहीं
मेरी माँ मेरे मन में रहती है।
अंजान अकेली राहों में मन घबराता है कभी,
साहस बनकर वो मेरे साथ रहती है।
ठोकर खाकर जो मैं गिर जाऊँ जटिल रस्तों में,
मेरे कदमों की ताकत बनकर मेरे साथ रहती है।
अंधेरों में मैं पथ भटक जाऊँ तो,
मेरे मन के विश्वास का दिया बनकर मेरे साथ रहती है।
उलझनों के भवर में मेरी नौका डूबने लगे जब,
दृढ़ निश्चय रूपी मांझी बनकर, मेरे साथ रहती है।
बाधाओं से टकराकर जो मेरे सपने टूट जाएँ,
आशा भरी आँखें उसकी मरहम बनकर मेरे साथ रहती हैं।
जीवन की राह पर जब कदम बढाऊँ मैं,
उसकी सीख मेरे मन की आवाज़ बनकर साथ रहती है।
मेरी हर खुशी में, मेरे हर दुख में
मेरी माँ ही तो है जो हमेशा मेरे साथ रहती है।
(छवि)

The importance of appreciation

                                  

Language is the most beautiful gift of evolution. We humans, are blessed in the sense that we have the ability to use words to convey our emotions but isn't it sad that we compromise on this ability often. In the hustle bustle of life where most of the urban people have all attention dedicated to mobile screens most of the time, words would come in more handy and save us the effort of mind reading. You might be wondering what am I exactly trying to hint at. I want all of us to realise the importance of appreciation. I wonder do we think of appreciation as rapidly depleting essential resource which we all want to have but would never want to give. It is a very rewarding investment for the benefits far outweigh the costs. Your mother cooks food for you every day and the number of other errands she does run into a long list. The food which she prepares with so much love and affection is hardly appreciated. More often than not we simply eat it while watching television or checking messages on phone. If instead we would relish the food and appreciate our mother, we would be trading a lot of happiness for a few words. Mothers hardly have expectations but a smile on their face is priceless. Isn't it? Let us start from home and make appreciating others a habit. This will clear us of the pessimism and we will soon unearth all the hidden goodness. Lets appreciate an act of kindness by someone, an initiative at work by our fellow or maybe something as little as someone looking pretty. Appreciation is a power that each one of us has to make someone happy or maybe to make someone smile. The world would be such a beautiful place if we appreciate. Let us start with our home and initiate the culture of appreciation.

Screening the information

Screening the information we are exposed to is one the biggest challenge of our times. It is not very wise to believe any news completely and immediately. All news suffer from a serious limitation that is "bias". There is no reward for arriving at opinions quickly. So the best method is to take information slowly. When you come across any event try to understand the cause behind it and go for an analysis. The precondition for analysis is availability of abundant information.Read about an event from atleast three different sources to ensure that some particular rigid framework of thinking does not dominate our view.  The social media and even news channels with the ' breaking news' flashing almost the entire day have conditioned us to give immediate reactions. The cause of the social unrest and pertinent unconclusive  debates lies in this environment of urgency that has been created. So lets consume news like fibre rich food that takes a while to digest and not be addicted to energy drinks.

How close?

How close I am to the world I wonder

close enough that I exist amidst it, not enough that I embrace it

Like the breeze that flows past me

Close enough, I can feel, not enough that I can hold

Like the fragrance of a lily that mesmerises me

Close enough, I can breathe not enough that I can keep

Like the moonlight that falls over me

Close enough, I can bathe not enough that I can grab

Like the sweetest dream in my sleep

Close enough, that I rejoice not enough that I can experience

Like all the desires I had, I have

Close enough, to make me restless not enough that I can live them

Like the bond I share with myself

Close enough that I keep secrets, not enough that I can cherish being alone.

Experience the change within

I am of that category of people who love going forward in life. My biggest nightmare is if someone would rewind my life and i find myself facing past again. I only visit my past to reflect, to understand the evolution of my own self. I love every passing moment of life because every moment is leaving behind an experience. Some of these are minor but when these experiences accumulate, they give birth to transformations. The transformations again seem subtle but when you look back a decade or more you will realise that a little of learning of each moment has made you an entirely different person. Change is the only constant phenomenon is something we know but whats more amazing is to be a witness to the change within us. We will be able to appreciate life completely only when we keep ourselves open to realisations. While you are reading all of this there have been so many transitions between moments. When you keep this in mind you are able to understand how vivid life is. That will make you want to experience more of such transitions. The only way to live a happy life is to live it in moments of present while offloading the baggage of past and greeting future with excitement.