Some more lines for my...

Penned down a few lines for my better half on her b’day- Dec 17th :

When I look back at the days gone by,
I wonder what it is, that always gives me a high;
What makes me laugh at times, or partway smile a smile,
What makes me sad at times, but makes the ‘making-up’ worthwhile

The mot juste answer as we all know,
Is not hidden away from thy eyes to see;
It’s my “someone special”, beautiful as ever,
Beautiful than anyone else, could ever be;

I love you my honey, and you too know,
That this ‘love’ divine, is only to grow;
I adore the fact, that you love me so,
And to this precious ‘love’, I do bow;

God must have spent hours and hours,
Perfecting his magnum opus, going crazy;
When he was thinking about true ‘beauty’,
And the varied elements of my beautiful lady;

With you, every day of my life is a lucky day,
To you, I’ll make all happiness in the world befall;
I need not even say, but I still will say,
You’ll always be- MY belle of the ball.

The axis of Ataraxis: Peace of mind

I’ve been trying for really long, to write something on the unending quest for ‘Peace of Mind’ (PoM) that we all have. We define it in different ways depending on what we’re striving for, and the path that we’re walking on. It’s that state of eternal bliss, even if it’s for five minutes, when everything’s going right and you have no worries- at all. In our daily lives, where there is something or the other that’s waiting to be a cause of worry, it’s important to get your own PoM. There have been innumerable times when I’ve literally shouted at the top of a muted voice- “I want my Peace of Mind”. All that I’ve got in response is- “Chill buddy, so does everyone” :). I’m referring by ‘we/us’ to all of us going about our day-to-day lives, not those who have already traversed over to the path of spirituality. They already are at the ataraxis, and don’t need to endure life’s tribulations. One obviously cannot get PoM by earning more, or getting what you want; because as we all know, human desires have no end. When I come to think of it, a few years back when I made the decision of IIM A vs. ISB, I got my PoM at the moment the decision was taken. That was because the source of tension itself was removed. Now that doesn’t happen always that we get what we want, does it :)?

Practically speaking, all said and done it is not difficult to get your ‘Peace of Mind’, as long as we are aware that this is just a ‘state’ of being and being there for even a short period of time can do wonders. We cannot straightaway ‘sign out’ from our life with all its paraphernalia of relationships, responsibilities, joy and pain. What we can do is to have the ability of pressing the ‘pause’ button on life. When everything is going wrong and you feel like saying out loud- “I want my Peace of Mind”, just press ‘Pause’. Go out of the immediate surroundings to the balcony or another room and close your eyes; most importantly- ‘shut down’ your thoughts on what’s happening (be it an argument, a fight, or any other source of tension). Stop thinking about it, and think of nothingness- the space beyond space- what we call 'meditation'. For some this is when they think about God and find peace there. The aim is to stop thinking about all the tensions that you’re having and be mentally at peace. This will not solve the problem/ finish of the argument with your spouse ;)/ resolve your issues. But what this will do, is to take you to that place of eternal bliss, give you Peace of Mind for those 5-10mins, and give you the energy to handle all the disquiets. It will also give you the ability to look at your problems/ arguments/ issues and make you think whether they’re really worth fretting so much over, and wasting precious moments of your life brooding over it. This is not the only way ofcourse, once you’ve pressed the ‘Pause’ button- some get to this state by listening to their favourite songs, some by listening to the chant of ‘Om’, and yet others by sitting on the beach and looking at the ocean (and the likes). What matters is that we should realize that the means to the end of getting PoM need not only be by fulfilling desires/ ambitions. Even when things are going wrong all around, we can get to the axis of ataraxis by pressing ‘Pause’ on Life.

Ciao ppl !!
Ciao life !!

Two cents on Life- Never giving up: 'The Attitude'

Dear Life,

You took me up, you brought me down,
When the ship broke up, you said- “Don’t drown”;

I carried on, I swam along,
Evinced tenacity, made up an imbuing song;

I won’t give up ‘Life’, I won’t let go,
You taught me so, and for that, I do bow;

You may again raze my ship ‘Life’, or becloud every dawn,
All I would say is- “Sh*t happens and Life goes on”.

I penned down these lines some time back during my MBA days at IIM A (one of the blogs below), when my ‘ship’ was on the upper wave of the sine curve. From the days of training during the dark hours at the National Defence Academy, to leading men in operations in the Army, to lying on the hospital bed badly mutilated after coming back from the dead, to joining a premier league B-school; this ship has ‘been there-done that’. The one thing that has fuelled this ship all along is the attitude towards life. We have heard this phrase so many times in our daily lives- ‘Never give up’, or going up a further level- ‘Never Never Never - Ever Give Up’. It so happens that many of us don’t get a chance to say this often, and these lines mean nothing more than a very powerful phrase. Some people test the waters flowing in their system by going through strenuous experiences like mountain climbing, and the likes. It does not matter when and how you get to test this attitude, what matters is- having the attitude of not letting go. Experiences might vary in terms of degree of intensity, duration or importance vis-à-vis the big picture. The big test comes when one encounters the unexpected and needs to live out the word- ‘perseverance’. All said and done, ‘Life’ is iffy. It starts by welcoming you onboard the ship with other passengers and your journey of life begins. At times, all of you go through a tempestuous weather, wherein you think that this is it and things cannot get worse than this. Next day things are back to normal and you sail along the journey, happy as (you) can be. Life then takes you up a level further and throws you overboard. You may know how to swim or you may not, whatever be the case you keep struggling. At this juncture there are some of us, who think that- I don’t know how to swim; I’m far away from the ship; I’m totally fatigued and there’s no use of trying any further. This is where people who have the attitude of ‘Never say die’, keep trying. They might have similar thoughts- I don’t know how to swim; I’m far away from the ship and I’m totally fatigued. However, their next thought is- I am still alive and as long as I have the last drop of energy in me, I’ll keep trying. These are the people who live the never give up attitude for as long as, and as much as they can. Life then throws a lifeboat for both categories of people, but both the lifeboats lead you to different ships that are on different routes of life. The journey begins again, and some time down the line, ‘life’ rocks the boat again, and the cycle goes on until you get to the end of the journey. One’s attitude defines the actions and the thought process defines the attitude – It's ALL in the mind. What matters is the way you handle the situation when everything seems to be going wrong, and it looks as though the universe has turned against you. This is where one needs to keep holding on to that log of wood (if you find one), say to yourself- “This too shall pass...”, and carry on. There is no limit to human endurance; it’s all in the mind.....

Ciao ppl..
Ciao Life..