World's easiest creations: Opinions

I can form instantaneous opinions of people, like magic. Sometimes, they don't need to have uttered a word, their posture gives away (in 2 seconds) what type of a person he/she is and for that I could hate him/her from my gut. You should try this at home / your office / the local train. Look at a person you have never seen before and form an opinion of him/her - good person or bad person, likeable or hate-worthy. And, this is easier if we hear them talk. "Man, his English!", "Ugh! Her foul breath!!"

Our minds are constantly fishing for similarities / differences in strangers, since we are highly deterred by differences and equally appeased by similarities. We fit the person to a "certain" mould of desirable characteristics, and we judge the person's nature based on the extent of fit. Left to me, it's fine to even come to this stage, but if we go further and form an opinion of the person, he/she is then painfully categorized as a "liked" or a "disliked" person. And, obviously, a "disliked" person can only cause a "disliked" experience in us. In a relationship, to come here takes a while, but then start the tantrums, fault-finding and rifts. This process can finish over a cup of coffee, over a period of courtship or worse still, over a lifetime, the duration of the relationship depending on the extent of experiences between the two and the maturity and patience of the person judging.

I believe that it's for a life-enriching reason that people are brought into our lives; in order to create a balance, such as, there's no light without darkness, no satisfaction without craving and no joy without sorrow. Everyone on Earth is unique; no one can replace another. The presence of unique people around us, gives us a unique experience, none better or worse than another's. This subjective experience is tailored for us, based on our needs. How and by whom? I don't know! Do I like all people interactions I have? No! But, it makes me feel important to realize the effort and energy that has gone into designing my people experiences, supposedly in my best interest.

Differences between people are personality differences. That only makes us different in nature, not in quality. Glory be to the One who has delivered different people to my life, and praying He would give me the forbearance to welcome them as part of my inevitable experiences, and appreciate their presence!Thank you all!

Beggary - Like or Unlike?

I'm unable to decide if beggary should be abetted or curbed. I find the following justifications for abetting beggary:
1. We take genuine pity on their unbearable state,
2. We feel responsible in some way for their fate, or
3. We feel that as humans, we are supposed to help each other in some way.

If I were to feel like curbing beggary, I'd think:
1. That's just drama. He seems healthy to me.
2. Why can't they take up jobs instead of this self-imposed misery?
3. They must have money enough to ensure hygienic living conditions. How else would you explain their longevity?

And, the rest of them agnostics who feel that if he must beg, he must, that's his fate.

What also strikes me is that helping a beggar is not entirely selfless. If I didn't see a beggar, would I search for him and give him the money? Only because he's invading my line of vision, I might be coerced by any of the above reasons to donate money. On the contrary, if we were to take the strictest action against beggary on roads, what about begging that happens off it? Emotional coercion in relationships, sympathetic appeal to a friend, sophisticated imploration at work. That still equals forcing help out of others, akin to begging. Begging is not due to a state - fiscal, physical or emotional, but due to a mindset, that of low self-esteem. So, here, I'd like to define begging as 'forcing support by suction'. A society that believes in helping is symbiotic and sustainable, whereas, a society that believes in being helped is decadent and doomed. Independence is granted, whereas, dependence is taken. Well, I'm still unable to decide if beggary should be abetted or curbed. As humans we are sympathetic, as we are meant to be. We'd keep giving until the asking stops. Let me know what you think, in reply to this post.

Curious of Curiosity

I'm fascinated at man's attempts to understand what was inexplicable, seek what was unreachable and find what was considered lost. Be it, sending expeditions to the moon, diving deep into the sea in search of life forms, or travelling thousands of miles to discover isles. Discoveries and inventions have been successful due to the spirit of man. While zest might be the seeker's gun, the bullets need to be made of curiosity. Curiosity is the desire to learn, understand or just be plain nosy. Man starts to explore from when he is a toddler, wanting to know how things around him feel to touch, smell and taste - be it toys, insects or plain clay, clearly indicating that it's not an acquired feeling, like anger or jealousy, but something inborn. For some, curiosity is a survival instinct, the need to know what's happening. For some others, curiosity is a means to satisfy their own egos, as they strive to grapple what's not apparent. And, for the rest, who can't suffer exclusion from the neighbourhood's circle of privy gossip, it's plain nosiness. Curiosity is a function of subject, meaning, people are curious on different subjects differently. When one might have low tolerance of macro-economics, he/she could be stimulated to know what the young neighbour's wife looked like. Contrarily, there have been many successful inventions that happened not out of curiosity, but by accident, such as, Corn flakes, the Microwave oven, Penicillin, etc., however, the inventors persisted with their curiosity on the subject, but just that their journeys took them to unexpected destinations. And, definitely, successful breakthroughs need passion to sustain the efforts. Hence, what I understand is:

Skill + Passion + Curiosity might lead to Success,
Passion + Curiosity might lead to Learning, while plain
Curiosity might lead to Inaction and finally, disbelief

My conclusion is that passion renders life to curiosity. I hope I strive to seek hard while I'm at it. Wishing you passion on all that you seek too!

Definition of a friend

1. One who doesn't hesitate to apologize for his mistake, and doesn't expect a 'thank you' for his help.
2. One who pats you on the back when you are down, and doesn't stab you in the back when you are weak.
3. One who overlooks your shortcomings and forgives your mistakes.
4. One who motivates you to achieve, and discourages you when you are impatient.
5. One who doesn't mind if you are a vagrant and doesn't impose his principles on you.
6. One who could be a base jumper but cares for your safety.
7. One who does, but doesn't expect.

The above list is not complete, not even close to it. I urge you to submit your lines on friendship in reply to this post, the way you see it.

In the beholder's eyes

'Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder' is a true statement. Its depth startled me as I dug into what it represented to me at the time. How would I decide that something is beautiful? What is beauty? Symmetry could be beauty to one person, while an unshaven beard is beauty to another and to a different person, simply food is beauty. We are so vastly different in our minds; our preferences are different. However, what made us different is a whole new topic - if you believe in destiny, then it's our fate or if you don't, then, it's the circumstances we were nourished in. Coming back to the topic of beauty, I would consider the characteristic of beauty to be a reflection of our personalities. By personality, I mean preferences and prejudices. I cannot see beauty in an object I do not even accept as useful / worthy / innocent / any of the positive adjectives that our minds have associated with things we "like". Beauty is an acknowledgement of acceptance. For instance, if I have not accepted flowers in any of the above categories of 'acceptance', then I would not consider them beautiful ever. It's not simply about the symmetry, colours or smell of a flower that would make a person call a flower beautiful, but firstly, it is the raw fact that he/she has accepted 'flowers'. So, now that we see where beauty comes from - acceptance, the rule to making things around us beautiful and to make our own lives beautiful is to 'accept' things. Accept the enormity of work that has gone into every creation, accept the nature of people, accept the fallacies of our near ones, accept the follies of friends. By 'acceptance', I do not mean subservience or submitting to fate, but the courage to acknowledge differences.

Jump start

This author's fingers have been lolling recently, not entirely intentionally though, but mostly out of a shocking literary laziness that has set upon him. And, this is one effort to thaw him out of limbo. You see, the numbers 2, 0, 1, and 5 add to 8, which is a strange number as it represents the up-down (upside-downside, upscale-downscale, etc.) continuum that life, in general, is. I feel that "this year" is the best one to start "doing" anything, and if you do, you get into the cycle of repeating that action (or so I like to believe). And, that goes for my endless list of things to do, that grows every time I feel jealous. Well, I'm not a great believer in the power of numbers, but, hey, you got to believe in something (anything) that could move that heavy bottom. Hope you too get your list out and tick items off it. So, here's wishing you a great "doing" 2015! And, hoping to be in touch with you more than before. :-)

Favourite Fiction; To Kill A Mockingbird

Truly inspired by Harper Lee's sketch of Scout; the blitheness of the little girl, the depth behind her feelings and her true immaturity. Immensely entertaining! And, Atticus; the father, gentleman and citizen - balance and warmth in all aspects. A great read!

55 Fiction: Why am I criminal?

Image courtesy: The Internet

Don’t I deserve what every woman on earth enjoys? Why is my gender discriminated against? Don’t humans value human values anymore? Why is the society intolerant of my freedom? Am I in anyway different from other women now? Is my birth certificate my passport to life? Is it a crime to be born a male?

55 Fiction: I love you, but...

Image courtesy: The Internet

I love you, but I won’t promise you anything. I love you, but I want nothing in return. I love you, but I won’t smother you. I love you, but stay only if you wish. I love you, but that’s all you can expect. If you love me so too, would we still be together? 

55 Fiction: My grand father

Image courtesy: The Internet

I am small. I am weak. My parents died. But, I have hope. I want to live. My grandfather will help me. He promised me. He told me I will become strong one day. And, I will achieve all my dreams. But, now my father of father will carry me, guide me and shape me.