Bits and Pieces

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

I wish someone told me..
About these seemingly nondescript bits and pieces.

Realizations..
They seem to appear out of nowhere,
Unexpected by-products of some background process
Of your mind.

Bits light as a feather,
They pull out a sigh; along comes a slight smile.
Phoo.. You blow one away and watch it float,
It drags along a fat worry or frustration – away..
Off your chest.

Pieces too small to be really noticed,
Brushed away in a stroke,
They tend to pile up
Unnoticed, in a far off dark corner
Of your soul.

When late one night,
You get up from your work-desk,
Absently stretch your back,
Exhale a tired long sigh,
Incidentally notice the clutter in the corner,
And scrunch up your eyes to see..
Whoom! It morphs with a bang
Into your attitude – the open-minded ones,
Into your outlook towards life – the constructive ones,
Into your optimism – the unconditional ones,
Into every positive aspect
Of your psyche.

Dazed, you sit.
Pleased, you smile – wistfully.
And yet again, you sigh.
How you wish the pile was higher, wider, fuller!
How you wish you had given the background process a higher priority..
More processor time, more RAM, more power
A higher operating frequency, some more time to work
And kept its input stream full – forever.
Of thoughts and opinions and questions
Of observations and information
From reading, listening, watching, experiencing and sensing.
Yes, that would have led to a better throughput
Of realizations.

I wish someone told me that..
Life is much more than the adrenaline rush of racing – past and ahead,
Before I had sprinted cheerfully into the endless tunnel I called “real life”
To get too busy earning, ‘achieving’, ‘progressing’, ‘winning’ and ‘succeeding’.
Forgetting to light up the passage-ways of my mind enough..
Enough to see them floating by – those bits and pieces..
Of wisdom.

I wish someone told me all that..
And of the magic that is realization,
Before I had naively let go of my potential
For intellect, maturity and peace of mind..
Unrealized.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

This World, of Other People

This World..

My World..

Of Other people.

Who don’t understand

Who don’t think

Who don’t act

Who don’t tolerate

Who don’t change

Who don’t take the first step.

These other people are the ones who suffocate me

Who restrict what I can do & not do

Who restrict who I can be & not be

Who force me to be like them

To fit in.

These other people..

They are the source of my troubles

They are the source of my world’s troubles.

My World, of Other People.

 

 

Wait a minute..

That girl next-door?

What is her world?

Her world, of other people.

Doesn’t she feel the same?

Doesn’t she wait for her other people to change?

To take the first step?

Doesn’t she wait for one woman of her other people to stand up and stand out?

And laugh and cry and whistle and jump and run and sleep with abandon?

And her Other people..

That includes me!

Is she waiting for me to take the first step?

Am I guilty of keeping her waiting forever?

 

 

Other people..

They ‘talk’,

They frown,

They judge,

They hurt,

They live,

All inside my head.

Outside, they are all simply nurturing their own world..

Of other people – inside their heads.

And yeah..

They wait..

For inspiration

From other people.

Funny world, eh?

Ugly

Disclaimer : Quick rant to vent anger.

I can understand calling clothes ugly. I can get calling paintings ugly.  Sculptures too. Even carrots and capsicums for heaven’s sake!

But a person?

You’ve got to be kidding. Please tell me you are?

Ah, why am I kidding myself. You are obviously not kidding.

This is after all the country that plays short-listing candidates for arranged marriage like a deck of cards – cards printed with the ‘prospective’ faces.

And you discard one card after another saying “Ears too big”, “Eyes too small”, “Smile too crooked”,  “Umm.. looks average only”, “Nose too  blunt”.

I’d think it is the nose that is going to live with you, whisper your “I love you”s, make a home and raise babies with you.

Husband is calling you names for staying out late – all you see is “Awww.. look at how that gorgeous sharp nose of his colors up at the tip”.

Wife is throwing utensils at you for not noticing her new hair-cut – all you see is “OMG.. look at those bewitching eyes. I’m not even going to hear what she is yapping about, I’m just gonna sit looking at those eyes.”

There is this classic one : “I prefer women who do not wear make-up. I mean, if they are not even worth looking at, the make-up is just faking it.”. Oh, thank you – for not masking the dumbness of your mind with some politically correct make-up. Now I can tick you off with no more time wasted.

And yeah, did you know that the protagonist of a feminist story has to be ugly? Apparently, ugly enough that nobody would want to sleep with her, but very very intelligent and talented – in balancing both home and work, of course! So, now, even personal strength and attitude has to have a “look” attached to it.

Let us not even venture into the “hurting feelings” part or the “creating stupid stereotypes and unrealistic expectations” part or the “creating pressure to conform” part. There is a problem with the adjective ‘ugly’ being applied to a living being that starts much before all of that.

The simplest argument : Just how can a being with eyes and the ability to smile and laugh be “ugly”? Beats me!

Have you seen photographs? Have you noticed that the best photographs have either brilliant smiles or powerful eyes? Why do you think all those DSLR-toting “amateur photographers” keep photographing the poor people – half-naked children and dark wrinkled faces – up close? They may think they are looking at something exotic – but all they are looking at is a face that lights up with pure glee simply at the prospect of someone with a big camera wanting to photograph them.

I hear “But, I can’t even bear to look at him/her”.. tell you what?

If you can’t even bear to look at a person because their facial features do not match up to your standards of off-the-mould features, you are looking at those superficial features and not into the eyes of the person. You are so busy looking at the curves of bone & flesh that you don’t try to make that person laugh with all their heart opened up. And that makes your mind plain …. No.. I’m not gonna finish that sentence. Go figure.

Comparison Overload

A child wastes 60% of the food on her plate..

You tell her – “Look at all the effort, time, money and resources that goes into putting that food on your plate. Is it not wrong to waste it?”

Sufficient. Straight-forward, unbeatable logic.

You tell her – “Look at all those poor children in slums and third world countries who barely get food to survive with. Is it not wrong to waste it  when millions starve?”

Comparison  Overload. Another person’s poverty is NOT the right reason for me to be responsible with resources. And, it is wrong to waste it even when nobody starves!