Experience Emotions

Every mistake is a step towards perfection

The stifling laziness

The paralysing grumpiness

The unsure nervousness

The consuming greediness

Every mistake is a step towards perfection

The humble happiness

The overlooked adeptness

The needed conciseness

The nudging eagerness

Every mistake is a step towards perfection

The temper blindness

The pinching crudeness

The powering enviousness

The easy hastiness

Every mistake is a step towards perfection

The channeled avidness

The winning sharpness

The focussed intentness

The abundant intuitiveness

Every mistake learnt is a step towards perfection

Observations downtown

Click.. squeak ..whoosh.. step outside .. whoosh.. thud.. click as I turned the key and locked the door. On my way downtown to meet a friend. After a 15-20 minute walk I reach downtown and wait for my friend at the decided place.

*Vibrate Vibrate Tan tanu tan tan* my mobile calls out to me | I look at the text 'Hi Buch! Caught up!, I will be there about 30-45 min late! :( wait for me? Let me know'  

I keep the phone back in my pocket, sit on the steps and wait for him. Now the interesting bit begins;

I am sitting at a place where two of the busiest streets of the city meet so there is a constant flow of people. As I sit there ; of everyone I see -  three of them catch my eye:

The tourist , the street performer and the preacher. 

The tourist not used to the cold wearing a hoodie and jeans, equipped with a map, I can see in the distance went into shops returned all excited with bags of new merchandise, stopped at a local eating joint and binges on chips and curry sauce. Suddenly the eyes gaze at a magnificent structure besides, with the shopping bags and the take out food , of what looks like some native dance struggles to get the camera out from the cover stuck on his belt, *bends behind* click | *sits down* click | extends hand, big smile *click* *click* self portrait. After this stops, makes a full circle slowly and looks all around , gasps.. sighs and looks very content, chuckles after thinking something and starts walking... when suddenly |rythmic beats on an instrument that cannot be counted as conventional could be heard| and the tourist stops and looks right ......

.....Enter the Street Performer - Looks like a drum set, but instead of the normal drums, his drumset consists of buckets, steel plates and tumblers. Does a number with rythmic beats , that make people tap their feet who have gathered around him on a self formed semi circle. People in a distance who do not want to make it obvious that they are enjoying the performance as well , because they do not feel like parting with their change, people with their phones taking video enjoying themselves, suddenly the performer does a front flip, does a handstand somehow manages to put his hat on his legs, indication now time to pay up some for the entertainment, many people do graciously, our tourist again in zeal extends hand *almost same big smile* click click self portrait with performer, looks to see how the image is when suddenly ... ..

....... *and when I ask thyself, what sins have been committed; I get an answer from above the great lord taketh care of us* enter the Preacher -  a big guy with long hair and long beard with leaflets in his hands, and another guy with a microphone in this hands blasting out what he believes in and the superpower that is 'God' and how he looks after us..., a group of people listen to his preachings , another person comes out of nowhere and starts shouting of how all that they are saying is a big haystack and gives out some flowery words disrupting the process,  the big guy goes up to our tourist and asks him ' Son do you beleive in God?' our little tourist friend a little jittery nods and starts to walk away.

Just as I see the tourist walk away, I see my friend in the distance huffing and walking fast towards our meeting point, I wave out to him. He comes up and says to me 'Extremely sorry man! I know you must have been bored sitting here doing nothing!!'

I said to myself actually I was not bored, I did not realise an absolutely insignificant observation of watching what is happening around you, shows you so many interesting things and small details that matter; that sometimes in hurry we fail to see.

Feel connected , lost connection

What a riot the mind goes through when several emotions clash and you are left with a cocktail of positive and negative thoughts. At the one end you might be overjoyed as everything seems perfect and the train of life is moving along very smoothly and on time, but exactly at the very same time there is a conflict of direction and you start to think that; is this train moving in the right direction at all?

Gets you thinking , gets you anxious but then what If it's just a thought and every bit of negative charade is with the pure motive of derailing your smooth train of life.

Which thought should you trust, which emotion do you give more headway. I believe the answer is....

Well whoopsie daisies I don't know what the answer is?! If by a small chance anyone would take the courage to read this beautiful boring blog this post is not some dilemma that I am facing. It's a simple question that everyone is shy to ask themselves. Am I correct in saying this?

Well if I have hit the right chord then I would like to know what everyone thinks...

Cheerio :)


P.S : did not have anything super funny slice of life to share so just thought of saying hi to philosophy and writing this post.

That cobbled street

As I walked in my neighbourhood ,everyday sights and sounds I see,
there was this little corner that I have missed to be.

All day when I pass towards and about, a cobbled street I see,
everytime I look at it; beautiful, mysterious and alluring to call out to thee.

Few minutes from home, yet miles away you feel,
why this cobbled street, gives some overwhelming zeal.

One fine day it was bright and sunny,
to go on there felt like it was meant to be.

Walked towards this cobbled street,
like a new world it offers greet.
A chirping bird here and fluttering trees there,
welcoming signs here and happiness spread everywhere.
Fairy tale houses, with stables along,
excellent positive vibes and now instantly home you belong.

Makes you realise this it exists, amongst the chaos you live,
makes you realise how peace and serenity it wishes to give.
This cobbled street is something for everyone to see,
being alive and content it makes you feel.

there was this little corner, that was calling me,
there are no regrets but oodles of joy that now fills me.

 this was the little experience of that cobbled street.

Going back in time.

So I was at the Stirling Castle north of Scotland, in the distance I could  see the William Wallace monument, I look down  I see on the right a graveyard, on the left a bridge, in the distance hills and rough terrain. Very nice. Modern signs put up to show what is where with the names and the significance. Good to know.

Then I saw a carved flat rock, placed on a hill through the graveyard, no signs pointing to it and sitting there unnoticed. I became very curious as to what that was, was it someone's tombstone or was it something else, it looked quite rough on its four sides just the top was flat, so I went towards it climbed up the small hill and stood next to the rock, what I see there took me straight back in time.

Placed on top of the flat carved out rock was a round metal disc with carved out grooves showing north alongwith the exact features you see around you and in the distance. Like the William Wallace camp on the north, unexplored hills on the east, a battle ground that was marked in the South west. What I was seeing is exactly what the king and warriors were seeing when exploring the far off lands, planning battle strategies. It shut me off and high on top of this hill apart from a highway in a distance I could see no modern structures, just far off unexplored hills, castle, battleground, I got a quite intense and strong feeling that I was back in time and exactly how they must have felt in the era. It was quite an experience nothing very significant but the feeling was overwhelming.


This is a very short and concise experience I am sharing here, as it is your imagination that will make this interesting; visualising this in your mind will help in understanding what I mean.

मेरी ऑफिस की राह मैं | (walking towards office)

शाम का वक़्त करीबन ५ बजे हमेशा की तरह मैं ऑफिस की और निकल पड़ा, तेज म्यूजिक कानो मैं और अपनी ही दुनिया मैं मस्त। करीबन २० - २५ मिनट लगते हैं मुझे अपनी ऑफिस मैं पहुचने के लिए ।

आसान और दिनभर की घटनाए को मेरे विचारों के साथ मिलाते हुए इस जगह आप लोगों के साथ बाटने मैं मुझे आनंद मिलता हैं। खैर चालों वापस मेरी ऑफिस की और।

घर से जब निकलता हूँ , सामने ही एक बड़ा बाग़ पड़ता हैं और काफी सारे लोग अपने बच्चों के साथ खेलते कूदते नजर आते हैं दूसरी और नजर डालते हुए बगल मैं मंदिर पड़ता हैं और काफी सारे लोग शाम की आरती के लिए तैयार दिखते हैं, ग्लासगो की ख़ास बात यह हैं की जान या पहचान की ज़रुरत नहीं होती और एक दुसरे को ख़ुशी भरी मुस्कुराहट देने का रिवाज हैं। ऑफिस की और निकलते ही.. जब इतनी अच्छी शुरुवात हों  तब आगे का सफ़र भी अच्छा लगने लगता हैं, आलस जैसे गायब हो जाती हैं। दूसरी ख़ास बात यह हैं की अपने देश से इतनी दूर होते हुए भी यहाँ कें लोग पराया महसूस नहीं होने देते हैं। मैं अब ५ मिनट अपनी घर से दूर हूँ और इसे मैं 'विचार पथ' का नाम देता हूँ क्योंकि मुझे सबसे ज्यादा विचार और राइ देने का दिल इस ५ मिनट मैं करता हैं।

अब मैं अपने तीसरे गाने मैं पहुच चूका हूँ मतलब करीबन पंधरा मिनट हो चुके हैं घर से निकलते, इस भाग के सफ़र को मैं 'दान पथ' नाम देता हूँ । पीले , लाल और हरे कमीज मैं दिखने वाले लोग चारों और फैल चुके होते हैं, राह मैं चलने वाले लोगों को रोकते हैं और अपनी अपनी संस्थाओं को दान देने का प्रस्ताव करते हैं | इस वक़्त मुझे अपनी स्कूल के दिन याद आते है क्यूंकि बचपन मैं जैसे मास्टरजी से बचने के लिए हम आख नहीं मिलाना चाहते वैसे ही इन संस्थाओं के लोगों से बचने के लिए हम तरह तरह के हथकंडे अपनाते हैं, कई लोग फ़ोन पे होने का दिखावा करते हे , कई लोग जल्दी मैं होने का दिखावा करते हैं और मैं उनकी तरफ चलता हूँ और उनको कहता हूँ की पहले मैं एक बंधे से बात कर चूका हूँ और पतली गली से सटक जाता हूँ ।


अब मैं अपने तीसरे और आखरी पढाव पे हूँ ऑफिस से १० मिनट की दूरी पे और इसे मैं ' मॉडल पथ ' नाम देता हूँ  इस आखरी पढाव मैं कई उतार चढ़ाव हैं और मेरे सबसे पसंदीदा गाने इस समय आते हैं । कई सारे चौराहे भी पड़ते हैं तोह इस समय गाने के भावनाओ को मद्दे नजर रखते हुए मैं बिलकुल किसी फिल्म के हीरो या किसी सुपर हीरो की तरह महसूस करता हूँ और चौराहे किसी रैम्प वाल्किंग जैसे पार करना और जैसे दुनिया मेरी हैं ऐसे महसूस करना बिलकुल ख़ुशी महसूस करता हूँ। क्या करे आप सोच रहे होंगे की भाई यह का मतलब हुआ लेकिन जोह लोग अपने पसंदीदा गाने पे होते हैं और रास्ते मैं चलते हैं उनको बिलकुल समाज आ गया होगा की मेरे कहने का मतबल क्या हैं ।


अब मैं ऑफिस के द्वार पे (पहुच चूका हूँ, पास निकालो , फ़ोन बंद करो , आईपॉड को बैग मैं डालो और चले जाओ भीतर।


यह मेरी ऑफिस का सफ़र हैं , कोई भी ख़ास बात नहीं  हैं इसमें, कोई मतलब निकालने की कोशिश भी मत करना, जैसे मैने पहले कहा था...... 


......आसान और दिनभर की घटनाए को मेरे विचारों के साथ मिलाते हुए इस जगह आप लोगों के साथ बाटने मैं मुझे आनंद मिलता हैं

Walk on the new path..

As the sun begins to set,
the moment for the new beginning awaits;

the unknown road leads to somewhere,
the lighted path gives hope and abates despair;

as the walk on the new path sends jitters,
the inner self whilst it shivers,
the mind whilst it quivers,
the heart does seem to differ..

as the walk on the path begins,
a thousand thoughts flutter within;

as the walk on the path begins,
the excitement in you swiftly clings;
the irony makes you falter,
and this very irony makes you stronger;
the irony pulls you apart,
yet this very irony is what also makes you sharp;

the path makes you wonder,
the destination about you ponder;

                Now;
Enough with the poetic crap,
what the hell lets just go for it even if its a trap...
the path I am sure is wonderful,
I will damn make sure it makes me absolutely cheerful;
the path maybe unknown,
but hell yeah there is something called a map which will make it known!!
now no philosophy boohoo,
only be happy and woohoo!!

The Mad Mind (By Drashti Buch)

there's a search i wish to make,
there's a myth i wish to break,
there's a dream i wish to live,
there's a curse i wish to die
there's a hand i wish to hold,
there are memories i wish to let go,
there are people i love to trust,
and they are the ones i hate to doubt,
there's a reality i wish to deny,
there's an illusion i hope exists,
there's a concept that's my faith,
and that's where god decides my fate,
there's a belief i feel is so strong,
that belief is the weakness for which i long..
there's a truth that hurts me more and more,
there's a lie i tell myself to ignore,
there's a thing i wish to tell,
and feelings i wish to hide,
there are moments i wish u'd understand,
and moments when i dont want a helping hand..
there are times when i feel there are people i own,
there are crises when i see my reflection alone..
there's a complaint i wish to make,
there's a punishment i wish to fulfill
there's a contraction i wish to keep stating,
there's a mad mind i wish to chill.

- By Drashti Buch

One fine morning

Ah..there I am in my kitchen making an omlette and the tea is on the boil, my eyes still half closed due to the perfect sleeping patterns I adopt (You know what I mean) anyways I get everything ready on the table. The newspaper of the day crisply folded new lying there, almost like waiting for someone and shouting read me read me..

hissskkk as I take my first sip of perfect tea, I open the paper and I browse through it, I see that the newspaper is filled with news which would spoil my perfect breakfast, make my tea taste bland and my morning depressive. Perfect I say..news filled about countries running into debts, jobs acting like cheap cotton pants which shrink every year, emerging countries fighting corruption, basically its all bad. Its like oh yeah a fairy tale of animals....its the end of the world in a few years everything will fall apart and every human will kill each other and then we animals will live happily ever after..

I keep turning the pages and it feels like there is a competition among journalists about who writes the most shocking depressive news... after a few minutes ..one of my flatmates walks in "hughgh hughghg huhghg..woooh he pants ...what a run I had fantastic!!, you know what dude as I ran today, I was amazed at how people are happy man.. seeing them happy..actually I was having an agonising bad morning ,but now after seeing them I feel totally good!! wooh.. let me make some cheese cake for myself.

Huh.. lucky bugger... hsssskkk as I take another sip of my tea, I wondered how feelings and sentiments can change just by observing at how things are portrayed.. here I was happy and the newspaper managed to ruin it, and my flatmate who was pissed became happy by having his own experiences.

This is the little thing that happened one fine morning, I thought I should express it, since it is not something significant, but when you put a little thought to it; it starts to make sense as to what I am talking about.

The 'selfish' reasons!

This note was written by Mr.Sadaf Siddiqui and the original can be found by clicking on the title

Prologue: This note is a follow-up viewpoint on the issue of brain-drain raised by Drashti Buch and later discussed by Rudri Buch, in their respective FB notes(Also can be read in the previous two posts in this blog - Maulin). Reading it in isolation might lead to a hazy understanding of my take on the issue, so take your call on how much of background reading you want to do, corresponding to how much you are really interested in knowing & understanding the universal set of proposed arguments so far. Importantly, when I say 'you' or 'we' or anyone, I am not referring to anyone in particular, just a general person. I just figured that the issue is not so black and white as it seems. It does not have a clear good and bad. Also, I was trying to refrain from jumping into the debate but I've been itching to write something for quite some time now and found this to be a worthy stimulus. So buckle up!

The inexplicable boundaries
My biggest area of discomfort in the whole set of arguments is how we operate in a very convenient set of assumptions to support our viewpoints (as a matter of fact, I might end up doing the same to some extent subconsciously. Pardon me if I do!). What I am referring to here is the geographical reference of the place you think you belong to and the extent to which we are ready to expand the boundaries and decide "There! That's the exact square kilometers of geography I will associate my sense of belonging to!". If you haven't guessed it so far, I'm questioning the idea of being gratuitous to ones country for being born there and hence playing with the argument of 'paying it back'. First of all, why country? why not the continent or if we are at it, the planet?. And if the argument is about 'starting off somewhere', then why not the state, the city or the locality (which would mean that when an NRI comes 'back', he comes back to the exact locality from where he left. Puts a much bigger turmoil in his head if he has lived in multiple locations within the country). With reference to the topic, if the concern of helping people because you can is purely humanitarian, why should NRIs not go to Africa and help people there. The condition is much worse and hence the need there is greater. Even if it is not for the humanitarian reasons, the argument is still shaky because for all the hue and cry of the rat race among people within the country, why get sucked into the idea of the rat race between countries with the thought of "contribute to your own country only and make it better than every other one out there"? On an afterthought, if the reasons of belongingness is owing to your ancestors, well, then who knows you might trace it back to Aryans (and hence Europe) and develop the urge to go back there and contribute. You cannot put an arbitrary limit to the no of generations you're going to bestow the privilege of being your ancestors.

Having said all that, thanks to the flatter world, it really should not really matter where you live as long as you are helping people in general. You can be sitting on spacecraft in the lunar orbit and still be able to transfer funds and monitor their effective deployment for developmental activities. Your physical presence is no more a pressing criteria. In fact, you might end up creating more jobs back here by not actually being present to do it yourself. When it comes to getting your own hands dirty, lets not associate a higher moral ground to it just for the sake of arguments. If you cannot be a Anna Hazare, being a Narayan Murhy is no lesser if you can effect as much development even while sitting in the comfortable confines of your office space. Strive as much as possible to help as many and as needy as possible disassociating it with morality. That should make it much less complicated ordeal for the sub-conscience.

The inherent selfishness
Now, who are we kidding? Human beings are inherently selfish. I'm not being a cynic here. This is a very objective premise. You think you belong to homo sapiens, you like it or not, you are selfish and rightly so, or how else do you propose to survive in the world designed for the fittest to survive. Human beings have survived only because of they were selfish enough to employ natural resources for their growth and development. If we romance with the idea of helping people, it is purely because it gives us a sense of moral superiority over the self who wouldn't do it (Unless the motivation is to gain higher moral ground over others which is even worse). This is exactly the reason why the ratio of (people talking about doing things for others) to (people actually doing them) is so much larger than 1. You like the idea of doing something great because there is a sense of fulfillment and it caresses the ego airlifting it to the terrace of the tower of morality and goodness.

Again, having said all that, selfishness isn't bad. It makes perfect sense to find the exact place of comfort for yourself (both physical and mental). If the mental comfort of helping people is able to balance well with the physical discomfort of being in a underdeveloped setting, so be it. And vice versa. After all, you got only one life to experience so many things and you got your own set of desires to fulfill. In the end, on the death bed, you do not want to end up with a regret of not having lived a comfortable life or not having helped people, whichever it is for you. So think wisely on how you want to spend the limited tenure of life in this world, because the moment your retirement comes calling you do not want to end up wanting to have done something you didn't. And whatever it is that you have to do to avoid that (as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else), you are on as high a moral ground as the biggest philanthropist in this world. A happy person with a happy life will end up making a lot of other people happy inevitably. That's a start in making this world a better place. Lets work it upwards from there.

Couldn't have said it better than Mother Teresa herself:
Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.

Phew! That feels better!! :]

Braindrain? Really?

This note is written by Ms.Rudri Buch and original can be found by clicking on the title. (Read the previous post: Apna ghar ka diya.. and giving light to neighbours house) for context.

Like ur note Drashti.. And agree with it totally.. But there are some parts that you, like most people haven't seen... And while I am personally totally supportive of "returning home”, you must understand that its not as easy as its shown in Swades

A lot of people come here because they fall below the Class A, which in itself is so large that there is no room left for Class A-... Such people find shelter in the large number of universities, more seats per university and opening into thousands of globally renowned/other companies. Mind you, gone are those days when people dreamt of settling in the US and hence came here for studies. People now come here only coz of
Lack of opportunities in India
Much much much much higher competition back home
I accept this is not right, to escape, get some freedom, learn on your stand up on their own feet and not be bound but family and other ‘cultural’ customs

Now you will say that its not just the Class A- that moves here. Class A and A+ does too! Consider this. The main % of population flowing from India to US are engineers. Go to any typical class and you will realize that the toppers are trying for, say, the IIMs. (I am not even mentioning those who wanna pursue higher technical studies, for which there are close to no colleges). The IIMs together have 500 seats (while a single Harvard has 500), so you can imagine even if the top 10 from every college try sincerely for the IIMs, how many are actually going to succeed. They try and try 2,3 times, but its not easy… neither the CAT, nor the effort to stand up on your feet again and try again after an year full of hard-work and rejection. Meanwhile, unless they are top grade IITians (0.5% of the country?), they would most probably be sitting on Bench in Infosys or TCS. And hence, maybe, they consider GMAT/GRE in search of something easier, and they realize that not only is it easier, its much better!

Education levels here are different and they are good. It makes you feel that CAT is not worth the effort. People here are smart, they have a different attitude towards life, which is interesting.. whether you want to agree with it is upto you. The country is almost totally red tape free and cyber crime free. I can give my credit card number on most websites without worry. It is corruption free, black money free… It is much less populated, cleaner, much healthier and living seems like a lesser hassle here. Buying a home is easier because getting a loan isn’t taboo. Your standard of living Drashti, is indeed higher, not because you live for 200 years, but the 60 years here are well spent.

You think people are selfish? I don’t think so Drashti. There is not a single day when any of these Indians wouldn’t be remembering, missing and wishing they were back home. But do you think they will get the same opportunities they get here if they come back home? And even if they come back home, whats going to be the point if they are going to work for a J.P. Morgan in India? And you say less money. How possible do you think it is to give their kid (Not multiple kids!) a decent ICSE (Not IB!) education, a home in the city and a good quality life without earning a minimum of 50L a year? And how many can?

We are talking about the average middle class Drashti. Its not easy. Its not like people move out because opportunites are better outside. They move out because the good opportunities inside are already filled...


P.S. Don't kill me for writing this. I swear I am against Braindrain too! :-P Open to comments..

Apna ghar ka diya.. and giving light to neighbours house

This note was written by Ms.Drashti Buch and the original can be found by clicking on the title.

Swades was a movie that affected me strongly. Reinforcing my belief in the fact that as a gratitude of being born in a country, one should work to serve the country. I am totally against brain drain and sorry to be prejudiced, but I feel that it's most of the times a largely selfish step for most. There's nothing that stops NRIs from heading back home, but the whole idea of losing out on comforts, lesser money, too settled down to move.. that's not too easy to digest. So there was this whole thing that 'we Indians spread India's fame globally.. we showcase India's cultural spirit and talent and all that. So there was a time when this was needed, and was achieved. Today most of the freaking western 'developed' economies fear the name 'India'. The purpose has been achieved and market focus has shifted. Then what makes people still stick around in those countries? Quality of life? Really? It's not as if you'll live there for 200 yrs and we'll live here for just 60! My main concern is for people who stay abroad, get exposed to culture and stuff and dont even return to share their learnings. And then there are those who run back to their 'motherland' only when motherland gives money! The moment there's a slump, they all run away.

Of course on the other side, the government here isnt doing much (except gulping down crores) to encourage bright talent. There's lack of appreciation and much more, or less should I say. But that's a vicious circle, not the government but we need to break. The solution does not lie in not going abroad. The solution lies in coming back and implementing your learnings and exposure. But sadly, very few are genuinely ready to do it. May be being in India, not being exposed to life abroad, I am not able to do justice to this topic. But all I can say, is repeat the line which was a powerful impact of the movie Swades.. ' Apna diya.. and giving light to neighbours house..' and then u have economies shamelessly saying 'come, earn, contribute and leave'!

So want to add some interesting thoughts but....

The Fever, The Rivalry and The Excitement.

It always so happens that whenever people from the Indian Subcontinent talk about cricket, they transform into a different person. The passion, the emotions are paramount and sudden urge of patriotism takes over.

30th MARCH 2011 marks one such day. But this time something is just right. When the epic clash of the titans happens on this day approximately 2 billion people will watch 22 players fight it out on the cricket field and the outcome of which will determine the moods of the billion people.

1 Location, 8 hours, 22 players, 50 sponsors, 40000 spectators, 195,00,00,000 in sponsorship money, 200,00,00,0000 betting money and 268,00,00,000 hearts pumping with excitement when the match between India and Pakistan is watched.

Well all I can say is that this match is certainly going to keep many many of us busy and on our toes.

All the best TEAM INDIA!



You Tube Video Courtesy: Sharan Sharma. :) (My Friend)

Blurred Clarity

I think I see what I think I see,
but it always is blurred clarity.

I know what it means, I feel how it gleams,
everytime its blurred clarity.

I dread, I fret, I keep looking ahead,
what seems to be blurred clarity.

I sense its good, I try to comprehend,
I know it would, on efforts does it depend.

I want to see whats there for me,
but all I get is blurred clarity.

I know what I want, I know how it is,
but cannot get past the blurred clarity.

I push, I try; many times defy,
it always stays blurred clarity.

But atlast I get an epiphany,
Voice in the head goes enjoy the journey.

I imbibe the positive vibe,
I gibe at negativity,
Realise not to worry,
Eyes open up and meet reality.

Now I see what I want to see,
this time there is less blur and much more clarity.

When I look back...

When I look back, the thoughts overwhelm me,
When I look back, you contemplate and see;

The emotions and times that have tested you,
all the victories and losses have perfected you;

The friends and family you need all the time,
all the love and care that came at the prime;

The temper and ego that hurt someone,
all the guilt and realisation that came in return,

When I look back, the thoughts overwhelm me,
When I look back, you contemplate and see;

The joy and happiness that come your way ,
all the good times and memories that make doubts allay;

The blessings and good luck that took me higher,
all the good deeds and respect that made me wiser;

The plans, the journey that were complete with finesse,
all the aspirations and dreams that tasted success;

The reflections, the learnings that I failed to see,
The year that reflected with what I could be;

When I look back, at the things that are gained,
The year we say had a perfect end;

When I look back, I see the journey that I pursue,
I realise the things to keenly look forward too.

...of Snow, Mist and Breeze.

There we were sitting in the common area of our flat with friends and discussing the events that have unfolded before us in the last three months in the city of Glasgow. As we sipped the finest drink and hitched the finest memories, while in the background played music that helped us further be nostalgic; we were shaken out of this by the loudest shriek.

As we all turned our heads towards the big window, we see a flake of snow sneak in. We had never seen snow before and here we are amazed by the beauty. It starts to snow heavily, and then like kids we rush downstairs and there we see many like us have gathered down, some lying down and making angels, some making snow balls and starting a snow fight, some making a snow man and it was pure madness,mesmerizing fun.

The next morning as I opened my rooms curtain; I gasped and with wide eyes looked upon a pure white heavenly view and immediately thinking whether I have ever seen anything more beautiful. I open the window and the breeze makes me freeze (I like that one). But a picture is worth a thousand words and a storyboard of pictures gives us the perspective so here goes see it through my eyes

Of...Snow, Mist and Breeze

THE COMFORT ZONE

"EVERYTHING YOU WANT IN LIFE IS WAITING FOR YOU OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE"

Yes it is true. Whether we like it or not.

But what makes it so difficult. Why are we afraid to step out of our comfort zone?

What does it exactly mean, what is this comfort zone, is it a plane? , is it a bird? ... no .. no its superman!!! (oops got a little carried away sorry)

Hmm...the dictionary meaning of comfort zone is "a situation or position in which a person feels secure, comfortable, or in control"

Yeah very true the dictionary is not lying at all. But there is a word in the definition which is very important, which says it all.... and that word is: "which"








Please obviously I am kidding, that word is not "which" , the most important word is "FEELS"
..... a person FEELS secure, comfortable, or in control.

Ah... yes thats it... it is just a feeling that you grab! We are having an eureka moment here people ..! So anything which makes you feel all the above things; defines yours comfort zone. You give up the feeling, and it breaks the comfort zone!

Many of you must be thinking ... "he thinks it is so easy... fool!"

Maybe... but what is stopping you to do stuff that you normally avoid.

Think about what stops you to do things that you normally would not do!!

Think about what stops you to step out of your Comfort Zone....

Think about it.....


Think about it more.................


Just don't keep reading this sentence.... think ...what is stopping you!!


Stay with me... and think some more please!


EXACTLY!! Right now while you are reading this, stand up and start dancing, wherever you are!

I am sure you would not do it!! Exactly that is stopping you!!
But if you did, you now know what stops you.

Relax, break the clutter, break the routine!

Keep this in mind:
We cannot become what we want to be, by remaining what we are.

My Life... My Freedom..they call me Paul Carson (Part 2 of 2)

They call him Paul Carson,

Born in Belfast, Ireland; this guy has had one heck of a life. If I go in extreme detail about his life it will take a very long blog post to accommodate it; so I will keep it short.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Remember the reason I am sharing his life story is because there are certain things about his life that should be given more thought to, and that to me defines real freedom...and of'course you need to read Part 1 in order to get the background of what I mean. Ok whatever... let me just get on with it.
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As a child he was like any other normal kid who wants to play sports and complete his schooling and life was normal...

Then came the stage of choosing of what he wanted to be in life,

Ah..he said "I am very good at Maths and Physics let me try my hand at being a graduate in Civil Engineering,...okie dokie.. starts his course in Civil Engineering in some college....
....and a year into the course he realises that civil engineering is too much for him and is not what he wants to become in life... and leaves the course half way....yeah. Ok.

Then what,

hmmm... he says... "what else do I like... screw it"...

and then what he decides to do?

He takes off on a 3 year vacation to see the entire EU..yeah just like that. (Yes for 3 years, it is not a typo)

"I like Greece " he says after completing his 3 year vacation.
Είστε πολύ τρελό Paul!..I shout out in Greek...
(ok ok I confess I said that in English)

Ok now what...

hmmmm...he says.. I'd like to learn Scottish and Greek Literature, and arrives at the University Of Glasgow for 4 years to complete his graduation and Post Grad in Literature.

I ask him.. what are your plans after you pass out from here...

hmmm... he says, "I'd like to go back to Greece catch up with friends and then maybe after a few months go to India on a vacation for about 5-6 months, then to Nepal, and then couple of months in Sri Lanka.

Wow I say!!

I ask him don't you want to settle in life maybe get a nice job, get married and live a normal life!!

hmmm.... (and he said nothing)... and it is the most confused I have seen him ever when I told him something very normal.

I ask him what kind of work do you see yourself doing ...?

hmmm...he says, "I really dunno, I have worked like 20-25 different jobs, so I can't really pin point one actually!" and I faint and fall on the floor. (Ok I did not faint but... duh')

And I ask him to list out each... hmmmm. he says, " lets see from working, in bars, in restaurants, banks, Universities, Being a warden, Kindergarten, care taker, in a car renting company and he keeps listing down for about 2-3 minutes more... and finally he says ...yeah thats about it.
...hey I almost forgot I have also worked in a cemetery.

Eah...Ohhhk...so..hmmm..eah....hmmmm...Okkk....(were the exact words I said once he finished)

You know what Maulin..I dunno what I am gonna do..I take life as it comes and don't like to think much about the future...

You know what Maulin. "I like my life, I like my freedom, thats who I am"

And that got me thinking about what he said and the pure freedom of life he was experiencing, no unnecessary peer pressure, no obligations to prove anything to anyone.

I feel this is one way of living life and now when you compare it with the life we live back in the country (Part 1), I would want to know the opinion of others about this way of living life.

Every country, culture has its own way of living life and every individual has to decide the way he/she wants to live.

As the famous saying goes

"Those who wish to sing, always find a song."