You're Special

I am but….
A raindrop in the season of monsoon,
A bead of sweat in the scorching sun,
A grain of sand in the desert,
A blade of grass in the grasslands,
A tear at tandem funerals,
A smile at the welcome of life,
A wave in the crashing beaches,
A star in a clear night sky,

But think about this..
The experience of first drops of the season,
The satisfaction for labourer on completing the day’s exertion,
The exhilaration of flying in the wind,
The dew drop clinging on to the end,
The knowledge that someone misses you,
The joy you give others on your arrival,
The thrill of riding a wave not so small,
The pole star that has guided them all

We may, at sometimes, tend to think that we are but a small part of a large group.
But strive for excellence in what you do, how you do;
stop along your way to help someone in need;
caring and sharing has never diminished a person.
Enjoy your glorious moments; savour it; share it;
But don’t brood on your dejections; they are but a part and parcel of your life…

Ramblings

"Is this how it feels when it has been done...the work done partially does leave a lot to be desired...a lot to be wanted..the lust and greed that it generates for the completion is way beyond what can be felt by a beast of emotions.. not that any beast, for that matter, even highly intelligent speices, who would understand what it is, would want to feel it. They would rather leave the mortal self than endure the agony of something so cruel and still be alive..to understand why and what it is but clueless on how to avoid it... I say avoid not endure as the will power to endure it is generally not there, not even among those who consider themselves to be strong emotionally.."

Disaster in Augo- Part I

It was a hot and sunny afternoon. And it wasn't helped by the fact that the temperatures were being above normal during this year. The occasion of the unique art exhibition, marked by display of some of the best works of the leading artists of the world, was being attended by the rich and famous in the hope of adding to their collection. There would also be the who's who of art connoisseurs savoring the feast for their eyes. And as a footnote, the event was organised as a noble deed of charity for the underdeveloped nation of Argoan. Imprudent thought on the part of the organisers meant that the event was held in the nation of Argoan, which to say the least was politically fragile.

Hectic organisation were on in the community hall of the capital city of Augo, a spacious two storey building, with an excellent view of the city from the rooftop. The perimeter of the building was adorned with a ten foot high wall with entrance on either side of the building. The government had assured full support and had agreed to provide security for the event. Select few from the military were trained by the security organisation employed by the organizers.

The head of the agency was a war veteran who had served in some of the sensitive parts of the world as a part of the UN Peacekeeping Force, and was well versed with the situation at hand. He had a well toned physique maintained by regular workouts despite working behind a desk these days. It did not require the expertise of his level, and an apprentice in the field of security would have observed it, to notice that the arrangements for a catastrophe were minimal. Still, he gave his best shot within the provided resources.

Finally the D-day dawned. Distinguished guests and luminaries were arriving by flight in the morning. And to the shock and dismay of the organisers, the junta who had been trained all these days failed to show up at the venue. Any attempt to contact them also ended in a failure. He realized that the personnel available with him were not enough to manage even a minor distortion in the planned events. Stifled by any other choice, he deployed the available men under him and personally was circling the building in the lookout for any odd occurrences.

And then it happened..........

(To be continued.....)

Advice to a Friend

"Hey, will everything be alright again?"

The simple question started to tear me apart. On one side, I wanted to console my depressed friend; but on the other, I had this deep urge to speak what I believe in. Things, when they go bad, have got a habit of leaving their scars behind. No matter how much you think the issue is resolved, all you have done is suppressed it. Few remain suppressed throughout, others raise their ugly heads when the time comes knocking. I had no heart to blurt out this inconvenient truth to my friend. I felt that I was burdening my friend with this belief of me rather than providing a shoulder to relax on.

I tried my level best to take a middle road. "Life, it seems, is never a smooth ride and I believe it should never be. Every endeavour of yours may not leave pleasantries behind it but a few sprout some thorns to hurt you. You may be a tortoise, curling into its shell at times of adversity; or a snail, prepared to walk on a razor's edge. It is upto you to not to get bled by the thorns but enjoy the beautiful rose that blossoms with it."

At the moment, I do not have any idea of what effect this chat had on my friend. Do not despair my friend, your downhill ride will definitely meet some acclivity down the road. Give time some time, and hope for the best.....

Dilemma

And so it was one of those days when my mind wanders about and imposes a moral question to me. To put the question imposed to me in words, it would be something like this

"Given an opportunity to chose between two paths, one ends in disappointing the people who care about you, the other ends in you losing the people you care about, which one would you chose? "

I thought, lets for a change, look at the dilemma in an analytical way. After all, solution to other so called problems (of science) have been found on these lines. It should come as a no-shock when I say that the human mind first thinks for itself. So the obvious choice that would have been made in an instant, put in that situation, would be the first one. After all, who would like to lose someone they care about.

Now, let us add a flavor to the already grim situation. Like those reversible reactions of chemistry, what if the love/caring is bidirectional. Simply put, you also care about those people who care about you; and the people who you care about, also care about you. How would the human mind react in those situations? Would be similar to those reactions, when a definite catalyst can shift the equation to a certain direction? As those reactions, would it depend in a direct manner on how much pressure the individual is, how cool the individual is in those situations, the relative amount of people lost on each side (with all due respect, not looking to quantify it). I stopped analyzing at this point as the possibilities were infinite. And when I say possibilities, I mean to say the line of thinking of the individual, even when the parameters of the situation are well defined.

You know, what I did realize at the end of all this analysis. Even though we have aped the neural network to create the connectivity in this world, we have never been able (so far, no idea what technology would throw at us in the coming years) to imitate the decision making capability of the wonderful human brain. Let this be a discussion for some other time. Let me know how you would respond to the situation, or at least how you would approach this situation...

The Other ME

“How could he even ask that to me?”
“You know, he was probably right. You are just looking it from a wrong perspective”
“But what if that was the perspective he used?”
“May be. But may be not. And it never hurts to look at the positive side”
“Did he even expect me to do such a thing? Doesn’t he know me?”
“He knows about you. And that is why he is asked. You do know that there is another way of looking at it..so why do you refuse to do so?”
“Because that idea is what came to my mind first”
“And so did the other one”
“But why should I forsake an idea if it fits the bill”
“Because your views are biased. You want to look at the negative aspects of everything instead of enjoying the brighter side”
“I am just trying to be on the defensive. What if?”
“So why not think as “What if NOT?”. You may end up losing something good just because you were defensive”
“On the other hand, I will be just as much vulnerable. Don’t you know ‘Prevention is better than cure’”
“But a cure for what?? You think of cure only when you know a disease, want to fight a disease. You are practically blocking all nutrients so that no disease comes either.”
“How do we differentiate then? How do we know what to block and what not to?”
“Have you seen your body work? When a disease comes first, your body is not capable of fighting it. But during the course, it develops itself to fight the disease, thus bringing itself back to health and now also prepared for defense against it in future”
“So you think that I should get a few blows and then learn from it.”
“Failure is inevitable. The only question is ‘Does it beat you down or do u kick yourself back for defense’

Effective Communication skills

This was one of the most boring subjects that I thought there ever could be. I mean, what was the problem in communication...Do we not communicate day in and day out ...24x365. And being engraved with the adage of 'practice makes it perfect', I thought, this must definitely be to make up the hours.

Alas, as it often happens, another adage brought fore its necessity....'Failure is the stepping stone to success'. But what happens if the failure cost you a couple of steps in your life and you gained one step in lieu of it..doesnt look like a good bargain huh? I realised that the failures would be much less if you already knew that someone tried and he had failed...And also if someone tried and succeeded, it is a good guide on 'How to climb the success ladder in your life'. Perhaps these are the things that I missed out on those classes. And to be honest, I am still learning how to effectively communicate..