You

In my times I have heard
many a love songs
Appreciated, depreciated but faceless
till you came along

Suddenly the same old love songs
have thrown up so many feelings
I guess, it was you
that were a needing

A face, a grace
you had them all
The songs of love was now
my heart's call

You sent me reeling
you spun my feeling
the love songs from the yore
now brought my being to the fore

My being was suddenly
in colors multitude
the songs had become
now my daily solitude

Every song showed
me your face
swept me up
in an amazing grace

The harmony in life
that I was seeking
was finally now
so very rewarding

Happiness

I guess the word ‘Happiness’ is the most grossly misunderstood emotion in today’s world. Strangely while we take out time to search the miseries in our lives, we really do not take any effort to bring in this positive emotion within us. Why do we fail this most wanted emotion?

Most of our emotions are vis-à-vis the others who matter in our life. Envy, Anger, Hate, Love et al are emotions that we have in us whilst we consider the other people in our lives. These are not attributes that one harbors for them self. Yes, it is true that you can say with pride that you love yourself, however this love as an emotion, for yourself within reasonable parameters is not an obsessive feeling unless you are a narcissistic personality. These personalities being rare and not on an average scale will be excluded in this evaluation of the term ‘happiness’.

Happiness is a state of mind that resides deep within us and only we have the controls with which we can feel a sense of happiness. Unfortunately while we agree that we have various things that do alter the state of our minds in our day to day activities, we rarely put any effort to bring in this positive emotion within us. Why is it that we go long lengths to ease the misery in our life but still remain unhappy? Are we really wanting to feel happy or is it that we correlate happiness with material or physical needs? Or is it that we call happiness the short spell of joy we feel we have acquired from these material or physical presence in our life. I will request you to permit me to explore this all encompassing emotion in your life.

What is Happiness? The dictionary defines it as ‘State of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy’ and also as ‘Emotions experienced when in a state of well-being’. From this definition you will realize that this is an emotion that wells up within oneself. Only you can feel and experience it. You may agree with this feeling as an emotion, but it is related to your state of well-being.

This brings us to a new area, what is a state of well-being? A state of well-being is a feeling of warmness around you. What gives us a feeling of warmness? Security in terms of good health, reasonable clothing, sufficient food and shelter over our head, if in agreeable proportion, we term our home, our life in a state of well-being.

The two adjectives in the last sentence, reasonable and sufficient, are of very high importance if you really want to feel happiness. Reasonable and sufficient are words that we normally connote to be linked to our social status. Of what value is our status in the society when deep inside us, we are filled with negative emotions and insecure in our own self worth. Our life does not in reality depend upon how much and what we have or what we can own in line with the others whom we may know or not know. When life itself is limited of what use is anything in excess, surely the positive emotion which each of us is entitled to, does not depend upon material or physical excesses but is based on our own appreciation of what we are and how we are.

It is true that the present lifestyle does require us to be extravagant in our needs but it can cost you your freedom in terms of stress build-up. Loss of peace can make you feel low and be a blow to your self esteem. Whilst stress today can be the biggest killer in each of us, a peaceful and happy feeling is definitely more important. Urban and suburban drudgery can be seen across all civilized world and this can spell havoc with your life and family. To combat this, one needs to attribute positive points to every small and significant development in ones day to day routine. Simple things like a beautiful morning, a cheerful Hello from your spouse and kids, a welcome bark from your pet can make us feel far more worthy in our own small world than anything large in the society. Small wonders, can create big happiness, the best always come in small containers, like the diamonds and gold. Surely if these were available in plenty, the value we have attributed to these prideful jewels would not have been there.

In our endless search for inner peace and tranquility we have stripped our own value and endorsed pride in material and physical possessions. In the last few decades the quality of life may have gone up in terms of material things but has caused an irreprehensible loss of human values. There are today in our homes a constant bickering and the familial fabric been pulled apart as neither of us are prepared to appreciate the other. Look around you and you can see the kamikaze streak in each of us, educated and trained effectively in self destruction. We seek happiness in tumultuous relationship that we make and harbor to feel moments of joy. Small joys that thaw the moment we are back to our routine activities. Is this what we seek so desperately or are we willing to make our life sparkle from within.

Truly said, your face is the mirror of your soul. Happiness can be seen across the room and across the street. Instead of searching the meaning of your life and happiness outside you, for a change, do a soul search. You will be a lot more in peace if you do consider your soul and the values it has to your own existence. Soul searching is similar to you asking your face in the mirror of what you have done and how you would justify your actions. There is no one else that is asking you but yourself. You just cannot be dishonest at least to yourself.

We are all related to one another, but for a true meaning of a relation, please do not look for what you stand to gain, more importantly see if you can make a difference in the relation that you harbor. Charity can create more happiness than any wants one might have. Be charitable in your speech, in your actions and most importantly cherish this moment in your life for it will never come back again. Money is important but it has no value when everything is crumbling within you. Money can buy everything save happiness. Happiness is so much more precious that only a self regulation can surface this deep running stream in each of us. Learn to be happy and spread happiness for this is one thing that will return in multiples compounded many times over. Happiness will never age you and you will feel younger from within and from outside. Ever youth for free, without using any so called expensive age defying crèmes.

Indulge yourself in inner peace and value build-up and see happiness spread its radiance across the world.

The Feeling of Emptiness

Why do you feel so hopeless that your life seems empty? I have heard these expressions so often that I am amazed at its frequency in today’s generation. I am bored and don’t like what I am doing. It’s the same again, my job, my relationship all seems so lifeless. I wish to die. What is this life? Statements of helplessness, devoid of natural passion and a self threatening situation, dangerous is it not?

An adage, Life is for living, so powerful and commonly passed down generations as a holy truth that now seems so far removed from reality that no one really has the inclination nor the time to reason its real meaning. Do we want to live for life’s sake or do we want our life to live at its best. In reality how many of us do really take life as a game and play by its rules. In India we have a brand of cigarette called Four Square Kings whose advertisement caption reads ‘Live Life King Size’. Everyone agrees to this notion but do we really know the meaning of living a life to its maximum.

Everyone eagerly agrees and than their economic quotients takes stock of their lives and they are back to the same old feelings. I agree, life in today’s world is not easy, but who says that it was ever easy. From time immemorial, from the dawn of mankind, life has thrown up so many challenges that it has never been easier for anyone, be they rich or poor. Living a life to the fullest has nothing to do with your economic status. Economic status can get you various alternatives that can make your life at best easier, but cannot on its own merit provide you with any sense of fulfillment unless we ourselves learn to understand life.

Theories upon theories have been purported by many on what life is all about, but has anyone really applied these to their own values and judgment and realized what we are and what we should do, to be able to feel the fullness of life, a satisfaction in our selves.

Living is beyond what one theorizes that a life begun has to live. That is but physical growth leading to death. Living has much more to do than the passage called life. Living requires us to be involved in activities that bring to our mind many facets of the same aspect. We must make our living a continuous learning. I don’t use the word process, as process is very linear and life in its natural state is quite chaotic. It is this chaos that lends a charm, an uncertainty that leaves a lot to be learnt. Learning? Because acquiring knowledge keeps our mind captivated and stimulated to know beyond what we seem to know. When we are able to pursue a few alternatives beyond our regular scope of occupation, we tend to relate to living more comfortably.

Nature has given the most precious needs on which our life depends for free, than why do we really rant and rave at possessions on which our life does not depend upon. In our pursuit of material gains we seem to have forgotten to smile, to laugh and to appreciate the others point of view. In an unnatural environment which we have created and surrounded ourselves, we rarely have time to appreciate anything apart from me, myself and mine. It is this strange smallness that creates emptiness, devoid of any happiness or appreciation for self or for others.

Yes, it is true; we have to “Keep up with the Jones’, but how many Jones, will we push ourselves against and try to keep up with? That is an economic generalization and will not make our lives any meaningful or satisfactory. Knowledge is a must but the curiosity to know is even more important. We all go to school, to colleges and universities, but the learning process does not end there, it is expected to continue till the end. All knowledge is not for the pursuit of economic means but for being able to appreciate the world we live in and the limitless potentialities that this world has in store.

The following tips are some of the few that you may consider to make your life more interesting and thereby remove the emptiness that you feel.

Acquire a child like curiosity about life
Pursue a hobby and try and learn as much as possible about it
Spend your free time in community development without any expectations.
Take interest in other people and their happiness, howsoever small
Smile and see how infectious it really is and how many people will open their hearts to you
Be charitable in your speech and actions
Engage yourself in bettering your knowledge in fine arts or other related fields
Play a game for the sake of the game and not for winning
When wrong, apologize honestly
Look at the sky and see its limitless expanse and potential
See the dawn and the dusk and appreciate how naturally the world around us wakens and goes to sleep
Appreciate nature
Go to sleep with a wondering of what you could do if you do wake up again
Believe in the Almighty
Say a prayer with your heart in it

And finally and most importantly, you live life once, live it to its brim.

It is by no means difficult nor by any standards easy to change your thought process that has been long set, however, you can attain, all the above points plus more, that you too can develop, thereby enriching your living to match up with the life so graciously won by you. If you are wondering when did you win this life, think of the process of birth and the odds in the fertilization chain. I really don’t think you will ever have this odds piled against you in life, so why don’t you really appreciate your life as something so special that you will want all of what the world can offer without any economic desires, just for a change. A spiritual and natural appreciation is all the more consummating than any economic standards can ever bring forth. Make your life more engaging and you will have lived this life without the emptiness. A life lived King Size.

Social Responsibility

There is so much tension in today’s world that we are eyeing each other with a certain suspicion. We don’t really know what lurks in the minds of the other and vis-à-vis we are ourselves visualized. The society, the city and the country we live in hardly seems the place we wish to be in and we are very skeptical of the future of our children. What type of world will our children inherit? Will our children be able to live a full life or will they be a part of a social tragedy? Why is there so much distrust and pain amongst us? Did we wish to be part of this situation or do we have any solution to change this state to a more secure life with more respect and love between each of us?

It is a complex situation much akin to a creeper that has grown wildly and pruning it to shape presenting a difficult choice to make. The social structure has gone through so much upheavals that we have ended with circles within circles of smaller and smaller complex beliefs and goals. Finding faults with anyone or any social culture will not resolve this problem unless, we each, as individuals take it upon ourselves the responsibility to change our ideals and allow the other an equal chance of existing on this earth. Many have called for a social revolution.

A social revolution is easier to hope than possible. Just as the wildly grown creeper, our differences and beliefs are so intertwined that we are unable to view our identity. We have made our lives to be identified by the social structure around us and making and remaking this has complicated our own relationships.

Who is right and who is wrong. Can we call our own society as peaceful, our own ideals as humane, our own religion as purported by our clergy, as correct? If we, for a change see ourselves without these social trappings, what do we see, a clean and honest individual? Without our social covers, we are as clean and holy as the day we were born. If this is true, what sort of social revolution do we seek? Can we hope that our world can again have another Flood and a Noah to restart our civilization from the scratch? Social genocide! Can this be the answer? NO! We would all lose than win in the bargain. What than, can we do, to change this alarming state?

How about some introspection? Primarily we must agree that there lie many facets of this situation within ourselves. For a change without blaming anyone else or ourselves for where we have brought our world to, let us focus to our immediate need rather than the society, the city, the country or even the world at large. I am sure, if we all, clear the clutter around our own lives with responsibility, the world can surely be, a much cleaner and peaceful place to live. But how, is a question we are all seeking. Yes, it is true that there resides in each one of us a blessed soul, but the society with its myriad hues tends to hide the real us. We cannot live without the society nor can we on our own merit, cause much to change, but yes, if we act and be responsible for our own life, I am willing to believe that there will be a much better world, where our children can expect equality and freedom.

Change of any sorts is made of actions and actions to be true and healthy must be responsible. Being responsible will only be true if we hold ourselves accountable for our actions. We cannot hold anyone else responsible for our actions unless we dwell deep into our own ideals and accept to be accountable for the changes that we wish to bring about for our own safety and in confirmation to the ideal society.

An ideal society is much akin to a hamlet, a small village where everyone has a task to perform and they do their expected activities without their own wants as the primary need. It may seem, impersonal and mechanical however, in due course of time we will have a whole new generation brought up with a feeling of brotherhood based on trust and willingness to accept the other without any reservations.

Why is this so necessary you may ask? Are we not educating ourselves and our kids in an ethical way? Yes, I will agree, we are, but when you open the doors of your home and join the others what exactly is ethical and who is and who is not, is the question. Ethics, respect and morality are various hues that have, long lost its luster and to get back the gleam one should go back to basic society. Basics of social governance you may add.

We must not forget that we as humans did evolve in the same way as did the animals but with a difference. We had the capability to understand, to discern, to develop and to harmonize. Somewhere along the route, the stronger amongst us, instead of being responsible for the weaker, just took charge and instilled his own version of what he felt, form his point of view, a suitable society. Over the period of time, instead of turning into a harmonized society, the weakness in the social wall spilled forth a section of people who were not in agreement and who had an opinion generated by another strong will. This kept multiplying to what is today, a world with no similarities and a visible lust for power, fame and wealth embodying a total lack of civility.

Strangely, in today’s world there are no winners, but a whole lot of losers, you, me and everyone out there. We go to sleep not sure of what the next day will bring with it. I, for one, surely don’t find this comfortable and I am sure neither do you. But I feel that if I and you, dear reader, take it upon our own selves of being accountable for our actions and inculcate the sense of responsibility in our children, the day will not be far away when we may see a difference. Just in as much as a planter of a tree, may not gain, the fruits of his labor, his children will surely get the fruits and the shade, our children, can expect a much better place to live.

The following are a few actions we must be accountable ourselves, for what we have set out to achieve;

Be all religion tolerant
Be charitable; pass the fruits of your labor if in excess of your own needs
Be industrious and true
Keep your wants to the minimum, more will not make any sense anyways
Your neighbor is like you, just as human
Make peace with yourself and only than will you appreciate others
Conserve Nature, our life is wholly dependent on her
Be health conscious, an healthy body has a positive thinking
Believe in true love, it surely makes the world go around
Give respect to other, for surely we all want it ourselves
Color is only skin deep, blood is red in each of us
Believe in brotherhood

Don’t let human survival be at stake to understand that we are inherently alike. We are and we should be responsible for each other. Believe me, I did really like the essence of the movie, ‘Independence Day’, when alien forces reach earth and then suddenly we do not see the so called differences in ourselves and the whole humanity as one reaches out to fend the Earth. Today it might have just been an imagination of a very creative writer and director of this film, but tomorrow who knows, the universe is quite large and unknown. We are just too small in comparison and a belief that we all belong to this lonely planet can surely cast away our man made differences and dislikes. Let us take a vow to make our life more peaceful, whilst we can, gazing into the outer space, I surely feel threatened.

The Garden of Eden

For sometime, I request you to kindly switch off from your present activities and your present occupational thoughts and go back to your childhood. Do you remember your smiling family, the early lessons of your religion and fables that were taught, full of morals and good conduct that we were expected to govern our lives with? We surely believed the existence of our God and his wonderful creations, we saw all around us. Books of religions and the good teachers helped us understand the rudimentary of our small life and the smiles and good natured help from everyone around, helped us feel secure.

We saw the Sun in awe and in wonder tried to count the stars at night, slept peacefully in total belief that there indeed was a God who looked over us while we slept. We saw the world around us in vividly imagined colors and you and I were the best of friends. Innocence and adaptability walked hand in hand. You were you and I was I and nothing more really mattered. Our folks welcomed us when we went to each others home without asking details of our individual backgrounds save the happy feelings that we were friends. Your God and my God were the same, our innocence and our friendship paramount.

There indeed was a GARDEN OF EDEN.

Did you get a smile, a feeling of warmth roll over you? I am sure you did, we all do.

Why did we lose all these?

Now lets us switch back to the reality of our life, the today of our existence, what do we see? Do we see innocence anywhere? Media full of mock smiles and handshakes, speeches of deceit and anger and brains working overtime, to snatch the little that is left of our development. Greed abounds all around in all shapes and sizes. Do we see these in ourselves? Wisely said, our society is a mirror of our own selves and we are a part of this ugly, cold and calculating society we call our world. I am sure all of us have many times thought over this and felt an urge for a total reversal. But is it possible with the way our lives are so intrinsically connected with today’s world? No and a yes.

No, because, you and me are part of this society. We made it what it is today. Either directly or indirectly we fanned our own avarice. Innocently at first and then the habit set it. Surprisingly we see little of our wrong doings in the face of the larger society we live in, but in reality all our little innocent and not so innocent discretions is what this world is made of today. We do not have time to see the real Sun or the Stars, but yes, we want to see the Sun and The Stars shining bright in our own homes. Strangely real is our own desire of having our own small Garden of Eden right in our homes and backyards, noticing little of what is beyond the compound wall of our so called havens. We shade our eyes and roll up our windows to the stark reality of plunder and destruction of what was once God’s Garden of Eden. Let us not blame anyone for this state of our society, for we too are a partner. An unhealthy avarice for large, larger and largest of everything has spilled our desires over areas and things that do not belong to us. We have even legitimized the wars and the spoils of wars as ours for keeps.

The Holy Book says, God did not spare His own Son, but look around us, we did not even spare God let alone His Son, we have used and misused His words to suit our own requirements, and made His abode a money spinning venture. Crass commercialization of everything with no sanctity in anything is where we have brought the original Garden of Eden into. Look at our burgeoning cities with no emotions or human sensitivities, Paradise Lost wrote John Milton (1608-1664), maybe he had the foresight of what would become of our world, eventually. Unfettered growth of population has made resources scarce and alternative sources being developed are profited insensitively.

If the child in you screams, ‘beyond despair and repair’, I wish to assure you that all is not really lost. We can, if we ever harbor, a slight hope and spread its wings in each one of us we can remake this world of ours into the original Garden of Eden.

Yes, it is possible. A change is needed. You and I will have to turn back the tide. We have to make many small amendments in our hearts and way we live. Primarily we have to make changes in ourselves and the way we see others and in the way we utilize nature.

Color, religion, language and lifestyles differ geographically. Humanity has various ethnic hues, however, trust and honor of individual rights needs to be prioritized and religious tolerance needs to be advocated honestly. Political doctrines need to be re-examined for suitability and efficiency in today’s world. Whilst not eulogizing Socialism, the economic disparities in today’s world, has created sufficient tensions which have led to inhuman exploitation through both civil and military actions. Equality in regional development must be promoted and education and health care must be accorded priority. Jobs and infrastructural development must not be regionalized but must be utilitarian for all mankind. Technology developed must be for human benefit and licensing and patenting it for commercial benefits must be avoided. Very commonly espoused and much touted expression, ‘One World, One People’, must bear credence rather than just a commercial jingoism. We must view this earth as an inheritance that is common to all of us.

Secondly, we are a part of nature and we will have to return to nature what we have exploited. I don’t mean that we have to shut down development but yes, the environment must be re-cultivated for the benefit of all living beings. Development must take into cognizance the impact it has on nature as our sustenance is wholly dependent on the quality of our environment. Adaptability is a slow process and the industrial revolution has caused quite a spurt in environmental pollution which has led to many new diseases for which there are no permanent cures. Many diseases have not as yet been diagnosed and by the time it will be known quite a few of us will fall prey to it. Pollution today is a global phenomenon and any country howsoever economically strong, it still is, susceptible to the damages it can cause. We can have meetings and protest meetings deploring Global Warming, but just how many of us really ask ourselves honestly if we will not suffer from this consequence. How would anyone of us, answer our children, if we in our own quest for material gains, are not putting their future at risk. This earth has been for millions of years the home for many species of life, but in the last few decades not only have many of these long surviving species become extinct but we have made our own doomsday plans with our unquenchable thirst for power and wealth. Do we wish this to be our agenda?

I dare say with some conviction that neither you nor I are prepared for this. We all do wish that we are able to harmonize back with nature and spread our hands out to each one of us and be able to recreate the Garden of Eden as what was given to us by our Good God. We have created enough tragedies around us and the present state of our world is giving us a clarion call of attention for us to regroup our energies and love for each other and our world.

With certain commitments we can say with conviction that our Lost Paradise can be regained.