Transitory

Nothing last forever. Nothing ever stays the same and the only constant in this world is Change itself. The things we like today turns boring the next day. This kind of constant need for change is kind of worrying. We spout out brave declarations of true love, complete dedication, total devotion and loyalty. In truth, after sometime of unwavering loyalty, an annoying thought creeps up silently and makes us wonder if we truly want it.

Think about it. Has anything ever stayed the same? (save for monuments and trees,etc.. even they erode over time) It is obvious that nothing ever stays the same and it is cruelly funny to see how people give an arm and a leg to try and make their choices permanent, only to throw it all away sooner or later. I am not blaming our fickle state of mind. It's basic human nature. 

Ever cried your lungs out to buy a toy as a kid, and then throw it in a corner after playing with for a couple of weeks? Ever wanted something so badly, went lengths to buy it and then that prized possession lost its appeal? You know what I am talking about right? It actually goes deeper than just superficial articles. 

The sooner we understand that nothing lasts forever, the better. A well wisher once told me that as life moves on, priority changes. My brain refused to accept it initially and after reluctant deliberation, I realized that there was nothing that I could do about it. Nothing is permanent, nothing is fixed. That was how the universe has evolved so far and will continue to do so. 

A beautiful quote from Bhagavad Gita says, “Meet this transient world with neither grasping nor fear, trust the unfolding of life, and you will attain true serenity.”

Earth Angels - through the eyes of a skeptic

A friend of mine made a comment about "Earth Angels" and the skeptic in me, came bursting out and threw her a dismissive wave of the hand and my face (ever the betrayer) clearly expressed my skepticism. Much later, i found myself googling earth angels and i went through several websites.. Some claimed that there were star people among us, some people with ESP, etc etc... Some were outrageously dubious..

So, who is an Earth Angel? An Earth Angel is somebody who draws random people to them and find himself/herself listening to people pouring out their souls and seeking comfort. An Earth Angel experiences frequent headaches and feels like he/she don't really belong in the society. He/She give out warmth to desolate souls and feeds them with a positive vibe.

Are Earth Angels real or is it one of those popular myths? Reading about it made me doubt it even more.. Suppose a person is compassionate and like all compassionate souls, this person sits and makes time for others and listens to all their woes and gives appropriate oohs and aah, the person turns into a beacon for everybody who is desperate for a friendly ear. I might be wrong. But hey, doesn't it make sense?

Perhaps I am wrong. The voice in my head just won't leave me alone. It keeps saying that the silver thread between reality and fiction, belief and skepticism, legend and myth is always thin. 

Chaos

Like bees, the crowd swarmed around to the platform. A frantic youngster quickly revising for exam, a mother running late for office, a man well in to his fifties still slaving away for his family, a bunch of college-goers, gay and frolicking, a bunch of vendors, a teacher, an IT professional, a maid, an officer…. All flocked like the birds and awaited the distant train.

The train came with a loud horn and the madness began like a spell bespoken. People scrambled to get inside the compartments and it was indeed a survival of the fittest. Missing the train would make or break few people’s lives and alter the course of life as they know it. Lost in the madness, none paused to help the needy.

As I watched in amazement at the almost barbaric scene, I noticed an old handicapped man who got in to the First Class compartment. His clothes were disheveled and his eyes had the look of man who had seen much in life and silently conquered them all. He must have been a man of dignity in the past and the years had taken their toll on him.

After some time, the air became slightly tensed. The ticket checker had boarded. The herd grew tense and once again the mad scrambling began. Some dug their pockets, others reached deep in to their overstuffed bags, purses, etc. The ticket checker approached the old man and asked him for his ticket. And when the old man showed him his ticket a satanic sly gleam came into the eyes of the ticket checker. His expression turned scornful and like a cat, he pounced on his prey, his tone became disparaging and started belting out curses. The old man had boarded the wrong compartment apparently. The ticket checker did not stop with expletives and resorted to shameful shoving. The old man tried to maintain his poise and said that back in the old days, he had been a police officer.  The ticket checker’s only response was that the old man was no longer in service.

People looked on at this scene with undeterred attention and yet none had the courage to stand up for the old man. Such is the scenario of today’s cruelly indifferent world.

What goes around certainly comes around. Many a times, when we hurt somebody, we forget that we are attracting negative vibes and these negative vibes cause mishaps to us and the ones around us. I delved deeper into various scriptures and this was what I found. 

Hosea 8:7 - .For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up

"The word karma literally means "activity." Karma can be divided up into a few simple categories -- good, bad, individual and collective. Depending on one's actions, one will reap the fruits of those actions. The fruits may be sweet or sour, depending on the nature of the actions performed. Fruits can also be reaped in a collective manner if a group of people together perform a certain activity or activities."

Yet people continue to hurt others, plot others’ downfall with careful cunningness and revel in others’ misfortunes. Such people are to be pitied and if we are smart, we ought to learn from them.

Mesmerized by Idukki

I close my eyes and inhale the fresh air. *a deep breath* Exhale, inhale and exhale. Again and again. The comforting clicking of the insects, the sugary sweet song of the cuckoo and the rumbling of the river transports me to a different world, where everything is perfect and nothing can go wrong. The mountains wear the amber glow of the dying sun with indomitable grace, the chill breeze flits by like a lover’s caress and the soft glow of the distant sun kisses the cheeks. The flowers pout like a petulant child and demand my attention and spread their intoxicating scent. 

As I stand, admiring the scenery, it feels voyeuristic.  As though I’m looking at a vision beyond my worth. Suddenly, I feel exposed and vulnerable. I feel insignificant in comparison. The heated arguments, the egoistic jerk of the head, the smirking and twitching of the mouth and the superiority complex seems so small suddenly. We humans think we are superior and each day a battle ensues to establish control and dominance over each other. We fail to notice that Mother Nature watches us with unconcealed amusement. She holds the power to crush us into the oblivion and yet we continue to destroy her bit by bit.

Admiring the beauty, I can’t help but marvel at the craftsmanship of God. He is undoubtedly the master. The sheer exuberance of the emerald green of the mountains and trees, the dull golden glow of the sun, the vibrant hues of the flowers and insects speak for themselves. The sky is painted with sparkling diamonds. The stars shine cheerfully like children on Christmas Day. This spectacular vision doesn't exist in the metropolitan’s dictionary. This sad absence is the biggest price we pay for modernization. Man has gone from the best possible life to the worst possible way of life in the name of advancement and invention. The modern world is filled with impure air, toxic substances and noise. Gone are the songs of the birds, the fresh unpolluted air and the sweet and clear water. The flowers have become sad and pale. Their petals no longer spread their sweet essence.

May be a decades later, mankind will go back to roots and start afresh. May be mankind will do away with unnatural products and pollutants. But by then, hopefully Mother Nature should still be kind and benevolent. I pray that she doesn't lose her temper and unleash her wrath on us before then. I pray for that she remains the patient force that she is and stays beautiful for eons to come. 

Economics and Mobile phone Budgeting

I was hard pressed to write an article for my college magazine and for the life of me, I couldn't think of anything. I was scrolling through my gallery mindlessly and as I was staring at the display, a sudden inspiration hit me. Economics is everywhere and all around us. It's in the cup of coffee we drink early morning, the car that we drive around, food that we eat and the clothes that we wear.. the list just goes on.. That got me thinking about mobile phones and economics.. And I did a little online research on it.. So here goes.. 

      It's a well-known fact that mobile phones are viewed as a bittersweet technology. But one thing people fail to notice is that there is economics involved in the usage of mobile phones. To a keen eye, this may not be of great surprise. In fact, it’s a little more complex than family budget.

Keeping track of the number of calls, minutes, texts, and data is a good way to learn budgeting. According to recent statistics, about 75% of children and teens use mobiles. Teens send enormous quantities of text messages. Half of the teens send 50 or more text messages per day, or roughly 1,500 texts a month, and one in three send more than 100 texts a day, or more than 3,000 texts a month. Older teen girls ages 14-17 lead the charge on texting, averaging to 100 messages a day for the entire cohort.

With the nation-wide limit on the maximum number of texts per day, the attention has turned towards Instant Messaging via data network.

Children and teens should try and master mobile phone economics as it's an easy way to learn how to handle their resources.

The first step is to choose the right kind of plan. There are three general plans - individual post-paid plan, family plan and pre-paid plan.

With any of these plans, it’s important to know some basic information, including:

How long do we talk over the phone?

How much it costs per month, including taxes and other fees?

Potential penalties if you go over your minutes, texts or data?

It’s important to take a closer look at monthly statements. Keeping track of the data usage, texts and calls can help shape behavior. Most companies has provisions for customizing plans to match usage. At times, we lose track of the number of times we recharge our phones, and end up spending more than we intend to do. Mobile economics has tangible and intangible lessons to teach. The tangible lesson being that people start planning the money spent on mobiles. They choose the best plan for them and learn to cut down on expenditure. The intangible lesson being that they learn to prioritize. Since the resources are scarce, they cut back on unnecessary calls and text messages. Thus children learn the basic concept of economics i.e. scarcity and wants. 

May be mobile phones aren’t that bad at all.. Parents, school and college authorities, y'all listening? :D

Confused...

Isn't it strange how we pretend the most around the ones we love? Does that sound weird to you? Just think.. haven't we said white lies to keep up our image to our loved ones? It could be out of love, fear or respect...

Teenagers lie about where they are going and who they are going out with, a man in love lies about his activities to his girl, a wife covers up in front of her husband, parents lie to children and sometimes even friends lie to friends. This happens partly because the ones lying know that they would get into trouble if they own up to it or because they know whatever they are doing in wrong but they are just not willing to accept it..

It's ironic because the ones close to us are supposed to love us unconditionally and accept us for who we are and not who we portray ourselves to be. Isn't that what real affection  is? Relationships are built on faith and a modified version of the truth. This modified truth keeps the relationship rosy and happy. As long as the cat isn't let out of the bag, things are smooth. Many of us are scared that once we show our true selves, we would be judged and our relationship will get spoiled. The question to ask ourselves is whether it is okay to keep lying to our loved ones or steel up the spine and own up. After all, if somebody loves us, it should be because they really us and not a facade created out of insecurity.

Our loved ones always have our best interests at heart though it may not really seem that way at times. But yeah, it is the truth. They may not always see eye to eye with us but they want us to grow as a person and not let ourselves get caught up in mundane things that seem all huge right now. Either accept what they are saying or start being open. Double standards isn't a great way to maintain relationship, be it friendship or within the family.

If there is an utter need to hide your true actions, then there must be something really bad in what you are doing.. Reconsider it, analyse it from every angle till you get a satisfactory answer. Love freely but more importantly love the truth. Illusions don't last long...

A poem....

I was up all night trying to cram theories and formulas into my head. I did everything else but study for my exam and my creative side was bursting to come out and spill itself. My brain is really annoying in that manner, whenever I attempt to write something that is remotely readable, it brings on a severe case of writers block and when I'm supposed to be studying, it lets loose the creativity and out flows the words. Here's something i wrote.....

I sleep all day long

Blind to right and wrong

Where is justice?

Is it still in practice?

Ignorance is not always bliss

Though, the truth is a terrible kiss.

Rise, we must, to stand tall

Or, remain a ceramic doll.

The choice is yours

Let the world hear your roars

Speak up my friend

Write a new end.