Mis(sed)-takes

Mistakes. Life is full of them.
A mistake is always the wrong fork in the road that's taken.
A mistake is the easy way out.
A mistake is the only way out that we see through windows of rage, frustration or fear.

There are mistakes I'm proud I've made. After all, a person who hasn't made mistakes hasn't done anything. An event less life, that. But then again, there are some that I'm not proud of. I cringe at their very thought. Mistakes made due to misunderstandings, mistakes made in anger, and worst of all, mistakes made on purpose.

When I read the newspapers, I see a whole lot of mistakes staring at my face.A student committed suicide because of low marks(!). A drunk driver knocks down 4 pedestrians. Well, it might have been his first, and maybe his last, big mistake. Do we forgive him?Do the bereaved families forgive him? Ramalingaraju.. he might have been a good man if you put the scam aside. But do we forgive him? A woman married to an alcoholic killed her 2 polio stricken daughters and committed suicide because she lost all hope. Should she be forgiven? There are some mistakes that don't give us another chance. Costly mistakes, these.

Here's a small poem I associate with making mistakes.

"There's a Hole in My Sidewalk" by Portia Nelson

I
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost...I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in. It's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault. I get out immediately.

IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

V
I walk down another street.

Today, I believe making mistakes is not a bad thing. I learn from them, some the hard way. Taking responsibility for my mistakes makes me a better person. What is bad is when my mistakes hurt people. And those are mistakes I still want to be a missed take in the reel of life.

Blank...

'The limits of my language mean the limits of my world."

Never felt it more, as much as now.

The Demon Of Familiarity....

Familiarity breeds contempt. ' The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well.' How true...How many people in our lives do we wholeheartedly respect for who they are? And how many of those are a vital part of our lives, people we know inside out? Why do we always admire people who are at a distance, on some distant stage, all the while turning a blind eye to the possibly even greater qualities those close to us have struggled to imbibe?? Why Why Why?? Its insane. Its plain stupidity. Its contempt. They say a little knowledge can be dangerous, a whole lot can be even more! What do you call something that dissolves your admiration, respect for the people who have been with you through most part of your life, and will continue to be there throughout?? Well, DANGEROUS. Contempt feeds on inner happiness. It lives on your peace of mind. Why do we find ourselves digressing from the train of thought of the very people who contribute to the making of US? In whatever way. Its not justified. I despise the saying I started off with. Because its true. Its real. And reality bites. Real hard.
Life would be a lot more smoother if we learnt to turn around that reality. Make sure we keep the worm of contempt out of our minds, make sure it doesn't blend into our persona. How comfortable do you feel with a person with contempt brewing inside?? It'll spew forth sooner or later, for all you know, in an ugly way.

'To be trusted is a bigger compliment than to be loved.' Familiarity is a blessing. Lets keep it that way.

Blissfully indifferent...

Time. We know its scarce. We know its precious. We know its unstoppable. Yet we waste it, plunder it, kill it.

Its frustrating to see whole days passing me by with nothing substantial accomplished. Its frustrating to realise, a tad too late, how much little clusters of 86,400 seconds could have made a difference to what I am today.

How important it is to use your time well is common knowledge. But looking at these people who have achieved so much- in sport, in the arts or in technology, it makes me think...what do I consider worth spending my time on??..Its admirable the way these guys put in all their energy and focus into swimming, tennis, basketball...it would be wonderful to excel in a sport. The mastery you gain over yourself in that training period is unmatched. Hmm..And that note leads inevitably to the HOBBY. An overrated definition. If you don't do something well enough, its your hobby. If you aren't focusing enough to make a mark in the field, its your hobby. If you don't want to live up to high expectations-you said it- its your hobby. Why build a five-letter wall around yourself and stop yourself from soaring??...Call it PASSION. And once you start calling it that, you'll make sure you respect the effort.

I can't stick to a topic, can I? Exactly what happens when I'm trying to study. I have all the theoretical knowledge, I just need to put it into practice!..And that sums up my state of mind at the moment...in a nutshell...:(

Mediocrity

The word scares me, yet it lies in my comfort zone. Its blended into every nook and cranny of my life, albeit unknowingly. I wonder, where is the acheiver, the dreamer who wanted to make it big everyday?? She's right there, beneath the froth of mediocrity.

I speak for myself, though I know there are millions out there who breathe mediocrity, and would rather die than admit it. It's a well known fact that 'Admitting to a weakness is the battle half won.' Why then do people run away from the truth, I wonder. And when in the routine of mediocrity, leaps forth an achievement, it becomes difficult to digest. The commonplace thing that happens is we brush it off, yet again, under the mat of mediocrity.
Being mediocre is like being a doormat for an acheiver to step on. And it's high time we realised that.

In a nutshell, 'If something is worth doing, its worth doing well.' And the day that becomes a paradigm, life itself becomes an achievement.

my all time favourite poem!

Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms

Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,

Which I gaze on so fondly today,

Were to change by tomorrow, and fleet in my arms,

Like fairy-gifts fading away,

Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art,

Let thy loveliness fade as it will,

And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart

Would entwine itself verdantly still.

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,

And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear

That the fervor and faith of a soul can be known,

To which time will but make thee more dear;

No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,

But as truly loves on to the close,

As the sunflower turns on her god, when he sets,

The same look which she turned when he rose.

-Thomas Moore

And that is one of the best pieces I've come across...Look at the last 4 lines-They speak more than a whole ten thousand pages put together. Man! It rocks!...In a nutshell:)

Going with the flow...

Ever had one of those days...when everything goes just too fast and you don't know where you are heading..or your thoughts, for that matter. Sometimes things are just too complicated..maybe, too simple...to grasp...

It's like white water rafting
The current pulling you in a direction of its choice...
You don't have a say, you don't have a choice..
You move with the river
It swallows you at times, then spits you out...
You go with the flow, you don't have a voice.

Its now your job to maneuver
your way downstream...
Your focus completely on survival.
Fighting that tug there, that pull here
An oar to keep you standing in the midst of chaos.

A determination, a spirit to face challenges,
And a sense of belonging,
Go a very long way.