A life not so certain

(Photo by Tony)

If we knew how our fate would unfold,
If we knew what does the future hold,
Would everything still remain the same?
Would we risk being singed by the flame?

Tying up loose ends

As if it were that feeling of relief,
At the dying down of the nagging voice within,
The contentment at having completed a book,
Than placing a bookmark, that strikes the eye,
When opening other ones that rest nearby,
The serenity of having tied up loose ends.

Living in the moment

While all this may seem preachy, this is primarily written as a note to self. So please bear :).

Sometimes it would appear that the entire world is conspiring against you when, in fact, it is just one's mind playing the odd trick; for, such times of suffering/solitude/[insert the sad feeling you've experienced most recently here] have the capacity to contort the mind of (wo)men - to turn them to thoughts completely contrived.

While such times can be testing, remember that what doesn't kill only makes one stronger. Perhaps all this is just a lesson - a rite of passage - to adulthood. Perhaps there will come a time when one will look back at all of this with a smile on the face.

Till such a time comes, we are better served by focusing on the present - living the moment. Things that have happened in the past (especially not-so-pleasant occurrences) are best forgotten as a general rule. This rule acquires greater significance in testing times, when, if not heeded to, often leads to people getting stuck in a rut; a maelstrom of never-ending melancholy. Living in the moment, experiencing whatever life throws at you, embracing whatever life presents you with, is the way out of the quagmire of testing times methinks.

The unbearable lightness of being

Just going over some books that I'd like to read, got my hands on this pithily put analysis of the philosophical underpinnings of the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unbearable_Lightness_of_Being) :

The German expression, Einmal ist keinmal (once is nothing) encapsulates “lightness,” the concept of which is well expressed in the quote: “what happens but once, might as well not have happened at all. If we have only one life to live, we might as well not have lived at all.” Following this logic, life is insignificant, and decisions do not matter, and are thus rendered light, because they do not cause personal suffering. Yet the insignificance of decisions — our being — causes us great suffering, perceived as the unbearable lightness of being consequent to one’s awareness of life occurring once and never again; thus no one person’s actions are universally significant. This insignificance is existentially unbearable when it is considered that people want their lives to have transcendent meaning.

Can't get myself to stop and marvel and the immense wisdom and "heaviness" that the lines above carry. A beautifully poignant point of view of life.

The things that matter

I've often wondered of what are things that truly matter to me. I find that such a thought generally leads to one taking a step back and examining where one currently stands from a somewhat lesser parochial angle. Rather than being caught up in thinking about one's day to day problems, this allows one to focus on the bigger questions of life as a whole. Its a fruitful exercise, I feel, and I espouse you folks to try it sometime. You'll be pleasantly surprised :).