Surviving the unknown

At some time earlier in our lives, probably a few years ago, the only fear we had was facing tragedy. Of course, we worried for our family, friends and ourselves all the time.  We still do. Most of the times, the things that happen to us had answers or I would say, closure.

In someway, the meaning of facing life has changed drastically.  The idea of surviving the unknown has become the hardest of things.  As humans, we are designed to live with certainty.  Uncertainty and vagueness scares us. We like to have answers for everything and we want reasons.

Without reasons, it becomes hard to survive. The truth is that, not everything in life happens for a reason.  Or even if does, its usually not obvious to us at that time. May be in the future, when we find ourselves in a far away land with happiness lingering, the reasons may come to us. Or sometimes they may never come forever. 
We need courage to live reality but we need to be stronger to survive the unknown. Living with questions is also a way of life.

Read somewhere - you don't have the answer now because you have enough strength only to survive the questions.  Someday, you will find the answers. 

The missing closure : MH370

Real life is defintely more eventful than the movies and fiction books. Though we all say that life is monotonous and that routine life is boring, nothing is more exciting and unbelievable than reality. When I first read the news stating that a flight had been lost out there, I knew that reality was horrible and at the same time,was a bitter hard truth.

With the advent of technologies and also with the involvement of major countries, it was assumed that the flight would be eventually tracked down. Now, even after two weeks of extensive search and usage of man power and technology, we are back to the same news, that there is no evidence except for the fact that we have to now believe that the flight crashed into the ocean. Of course, this is not a proper closure but it now snatches away the hope that had filled the days of the families and friends. Accepting the loss without knowing the real truth will take days to come while the world moves on focussing on things that are less mysterious.

On the other hand, this incident probably proves the fact that no matter what humans develop or no matter what heights we reach with technology, we cannot compete with mother nature. We can only improve our lives with aid of technology but we can't hope to fight against nature.

While we pray for those who died on the plane, the reality check for us is that life, as we see it, is terribly short and unpredictable. Let's try to get through each passing day with a hint of smile and hope because there is really less room for complain.

Where is your trash can?

Trash can? Whoever talks about owning a trash can!!! Well, nobody does because trash cans are just part of our daily lives that are used to collect garbage totally not needed inside the house. It so happens that not only our houses get filled with garbage, but our hearts and minds do as well.

Garbage like worry, fear, anger, disappointments, anxiety, sadness – all these are forms of garbage that are piling up in a human heart but needs to be cleaned from time to time. Sometimes, when you talk to people, like a friend, a spouse or a parent, you feel lighter as if the garbage has been removed. But more often than not, it doesn’t work when you try to use another human as your garbage can because the same garbage is going to affect them if they don’t take it lightly.

You know what? There are other garbage cans which you can choose to empty your garbage into. Next time you have the urge to talk to someone and if nobody is around, pick up a paper and a pen, pour out your thoughts, without any editing or cropping. Crumple the paper after you are done. Throw it away. Burn it if it gives you any peace. The paper never asks you any question. Of course, it doesn’t give you a solution as well but, sometimes, we are simply forced to live the questions because we are not ready for answers. All you can do it spill it out on someone or something.

Keeping a private journal where you can write down your thoughts and worries is a great way to get rid of the daily garbage that’s building up within. Choose your garbage can with care because what’s inside you should only be what you let be. There can be no space for trash.

Where is the dream?

Everyone believes that the main aim in life is to follow a plan. They never ask if that plan is theirs or of it was created by another person. They accumulate experiences, memories, things, other people's ideas,and it is more that they can can possibly cope with. And that is why they forget their dreams Paulo Coelho

At some point in our lives, we all begin to own a dream inside our head. It gets all the nourishment it needs in the beginning but as time passes, the dream begins to fade away being replaced by another dream which doesn't belong to us. Instead, we begin living a dream which somebody else, be it, a parent, a spouse or a friend saw it. Living another person's dream isn't a bad thing, because there are people who go on to do great things following another person's dream. In the process, the dream that was made for you loses it's purpose.

When you live your dream, you live your life. When you live another person's dream, you live that person's life. So, do not let go off your dream because each dream is special.

What “Captain Philips” talks about?

Not being a big fan of English movies, I usually miss out on watching fine and creative movies. This also means that I end up watching really dumb movies rather than exploring new stuff. So when my husband decided to play a movie called “Captain Philips”, I decided to sit it out and watch through it. I was told once by a friend that “Anything good has to be appreciated”. I totally agree with him but I would add – “and has to be shared”. We live in the era of sharing tiniest bit of news and information.

Anyway, there are some movies which you simply cannot watch through, some that you immediately forget, and some that linger on your minds for a long time. Captain Philips is one such movie that opened my mind to a whole new arena of excitement and thrill. The Tom hanks starrer is a gripping movie that speaks about fear-laden courage and a strong presence of mind.

Based on a true story – A container ship sailing through a port get hijacked by Somali pirates who threaten the captain of the ship with weapons. As the crew and the captain try their best to outwit the pirates, the coin somehow overturns and the captain ends up being kidnapped by the pirates into a lifeboat. The rest of the story is about how the captain is rescued when the SEAL team steps in. Eventually, they succeed in rescuing the captain who showed his wise presence of mind in times when needed the most.

Of course, the story might sound simple and unimpressive. What is impressive here is the gripping force which splashes from the movie right from the beginning till the climax. The actors have given their best of efforts which makes the movie stand out. With amazing background and visuals, I would vote it as the most creative and inspiring movie of the year.

Bottom-line: Go for it if you like thrillers. Captain Philips is all about courage, determination and striking at the right time.

The “J’ feeling that creeps from nowhere….

Oh, the mixture of endless feelings that stir up a human heart. With a heart that beats constantly, we humans have been gifted with a constant free-flow of feelings as well. Deny as you might, at every second, you are “feeling” something or the other. And yes, you have choices out here as you can choose from a different variety of feelings.

Even when you decide to choose a feeling, most of the times a feeling just springs up and tugs at your heart even before you could be warned of it. So does the feeling of being ‘J’ that rents a space in your mind and heart when you least need it. While some feelings make you feel heavenly good, there are some which are designed to make you feel miserable and wretched. Yeah, blame the wonders of the man above!

There is more. There are some feelings that make you feel evil, spiteful, devilish, wicked, sinful, vicious…oh, the dictionary has a number of words for a feeling. But yeah, I know you are denying feeling any of those because we all want to feel saintly. Yet, the mother of all these feelings – jealousy has definitely crept into your head at least once like an uninvited, uncalled guest.

When you see that friend of yours marrying an attractive hot female whom you have only dreamt off, when your neighbor ends up owning the latest Mercedes, when your colleague grabs the latest I-phone model…omg, you say, it’s going to be hard ignoring the ‘J’ feeling if such people exist around you who somehow meddle with life’s challenges and end up being on the receiving end unlike you, who is still strolling on the wishing end.

Welcome to the ways of life. Now is the time to invite the grandmother of all feelings, Good. Yeah, as simple as it sounds, feeling “good” will come to your rescue when you tangle your heart and mind into the web of ‘J’ feeling. When you try to apply the feeling of goodness, you will see the difference that calms your peace of mind.

Next time, if your driver wears a Rado watch, you will triumphantly crush the ‘J’ feeling and replace it will the good feeling because you will also get what you need. Someday. Somewhere. For now, you can float in your dreams.

A task for angels - Paulo Coelho

Many years ago lived a man who was able to love and forgive everyone he met.
Because of this, God sent an angel to talk to him.
“God asked me to come and visit you and to tell you that He wants to reward you for your goodness,” said the angel.
“Any favor that you desire will be granted. Would you like to have the gift of curing?”
“By no means,” answered the man. “I prefer that God Himself choose those to be cured.”
“And what about bringing sinners to the path of the Truth?”
“That is a task for angels like you. I don’t want to be venerated by anyone and serve as an example all my life.”
“I can’t go back to heaven without granting you a miracle. If you don’t pick one, you’ll be obliged to accept one.”
The man reflected a little before answering: “Then I want Good to be done through me, but without anyone noticing – not even myself, so that I don’t commit the sin of vanity.”
And the angel gave to that man’s shadow the power to cure, but only when the sun was shining on his face.
In that way, wherever he went, the sick were cured, the earth became fertile again, and sad people regained their joy.
The man traveled many years over the Earth without noticimg the miracles he worked, because when he was facing the sun, his shadow was always at his back.
In that way he could live and die without being aware of his own sanctity.