The Overview Effect

Looking at live videos of the earth from outer space. Couldn't define the feeling. Like one of profound oneness and fragility. All that matters, will perish one day.
Beautifully, heart breakingly, softly, slowly, without noise or maybe with. And yet this speck is a part of the whole. Such a privilege. :)

Qualities I love

I have been thinking a lot lately about the qualities I appreciate in people, things that I admire the most:

Topmost would be: 

Concern. If someone cares for you, when the going gets tough, and manages to stick it out with you - they are worth keeping around. And worth doing your best for!

Everyone has battles to fight. Some of us have simultaneous ones. But if someone manages to give you a bit of their time while fighting theirs, they are worth their weight in gold.

Loyalty. This doesn't need an explanation.

Responsibility. It comes in many forms. Sometimes, it's just about taking charge of your self and your actions. 

The most precious quality to me though - is an ability to carry people forward. Not everything in life will be perfect all the time. Realizations don't come when the movies tell you they are supposed to come. But all it takes is one person to believe in you - and things magically change. Years ago, I had a teacher who believed, and her two kind words turned a potential loss into a complete win. It was a moment that is ingrained in my memory, because it told me how much I respond to someone's faith in me. 

People who can see who you are and who you can be and encourage you to flourish - are simply the best sort! 

I hope to be that person for someone someday, and I hope I find someone who does the same for me. :) 

Building a future with someone like that would be simply incredible! 

**happiness**

One of the notes from Sapiens

Excerpt: “How long can we separate the wall of biology from the walls of law and political science?”

Interesting to note how laws might change if we try to insert biology into it. That means a fundamental shift and bucketing of people will occur. Ethics under this realm could lead to greater divides, either with the races or with individual, and the justification at this point would be scientific. 
Paradoxically, the people appointed to cook up these laws may still be operating within their own opinionated realm and thus the universality of the laws could be skewed in the favour of the person's own belief. This would justify Hitler's beliefs etc, because that too was skewed only towards biology and the worship of fitter, better looking, and more athletic humans. The problem with most laws is that, there is no agreed upon way forward for the human race. So since we don't have a cumulative north star, we are unable to decide what steps need to be taken. Nor is the collective given more importance than the individual.

Say we could actually find a way to unite under a common goal, would the goal:
1. Stay constant ad infinitum?
2. Would everyone agree that it is the way forward and give up personal gain in the favour of collective gain?

It's similar to the concept of communism in my mind. It works really well, only if everyone agrees to it. If even one person disagrees, the whole system collapses.

Plus in times of disagreement, most laws go out the window and talks break down. So anarchy can once again be the order of the day.

Interesting points to ponder on. 

Musings on a sunny day

Some days I get bogged down by life, and some days I have moments of serenity. Some days it's hard to go on. Some days there is just cold hard purpose.
On particularly cold sunny days, I listen to the Barenaked Ladies and life seems like a road trip. (Pinch Me) :)
But the best days are those, when you stretch and stretch and stretch.
And you choose love. Not for anyone else, but for you. Because love is breezy, it's full of promise and it doesn't make you small.
I think I'm slowly understanding the battles that take place within, when your insecurities clash with the person you want to be. Anger is like a whirlwind that keeps you caged in, every gust a stroke of pain. You would rather avoid it. Maturity might just entail allowing the hits to happen, and finding a way to deal with the pain. Because pain can only have power over you if you allow it to. It's okay to give yourself room to grow and make mistakes. Life is a long term continuum, no act is complete in itself. It took me so many years to grasp that concept. 
I feel like I'm leaving childhood behind now. It's slow, but it is happening. Makes me happy.

Switching to: Lovers in a dangerous time/Brian Wilson

The end of 2017

I wanted to write something that reflects on and ties up all my experiences this year, but where do I start?
2017 has been so good, so educational, so long!
So much has changed this year. A slow unfolding dynamic that started somewhere in 2016 and is taking shape now. 

Let me do a listicle on this one:

In 2017, I discovered that:
1. Effort is where the fun is at! Getting your hands dirty is a good way to find satisfaction.
2. Reading, and understanding new concepts is an aphrodisiac. 
3. A north star is what steadies you, especially in times of doubt.
4. Doing what is necessary is important, even if it is distasteful af.
5. Sometimes it's good to think less and do more
6. Keep the good ones close, let the bad eggs go. 
7. Acceptance is key. Things that were set in motion when you had no control over them, do not have to have power over you always.
8. Lovers, both new and old, teach you about a dimension of love. The joy of that discovery is one of the sweetest things ever.
9. Clarity and purpose comes from a strong and defined center, it's important to invest time developing that.
10. If all else fails, turn up the volume and daaaaance. :)

Hope 2018 turns out even better than this year! **grin**

Imagined Orders

Mid way through reading Sapiens and can't help but wonder. 

What if all the imagined orders of the world were to break?
Would it be liberating? Or just regular ol chaos?

(-.-)

So here's what I have discovered about this slippery thing called clarity. 
The world says you need it. The books make it sound like all your problems get solved once you have it. It's pretty much the unlock key for better levels.
So you try and try and try to get it. Cuz that shit be hard.

And if you try hard enough...someday...you get a glimpse of it! 
(What a high, self celebrations cuz woohoo!)
Then you realise...
(and this is what makes it amazing)
Noooo-one else has it. 
*eyeroll*

100 article mark!

Dayum! Did not know I had blogged so much...< insert poignant text >

Doing what is necessary...

...sucks at times. Like big, giant donkey schwangs. But it must be done nonetheless. 

A bittersweet thought

While looking at the same thing or event - some people see potential, some others see flaws.

Seeing the former, makes you hopeful. The latter makes things binary. I guess that's why I like Kintsugi - as an art and a concept and a way of life. :) 

Axis

The world keeps spinning
little by little
into the distance
Moving on, in the darkness
towards a place
most of us can't see 

Every little thing
so neat, so precise
makes me wonder now
not really now, but how
the eternal came to be

We had no part to play
we just came into being
the moment had to be right
the place divine
right place, right time

And if everything is just so
why do we try to control
when flowing is just so easy?

All it takes 
is a little time,
a little smile,
to unwind
and maybe, just maybe
to find

Home

"Listen to me girl, life is not a game"

She peeks from behind the curtain, little curls framing her face

Trying her hardest, not to give her presence away

He looks at her and smiles, unaware now

How did he get here, when did he start to belong?

The door bell rings 

squealing she runs out,

she needs to be the one

to always open the door,

to her it's not a chore

Ecstatic she runs,

into the waiting arms

of the one so like her, 

only old

Turning around he sees

A little way by his bedside, on a dimly lit table top

a picture of him and her; dancing to some song

was it their favorite one or was it 80's pop?

Those were the days, the madcap times

he used to chase her around the room

trying to reach into the lightness, her brightness

she was, she is;

precious as precious can be

The little one enters,

flushed with laughter, 

pulling her lookalike along

His heart starts to leap 

like a thousand happy, jumpy frogs

How did they get here, when did they start to belong?

Morning Dew

I sat on the cold, stony floor
a little reckless, frozen to the core
but the skies - so divine
and the stars, ooh can they shine!
Mesmerise

I see the sun
slowly rise
coming up over the cold, foggy sky
inching close
covering me in gold

I see little birds
waking up
chirping and cheeping and twittering and flitting
ready to go
where the winds blow

I look over at you
and see your gentle face
your sleepy eyes
the honest you shines

Isn't it ironic
that you break my heart
and yet you make me smile
:)

How to capture a mood

How do you capture the essence of a mood in words? Sometimes they just fail, don't they? Or maybe it's the writer who fails. Creation to me is the by product of intense, non relenting labour and a will to finesse right down to the last detail.

I'd like my words to be powerful, and evocative - taking you  - the reader - on a journey that goes through the depths and the shallows, the peace and the conflict, the music and the serenity. 

Life would be worth it, if I could create one such work that manages to touch all the right cords, in all the right ways. It's like a dance - the steps need to be precise, the music just so, the pauses need a life of their own and the culmination comes at the right time.

** sigh **

Three Loves

The three great loves of my life - The Empath, The Twin and The Fool.

The first one brought me care and strife, the second one made me face my demons, and the third one set me free. :)

The science of signs

I've often wondered if there is any scientific basis for instinct. Sometimes you just feel like something is going to happen. And a lot of the time, that feeling does come true. So is it because you unconsciously sense the pattern of events and can project stuff on to the future or is it just random chance, coupled with a confirmation bias?

If the former is true, then that would be awesome. Because then you'd be able to project scenarios and actually plan life out better - at least to the extent of achieving goals. 

Need to think :D