Writing

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Habit, Postaday, Writing

Writing isn’t an art but a habit. This is something that I realized only lately. It doesn’t matter whether you are writing 50 words or 3000 words, all that matters is that you have taken time off to sit in front of your laptop/journal to pen/type down your thoughts. It isn’t easy, atleast not for me. Even though there have been innumerable instances in the last 10 years wherein I started a blog and left it after two or three posts. Te start has always been glorious. The excitement of starting something new soon fizzles out to give way to routine, mundane and unappreciated. I am not saying that this is what everyone goes through but specifically me.

So, when I analyzed why I always quit after attempting something new I found out that there are 3 major reasons:

• What starts as excitement becomes a chore
• Priorities change as something new and exciting replaces your writing
• Fear of failure

But this time I didn’t want to give up. What have I done this time to prevent me from quitting:

1. Set weekly goals to ensure that no matter what I will finish writing atleast 4 posts per week. I have created a system wherein I get incentives (dessert after a weekend dinner, read my favorite book, watch my favorite TV show etc.)
2. Start actively seeking for feedback on my posts. The more my posts are read by the people,the greater the feedback(constructive or otherwise) which will help me better my writing
3. Alter the content of the Blog to keep myself from getting bored. My blog doesn’t symbolize a recurring “theme”. Its a rather honest attempt at sitting down and cultivating a new habit

I am well on my 5th post now but I am sure that I will definitely stick to the habit this time. There will be good days when I enjoy every word of every sentence I write and there will be bad days when I will deter from even approaching my computer. But, the important thing is to overcome the procrastination and go ahead and type atleast a few sentences that make sense and represents your thoughts lucidly.

Here’s hoping to a long stint!

Introversion

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Introversion, Life, Postaday

(C) http://bit.ly/1xksZxX

It was during my early teens that I realized I was an introvert. I preferred books over people, thoughts over socialization, solitude over collaboration and reticence over expression. Why did I turn out to be like this? I have tried to answer this question repeatedly over the last 15 years but the answers were always convincing. I posed this question to myself when I was in school, I rationalized it to the bullying I underwent. I posed this question again during my college and I rationalized it to lost love. I posed this question again during my graduation and I rationalized that I would be perceived dumb. In this day and age where perceptions are facts, could I, an introvert, who always though of himself as an intellectually superior human being, be confined to the perceptions of the society? Unfortunately (or fortunately) that’s what I chose.

But, off late, I have come to realize that all the hypotheses are merely rationalizations and I started challenging the perceptions- yes, the very same perceptions that clearly became facts. Am I “wired” differently. Am I really introverted or do I see it as some sort of social awkwardness? Why is this aspect of my personality such a big deal?

I took pride in my introversion. I accepted it. The moment I accepted this trait of my personality, things became much easier. I don’t care much about how I am perceived as a husband, a worker or even a friend. The moment I accepted it, I felt this huge burden off of me. Philosophy helped me during the times of doubt. Be it the Mahabharatha or the teachings of Krishnamurti, I have been able to find peace, atleast concerning this part of my life, attainable.

I don’t know how many of you are even reading this but if you are, do realize that we are a different breed of people. We are not wrapped in a bubble wherein the outer world feels the need to enforce their opinions on us. It is not “Them” vs “Us”. Just like you and I are trying to grapple with the basic facts of life, so is everybody. So, stop giving your attributes too much importance and just let it go. Trust your instincts and express yourself in any way possible. Don’t fret over things which really don’t matter. Try to figure out a way around it.

As Kafka said, “The limited circle is pure.”, just have the confidence that there is nothing wrong with you or the world. We are just who we are. As simple as that.

Krishnamurti

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Achievement, Emotions, existence, Krishnamurti, Life, postaweek

Our everyday life is filled with a lot of emotions. Pain, anger, happiness, jealousy, envy and pride are just some of them. Even though everyone goes through these myriads of experiences, how equipped are we in terms of dealing with them?

Right from childhood, we are taught to excel in a lot of areas wherein academic excellence is the primary requirement. Be it Geography, History or Math – we have the right support and arsenal in place to go conquer them. We are, in fact, assessed, compared and hung dry on the pedestal of achievement when the pursuit of “knowledge” takes such aforementioned connotations. But, why is it that the basic aspects of managing life such as handling relationships, understanding emotions, living ethically and inquiring philosophy treated with disdain and contempt? Is it because they don’t “add” to your achievements which will help you get your new promotion, new car or even a new spouse?

The eminent philosopher Krishnamurti once said, “The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.”. But so caught up are we in this complex and chaotic world that we have no time for observing ourselves and this is what brings me to the root of the problem in terms of understanding these emotions. The art of Observation is what we need to cultivate in this day and age. The moment you separate the observer and the observed is when you start identifying yourself. The existential crisis has always dwelt upon this sort of analysis and I am no new to this phenomenon. The more we are aware of ourselves, the less aware we will be.

In conclusion, getting a handle on our emotions is really more tough than we could possibly imagine but it is not the end (ability to master these emotions) that is the ultimate pinnacle of achievement but the process we undertake, which is unique to every individual, is the most cherishing experience in this human life.

Raja Ravi Verma

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Answers, Life, Randomness

Life is just like a movie except the frames have no sequence, meaning or logic to it. Generations have spent countless hours trying to decipher these reels in order to prove the pseudo randomness yet there is no answer. So, why this constant urge to find, curate and examine the so called reality of life? What does it give us? Why is it so difficult for us to let “it” be?

That’s because human nature in itself is fallible. We always need a frame of reference to assure ourselves of the depths of existence. Its like little Tommy needs to find Mommy in the dark of the woods. We can never survive the questions. We always need answers.

We are constantly looking outward, inward, upward and downwards for these answers which seemingly are neither complete nor incomplete. My answer is very different than your answer, Then what is “the” answer? Why is it so worth to undertake all the pains just to find this source of curiosity? What happens next?

Dali

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Bombay, Dali, Rains

Bombay rains provided a perfect preface to today’s chapter. As usual, I woke up late just to enjoy those few minutes between dreaming and awakening. Sometimes I do wonder what happens to all the thoughts and dreams I have so elaborately crafted out of my subconscious. Such a waste. Anyways, I hopped on to the flight and resumed my novel “Solo”. The melancholy the novel exemplifies is poetic yet dreadful at times. It makes me wonder, just like the character in the novel Ulrich, how would I shape my memories through time? In an age of glorified self promotion and constant beams of information uploads and downloads, will memories remain etched forever or will they remain elusive? I don’t know but what would Dali think about the same?