'Today if you feel frightened then feel inspired.'
- Season 6, Episode 7, Grey's Anatomy, TV Show
A line that stands out in everything I've heard or read today. Sometimes there are words that just fit. That are just right. That are simple and short. And yet they contain a cosmos within themselves. They echo in your head again and again, restructuring your thoughts, reframing your experiences, showing you a different you. A different you than what you think you are...but the you that you really are. Because we think linearly and in structured boxes. But we exist in omnipresence. And once in a while, there will be words, or an image, or an experience that suddenly makes us realize that we are more than what we think we are. We can be anything. It is only fear that holds us back. Beyond fear is inspiration. And equanimity. That there is no chaos. And all is chaos. Everything just is.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Jan 31 - Line for the day
'How did a flying boy first meet a certain one-handed pirate?'
- Back cover, Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
Everything about the outside of this book is exciting. The obvious Peter Pan reference, the front cover which calls it a 'rip-roaring pirate-filled adventure', its fantastical yet piratey cover image, a suitably fat paperback that promised to be a thrilling read. Yet this book has been sitting on my shelf for years, and I have yet to read it. There is nothing about it which is stopping me. It somehow just never gets read. I wonder how many more such books are there in my bookshelves. Actually, I don't have to wonder. Straight of the bat, I remember those Indiana Jones books on the top shelf. Again, something I've been meaning to read for ages, but they are just gathering dust.
Why is it that there are some books that you really want to read, buy and display in prominent places, and then just never manage to pick up. Even when I get the time and don't have a book in mind, my hand never goes towards these books. I'll either re-read some oldies, or do something else. And I never really forget these books. I know they are waiting for me. But somehow, I don't actually want to read them.
Peter and the Starcatchers. The first thing I loved was the name. Its just the kind of name to want to pick up and read about. Then I loved its image, its nice blue-white twilightish colors. Even the back story was compelling. Sometimes, you can get everything right, and still lose.
- Back cover, Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
Everything about the outside of this book is exciting. The obvious Peter Pan reference, the front cover which calls it a 'rip-roaring pirate-filled adventure', its fantastical yet piratey cover image, a suitably fat paperback that promised to be a thrilling read. Yet this book has been sitting on my shelf for years, and I have yet to read it. There is nothing about it which is stopping me. It somehow just never gets read. I wonder how many more such books are there in my bookshelves. Actually, I don't have to wonder. Straight of the bat, I remember those Indiana Jones books on the top shelf. Again, something I've been meaning to read for ages, but they are just gathering dust.
Why is it that there are some books that you really want to read, buy and display in prominent places, and then just never manage to pick up. Even when I get the time and don't have a book in mind, my hand never goes towards these books. I'll either re-read some oldies, or do something else. And I never really forget these books. I know they are waiting for me. But somehow, I don't actually want to read them.
Peter and the Starcatchers. The first thing I loved was the name. Its just the kind of name to want to pick up and read about. Then I loved its image, its nice blue-white twilightish colors. Even the back story was compelling. Sometimes, you can get everything right, and still lose.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Jan 30 - Line for the day
'The great doors are invested with the same power ...'
- Pg 312, Phantom, by Terry Goodkind
Whenever I think of great doors, I think of the pearly gates. Its a amazingly clear visual of fluffy white clouds, big shiny white and gold gates, standing open, with lots of light behind it. A visual made possible by so many movies and other entertainment media. Irrespective of religion, the pearly gates visual stands strong.
The imagery immediately makes me wonder about this innate belief I have that open doors lead to good things, while closed doors are forbidding places. There are, after all, both the unknown. It seems its not so much the fear of the unknown as it is the fear of the dark. Or maybe they just feed off each other. All I know is that in today's world of mistrust, those may be the only doors that we are likely to find open at all!
- Pg 312, Phantom, by Terry Goodkind
Whenever I think of great doors, I think of the pearly gates. Its a amazingly clear visual of fluffy white clouds, big shiny white and gold gates, standing open, with lots of light behind it. A visual made possible by so many movies and other entertainment media. Irrespective of religion, the pearly gates visual stands strong.
The imagery immediately makes me wonder about this innate belief I have that open doors lead to good things, while closed doors are forbidding places. There are, after all, both the unknown. It seems its not so much the fear of the unknown as it is the fear of the dark. Or maybe they just feed off each other. All I know is that in today's world of mistrust, those may be the only doors that we are likely to find open at all!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Jan 29 - Line for the day
"Well, it's a start," Jobs said, "but basically, it stinks."
- Pg 132, Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson
Why is it that every great idea essentially starts as a stinky one. You think of an out of the box solution or something radically new, and basically everyone will tell you it stinks. And it usually does. But those who stay with the idea, keep at it, work with the stink ... those are the people who go on to change the world.
Sticking with a stinky idea, however, is easier said than done. Once you've come up with what you think is something utterly awesome... only to find out everyone else thinks its duller than mud...that disappointment is a hard one to get over. And no matter how many times you tell yourself that this is the initial phase, if I can just stick with it...it will be glorious. It. just. doesn't. stick. Instead, it just stinks.
So I have great respect for the world changers. And am slowly learning the value of failure. When you are growing up, you are taught to excel. You are not taught that you can excel right off the bat only in known things, where there is a benchmark, prior knowledge, and hard work/intelligence will pay off. You are not taught that you cannot excel right off the bat in the unknown. That you will fail again and again. You are not taught to use failure.
And this is my grouse with today's education system. We are so focused on succeeding in a limited set of things, we go through our entire life blinkered to a lane. We are lauded when we do well. We are given extra classes when we do badly. We are never encouraged to try something different. We are never encouraged to use failure. We are only encouraged to avoid the stink.
- Pg 132, Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson
Why is it that every great idea essentially starts as a stinky one. You think of an out of the box solution or something radically new, and basically everyone will tell you it stinks. And it usually does. But those who stay with the idea, keep at it, work with the stink ... those are the people who go on to change the world.
Sticking with a stinky idea, however, is easier said than done. Once you've come up with what you think is something utterly awesome... only to find out everyone else thinks its duller than mud...that disappointment is a hard one to get over. And no matter how many times you tell yourself that this is the initial phase, if I can just stick with it...it will be glorious. It. just. doesn't. stick. Instead, it just stinks.
So I have great respect for the world changers. And am slowly learning the value of failure. When you are growing up, you are taught to excel. You are not taught that you can excel right off the bat only in known things, where there is a benchmark, prior knowledge, and hard work/intelligence will pay off. You are not taught that you cannot excel right off the bat in the unknown. That you will fail again and again. You are not taught to use failure.
And this is my grouse with today's education system. We are so focused on succeeding in a limited set of things, we go through our entire life blinkered to a lane. We are lauded when we do well. We are given extra classes when we do badly. We are never encouraged to try something different. We are never encouraged to use failure. We are only encouraged to avoid the stink.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Jan 28 - Line for the day
'And when one hundred and eighty pounds of excited dog is on a mission, very little is going to stand in his way.'
- Pg 76, Giant George: Life with the world's biggest dog, by Dave Nasser with Lynne Barrett-Lee
Ha ha ... how visual is that sentence! Especially if you are a large breed dog owner. Now I have no idea how much 180 pounds is, since I think in kilograms. But large dogs racing towards you and jumping on you...that I can completely identify with! As a pet mom to a lab-mix who tops me in height when he stands up, this dog's loving can get a bit hairy! The funny thing is when you see him everyday, you get used to his size. But then hey presto, we get visitors...and its like armageddon with ear-shattering sound effects. Every visitor must be inspected in the noisiest way possible, with lots of jumping and barking. Usually we have to spirit him away to another room (bribed with biscuits of course), just to let someone in the door! Once he knows someone has entered his domain, he will scratch the door down trying to get out. So we sheepishly will explain our dog to our guests, promise them no harm as long as they sit still as statue and let our dog sniff all over them. And of course Nero (our dog), being passive-aggressive, will shy and snarl at the slightest movement from the guests. The funny part is, that he actually loves to be around people. After the initial hullabaloo, he will settle in and get comfy right in the middle of everyone, and as long as no one rises and moves around, he will be as good as gold. But woe betide someone who might want to freshen up. The entire cycle will play itself out again!
The only way to break the cycle is to either have people stay over (where he will settle down after the first hour or so) or not have guests over at all! Because he may not be 180 pounds, but he isn't going to take intruders in his domain lying down..ever!
- Pg 76, Giant George: Life with the world's biggest dog, by Dave Nasser with Lynne Barrett-Lee
Ha ha ... how visual is that sentence! Especially if you are a large breed dog owner. Now I have no idea how much 180 pounds is, since I think in kilograms. But large dogs racing towards you and jumping on you...that I can completely identify with! As a pet mom to a lab-mix who tops me in height when he stands up, this dog's loving can get a bit hairy! The funny thing is when you see him everyday, you get used to his size. But then hey presto, we get visitors...and its like armageddon with ear-shattering sound effects. Every visitor must be inspected in the noisiest way possible, with lots of jumping and barking. Usually we have to spirit him away to another room (bribed with biscuits of course), just to let someone in the door! Once he knows someone has entered his domain, he will scratch the door down trying to get out. So we sheepishly will explain our dog to our guests, promise them no harm as long as they sit still as statue and let our dog sniff all over them. And of course Nero (our dog), being passive-aggressive, will shy and snarl at the slightest movement from the guests. The funny part is, that he actually loves to be around people. After the initial hullabaloo, he will settle in and get comfy right in the middle of everyone, and as long as no one rises and moves around, he will be as good as gold. But woe betide someone who might want to freshen up. The entire cycle will play itself out again!
The only way to break the cycle is to either have people stay over (where he will settle down after the first hour or so) or not have guests over at all! Because he may not be 180 pounds, but he isn't going to take intruders in his domain lying down..ever!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Jan 27 - Line for the day
'A few years ago, before you were born, a society of humans, a secret organisation, was formed ...'
- Pg 134, Dark Magic, by Christine Feehan
Oooh...what an exciting line. Something about secret organisations always sound so mysterious and thrilling. Even if the society doesn't do anything much. But if its a secret society...it must be exciting work! Or so we like to believe.
There is nothing more exciting than curling up with a warm comforter and a thrilling book full of magic and mysteries. It is the stuff of fantasy, of legends, of myths...of mysterious mists and foreboding castles, sorcery and lightning as evil tries to take over the world and good gives it a good pounding...not before getting bruised and battered itself. High drama and eerieness that stops just short of outright horror (okay I'm not a horror and gore fan). And there must be some star crossed lovers; bold, growing into their power men and women and of course the bad bad villain who has had eons of dabbling in bad things and must be defeated at all costs. Well thats the traditional story anyway. Recently, I read the Game of Thrones series, and the lack of a clear villain, the shades of grey in every character was an interesting revelation. It seems that, for me, when it comes to magic and mystery, a good story can eclipse the sometimes nebulous line between good and bad...because clearly it is all relative. And a master story teller will keep me on the edge as I try and identify with the characters being drawn up. And find that they are oh so human (or elf or mage or shapeshifters or vampires) people, put in circumstances that make them rise beyond themselves and become the stuff of legends. Come to think of that...thats not so fantastical after all!
- Pg 134, Dark Magic, by Christine Feehan
Oooh...what an exciting line. Something about secret organisations always sound so mysterious and thrilling. Even if the society doesn't do anything much. But if its a secret society...it must be exciting work! Or so we like to believe.
There is nothing more exciting than curling up with a warm comforter and a thrilling book full of magic and mysteries. It is the stuff of fantasy, of legends, of myths...of mysterious mists and foreboding castles, sorcery and lightning as evil tries to take over the world and good gives it a good pounding...not before getting bruised and battered itself. High drama and eerieness that stops just short of outright horror (okay I'm not a horror and gore fan). And there must be some star crossed lovers; bold, growing into their power men and women and of course the bad bad villain who has had eons of dabbling in bad things and must be defeated at all costs. Well thats the traditional story anyway. Recently, I read the Game of Thrones series, and the lack of a clear villain, the shades of grey in every character was an interesting revelation. It seems that, for me, when it comes to magic and mystery, a good story can eclipse the sometimes nebulous line between good and bad...because clearly it is all relative. And a master story teller will keep me on the edge as I try and identify with the characters being drawn up. And find that they are oh so human (or elf or mage or shapeshifters or vampires) people, put in circumstances that make them rise beyond themselves and become the stuff of legends. Come to think of that...thats not so fantastical after all!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Jan 26 - Line for the day
'The duikers are a collection of antelopes found only in Africa.'
-Pg 89, The Overloaded Ark, by Gerald Durrell
No matter how many times I have read this book, I did not remember this animal. Gerald Durrell creates fabulous portraits of animals, places, people and cultures with his word. And they are all real. Not pieces of fiction. Real honest to God experiences. Makes me realize how inexperienced I really am...in life. They say travel broadens your mind. But today, when we travel, it is on set routes with set itineraries and with similar minded people. We sightsee from a checklist, and zoom about like clockwork toys, too busy to 'be there' and 'do that', than actually imbibe the atmosphere of a place. For all that imbibing, there is television and internet surfing. So we know about the cultures of a place from various sources, but when we are actually there, we are too busy 'seeing' the sights, to actually feel the place. How is this broadening my mind? Hell, people even want to eat the same foods! Now I'm not against having a set menu to keep the old digestion ticking during a vacation. But really, not even sampling the local cuisine? I remember a group trip to Italy where the group actually had to revolt right down to the last person for us to have one Italian lunch. Otherwise it was Indian food, morning, noon and night. And I don't blame them. I know many travellers who demand this of the tour organisers. But really, 10 days in Italy and not having pizza even once!!
And that is just gastronomy. In a recent trip to US (my first), we did the usual sights. But then on a road trip from DC to Canada, we detoured into random villages, ate at a diner, climbed the local observation tower, chased down covered bridges, and generally had the time of our lives. I'm not saying that I did not like seeing Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building or the other postcard places. But they didn't warm my heart as much as those detours did. They didn't broaden my mind...come on we've seen them in countless movies by now. But walking around in those anonymous parks and lost village roads ... ah ... thats where the charm was.
And this is where I envy Durrell. For he lived a life that held many many lifetimes of experiences. He found charm in the little unknown places. In anonymous people. In forgotten fellow living beings who inhabit this earth with us. Like the duikers.
-Pg 89, The Overloaded Ark, by Gerald Durrell
No matter how many times I have read this book, I did not remember this animal. Gerald Durrell creates fabulous portraits of animals, places, people and cultures with his word. And they are all real. Not pieces of fiction. Real honest to God experiences. Makes me realize how inexperienced I really am...in life. They say travel broadens your mind. But today, when we travel, it is on set routes with set itineraries and with similar minded people. We sightsee from a checklist, and zoom about like clockwork toys, too busy to 'be there' and 'do that', than actually imbibe the atmosphere of a place. For all that imbibing, there is television and internet surfing. So we know about the cultures of a place from various sources, but when we are actually there, we are too busy 'seeing' the sights, to actually feel the place. How is this broadening my mind? Hell, people even want to eat the same foods! Now I'm not against having a set menu to keep the old digestion ticking during a vacation. But really, not even sampling the local cuisine? I remember a group trip to Italy where the group actually had to revolt right down to the last person for us to have one Italian lunch. Otherwise it was Indian food, morning, noon and night. And I don't blame them. I know many travellers who demand this of the tour organisers. But really, 10 days in Italy and not having pizza even once!!
And that is just gastronomy. In a recent trip to US (my first), we did the usual sights. But then on a road trip from DC to Canada, we detoured into random villages, ate at a diner, climbed the local observation tower, chased down covered bridges, and generally had the time of our lives. I'm not saying that I did not like seeing Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building or the other postcard places. But they didn't warm my heart as much as those detours did. They didn't broaden my mind...come on we've seen them in countless movies by now. But walking around in those anonymous parks and lost village roads ... ah ... thats where the charm was.
And this is where I envy Durrell. For he lived a life that held many many lifetimes of experiences. He found charm in the little unknown places. In anonymous people. In forgotten fellow living beings who inhabit this earth with us. Like the duikers.
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