When will my cheese move???

Stagnancy...one of the most feared words in the dictionary of the free spirited! Things lapsing into a routine, while desirable to many, is a horror to those who seek adventure everyday. Of course I am not talking about Captain Jack Sparrow!!! I am talking about the little Jack Sparrows inside us...the one that is unpredictable some mornings, the one that yearns for uncertainty and chaos for some part of the day, the one that knows that life is truly lived in such small daily adventures.

But what do you do when day after day you get stuck in a routine and find yourself becoming slave of habits? What when you want so much to change and you are glaringly aware of the fact that it will be a while before your "cheese" will be moved. The reference here is to a very popular book (Dunno why!) that compares our lives as complex individuals with mouse like creatures who find it crushing when their cheese is moved (changes happen around them). While one of them moves on and find "new cheese"(new meaning of life); the pathetic one stays back and merely lament and plummet into depression!

Here however, the intention is not to lament over the "moved cheese" but to seek its happening! True, its fun being comfortable with life...True, its always reassuring to get that feeling in morning "I AM IN CONTROL"...True, its awesome to laze around...

Alas, the heart yearns for something more, always!!!

For sooner or later, 'Comfort' turns to 'monotony'...

"I AM IN CONTROL" turns to "AM I A CONTROL FREAK?"

and 'lazing around' turns to 'utter boredom'!

So, one wishes for 'change'...covets transition... anticipates the adrenaline rush of many 'firsts' to come... urges the time to fly by...

Its not the inability to move on and find new cheese (MIND IT!!!)...its the obligation to live with the old cheese until it is moved...and meanwhile cherishing the sweet hope of welcoming the adventure that life will present soon...

And the sun followed...

In a race against time, one hardly gets the time to look out for one's back. The preoccupation with what is to come is too overpowering to give way to contemplation about what went by. For what is past is history and what is to come is the real mystery; and we all like "mysteries", don't we?! Not that this one here is an exclamation about some backstabbing Brutus, who didn't quite enjoy becoming history. Its about retrospecting itself,how things seem all funny and relatively easy once they are past... Its about not having the luxury to be nostalgic at times... Its about forgetting all those rungs of ladder that have been conquered... Its about 'moving on' the fast-track... Its about the undeniable anticipation of future defeating the sweet romance one does with one's memories in one's "tanhai"...

Just like while rushing on a road that promises a view of the rising sun at its destination,one hardly considers enjoying the pink beauty of the new born dawn creeping from behind; in these years of being full of excitement about future, one hardly has time for wisdom based on experience!!! Now it may come out as way too altruistic if I preach the importance of experience; for I myself am nothing else but a consumer. I love to consume what keeps me happy... (its more than choco-chip ice cream, folks!) Its a happy experience itself. Though it is important to keep track of one's past and learn continuously from one's memories; its equally important to keep a keen eye on the morrow...

And it is this hunger for novelty that leads one into unchartered territories. The desire to win it all by hook or by crook comes rarely but when it does, its not the 'magnificently approaching dawn from behind' that matters; its the first glimpse of the sun coming out from the tranquil fathoms of a lake that matters. I guess the shift in notions from beginning till the end only suggests the dilemma that presents itself frequently. Keeping a firm head on one's shoulders is appreciable and only achievable when one learns from the past...but its not until one learns to rise above the clouds and dream, does one has a chance of making the sun itself follow...and not just the dawn...

A Hug is all it takes

Munna Bhai said it long back (Mr. Deeds said it LONGER back)...Jaadu ki jhappi can do wonders for everyone!!!

One can befriend strangers, can bridge distances between angry loved ones, can make a crybaby smile, can bring tears to the eyes of toughest of souls...can even revive people from coma in the most obscure of ways!

But that is not what this piece is about. While on a lighter note, it seems so incredible that a hug can fix-it-all; it is as unimaginable as it is incredible. Imagine walking up to someone, you are having a row with and hugging them all of a sudden. A multitude if reactions can be received...

1) "Freeze-frame"

2) "Get off me"

3) "WOWWWW!!!!"

4) "You smell funny...."(often thought, rarely said)

And it is this fear of hearing all these weird things, that keeps us at arms length from people we care about. Who would want to be perceived as vulnerable in the one act of love that is so pure??? Its as wholesome as it is unnerving...and No, we don't do unnerving!!!

So, what's with all this preaching about hugging?

Its because a hug given at the right moment by the right person can save you from the deepest dungeons of self afflicted agony.

Its because a hug is just the right amount of intimacy one wants when one is utterly sad or when one is too delighted to even put it in words.

Its because sometimes, when you pent up all the world's frustration and hurt inside you and its against your pride to let it show, a hug is all you need to relax and take it easy.

Its because a hug is all it takes to break the walls of deception and be natural once again.

A hug may not be the best of ways to approach strangers, but it sure is the best way to befriend those friends again whom you alienated over long years if neglect.

A hug may not cure the pain, but it gives you that moment of rest and quiet in which you once again start believing in yourself.

So while there is no magic in any "Jaadu ki jhappi"; its the magic of human spirit that is always rekindled with a hug. But what if you don't find anyone to hug??? Then like Barney Stinson giving himself mental hi-fives; raise your arms and wrap yourself in your embrace and tell yourself everyday "its like heaven in your arms"... :D

Addiction!

Don't tell me, its not worth fighting for...

don't tell me, there's nothing I want more...

Yeah well, the song reminds of a really romantic backdrop; but obviously the title sets the context right. In an attempt to fight against addiction for anything, an addict must feel this way. Those of you who may be imagining me with a bong in hand, beware!!!

This isn't about any ordinary addiction of hash, marijuana, coke, nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, etc. Its about addiction itself.

People these days brag openly of their indulgences and addictions. Being a "shop-aholic" is the "IN" thing! Being a "TV addict" is even cool in some circles! As much as we try to find euphemistic words for all our shortcomings, we all know how hard it will be to let go of a habit which we so dearly cultivated. Personally, I have always tried to control my own habits. Indulge but never over-do it! I would drink tea, but always in moderation. I would eat chocolates, but tire of them if I had them in abundance. I would break habits continuously if I felt I was getting dependent on them. So I always believed addiction a weakness of character...

And then I was introduced to "FARMVILLE"!!!

It was just the beginning though. After growing wheat and rice and herding up cattle and buying tractor and stuff,I was quite proud of myself. Assuming that all these activities were as easy in real life, I could have run a very successful farm! But as stated previously, despite over indulgence in this case, i tired of it...

(Yes, i know tiring isn't a real strength!!!) But it helps one fights addiction...(another contributing factor was the link getting banned in my college :P)

In any case, I realized after this episode of vulnerability that I can be an addict too!!!!

Oh, many other Facebook-games followed afterwards...my obsession with them peaked and then plummeted! I clanged to them for the sheer joy of "killing" time and then I found better things to do...

This experience however, also made me acknowledge some of the things you become addicted to in life and their subtlety is so sublime that you hardly ever notice your dependence on them or admit their inevitability. For instance a mother's need to know what you had for dinner even if you are a 1000 miles away; a father's concern for your career casually hidden in his interrogations about "how are things?"; a sister's undying love for you even when you hardly find time for her; the sheer wholesomeness of good times you share with your friends every other day...

I admit i am addicted to all these and would never want to let go of them...As much as one craves independence, it is these dependencies that fuels ones initiatives. So while its worth fighting off the other ordinary addictions, it worthwhile hanging on to some.

As for Farmville, MY WILL turned out to be much stronger :D