The evolving face of involvement

What egged me on to penning my thoughts on this is how I see people changing in today’s socio-political scenario…we no longer wait for decisions to be made for us or stand as old Hindi movies would portray: bystanders to grave injustices. We get involved.

What’s brought about this change? A combination of factors to my understanding…the age old ‘chalta hai’ Indian mentality has long been abolished since the new face of media and entertainment where press has become opinionated (to my disdain…this is supposed to be an unbiased media…yet emotions and sensationalization run galore)…and movies that push people to act as you would in a true democracy. The youth of today is vastly impressionable and even more informed than a decade ago…you have the social media boom with Twitter and Facebook in the forefront to thank for this. We no longer have to wait to hear about news and then sign petitions, etc. to have a voice. Social media is THE VOICE.

This all leads me to ask myself…Is this a good thing though? It has its pros and cons. Take current anti-corruption movements for example…it pressurizes parties in power to take into consideration the public view and move faster towards a positive change rather than 40 years later. However, we must understand that no matter what, we must also abstain trying to take power into our own hands…else what would make us any different from extremist groups or barbaric civilizations. We do have the power to speak up and to voice our concerns…but we mustn’t arm twist authorities for a minute of fame…after all…these were people we elected…and we are as much to blame indirectly about their wrong decisions.

I saw a lot of exchange on my social media timelines about how the political parties are pathetic, etc. We however, should first question ourselves and then question them. If you have a problem with the condition of roads…have you worked towards getting a substantial database of complaints and submitted to the local authorities or voiced your issues to the media for representation? If you have for your respective issues, done all you could at your end…with your grievances going unanswered, your aggravation is understandable. If you haven’t (which is the case with most people), it is unfair for you to suddenly wake up one day and complain about your issues being thrown to deaf ears when you haven’t even articulated your message yet!

How then do we make a difference? Start at the grass root levels. We must accept that if a change has to come about in the political scenario and if we are to have the power to affect the change, we too must have made a significant contribution to society. The harsh reality is that no matter how educated or opinionated we are, just holding a steady job, supporting one’s family and posting opinions on our Facebooks or Twitter isn’t going to change much. It at maximum will get people thinking…which is a first step…but what good is a world full of thinkers and non-doers. Ask yourself, what am I doing myself to improve the standard of living of my community, my town, my city, my country?

You see litter, start a cleaning drive and get people to sign up for it. Approach media so it gets noticed…once they talk about it…chances are that local municipalities will get more involved. You see children on the street begging…DON’T hand out money…that’s always the easy way out. Chances are…they won’t even get the money for their well-being. Instead, walk them to a restaurant, feed them a meal and buy them a set of clothes. It won’t just be the fact that they have gotten free stuff…but also the fact that you stayed with them for more than a minute and took time out to get to know them. And that, might just positively affect them for life. Get involved in movements. I have to mention this movement because it’s something that changed my outlook on a lot of things. A friend of mine, Roshini Davidson, introduced me to “Street Smart” in Bangalore. I met these street children on weekends in a shelter and we would teach them a different skill (art, etc.) every time we met them. Needless to say, their spirit broadened my perspective on life…I’ll never forget them, and, I’m sure, the feeling is mutual.

These are just two examples of what you can do. Here are a few things I live by:
- Don’t throw away money at charities, etc. There is more gratification with actually getting involved. Sponsor a child’s education for a year or feed a kid for day. You know then that you are affecting a change, and the feeling is empowering.
- Start drives to improve the infrastructure in your society. Remember always that negativity only invites more negativity. Show a positive change, get the media involved and your movement for sure will not go unnoticed. Chances are, you’ll initiate a pay-it-forward.
- Get involved with politics. This is no small feat. I wouldn’t suggest for anyone to get involved unless they have a sound education and financial stability before trying out. It may sound like words in the air right now, but with the pressure and temptation once you enter the field, these are the things that will matter the most.
- Contribute to education. If you have writing skills, use your talent! Write articles and chapters in government textbooks that will once a child reads and studies it, get them thinking. Publish themed calendars, etc. and collect the proceeds to help with funding any social causes you’d directly like contributing to.

These are just a few, however, I hope that my rantings have gotten you thinking. As I said…it’s a first step.

Disclaimer: Views mentioned are my own and not meant to offend a section of society or authority.

racism - a synonym for stupidity

I don't know you...I don't care whether you like me or hate me
Yet all you can do is make this world difficult for me to see

I sit here vexed at the thought that another could narrow their eyes
Without knowing me from Adam - i guess that's where the problem lies

Blind hatred for something that to you shouldn't be
You lose all dignity when you voice those thoughts that shackle me

Social Norms - A farce

Has it ever occurred that days go by supposedly unproductive because to the perceiver the “acceptable standards” as to living a day well spent weren’t met?

Normal. Read the word out aloud and it resonates nothing but the feeling of plain and simplistic. Is that then what people strive to be…? The existence of a life so diverse and complex should be reduced to something so contrite? A day well spent to me would be one where the mind works endlessly questioning reasons of life, reaching somewhat satisfying conclusions, thus, progressing in a manner of speaking. It doesn’t necessarily mean having accomplished a towering feat in the field of work, society or whatsoever.

I then come to questioning what is perceived as ‘bad’ or more broadly ‘unacceptable’. Think of the term and a list of personalities such as psychopaths, pedophiles, liars, thieves to list a few enter one’s mind. But what I’d rather question is the basis as to this classification. This is not to say that being any one of these is to be considered a good characteristic, but, the fact that cause and effect does exist in every manner of speaking. It’s easy to point a finger at Hitler and comment as to the monstrosities he committed to, but, what would be indeed profound would be rather to understand the psyche behind this troubled state. Life if simply classified in black and white would not hold as many difficulties, what is to be carefully analysed is not the existence of these, but, the shades of grey often overlooked where both converge.

Why do I speak of the defaulter in such a manner as though he/she instead is the victim? Simply for the reason that when one has been exposed to such matters in life without education regarding its effects and guidance, the tendency is to accept these matters and ideologies as norms, and they in turn become a way of life. It is thus interesting to observe that the thief had once been stolen from, the sexual offender was perhaps once abused…the psychopath was educated in an oppressive environment.

The multiplier effect often referred to in the economic sense to me holds good then in education and human emotions additionally. A single act committed by one becomes a pay it forward and soon spreads without being curbed. Hence, for that reason, I find it of grave importance to connect the dots to the source and help in adopting a sound philosophy. The fact that someone is indeed diabolical is then questionable, for in almost every situation, each action is an outcome of an array of wrongs. Strange then how a chain reaction can be triggered from an action that negatively affects the person. The human brain interestingly has a 10% capacity to make rational decisions. The rest 90% capacity is just a storehouse. It’s the subliminal arena and interestingly retains the negative messaging over the years. Though it doesn’t have to its credit the power in decision making, it does enjoy what is known as top-of-the-mind recall. In such a situation, when a person is exposed to a similar situation, for the virtue that it has been stored, the individual tends to relate to the problem. So…where does the problem arise? Often problems of victims to such situations go unaddressed, thus, a lack of closure leads them to gain a distorted outlook on the same. Often, in seek to reverse the roles and in turn outweigh the scales so that control is in their favour, they themselves commit to such acts.

Even more interesting, if analysed is the fact that most people considered as outcasts by social norms were indeed exceptional philosophers of great repute. Read their works and you gain a deep insight into matters of life. John Ruskin was questioned to be a pedophile, Oscar Wilde was shunned due to his active role in the aesthetic and decadent movement, Socrates was considered by pockets as unlawful due to his homosexuality, and not forgetting the ‘world’s greatest lover’ Casanova looked upon with disdain due to his reputation as a womanizer. Does this then mean that those considered as outcasts indeed were so due to the fact that the acts they conformed to weren’t considered as normal. This then leads to the next logical question, then, that whether what is not considered as normal and looked upon wearily, often profane, is indeed so due to the nature of its unfathomable marvel. People over time have been seen to reject all that is not stereotypically ‘nice’ and ‘safe’ thus isolating evolving ideologies, oppressing unconventional philosophies, eventually forcing the birth of rebellious movements. Isn’t it but natural then to think that this in turn would result in a chain reaction? The matter of irony here though lies in the fact that in building walls of norms and shunning those matters that don’t conform to it, one in turn forces a situation where safety ceases to exist.

A simple question: which colour then would you find more appealing – black or white? The former typically programmed in one’s mind with a deep association with all that’s bad or the latter considered to be a sign of purity? Would it be reasonable then to draw conclusions based on a person’s choice of these colours and simply decide characteristics based on superficial facades? I personally prefer neither...my favourite would inarguably be red...where then do i fall in these preconceived notions...? :)

Notional Novelty

How strange it is to sit silently watching the changes rise and fall around you…knowing that perhaps there is something you could possibly do but being immobilized by ties and shortcomings beyond your control. The funny thing about life is that you tend to often judge the present and put aside allowances based on what you’d expect to happen in the days to come. You place the certainties of today based on the unsure happenings tomorrow and tend to in the process forget to cherish those things in the present day which are actually true, just and genuine. Hope like I said…it’s the weakest link second to love in humanizing the individual.

Every song of choice they say is a reflection of the person’s being. A person by that definition is the most complicated compilation of a bundle of melodies…a song waiting to be found with the lyrics that tell a distinct tale. The oddest thought yet is that no matter how complex an individual may be, how high they may place themselves in terms of intellectual capacity, musical aptitude, whatever field their interests span….at the end of the day, all this complexity can be penned down as an autobiography. Odd how despite veering to be distinct and unfathomable, their very existence can exist in the pages of a paperback book. Is that really life….? Or is it better illustrated by the unexplainable details that cannot be so well contained…the actions led by emotions.

It’s ironic how life ends up working its winding ways, you initially want something with such a vengeance that you channelize all your efforts, steer all you energy towards the attainment of that very thing…and then…once you have it…it loses it’s novelty. That however, shouldn’t be the notion loosely placed across all things…especially as in the case of human relations – where thanking the unpredictable nature of emotions and the varying means of dealing with each delicate aspect adopted by an individual, this intricate theory holds no good.

Random Quandaries

Its funny how you see it all tumbling right before you and there’s nothing you can do other than remain a helpless spectator to realities you’d rather turn a blind eye to. Then the questions plague your mind...the torrent of what ifs, whys, hows, whos! It’s a curse really…this thing called life…beautiful as it may be; it confines free spirits to worldly norms of finance, emotions…pain, hurt, anger…eventually eradicating the pureness of their essence. I oft wonder if the after life does indeed exist…and with all the perils that my entity has acquainted itself with…what my judgment would be. Its crazy how the mind can think in such an array of diversity…they say we exercise just 10% of our capacity…imagine if we expanded these horizons…what a thought!

I no longer feel hurt…I no longer feel misery…it’s almost as though I no longer feel! I guess this is what the proposed superhuman state was – someone detached to emotions…just extremely focused and goal oriented. This is me…what has become of me…a portrait of years gone by in shattered wishes? Yet I still hope against all hope…that’s the weakness of the human eye if you’d ask me…hope and love…together they make you weak to resolve. Then again…it is what makes us human…and…that’s a chance I’m willing to take.

I listen to sad songs…each one with a distinct emotion I can relate to as some part of my life lost away…yet…its not sadness that crowds me…rather…a feeling of numbness to it. Just a silent laugh conveying the notion that this is me! How strange that someone somewhere knows exactly how I feel!

And that thought takes me to the question of soul mates and whether they do indeed exist or whether they are yet a fictitious character created by one’s mind’s eye to drive us through life optimistically looking for what’s not there. The ultimate soul mate to me then is the self…eventually holding your hand every step of the way…feeling each intimate emotion…creating the world around you as you’d like it to be.

I sit here yet I belong somewhere else…to a faraway place created by me where the horses run wild…the dew settles on the leaves after a stormy monsoon…where the sands spread beyond my vision…where I’d walk with another free of these self made shackles in their entirety.

These are the dreams of yet another passing day…quandaries of my life.

It’s strange how this life works out. What you imagine it to be is yet simply your perception…different from that of those with you. Well...at least I can take away from this knowing that I did love…always will…but this is something that’s mine…this knowledge of dreaming yet again…wishing a world of possibilities…this will remain my secret to guard…that in my mind…it’ll always be…love remains…people don’t…

In all its functional differences…if you look at the lives of individuals put together…they are very much alike…with the clichéd responsibilities of family, work, society, the physiological needs after the attainment of which, one typically moves to attain self actualization. In reality, this state of being exists from birth itself…what clouds one’s vision from accepting and embracing this state are the years of programming that have built up society and what is popularly considered to be desirable. What really stands out in this whole world of similarities are the emotions experienced beyond these norms which challenge the individual to push their mind’s limits beyond that mere 10%. Do emotions then help shape the intellect...the answer to me most definitely would be yes…they are eventually what guide decisions even when the rational self believes something else…emotions guide the way. This then…is how we strive to be better…how we can hope to love an individual at par with our image of the perfect self…