tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-218610102024-03-13T19:36:39.416-07:00An Attempt on Rational Creativity!As a Comp Sc, BioTech student, I have this habit of adding disclaimers... My blogs may make you mentally unstable, confused, angry, and so on and so forth...(within the limits of the terms that apply to my membership).
They may also make you enlightened, optimistic, jovial, or just make you adore them.
I take responsibility for the effects caused by my blogs. Now You can decide whether to take responsibility for advancing further and reading my blogs. :-)Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-29133818204324120582018-04-28T06:30:00.001-07:002018-04-28T06:34:11.736-07:00A strong foundation<p dir="ltr">It is a timeless advice, perhaps... Build a strong foundation, and then experiment. If you fail, fear not. Keep trying, keep learning and you will eventually succeed. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Not much is said about what it takes to build a strong foundation... The many attempts, the hard work, the people who had already found their core and gave you the advice you needed at the time when you needed it. The people who failed to build their own foundation... Setting aside their attempts to give you the platform you needed to move forward. The people who didn't have the time or resources to build a foundation... Who had nobody before them who could even give them a start, a first step... Whose lives consist not of experimenting, but just getting by.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Let's speak again of those who did indeed manage to build a foundation. Only to find after many years of relying on the foundation that there were cracks all along, and that the strength of their foundation was an illusion... A clever polishing that hid the cracks all along. That they didn't know half the truth about what their foundation was built on top of.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Seeing and realising all of these may seem grim. Yes, perhaps it is. Yet, not grimmer than the realities that are being seen. For a light now shines upon what is - the realities that once seen, cannot be unseen. And perhaps this awareness is not grim, but a sliver of hope - a silver lining. For once the realities are seen, we can find the tools to either face them and accept them... Or to shape them if we choose to. <br><br></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-am2O7R7xw6U/WuR3geez9HI/AAAAAAAAVjg/IjyW7-2wf_kjR0-RnSkSv5arRPcWN-XZACHMYCw/s1600/1524920705013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-am2O7R7xw6U/WuR3geez9HI/AAAAAAAAVjg/IjyW7-2wf_kjR0-RnSkSv5arRPcWN-XZACHMYCw/s640/1524920705013.jpg"> </a> </div>Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-11620903724957132802017-08-22T06:49:00.000-07:002017-08-22T06:49:57.850-07:00Waves of chaos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Fingers run through the waves of chaos<br />
Unravelling the knots of confusion<br />
Exploring as they go, easing open the doors<br />
Smoothing them out to a conclusion.<br />
<br />
Softly, gently. Do not move too swiftly<br />
Tender are the seas and they must be caressed.<br />
Nurture the roots and the rest will all blossom<br />
Through adamance, they'll not be addressed.<br />
<br />
Life just is - it needs no apology,<br />
Have respect for each other, and care.<br />
Yet, fight we will when our pains are neglected.<br />
With these thoughts do I brush my hair.</div>
Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-69563232020537137562016-09-11T05:39:00.000-07:002016-09-11T05:39:25.252-07:00My closet is dark, damp, cold, noisy and lonely<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Meet my closet.<br />
<br />
It's dark in here. Things are a jumble. Things are a mess. But it's a familiar mess. It's untouched, untainted by anyone else's interference. What I do in here, what I put in here, what I leave in here - remains unassailably mine and mine alone. The light isn't off by accident, or because the light is broken. I choose to leave the light off. Because I'm not ready to shine a light on my closet. Because it needs to remain hidden. I don't need a light to find my things in here. Even if I don't find something, I know that a light wouldn't help me in my search for it.<br />
<br />
It's damp in here. Damp because it's soaked with my tears. Tears that came, tears that wanted to come but couldn't. Tears that won't come because I've been reminded whenever I had to step out of my closet, that I shouldn't have tears. That I should be happy. Because nobody can see my closet, so they think it doesn't exist.<br />
<br />
It's cold in here. I'd have expected it to be warm. But it isn't. Because I know I can't stay in here forever. I know that whatever comfort I find in here, is ephemeral. Yet, it's better than outside. Outside, I get to be numb. Here, I can feel, even if it's cold. The cold is a reassurance that all is not yet lost.<br />
<br />
It's noisy in here. There are voices - voices with meaning, voices without meaning, voices beyond meaning; voices that are audible, voices that suppress, voices that are suppressed - an imbroglio of thoughts and views.<br />
<br />
I'm lonely in here. I know I'm not the only one with a closet. I've been invited to some of my close friends' closets, and I've had them visit mine. Well, at least the sections of my closet that I'd neatly prepared for their visit. Because it's scary to share it all. I'm not ready for it. And they are not ready to see it all.<br />
<br />
Do I step out of my closet? Yes. I have no choice. My closet doesn't feed me. My closet isn't a utopia or a panacea. It's a necessity. I need my closet because it's the only place where I can take my armour off. The armour that I'm told that everyone must have. And I wear this armour whenever I step out of my closet.<br />
<br />
The armour conceals who I am. When I'm out of my closet, wearing my armour, people expect me to be like everyone else. If, at any time, my armour is peeled back in the slightest way, they remind me how I don't look like everyone else. They tell me I'm broken. Some will stab me, in the belief I'm violating some law of nature, or that they ought to stab me so that I'll wear an armour and look the way they expect, when they see me again. Some appear to not know there is an armour at all. Or that when they see me with the armour, they see who I am.<br />
<br />
There are some people who will share with me that they wear an armour too. Who will tell me they weren't born with the armour. That the armour isn't part of them. That like me, they wear the armour because it conceals who they are. That like me, they have a closet too. And whether or not they are yet comfortable inviting me to their closets, they understand what it means to have a closet, and why I have one.<br />
<br />
Speaking of closets has been taboo. We only speak of them when we're ready to come out of them. I think it's time we reclaim the closet. It's time to stop making our closets a matter of shame. For us to have the freedom to come out of our closets (and yes, I do dearly wish to not need a closet and an armour), we first need the freedom to have our closets and to be in them, and to talk about them. For us to be able to say, I have a closet, and while I can't share with you what's in it, it's mine. And I need my time and space in my closet.<br />
<br />
This is me, reaching out to those of you who understand what it means to have a closet, and to wear an armour when having to step out of it to face the world outside. To share with you - you are not the only one with a closet. I have a closet too. And this is how my closet looks, feels and sounds.<br />
<br />
Perhaps, one day, I'll be comfy enough to tell you what's inside, or even come out of it.</div>
Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-87342737552620163592015-05-04T09:46:00.001-07:002015-08-29T10:34:20.674-07:00May the 4th be with you Part 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Continued from <a href="http://thinkvarn.blogspot.com/2015/05/may-4th-be-with-you.html">May the 4th be with you</a>...<br />
<br />
It was 10 AM PDT. Paul got back to his desk. He had barely managed to get through the meeting with his accountants. His taxes were in place, and his business contracts - he was praying that one of them would pull him out of his debt.<br />
<br />
Yes, Paul was in debt. In fact, the family was in debt, and not for a reason of their own doing. Paul knew that Great Grandpa had tried to do his best to avoid this situation, and made sure Paul was always kept informed, lest he had to get his own hands dirty to clean it up. But Paul had also been making his plans and making do with whatever finance skills he had picked up from GG. Also, he knew he could count on his accountants to dot the i's and cross the t's.<br />
<br />
But the meeting had done more than help sort out his paperwork. While parting, one of the men had said... "May the 4th be with you" and everyone had a hearty laugh. Paul had missed the reference, and on asking was gently reminded of the old "Star Wars" reference - at which point he felt sick to the core for not having made the connection himself.<br />
<br />
Sir Vonn Farthings had been a die-hard Star Wars fan. Paul vaguely remembered him watching and rewatching the original trilogy when Paul was still a child. It now occurred to Paul that the clue had to be in one of those quotes from the trilogy, and he contemplated rewatching the entire series to figure out.<br />
<br />
In fact... where did GG move his movie collection? They used to be on the shelves, but ever since last Christmas, he had been clearing up that shelf in preparation for something that he wouldn't explain to Paul. Whenever he had asked, all GG said was... "It's a secret project. You will know when it's time for you to know. It's very important, and it must be done."<br />
<br />
Paul went back to check on the shelf anyway. He walked through the 2nd floor corridor from his bedroom to the library, wishing for once that he didn't live in a humongous mansion with half a dozen doors in each corridor. While passing, he glanced at each wall hanging he crossed. Mr. Higgins, the butler, had done his job well. Paul couldn't see a single speck of dust anywhere.<br />
<br />
As he reached the library, Paul could already see something was out of place. He saw plenty of books... but they weren't arranged the same way that he was used to. "Mr. Higgins, can you lend me a hand here?" he called out.<br />
<br />
Mr. Higgins walked up from the basement, carrying a steam vacuum cleaner. As soon as he entered the library, he noticed there was no mess to clean up, and quietly kept the steam vacuum cleaner aside, took off his gloves, wiped his fingers with hand sanitizer, and walked over to Paul.<br />
<br />
"Yes, Master. Farthings - how may I help you?"<br />
<br />
"Why are the books all out of order?"<br />
<br />
"Aah, yes, Master. I'm given to understand that Sir Farthings decided to give up use of the old Dewey-Decimal system to upgrade to the more recent and popular BISAC system that's been, as I understand, used in most bookstores and even most public libraries, for eons now."<br />
<br />
"I see. Are you familiar with the new system, Mr. Higgins?"<br />
<br />
"Not entirely, Master, but I have the feeling I can get my way around. What is it that you're looking for?"<br />
<br />
"The Star Wars Movie collection. Just the original three. It is the 4th of May, after all!"<br />
<br />
"Indeed, Sir. Just a moment."<br />
<br />
Mr. Higgins then pulled out his cell phone, punched a few keys on it, and a blue light appeared on the shelves, right over the space between a few discs.<br />
<br />
"They should be right over there, Master Farthings", he said, pointing.<br />
<br />
After Paul was done shaking off his surprise from watching the "new indexing technology" in action, he walked over to the empty slots and noticed the discs were not where they should have been. Instead, he found something scribbled on the shelf...<br />
<br />
"May 11th, after the meeting with Mr. Pifanny - GG"<br />
<br />
Paul stared at the date with confusion. It was indeed the same ink that GG used. That was the exact date that he had asked his accountants to come back to follow up. He hadn't decided the date and time until he walked into the meeting. And no-one had joined him into the meeting, and he had escorted the accountants out right after. Even Mr. Higgins didn't know when that next meeting would be.<br />
<br />
Paul ran his thumb over the ink. It was still wet.<br />
<br />
"Is everything alright, Master Farthings?"<br />
<br />
There must have been a reason why the note mentioned Mr. Piffany, and yet not Miss Silway. GG was not a man to omit people. Searching for an answer, he replied,<br />
<br />
"I think so. Can you look up Breakfast at Tiffany's for me, please?"<br />
<br />
Mr. Higgins punched a few keys, and a new light showed up - and just as Paul had anticipated - the Star Wars trilogy was right there, next to Breakfast at Tiffany's.<br />
<br />
"Thank you, Mr. Higgins. That will be all for now."<br />
<br />
"Yes, Sir".<br />
<br />
As Mr. Higgins walked away, Paul thought he felt a feather brush against his neck, and a pat on his back. He turned around quickly to check, but he could see nobody around. And then the full meaning hidden in the quote occurred to him:<br />
<br />
"May the 4th, Be with you".<br />
<br />
GG had been here in the room with him. Then Paul stared back at the note on the shelf, where the light flickered one last time before turning off.<br />
<br />
He would have to wait patiently till May 11th now.</div>
Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-83433216244930410892015-05-04T07:31:00.002-07:002015-05-04T09:47:54.677-07:00May the 4th be with you<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“May the 4th be with you.”</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-c76c8b5f-1f5a-a293-cf20-b30c747023fd" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s all it said. Of all the things in the world to say to a great grandson that he had spent virtually his entire life taking care of, like his own son, feeding him, playing with him, teaching him all the lessons of life, defending him through the rough weather that life always brought their way… after all that... That’s all his great grandfather had chosen to write in his will. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">80. What a number to hit before the sleep of eternity. At 16, Paul didn’t think much of life. He had seen a lot already. He was glad Great Grandpa could finally move on. Hopefully, the other side didn’t have any of this chaos.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul’s mind went back to the will. He was beyond the mourning phase. It had already been a couple weeks, when his family lawyer brought to him the will, and said to him… “What do you make of it?”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After all, the old man had no other legacy. Yet, Mr. Tucker knew there had to be more to the will. There was always something hidden in words penned down by the infamous late Sir Robert Vonn Farthings. He should know. Come, let us not talk of that time when he managed the sale of the family mansion - to be sold for a penny to the man who would cross the ocean of Piranhas to save the Princess Mary. Only - there was no Princess anymore - all countries were now democratic. Piranhas weren’t to be seen for a thousand miles - nor an ocean. And the mansion - thankfully, that did exist, but pennies hadn’t been in circulation for 100 years.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sir Vonn Farthings had his way with words, puzzles and mysteries. Why not? After all, it was the one idiosyncrasy that annoyed those who worked for him. He always took such care of them, that they almost started to believe they were extended family. Everyone sought to work for him - yet, he was not to be taken lightly. One had to be pure of heart and intentions to stand even a chance to be interviewed by him.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As for Paul - he was a remarkable boy. He treated everyone with respect, always put on a show of cheerfulness, went about any task he picked up with diligence. Yet… there was something queer about him lately. He had stopped seeking answers. He lived life as he had lost too much - as if his soul could never be healed.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul was the last person to be unaware of his great grandfather’s riddles. The thought of a legacy after he passed away had never crossed his mind. But the last thing Paul wanted right now, was one final unanswered riddle to haunt him for the rest of his life. And so he decided he had to solve it.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“May the 4th be with you.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul put the letter back in the envelope, and stared at his desk. He watched the second hand of his clock tick as time inched forward. What was special about today? Why was it so important for this day to be in his favor? He had to work it out, and work it out soon. Or he would lose any remaining traces of clues that might help him solve it. Today, or never.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He took out the letter again, and started searching every nook and corner of the letter for any symbols, smudges, marks - anything that told him more. But he found nothing. The ink was sharp. It was the same blue ink that Great Grandpa had used since Paul read his first alphabet. The rest of the sheet was plain white and spot clean.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then he saw the first clue! Written on the envelope was: </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Will: To be opened 14 days after”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Great Grandpa knew his last day was coming. He knew it with precision. He had handed the will to Mr. Tucker with full knowledge of when “May 4th would arrive”. This wasn’t about just a casual riddle. There was something deeper here - a hidden message. Did he end his own life? If so, why? Or… Paul dreaded… was he murdered? But that didn’t make much sense. How would he know the exact date of his murder?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A sudden knock on Paul’s door broke his chain of thought. It was his accountant. There were some business meetings he had scheduled, and he couldn’t wake away from them. Great Grandpa’s mystery would have to wait till 10 AM PDT.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul put the envelope back in, safely into his drawer, cursed his fate, and then put on the best smile he could and walked out to meet the accountant with a firm and confident handshake.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Continued in <a href="http://thinkvarn.blogspot.com/2015/05/may-4th-be-with-you-part-2.html">Part Two</a></span></div>
<br /></div>
Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-58807831225628255772015-01-19T03:25:00.000-08:002015-01-19T03:25:59.735-08:00Words were all<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Words were all he had with him</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And words are not enough.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-45a3857f-01ec-1877-6fb2-e5ca0336ae5c" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She touched him like a ray of light</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not yet she knew much of his plight.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But give him lots of hope she did</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Be virtuous, man up - she bid</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To him was she epiphany</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Such grace and charm did never see.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That moved his mind and soul and man</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That purified with such elan.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At first knew not what hapt to him</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For he’d been hedons to the brim</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A noble thought but now and then</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yet much the lion in his den.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She brought him out into the fray</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Confront his demons so he may</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And when fake pride had come undone</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Put him together back to one.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So filled with gratitude was he</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Repaid to her he’d never be.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From then was she his queen of hearts</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The one who’d healed his broken parts.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So much he wished to do for her</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cross oceans, seas, ev’n Jupiter.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And told her every wish he had</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each word he said just made her sad.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Words were all he had with him</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And words are not enough.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-51403120757385015432014-12-17T13:48:00.000-08:002014-12-17T13:48:37.332-08:00God, Boon and Bane<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If God - if there is a God,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">gives - if such were to occur,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">would it be upon us,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to good or ill, a status or intent confer?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do we look a gift horse in the mouth,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">or unwrap it and see what it might offer?</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-50ee3adc-59e3-8156-09c9-9ee782494149" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If boon - if we grant such a label,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">were consumed without thought,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">what perils it may later bring us,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">consider - all of us ought?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And, with care, must we examine it</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for our biases must be caught?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If bane - oh, what a shame,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">were lamented and too early discarded,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all the fruits it may later bring,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all its hidden benefits prematurely parted..</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is it God that brought us such evil,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">or was such ill, by our haste, started?</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh, come now friends,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let finding our peace within be our advice,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hold hands and accept what comes,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">without grouping it virtue or vice.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nor judging a supreme being or force,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of whose true nature we cannot surmise.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When one man gains,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and another man suffers,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let us resolve to work together,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">like caring sisters and brothers.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For true lasting happiness within us comes,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">from being grateful and seeing happiness in others.</span></div>
<br /></div>
Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-85499622838994904402014-08-17T10:44:00.000-07:002014-08-17T10:44:14.039-07:00Fairness of life - and the purpose of civilization?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This post is inspired by a post by a dear friend of mine...<br />
<br />
<b>"The only thing fair about life is that it is equally unfair to all!"</b><div>
<b><br /></b><div>
to which my reply was... <b>"I really wish this were true."</b> and I pledged to write a blog post about this.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That status message made me think a lot... about fairness, about equality, about people, experiences, society, and many other things. I'll try to make (and support) two assertions today:</div>
<div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Life is unfair. And life is unequally unfair.</li>
<li>We've all known Point 1 for a long time, whether consciously, or subconsciously. And we're all already working on this together, and we recognize it as a problem. The solution is called "Civilization".</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div>
I don't think we need much debate on whether life is unfair. We see plenty of instances of it in each of our lives - anything that you wished for, or wanted, and somehow, despite your best efforts, seemed to escape you - whether it's a meal, a job, a grade, a vacation or love.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We aren't born equal. Some of us are born without a hand, a leg, with a weak heart, or blind or deaf or dumb. Some of us are born with a predilection towards certain diseases or disorders, some physical, some mental, some triggered only when our life leads us towards certain circumstances. Some of us are not even completely born - dying in the womb before we see light. Some of us meet accidents down the road of life, often for the sole reason that a set of events coincided at a time in a certain way.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If we were all born in jungles, Mother Nature would apply its standard rule on all of us - "Survival of the fittest". Predators would attack anyone that "fell behind" in any way at all. And by this discrimination itself, Mother Nature would demonstrate that we are not born equal. And since all of these "weaknesses" were not ours to choose at the time of birth, it is indeed unfair as well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This unfairness is also unequal. Even two identical twins may have very different lives. It could take just some camouflage on one fine day to end the fate of one while the other lives on. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Alright, we're done with the sad stuff now. Here comes civilization...</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Man is a social being. We don't believe in each finding our own way from birth to grave. We believe in cooperation. If you can pick berries and I can hunt deer, we team up and work together, so that we both gain. If you're good at growing crops, and I'm good at knitting clothes, we work together, and gain. This is the essence of civilization. We each find the things that we're good at, and we take care of each other. And if someone hasn't yet figured out what they're good at, we share and we protect them, because we care. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is the essence of civilization... that collaboration of the human spirit... which has inspired us to build societies of democracy, of egalitarianism, of chasing down every single thing that we see as the unequal unfairness of life, and to pledge our cause to understanding the nature of this unfairness and to try and bridge the gap... so that tomorrow we may all look forward to a world of less unfairness.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It is this same essence that has made us recognize the nature of discrimination of gender, caste, color, creed, race and religion, and made us enact laws that prevent such discrimination. It is this same essence that makes us work towards understanding health, to find and cure diseases as they break out, or to study the brain, understand how it functions and how to repair it when things go wrong. It is this same essence that inspires us to make bionic eyes for the blind, ears for the deaf, limbs for the paraplegic. It is this same essence that inspires so many of us to build new things, so that someone in another part of the world can save their time, or be saved from inconvenience or pain, or perhaps be given a smile once again, whether by curing an illness, or just listening to that song that touches our hearts.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Civilization is not perfect. Indeed, perfection is not what civilization strives for, or believes in. Rather, civilization strives for equality. It strives for being a voice for the voiceless. For giving each and every one the opportunity to act as they choose, as long as their action is not at the expense of others - and to protect those that face the ill consequences of the actions of others. Civilization is a process, not a state of being, and it will not end its continuous cycle of finding and leveling out the imbalance of justice that is inherent in nature - for civilization believes that "Survival of the Fittest" is not what should govern our existence, and that we can defy this "edict" and recognize the deeper value in each of our lives.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And with every stride that civilization takes, we are brought closer to an understanding that despite all our seeming differences, we all can and will work towards an environment in which we can not only peacefully coexist and prosper, but also bring equality and fairness to counter that unequal unfairness that Mother Nature so ruthlessly imposes on us all.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I will end with one final note. When you feel that life is unfair to you, reach out to civilization - whether it's your family, your friends, your loved ones, or a stranger who will lend an ear - not because we have all the answers, or that we have any miracle cure for what you're going through - we probably don't. But reach out to us - <b>because we care</b>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-73952047232932760072014-07-07T12:16:00.001-07:002014-07-07T12:16:39.157-07:00The walk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I went for a walk day this weekend.<br />
<br />
<br />
This line and pause is for those of you who started laughing at the end of the previous line... to help you catch up. And yes, I admit I should take walks more often. *sigh*<br />
<br />
<br />
This post is going to be less about the aimless paths my feet took, and more about the journey of my mind.<br />
<br />
As I walked along the highway, I noticed a line of idols of Lord Ganesha, each about one and a half times my height. I noticed that most of them were yet unfinished. What caught my attention most though, is that the hands of the idols were left hollow. I stepped closer to one of them, and noticed, through the hole, that there were cobwebs being built inside. I was struck by the contrast of the two varieties of artwork in progress. I let that thought linger while I moved on.<br />
<br />
Soon, I came across what I thought looked like a series of finished idols of Lord Ganesha, with one hand up, and one hand down - the symbol of protection and blessing. I observed the curves of these completed idols, and how they looked so identical from a distance, but perhaps differed in very small measurements. Each of these quite likely had some quirk that made the piece like no other next to it. I also thought again about the spiders that would perhaps not survive in these finished and sealed idols. Each piece of artwork made, quite likely, by clearing out many more pieces of artwork that had formed within it as it made its progress.<br />
<br />
There seemed to be something very subtle about that thought, though I couldn't yet start to describe it. So I walked on, past the many slums of the artists who had probably spent ages making each of those idols.<br />
<br />
Presently, I chanced upon an artist working on one of those idols in progress. She appeared to be sitting in roughly the same pose as the idol she was drawing - legs crossed, on a stool of some sort, only with the raised hand holding a tool which she was either carving or painting with, and the other hand, down in her lap, her eyes focused in concentration on the job at hand. It made me wonder for a while who was the creator and who the created. Or, really, was there any distinction? Or perhaps such labels only helped us in forming some abstract concepts for the relationships between the things we see, for the purpose of the perspective we choose to assume in the present.<br />
<br />
I decided to change my subjects, and let my eyes wander, my mind still stuck on the juxtapositions. Soon, my attention was drawn to the beautiful bridge-like structure under construction for the new MetroRail of Hyderabad, hovering over the highway. A man put on his hard-top hat, chatted with a coworker, and picked up his welding machine to make some changes. As I turned my eyes away to avoid staring into the bright splinters from the welding, I realized it was just about time for sunset. And lo and behold, on the other side of the road, the clouds had become a soft orange. A bird flew through the sky, through the fading sunset, and right over the concrete of the bridge, and past it. I wondered if it was headed back to its nest.<br />
<br />
Now, with the sunset over, I attempted to cross the road, and turn back, to be homeward bound myself. Yet, my thoughts were still jittery, and I stood still under the bridge, hesitating to cross till I had enough attention to avoid being run over.<br />
<br />
Then, slowly, the pieces appeared to come together. Here was nature on one side - the bird, the sky, the clouds, the spiders and their cobwebs. And on the other side were the bridge, the construction worker, the artist, the idols of Lord Ganesha. It often feels like an Us versus Them. Man versus Nature. Artificial versus Natural. And, yet, in that moment, they didn't seem all that disparate at all. It appeared as if the patterns were just repeating themselves. It seemed as if the spider's cobwebs were really no different at all from Man's idols, roads, buildings and bridges. They were no different from the honeycombs made by the bees, or the nests made by the birds, or the anthills made by the ants. Man is just another organism on Planet Earth, with a different manner of artwork than the other organisms out there, changing his home to suit how he pleases - sometimes dislodging other organisms, sometimes remembering them and providing for their coexistence.<br />
<br />
I smiled to myself and thought... at the end of the day, everything Man has learned, he has learned from nature. And that complex learning itself, is perhaps, just his nature.<br />
<br />
And now, I was finally ready to finish crossing that highway and head home.</div>
Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-45269800527396847712014-01-28T21:04:00.000-08:002014-01-28T21:04:45.656-08:00You make me...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Inspired by conversations with the moon)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">You make my head go *poof*</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You make my heart go *flutter*</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coz when you’re with me</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You make me… me.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6ec3f8fb-dc5b-712f-d06b-5b1131a3cba1" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your smile brings me to life</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your eyes electrify my soul</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coz when you’re talking to me</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You make me… me.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Never thought I could feel so good</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You take bliss to a whole new level.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You bring down all my walls.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And you make me… me.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All I need is a little patience.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coz nothing worth it is easy to get.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But I know that you are worth it.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coz you’ll make me… me.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I watch the setting horizon</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With the hue of your blushing face</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think of the times we’ve had together</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And how you make me… me</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is this… the end? Or is it a new beginning?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Have I... lost myself? Or have I found myself finally?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Has the… world stopped turning? Or has my life come to a still?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t know what’s happening to me. I’m undergoing a transformation.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Will you… please caress me? Tell me it’ll all be alright.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I believe in you now… coz you’re the only one.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That can make me… me</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we part ways, I have no hard feelings.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every single moment, was how it was meant to be.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though the distance appears to grow,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know we’ve blended into one.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You’ve made me… me.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-79648019379305898642013-11-23T03:01:00.001-08:002013-11-23T03:01:18.819-08:00Her Tale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">None so perfect as she</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ever was, nor ever shall be.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-644a93e4-849d-4b4e-12d2-53af7462f783" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gilded with gold</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Was every story she told</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of her sentence, every word</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Had majestic wings like a bird.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her emotions were no less</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not a tear would she suppress</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And her thoughts too ran deep</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like staring down a cliff so steep.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She cried every day.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yet not all in dismay.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every moment she cherished,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With fond memories of those now perished.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That she must lead the future,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Was the spirit she would nurture.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And she deemed nothing too tall,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For even mountains could fall.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The strength of her mind was from experiences bold</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But, truth be told, the girl could be hardly called old.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Resolute to the core, for no man ill will she bore.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She knew all sins were simply washed away by the shore.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Water all around her,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chaos and disorder,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Were all that she faced</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With every step that she placed.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The ice caps were melted</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The islands had all folded.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But for ships that could be sailed</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Few other lands had prevailed.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She sailed the way of the ole' Horner</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With all the courage she could garner.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A thousands miles she would cross</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Following the Great Albatross.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Phoenix was the hope she sought</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For rise again, she felt it ought.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Placed a loving hand upon her womb</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'Membering she'd soon sail to her tomb.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thunder, rain and lightening struck</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yet she knew that she wasn't out of luck</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She smiled up at the Gods above</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And laughed at their twisted sense of love.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seconds to minutes, minutes to hours.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hours to days and nights of showers.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moons new and full, and seasons passed.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The wind blew 'against the mast.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At last she saw the hills of age.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Himalayas, home of sage.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sun came out to give them a glitter.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As birds she now saw sing and twitter.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The monks took her in, with greetings of peace.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They beckoned she rest now, in the shade of the trees.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her sleep was too fleeting, and she woke up in pressure.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And ere the end of hour she delivered a beautiful treasure.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Long live the girl, one of not more than a dozen.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For she did survive, fate chose her for a reason.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her mother's time run out, she wouldn't make it through.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her last breath held a smile. To her goal, she had stayed true.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A twenty years later, she stared at the ocean.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Determined to survive, yet filled with strong emotion.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A man saw her crying, and came to hold her hand.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And she whispered in his ears, the tales of long forgotten land.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The man listens intently, moved by every word.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A glint in her eyes, as they watch a flying bird.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">None so perfect as she</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ever was, nor ever shall be.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gilded with gold</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Was every story she told</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of her sentence, every word</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Had majestic wings like a bird.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her emotions were no less</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not a tear would she suppress</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And her thoughts too ran deep</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like staring down a cliff so steep.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She cried every day.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yet not all in dismay.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every moment she cherished,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With fond memories of those now perished.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-82122556683228064462012-12-09T06:58:00.000-08:002013-01-02T05:46:00.959-08:00Preparing for X-mas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Christmas was approaching. That always meant a lot of things. It meant a break from work, time spent with family, or at some exotic location far away from the daily chores - it meant workdays would be less tiring for a while, since everyone started planning "long vacations" to use up their piled up leave from work.<br />
<br />
For Ben, though, this Christmas was special. For one, this would be Diana's first Christmas. He knew she would forget everything about it, as she grew up. But he knew the feeling of Christmas would remain with her. And it was important for him to make it as special as he could for his daughter.<br />
<br />
Ben didn't consider himself a devout Christian. He didn't go to the Church every Sunday. He didn't care a dime whether there really was a Jesus, or a Father, Son and Holy Ghost. However, he did believe that the Bible gave a strong message of how to lead one's life. Every morning, he would cross himself, and think - what can I do to help people today?<br />
<br />
Quite in line with his way of thinking, he worked at the Social Security Administration. Day in and day out, he helped people in making claims for social benefits. Sometimes he had to re-read everything that he had learned to help a Senior get what was due to him. Every step along the way, Ben got an immense sense of satisfaction that his work was making people's lives easier.<br />
<br />
Big clear numbers rolled up on a laptop screen, as Ben checked the <a href="http://www.xmasclock.com/">Xmas Clock</a> to see how far off Christmas was. Just about a fortnight away. He sighed. Though it seemed like a long time, there were still many things left to be planned out. The garage and yard had to be cleared out to make space for the barbecue. The car was going to need servicing, so that they could make that long road trip on Boxing day, to see his parents. The dog, Lucy, needed her routine check-up. Getting appointments for everything was going to be tricky.<br />
<br />
After half an hour, and half a dozen phone calls, Ben was considerably relieved. Though not at the best of times, he had managed to squeeze everything into the weekends. He knew that neither he nor Laura would have time during the week to get chores done. Between working 9 to 6, dropping their daughter off for day care everyday, and keeping the house together, she was already doing more than her fair share. Ben, on the other hand, would get back early, picking up Diana on the way home. He would keep her engaged as best as he could till Mommy was back, reading out rhymes to her, and entertaining her with new toys.<br />
<br />
New toys for the baby was his next major hurdle. The odd thing is, he just could not make out what would catch her attention. He had no choice but to mix things up, so that Diana would still find enough to keep her engaged. They had already bought the usual bouncers, musical trains and cars, and walking piano. She had liked one car, but not another. She appeared to like the tunes from the train, but not the notes from the piano. But she would never stick to one toy for more than five minutes.<br />
<br />
Finally, Ben decided he should go for a <a href="http://www.babyoye.com/fisher-price-dora-singing-star-guitar.html">singing guitar</a> and a "<a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4013815">Leaptop</a>", the toy that looked like a laptop. He didn't want to start giving her a real iPad yet. The general recommendation nowadays was to keep babies away from screens for as long as possible, so that they didn't get addicted to today's "Angry Birds" and "Temple Run".<br />
<br />
To top it all off, Ben knew he had to get a real Christmas tree. After some googling, he figured he should be able to get one at the closest <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/Decor-Holiday-Decorations-Christmas-Trees-Real-Christmas-Trees/h_d1/N-5yc1vZc3t5/h_d2/Navigation?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&searchNav=true">Home Depot</a>. He made a note to pick it up the next day, as they were sure to run out fast. Ben then considered arranging a Santa Claus to drop by on X-Mas. Would that be a good idea? No, chuck it, he decided. Some surprises should be left for the future.<br />
<br />
Though he was done with everything he had planned, it suddenly struck Ben, that his wife would really appreciate a new camera. Laura loved taking photographs, and had been eyeing camera stores every time they walked past them. They only had a old point-and-shoot for the time being. Ben decided he should look up good camera deals. He remembered that his friend had recently pointed him to a really cool site for finding good deals. Surely enough, a quick search at <a href="http://www.dealscorcher.com/?keywords=dslr">DealScorcher </a>got him some really good deals for the T4i, but he also found some good deals at Sams Club for the T3.(<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000613802463973&pid=sku3334101&adurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.samsclub.com%2Fsams%2Fcanon-t3-12-2mp-digital-slr-camera-with-18-55mm-f-3-5-5-6-is-ii-lens%2Fprod2940065.ip%3Fpid%3D_DoubleClick_Affiliates%26ci_src%3D15781033%26ci_sku%3Dsku3334101&usg=AFHzDLuWT15kiJ9H0nwLQc_x3b3Pmuu5ng&pubid=604460" rel="nofollow">Canon T3 12.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II Lens - (Google Affiliate Ad)</a>. He decided he'd do a more thorough comparison soon. After all, the best in the market would always be welcome. On the other hand, starting off with the T3 would get Laura accustomed to DSLR photography, and let them buy better much better equipment later, after the prices came down again.<br />
<br />
Now that he had most of the nitty-gritties worked out, Ben leaned back to enjoy Rihanna's latest album, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/unapologetic/id576613202">Unapologetic</a>. He knew that in a few minutes, his daughter would be up again, toddling around with her Mommy following her, trying to once again rediscover the living room, and find something she hadn't seen before. He would soon have some more new things for her to explore.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-82147173399878000602012-12-04T23:14:00.000-08:002013-01-02T05:46:07.303-08:00The new beginning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
[ Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.]<br />
<br />
Noah stepped off the space ship. He had spent 4 long years working as an aerospace engineer. He had made a home away from home on those strange planets that he had chanced to land on as he traveled from one craft to another. He had no choice. It was his job. But he had loved his job. Every moment of those 4 years had been well spent. He had seen creatures he had never imagined existed. He had learned skills that he never though he would be capable of. He felt proud to have worked with such intricate machinery. He felt honored to have worked shoulder to shoulder with the leading mechanics of the galaxy.<br />
<br />
It had been a tough decision. But Noah had decided it was time to come back home. To start things afresh. To bring his experience back home, and build on his home planet. What would he build? He didn't know. All he knew was, he had an unfulfilled duty that he owed to his motherland. He would figure out the rest. Or, he would just wing it.<br />
<br />
As he took in the surroundings, he observed his near and dear ones among the crowd cheering for him. He hadn't anticipated his homecoming to be such an event. After all, he had never been famous. Alright, his job had actually been "rocket science". Still... he had just gone out, done his regular job, and decided to come back. It was no different from any other job in the galaxy.<br />
<br />
He observed the expressions on the faces around him, and noticed quite a plethora of emotions. Some were delighted, while many others held an expression of fear or confusion. He knew they would ask the inevitable question... "Why did you come home? You could have made a life there!" He also knew that he wasn't ready with an answer. He let it be, hoping that time would answer all of the questions.<br />
<br />
Now back home, he found that little had changed in his town. His favorite snack shop was right where he remembered, and the snacks were just as tasty. The weather could never have been better. The people all went about doing their daily chores, busy as ever. Everyone greeted each other with the same warmth that he had always associated with home.<br />
<br />
Though Noah did take some time to readjust himself to his old ways of life, he was glad to be home. He had been fortunate to get the best of treatment, and garner respect throughout his career, even when far away. But it felt good to be treated once again like the little fledgling who was stumbling along these streets not too long ago. It felt great to relive his memories of childhood, and of the place where he learned to walk, then run before he flew off on his interplanetary adventures. As he stood by, staring at the glory of the sunset, he looked onward at the horizon. It reminded him once again, of how far he had come, yet also of the limitless expanse that lay in front of him, begging to be discovered.</div>
Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-21552497094023797232011-06-22T00:04:00.001-07:002011-06-22T01:37:02.416-07:00The grass is greener on this sideA few months back, my brother, my sister-in-law and I were at a charity event where funds are raised through 5k and 10k walks and runs. It was a wonderful sunny day, and the races had just got over. The park was really nice as well, with plenty of greenery all around us. As we were heading back after the event, I observed the turf that we were walking over, and said to my brother, comparing it with some grass that a ditch divided us from... "It looks like the grass is greener on this side!" We laughed about it. <br /><br />Today, I was thinking back to that day, and realizing that there was much more to my state of mind that day, than the landscape I saw. I really enjoyed that day for many reasons. <br /><br />To begin with, I was spending time outside in the sun after a long time. The weather was just right, and I was enjoying it with family. For a while, I felt the freedom that I had - to do just what I had wanted to do. That in itself, cast away any anxieties that I may have felt the day before. I felt in control of my life. <br /><br />Besides, it felt really good to be giving - to be volunteering at an event, that would give that good feeling to so many more people who had come to participate in the event, while funding the education of children who couldn't otherwise afford it. It felt good to just be doing that small bit, no matter how small, to make a difference to the world.<br /><br />When I said "the grass is greener on this side", what I really felt was how fortunate I am to be where I am. To be in a position to think these thoughts and write a blog post about it, or to even read one, is to have come a long long way. In fact, just writing this post has inspired me to move on and make a difference yet again. It's the drops that make the ocean.<br /><br />Peace.Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-15560119947151169662010-01-10T16:40:00.000-08:002010-01-10T19:14:25.585-08:00Reality... really?What is reality? Everything that actually is. What about our perception of reality? Is there a common perception of reality? Or does that perception vary from person to person? We all discuss that each person has his own perspective. No doubt then, it should logically follow that there exists no common perception of reality - unless, of course, we have failed to apply logic as it should be applied.<div><br /></div><div><div>Many wise men are known to have spent their lifetimes seeking universal truth. I would assume that means that they want to know reality(as it is), instead of just another perception of it. The biggest conundrum for me would always be - how would you know when you've reached? If you define a goal that you're headed towards, how do you know it's not tainted by your perspective? If you haven't defined a goal, well, then it doesn't matter anyways.(Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland?)</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, what is anyone's perception of reality? In short, everything that we experience, with all our senses - some of them known, some not so well known(the sixth sense?). Was my dream real? I would suggest it indeed was. But not in the same way as my narration of the dream that I typed into my laptop one night after waking up. What makes the two realities different? </div><div><br /></div><div>A dream is indeed real. I definitely perceived myself walking through the jungle and talking to a tree. Only, the tree existed in a reality that is not in front of me now - a reality that appears not based on the materialistic world we deal with, or with the five senses we normally rely on. In fact, I believe that tree still exists somewhere. My mind just made a journey to a world that I can't take anyone else to, because I reached there randomly. If I knew how I got there, I would tell you, and you might probably go there too, and see exactly what I saw, and heard, and felt. </div><div><br /></div><div>As a child, I used to sit on the staircase, and imagine I was flying a fighter plane and shooting down "the bad guys". I had no steering wheel, no joystick. Just my closed eyes, and the vivid scenes running through my mind. The planes are always there, the runway's always there, just waiting for me to hop in and fly out. I could see them. I felt the wind blowing against me. I had a chill run down my spine as I gained the speed to take off. You can't tell me that's not real. I'm sure just reading those lines conjured up an image in your mind!</div><div><br /></div><div>The big problem with reality is, we often start to get carried away with everything we perceive, and think everyone else should perceive it the same way. For instance, candies are sweet. How do you know what "sweet" feels like for another person? You don't. Yes, it is true that it triggers roughly the same taste buds for both you and the other person. That may not be the same experience for the other person. Lets move to another possibly more comprehensible example - law. There are many innocent people who get convicted because of circumstantial evidence (mistaken to outline reality), when there really was a big missing link that nobody found and brought to light. Once a man is convicted, it's difficult for anyone to believe his story, no matter how true it might be. In other words, again, your perception of reality, could be a far fetch from <i>the</i> reality. </div><div><br /></div><div>Where is all this headed? It's simple. Each of us has a perception of reality, and should experience it anyway we like. We could try to share the experience, but we should be wary of the fact that the experience we give another person may or may not be as pleasant as ours. Every now and then, we might come across someone that appreciates our point of view. But we should keep in mind, that true reality consists of everyone's perceptions combined. The fact that each of us perceives, whether the same way or another, is indeed, real. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-28477221849672389002009-07-11T10:18:00.000-07:002009-07-11T11:46:36.457-07:00Trust - Gain versus painI'm inspired to write this post as a follow-up to a topic I recently discussed with a couple of friends, on Twitter. And this post is most certainly dedicated to the two of them. <div><br /></div><div>To start with, I'll just lay down the points of discussion, numbered to make them easy to refer to, later in the post...</div><div>1. To trust is to be vulnerable. </div><div>2. To trust blindly, is to ask for trouble. </div><div>3. If you trust someone, you give him/her the power to hurt you. </div><div>4. When you trust blindly, there's much higher risk that someone you trust will actually hurt you. </div><div><br /></div><div>When you trust, there are two main elements involved: the guarantee that you're expecting, and the guarantor. There has to be a close tie between these. (Please assume for the purpose of our discussion, that the guarantor doesn't explicitly communicate that he provides the guarantee. Also assume, that what you're trusting is something positive. Not, for example, "I trust that the bus will be late.")</div><div><br /></div><div>If the guarantee is delivered, we stand to gain, since things happen the way we hoped for. Otherwise, we stand to lose. This justifies point 1 above and, partially, point 3. I'll come back to the reason for saying "partially" later in the post.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, what are the situations in which the guarantee is not delivered? Maybe the one we trust can't actually do what we expect. Lets say, I trust my friend borrows my Ipod, and I trust him to return it in the same condition, but he returns it with scratches. Or I trust a friend to reach on time for my birthday party, but he gets stuck in traffic and reaches when the party is almost over. Possibly, the only way to handle these scenarios is to develop a kind of inbuilt analysis of whether someone can be guaranteed to do something. It's still not really a guarantee, though, because there could be a lot of unknowns involved. When I understand that there isn't a high certainty the event happening, I plan for the non-occurance mentally, and also try what is known as "risk mitigation". If Alfred stays on the other side of town, and I know he can't start from office earlier than 6 PM, there's a chance he'll get stuck in the traffic on the way, and I should be mentally prepared to move forward with the party, and also put aside some cake for him so that it's not all over when he reaches. In other words, I trust that Alfred will "do his best" to reach my party on time, but may not be able to. This is where I say point 3 is partially true. Agreed, Alfred may not "do his best" and may get hooked to some girlfriend on the way, and hence be late. But if I know Alfred is inclined to do that, I probably wouldn't be surprised (or "hurt") when I find out. :) </div><div><br /></div><div>When we trust "blindly", we just presume that everyone will understand the implicit "guarantee", sometimes even when there's no scope for such common context. Whenever we hear "I expected him to do X, but he didn't" ringing in our minds, and feel hurt, the things to check for are: Does he know that I expect X? Is it feasible for him to do X? Another important question is: Would he want to do X? Lets suppose you're travelling alone in the train with a lot of luggage(generally a bad idea, but anyways...), and you want to take a quick stroll down the compartment. Now, you might have been chatting a lot with the nice family that sits next to you, and might be tempted to request them to "watch over" for a few minutes. And they might agree too, but they might not really be in much of a position to take care of your luggage, or even want to do so. If someone picks something out of the front pocket of your bag, they might not even notice, and it might be in your best interest to lock up luggage, chain it, and then take your stroll. Of course, the new assumption here is that someone cutting chains or breaking locks is quite likely to catch other passengers' attention. :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Another time when we tent to trust "blindly", (and the more common one) is when we have known them for a long time. Most of us trust our families blindly. Sometimes, this does crop into unfulfilled guarantees("Dad, why didn't you buy me an Xbox for my birthday?" :)), but we don't "lose out", since we know it was just a misunderstanding and not an ill intention. We talk to them and clear out the misunderstanding. Also, one could argue this is not blind trust, and instead a relationship built over time, where we know how they are likely to react to almost any event. </div><div><br /></div><div>We also tend to develop a lot of trust for friends that we've known for a long time, and expect a lot of unspoken understanding, just like we did with our parents. There's always a likelihood that this kind of trust can go "blind" at some stage, where the friends keep making assumptions and not communicating. And when that happens, the chances of your friend hurting you can actually go quite high, because the expectation of "guarantee fulfilment" is very very high... sometimes because you didn't understand the friend's intentions right, sometimes because he didn't know you had the expectation. </div><div><br /></div><div>In short, don't trust blindly, and you'll be much better off. Don't trust anyone for anything and everything. Make sure you trust them to do the specific thing you expect from them. If unsure, try to make sure somehow, or maybe lower your expectations. </div>Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-22879538818827664272008-10-18T11:44:00.000-07:002008-10-18T12:43:02.298-07:00Living on the edge!This blog post is dedicated to dk, who asked me an interesting question in the comments section of the previous post. It is likely that I may not answer the question completely, but here's my take on it. :) For a purely moral point of view, I'd point you to my <a href="http://ethicalvarn.blogspot.com/">other blog</a> which I'm trying to slowly and steadily build up and present what might be a basis for an individual to develop his own moral system.<br /><br />Living on the edge can be a philosophy of life. Have you ever got onto a roller-coaster ride? If you have, you have a very small glimpse at the kind of pleasure it might give you. Very small, though. Because there's a slight difference between a 5-10 minute ride, and your whole life. :)<br /><br />If the brain in conjunction with your heart, guides you to live life on extremities, then you're probably doing fine. As long as, after every experience, you evaluate the consequences, your brain is likely to take corrective measures. For instance, if you slip while handling a crazy snowboarding trail, and get fractures, you'll take care next time. Or, at least, you'll know to be more careful when you take out someone else with you, and prepare them for the situation.<br /><br />Picture this: You must have seen lots and lots of the Guinness records. If you imagine, these people can't achieve what they've done without taking major risks. And, at the end of the day, did they really need to take the risk? You and I can't judge that, because they live to see the results.<br /><br />Following the heart really is important. And, we shouldn't forget... Id, ego and superego would play their role in both your mind and your heart. (Unless you stick to the old school of thought that says it's scientifically only the brain that influences both emotions and thought, not the heart. ) This means your train of thought would be something on the lines of:<br /><br />Id: Lets race on the road!<br /><br />Ego: Ok, we can't overtake this guy with what we've got under our hood.<br /><br />Superego: We should slow down a bit, before we cause someone harm, or we should be very alert to ensure we don't.<br /><br />Not quite there, but you get the idea. (And, if I got my terms wrong, I'll remind you I didn't have sociology in my graduate course. :P) But what's most important is not just whether you live on the edge or not. What can change things is whether you can clearly understand what your heart says to you when you listen. And for that, I think each of us has a moral system that we build up over time. How do we build it up? My <a href="http://ethicalvarn.blogspot.com/">other blog</a> tries to answer just that, but has a long way to go.Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-61311425633912240932008-09-27T09:13:00.000-07:002008-10-17T12:26:40.430-07:00The heart, moods and... life!(This post is dedicated to someone who had an unusual Orkut profile name, that inspired me to write this post. If you're the one and you're reading this post, you know it's you.)<br /><br /><br />The heart... the supposed source of emotion... holds a mystery within it. Actually, as we've been taught at school, it's the brain that holds the mystery. but the heart expresses it. I'm talking about the times when you feel a tickle in your chest, and you have a strong feeling that it's from your heart. A tickle that could mean many things... your heart beating fast, or your sudden noticing that your heart is beating softly.<br /><br />Scientifically, we now know that there's more linking the heart and the brain than we used to think. In the sense, the heart and brain actually talk to each other, and each influences the other. No, I'm not about to talk science here. You can find that information <a href="http://www.heartmath.org/research-science-of-the-heart-4/">elsewhere</a>. I'll confine my scope to my perspective about things.<br /><br /><a href="http://in.youtube.com/results?search_query=listen+to+your+heart+dht&search_type=&aq=2&oq=Listen+to+your+heart">Listen to your heart.</a> I'm sure you've heard that said so many times before. But here's some philosophy around why you should... During life, we go through our share of experiences. We start to form a sequence of one event turning into another. We take actions, and we see their results. We have people who'll support us, people who'll blame us, and <a href="http://in.youtube.com/results?search_query=They+don%27t+really+care+about+us&search_type=&aq=f">people who just don't care</a>. No matter whether what, good or bad, happens, there's only one thing that you can always be satisfied about... that you did what your heart told you, because that's the one thing that has built out of your own experience... because you had a sense of what was the best way to react. And nobody can ever promise you that they are sure what the results would have been if you had done things some other way. But always learn from your own decisions and their consequence. It'll help you when you listen to your heart the next time.<br /><br />Lets your moods swing. Yes. Mood swings are nice. They're awesome. They do a lot of good to you. Every mood you go through is a mental transformation. It makes you think in a totally different way. That means you experience life itself differently. Someone who is always happy or always sad... I'd say both of them are missing a whole lot. You have one life. Live it. And the only way to live it thoroughly is to understand the beauty of contrast. The reason why you see, hear, feel anything around you, is because one thing looks, sounds, feels different from another. So you can "differentiate" between them. It's the same with moods. You go through more moods, and you know how you can enjoy one versus the other. However, don't let your moods kill your life. Moods result from experiences. And you may miss some experiences if you're not in the right mood for them. If you can experience mood swings, and not go overboard with them, that's the ideal situation. Also, keep in mind.. some moods are to be just experienced, some moods are to be shared. And some to be held within, you say? I don't know. I'd expect everything has to come into the first or the second category.<br /><br />Enjoy life. I would say that's something that you should make a habit. It doesn't translate to the same as "Always be happy" or "Always be satisfied", or any other similar state. It's an emphasis of the fact that every moment is precious. At the cost of sounding like a dialogue from a very popular movie... There is no secret ingredient to life. Your life is special by the very virtue of your considering it special. That's all there is to it.Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-21663835467826613972008-09-27T07:32:00.000-07:002008-09-27T07:52:27.949-07:00How's life and what's up?Today, I'm going to talk about something that everyone that's met me or spoken to me will closely associate with... my typical answers to these two questions...<br />1) How's life?<br />A) Awesome, as always! (OR) Gr8, as always!<br /><br />2) What's up?<br />A) The ceiling!!! :D (OR) The sky!!! :D<br /><br />These are answers I picked up, somewhere along life, and they are not just answers, even though they remain the same every time you ask. These are statements of life. These are my two gliders. Yes, gliders is the right word. When you're sailing through the air, gliders are what you use to take you higher, to keep you at the height you're at, or when you're starting to drop, to bring yourself back up to the height that you want to be at.<br /><br />These answers refresh my mind. So, the next time you've asked me one of those questions, keep in mind, you've not just made me repeat two obvious answers. You've done much more. I feel much better that you still took the care to ask me those questions.<br /><br />Now, lets dig a little deeper into what those questions mean to me, and the answers. Lets start with "How's life?" Well, my life could really be any way. I could be down into the dumps, or I could be having a pretty normal life. I might be finding the work I'm doing at the moment a little mundane. Or, I could be having the best time of my life. No matter how life is for me, it really doesn't matter. If I'm throughly enjoying the moment, life is really awesome, and there you go! If life is a little on the lower side, it's just for the moment and will pass. Then life will again be awesome. Besides, you spared the time to ask me, even though I was probably walking down with my eyes focused somewhere in the air, and just managed a glance at you, and you asked! Thank you! My life is now awesome. :)<br /><br />The second question is more of a pet peeve for someone who's known me for a while. Many of my colleagues find it a little boring that I've been saying the same thing for the last "n" years(Don't ask me, I've lost count!). No matter what, is does lighten their mind when I say it! To me, this answer is something that saves me from even having to search out what's really up. Coz maybe there might be times when I would be tempted to say... Err... nothing's really up right now. Everything's down. I'm going through this phase where... Oh, never mind. That's just me, really. And it's just now. So... the ceiling's up, or the sky's up, and will always be up! And hence, yes, there are plenty of things that are up, now that I come to think of it... the fan, the .... hey! I forgot! Yeah, what about that thing I did right 5 minutes back? Wow! Loads of things are up! Life rocks! Life is awesome! And, yeah, I just gave my same old reply, Lolz! But it got me feeling much better once again, right?? Yippie! Thanks, dude, for asking me that question! It was fun!<br /><br />And, there lies one of the typical behaviours of Avanish answered. And maybe your key to more of my behaviour. :) Happy meetings!!!Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-48123330708350941322007-12-25T06:23:00.000-08:002007-12-25T06:41:15.347-08:00Autobiography of a Bronchitis patient<style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Parent Advisory: PG(Parental Guidance required) – This post contains many intentional spelling mistakes. Children must recognize them instead of learn the words out of context. Parents must help them do the same, but not by chucking the book into the dustbin and disappointing the children. Also, parents must remind the children that some authors are just eccentric and exaggerate certain events just for kicks. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size:130%;">All characters, places and things in this story are fictitious and any resemblance to reality are just a coincidence. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size:130%;"># - This sign denotes that...</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size:130%;">For those that have a proclivity for philums: Convert the italicized phrase literally to Hindi</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size:130%;">For those who watch philums occasionally: Check the index for the intended literal translation </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size:130%;">For those who don't know what philums really are: Ask the fellow next to you what the italicized phrase means! You are missing an important part of the story!</span></p><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; line-height: 115%; page-break-before: always;"> <span style="font-size:130%;">Have you ever heard of those wonderful offers like “Pizza khao, Ibizza jao” that keep coming nowadays? They have become so commonplace that one starts to wonder why these food chains are so desperate to send their customers farther away from their homes. I would think serving pizza is enough to do that. Anyways, I recently got such an offer. But it's a very long storey. Let me tell you how it all happened....</span></p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">I am a simple, modest, hard-working software engineer. I came home to Mumbai to spend a week of quality time with my family. I had no idea what the weak end would bring home. I reached comfortably, and merrily started spreading my things out. It was a relief to have my darling wife pick up things after me. Cheerfully, I spent the first day gossiping with my wife and children, playing with my poodle Girna(affectionate shortform given by the children for Giridhar Naagar), and eating my wife's delicious cuisine. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">The next morning, I woke up with a grunt. Something was not right. But I could not figure out what. Had I forgotten to bring some important file home? Had I paid too much for my ticket? No, no. I had done everything very carefully this time. I had nothing to worry about. But why was I unable to stop worrying? Something must be wrong with me, I thought. Maybe I overate last night. The food was spicy. It was not a good idea to eat such spicy food immediately after a tiresome journey. Or maybe it is all psychological. Let the problem find its own solution. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">I switched on the tube light in the living room, and sat down with a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper. There had been another stock market crash. I was so much safer not having ever invested in stocks, I said to myself. Or else I would have lost a fortune today! I glanced furtively at the mail that had come in. There was one black envelope with no address written on it, and I was hesitated to open it without it coming to the notice of other family members. I resumed my perusal of the day's hot news. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Breakfast time came, and my darling wife had made some special toast for us. It was some kind of bread stuffed with something. All I knew was that the something contained somethings chosen in such a manner as to decrease future heart problems for me. No, no. I'm not a heart patient or sugar patient, or anything like that. I am a healthy, fit software engineer. And it is all thanks to my darling wife and her wonderful cooking. I looked around the table and hummed, “We together together are#.”</span></p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">We all munched the bread with overflowing zeal, the munches spaced out between sips of freshly prepared mausambi juice. As we finished and washed our hands, I settled with the newspaper again. My wife glanced at me, changed her expression from a nice big smile to a cold serious face, and turned away. She carried on clearing up the table. She is such a sweet girl. She doesn't like my spending too much time reading and wants me to spend more time with her. Yet, she never tells me off. She just feels a little upset and reconciles herself to my behaviour. She is very happy if I only notice the change and correct myself. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">But today, I had not picked up the newspaper to read. I wanted some time to check the other family members' reaction to the black envelope. I failed to understand why even the kids did not point it out. I slowly put the newspaper aside, picked up the envelope and shook it in the air. My younger child looked at me as if I were teasing the air. Then my other child picked up another envelope on the table, and said “Look, pa! Grandmother has written a letter for me!” I gave him an encouraging smile, and put down the black envelope I was holding. Meanwhile, my wife brought one more round of coffee. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">The kids turned on the television and started watching cartoons soon, and my wife went to the adjacent room to make a phone call to her club. The sweet girl wanted to cancel her social networking appointments for me. My attention came back to the black envelope. I could hold myself no longer. I must find out what this is all about, I thought, and I ripped it open. Out came a coupon. It was one of those offers. You know what happens when we receive these offers. We only care that we are getting a trip to somewhere, or a prize or discount of some sort. It becomes irrelevant to check who sent the offer, how they selected us for it, or what the fine print(also known as Terms and Conditions) is. We just want to avail of the offer before the last date. Surprisingly, this coupon did not have a last date. It only said that I had won a free trip to the Bed for a week. And to redeem the coupon, I had to make a visit to the doctor. And as we all say, Heart is that agrees not#. </span> </p> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;">---</span></p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">By lunchtime, I had decided to ignore the offer. I could live without it, couldn't I? I had nothing short of what I wanted. Besides, I didn't want a trip to the Bed. I wanted to spend my time in the city, with my family. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Lunch was scrumptilicious. I though my wife had surpassed all of her previous experiments with this new dish she had made. However, my appetite had decreased a little, and I was unable to enjoy it as thoroughly as my greed demanded. We topped off lunch with a glass of lassi. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">As the sun set, I noticed I was able to identify some muscles that I did not know existed. I thought, of course, the journey was quite a strain. But that didn't explain my sudden bouts of cough. Soon, my wife also pointed out that I was wheezing too. Faintly, in the background, I could hear the humming tune of a song from “My fight#.” Strong as I am mentally, I decided that I'd sleep early tonight and everything would be normal by morning. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">The day was not over yet, though. The kids wanted to go to see a fair. Not wanting to disappoint them, I agreed. It's nice to be a dad. You get to remind yourself that you have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders, and you have a wife to reassure you that you always give everything your best shot. I did some warm water gargling and got some momentary relief from the irritating cough. Then, we set off for the fair. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">There are some very valid reasons why housewives should learn driving. One is so that they can drive when the husband has ill health. It's marginally safer for the kids. When the husband is well, however, he's the safest driver around. Of course, in my wife's case, she's very fast at getting a glimpse of everything that's happening and about to happen, and the controls are second nature to her. So, contrary to how I regard female drivers in general, I place my wife on the same pedestal as me when it comes to safety. And, don't tell my wife I said this, but... car insurance does boost up a man's confidence in his wife's driving, even if just a little. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">It was quite a big fair. Sights of the merry-go-round and giant wheel took me back to my childhood days. I wasn't really the kind who'd take risks that would put my life on the balance. Lucky for me, neither were my kids. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p>“<span style="font-size:130%;">Dad, lets try to shoot the snowman!”, said my elder the child. The younger one wanted a doll that she saw at last year's fair, and couldn't buy coz the last piece had just got sold. I said that we would search for the doll, and took them to the shooting stall. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p>“<span style="font-size:130%;">How much,” I asked. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p>“<span style="font-size:130%;">Twenty rupees.”</span></p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p>“<span style="font-size:130%;">That's very expensive. Last year, it was ten.”</span></p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p>“<span style="font-size:130%;">Inflation, saab. We have to face it too.”</span></p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">These shopkeepers have some way of breaking through me and making me thoroughly incapable of bargaining. I've seen my friends buy things at dirt cheap prices. But when it comes to me, I see no scope for decreasing any cost by even a single paisa, leave alone rupee. As I paid the stall-keeper, I noticed another stall where there were bangles of different sorts. I thought this was a good opportunity to surprise my wife, so I told her to stay in charge of the kids, and that I'd be back in a while. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">The bangles stall had quite a variety. He had earrings and hairclips too. I saw a hairclip that sang the tune of “Vande Mataram” when it was pressed. I was wondering whether kids really cared for such stuff. I wouldn't have given it a second look as a kid, I thought. Then I found a nice glittery bangle that was not supposed to corrode on washing dishes and clothes. Not a nice signal to send to her. Discarded. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Finally, I found something I thought my wife might like. She loves to spend time with the kids, and show them strange things. So a holographic finger-ring was definitely her kind of stuff. Again, the “Idiot made, this heart of mine” syndrome hit me, and I bought it for the price he quoted. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">As I walked back to the stall, I started feeling week, and noticed my breaths had been gadually getting shorter, and I was finding it harder and harder to breathe. I tried to take a deep breath to get a quick bout of oxygen, but it converted into a massive pain in my chest, and I fell to my knees holding on to it. My wife noticed me, and came to pick me up. She was about to call up the ambulance on my cell phone, when I managed to utter, “I'm alright. <cough!> I just <cough!> <cough!> need <cough!> to get home <cough!> <cough!> <cough!> <cough!> and lay down. <cough!> <cough!> <cough!>”</cough!></cough!></cough!></cough!></cough!></cough!></cough!></cough!></cough!></cough!></cough!></span></p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Such understanding children I have. They didn't make any complaints about the sudden change of plan, and the home retreat. They went on muttering between themselves as I tried not to exercise my vocal chords. We drove back home, had a quick dinner, which I could hardly even identify, and went to bed. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">I was unable to sleep. The wheezing was much harder when I laid down, than when I was sitting. My wife offered a massage, but I knew it wouldn't help. Finally, I fell asleep in a sitting position, leaning against the wall against which the bed was propped up. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">In my dream, I saw the black envelope again. I could feel a lot of pain in my head this time. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;">---</span></p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p>“<span style="font-size:130%;">Bronchitis. A clear case of bronchitis. The breathlessness you faced last night must have been difficult, I understand. And, you have had bronchitis in the past too, if I understand correctly. In your childhood days, perhaps? I can make out. Don't worry. Take the medicine I give you. I will get relief in a couple of days. Continue the medicine until you finish the 5-day course. Oh, and do warm water gargling and steam inhalations 2-3 times a day. The infection is a little serious. However, you'll be back to normal in no time.”</span></p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">I sat across the table, and all I could do is blink. Faintly worried about dietary restrictions, I asked the doctor. </span> </p> <p>“<span style="font-size:130%;">Yes, yes. Avoid spicy food, and sour food. And also fried food.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Mentally, I was knocking off favourite dishes that I couldn't have within the next week. My wife always has elaborate plans for stuffing me whenever I come home. This time her plans would need a make-over. My children would still get the goodies. I would have to watch them eat tasty food, as I chewed bland food. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">I got home and updated my wife on the matter. Being the caring wife that she is, she told me not to worry, and that she would make tasty food that would suit my diet. I caressed her warmly and told her, “Our heart of you near.” She made a mental note of the times when I had to take medicine: all once after breakfast, one after lunch, and all once again after dinner. She also asked if it was possible to extend my leave. The expression on my face reminded her she was asking for something I could not give, so she forgot the thought and carried on with her cooking. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">We all know how uninvited guests turn up, out of nowhere and create mayhem. We are obliged to serve them to the best of our abilities, no matter who they are. There is a saying, “Guests are gods”(Atithidevobhava). But at the middle of the night was a little hard for me to face, given that I was already feeling weak, and my darling wife was so deep in sleep that I didn't have the heart to wake her up. The unexpected guests were in my throat, irritating me to the core and waking me from my wonderful sweet dreams. I got up and rushed to the bathroom for some warm water gargling, continuously using a clothes bar as my support, as I appeased the uninvited guests of my throat. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">After they had left, I sat down at the dining table, trying to take deep breaths. I knew more guests were expected, but they would not intimate me before popping up. I dragged myself to my bed, and laid down. No sooner had I closed my eyes to sleep, again I had to get up and cater to more guests. This formed a cycle of about 5 rounds, after which I was thoroughly exhausted and had a very dry throat. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">I drank some water, and relaxed my back again, hoping to finally get some shut-eye. </span> </p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p>*Unfinished work, but couldn't keep myself from posting it already!*<br /><br /></p> <p><br /><br /></p> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;">Index of philumi khichdis used</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Heart is that agrees not – Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahin</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">We together together are – Hum Saath Saath Hain</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Our heart of you near – Hamara Dil Aapke Paas. </span> </p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">My fight – Meri Jung</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Idiot made, this heart of mine – Nikamma Kiya, Is Dil Ne</span></p>Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-87274482784625482462007-01-27T07:30:00.000-08:002007-01-27T07:59:24.144-08:00Heaven is a place on earthI fell asleep in my previous post. I haven't woken up yet. Or, I don't know if I have.<br /><br />Here are a few questions that occupy my mind right now: What is heaven? A place of complete bliss? When does one experience bliss? I do have the answers taking some space up there too. However, they are not your answers to the questions. They are mine.<br /><br />One experiences complete bliss when one feels confident to face the consequences of one's actions. That presumes that one is able to weigh different aspects of any choice involving actions that could be taken, and zoom in to what one judges to be appropriate. Once the judgement is made, the results start to materialise. When one can look forward to evaluating the results without hesitation, one is happy.<br /><br />It follows that, to achieve happiness, we must be able to exercise choice, or the illusion of it. Why illusion? Because there is no way of determining whether our actions are solely determined by our thoughts, or have been a result of various cirumstances that we have come to face, or even an environment in which we have been living from the start. When we feel that we don't have choice, not even a choice to skip exercising our choice(such as letting someone else choose something for us), we cannot be happy. On the other hand, if on every event that we face in life, we feel that we have chosen to decide or not to decide on something, and we have checked validity in that choice, we are happy.<br /><br />So the happiest life one can live, is a series of actions and their consequences, each action something that we love, and each consequence rising from an exercise of volition. And this is achievable on earth.Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-16431050488278366142006-12-11T06:27:00.000-08:002006-12-11T09:35:28.558-08:00My Discussions with Nature<p>It all started in my room. I wanted to discover my own nature. I had heard from somewhere that it would help me discover the universe. Why did I want to discover the universe? Well, if I knew my true nature, I’d know the a answer to that question, I thought. So I set out on a journey to explore my nature. </p><p><br />How could I explore something I didn’t know? I had no idea. I thought the best thing to do would be to start exploring anything in my mind, till I settled on what was my nature. Perhaps it was to be a pattern in the way I think. Perhaps my nature was to keep searching for it. But that would be a contradiction. If I ever found that to be my nature, then it would no longer be my nature. Since I would stop searching for something I had already found. Yet, perhaps the very fact that I consider the possibility a contradiction makes that my true nature. </p><p><br />I decided to talk to nature. Maybe some part of nature would step out and cry, “Hey, I’m yours! Yeah, that’s right. Your nature!” Besides all search and research starts from nature. Why does it always start from nature? But then, what is beyond nature? Could one start a search outside nature? How does one do that? Whatever I could think of, or imagine, would still consist of some fundamental units which are derived from nature. Even contradicting nature itself takes nature as a base, and then tries to oppose it. Anyways, I could not find any other possibility, perhaps due to my nature. So I resigned myself to starting my search for my nature by talking to nature.<br />The tree was the first I thought of. Why a tree? Because it was standing in front of me and teasing me as I stared into the wild. It was saying, “You, who always walk past me, and treat me like I mean nothing. You wish to talk to nature?” I thought back to the last time I had entered this patch of green, and how I was lost in thought when I pranced across. I asked, “Did you feel ignored?” The tree shook a bit, and replied, “Do you think I have nothing better to do than pass moral judgments on people who walk across me?” </p><p><br />The tree sounded confused, I thought. But then, why did the tree speak to me today, and not greet me on the other day? I would have responded with a big smile on my face. I asked.<br />“Smile? Oh, no. You would have wondered who was calling you. You would have looked about you, and not cared to give a thought to this little tree here, reaching out as far as it could. Struggling to make its presence felt.”<br /></p><p>“Do you also need to feel touch? To feel another skin against yours?” I asked, realizing for the first time that I had failed to notice it. </p><p><br />“May I remind you, dear, that I can’t even reach my neighbour, despite him being in sight throughout? You’re my only hope to reach out to something new, to acknowledge and nature beyond my own, through a sense of perception. Do I have eyes? Mouth? Tongue? Ears? My only means of interacting is touch. It means everything to me.”<br /></p><p>Feeling sorry for what I had been to the tree, I hugged it tight. “Does that feel better?” I asked.<br /></p><p>“Thank you. I really needed that. I owe you for making me feel significant. I don’t know any way I can explain what it means to me. “<br /></p><p>“No, you don’t owe me anything. You’ve made me see something I never thought I’d see.”<br /></p><p>There I was, noticing that I started on a hunt to find something that was mine, and had learnt that everything was mine, if I gave it attention. I had learnt that nature was not distinct from my nature. It was to enhance my own nature. I was not distinct from nature, but a part of it. Whatever value I chose to share with nature, it would share back with me.<br /></p><p>Then I had a doubt, so I asked the tree, “When I eat your fruits, and chop off wood from you to make paper, does it hurt you?”<br /></p><p>“Do you have a choice? If I told you it hurt, would you stop?”<br /></p><p>I was a little worried, but said, “I would certainly try.”<br /></p><p>The tree laughed, and said, “I scared you didn’t I? Well, you should have thought of it before you asked! Anyways, to answer your question, let me tell you that we don’t have volition. You do. But we are born with a very specific purpose, which is to transfer the sun’s energy to a form which can be used by other beings. The only volition that we have, is to evolve. Some of us have chosen to evolve forms of protection, but it only extends their lifetime by a short duration, and makes them lose some forms of beauty. Those of us who were willing to pay this price for the beauty we possess, have chosen to remain this way. That is the only choice we are capable of exercising. Those of us who exercised their choice too much, ended up in a situation where they could no longer address their purpose of life, and got eliminated in the process. We, the plants and trees, are unable to express forms of volition such as emotions. We rely on beings like you to provide that, since you have the capability of exercising your volition in our favour. “<br /></p><p>I thought deeply on this. “When Newton came up with the theory on gravity, had the apple tree expressed his creativity through Newton?” I asked innocently.<br /></p><p>The tree chuckled, “I have no idea! We know as much about our ancestors as you do!”<br /></p><p>I lay down leaning against the tree, thanking it for the shade it provided me from the sun. I hadn’t stopped thinking, but I had started to feel sleepy. </p>Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-68001061206714498532006-11-22T23:32:00.000-08:002006-11-22T23:34:30.228-08:00Blogger Beta is here!!!Finally, the new version of Blogger is in, and I've started using it. The interface is petty neat, but it's likely for my blog to be doing funny stunts till I officially declare it as stable in a post, since I shall be trying all sorts of experiments to get a feel of the power now given to us in the new version.<br /><br />Sorry good readers to keep you still waiting!Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-1164104033530689642006-11-21T02:06:00.000-08:002006-11-21T02:13:53.556-08:00Delay in updations...Reaching out to my blog readers, I'd just like to say that I've planned an array of posts. However, I think my blogs all need some re-organising. I know the current arrangement is painful for those who read more than one of my blogs. I'm waiting to get the Blogger Beta! feature in my account so that I can revamp the place. Essentially, the new posts are going to be on a much wider range of topics than I had initially planned. Hence, it doesn't make sense for me to go on making separate blogs for them.<br /><br />I thank one of my dear bloggers for having suggested this a long time ago. But, alas, the feature that would have let me make the shift is to be available only in the new Blogger.<br /><br />So till then, have a great time. And keep checking from time to time for the change.Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21861010.post-1155077276296899232006-08-08T15:45:00.000-07:002006-08-08T15:47:56.306-07:00Live and let liveYou needn't be the best friend I've made. <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">You needn't be someone with whom I've played. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">You needn't hold the highest values. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">But when you're in your blues, </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'll be there to come to you, </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'll be there to give you hope.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As long as you understand what my life means to me, </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'll help you to find the rope</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">That pulls you out of the ditch. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">That makes you strong within. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As long as you realise just</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">How and why I love my skin. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">You may try to curse me for being this way. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It doesn't matter, I won't feel sorry. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">But when you understand why I stay, </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'm with you. Don't worry. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'll give you only what's due. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I won't throw alms to you, I promise. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Only give when I get what I seek.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Because that's what my code of life is.<br /></p>Avanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14240502381012721092noreply@blogger.com1