Journey towards Light

As long as we try to focus light on ourselves, we rarely pause to ponder that by acting in this manner, we are depriving others of their legitimate lights, which is theirs by way of their birthright. As like us, they too have an innate right to stand under their own light, rather than staying forever in shadows, or waiting in the wings to have their moment, never bothering to think how brief or fleeting that moment might be. They would be more than content to get a small beam of light somehow to illuminate their dark world, rather than to fight their way to grab it.

But unfortunately, it seldom happens and their endless wait and ceaseless prayers for light to appear goes unheeded. Even though we may think that everybody is equal but the case is not so. We are equal only at the time of birth or in death, and each life follows its own course on predetermined and predictable ways. Very rarely their paths cross as they are orbitting in their own axis and the chance of their collision rarely occurs. But we ought to make a conscious efforts to share the blessings with each other instead of depriving others of the same.

CUP OF GRACE

We are often disappointed in the circumstances we find ourselves in. We feel threatened and betrayed as the things unfold themselves in front of our eyes. We often feel like running away and busy ourselves in devising ways and means to extricate ourselves from the problems or situation we find ourselves in, instead of doing the most obvious thing i.e. put all our trust in lord, instead of relying on our worldly knowledge. We are afraid of holding the cup of bitter tears, bitter disappointments, defeats, diseases degradation, which at times are proffered to us. We are often inclined them to treat them as the cup of curses rather than as the cup of blessings. We are so stuck up in the present, that we are unable to see beyond our noses and we feel that we have all the knowledge and that we have arrived at the end of things beyond which nothing is possible. This is so because we never learn to trust the Lord properly. We are often ignorant of the ways and will of Lord, which makes things black and bleary to perceive. We are not ready to follow our crosses, though we cry ourselves hoarse proclaiming ourselves to be the true follower and are ever ready to shed our burden at the drop of the hat, forgetting that to be victorious we must finish the race, which has been given to us, cheerfully without complaining in any manner whatsoever.

Like so many things we are often called to bear the cross of diseases, disappointments, defeats, but we do not find ourselves ready to undertake the job, making excuses to wriggle out of it somehow. This is not confined to it only; rather it encompasses every aspect of our lives. It may be called so, as the cases of failures or disappointments we face so frequently in our lives, without waiting to persist for the blessings they contain. Only if we are perseverant, then only can we reach the Promised Land, otherwise we will have to contend with the glimpse of the holy land which will not be accessible to us simply because, we did not stay in the place where the lord wanted us to be. The diseases can be seen as blessing as they teach us not to not to be proud of our health like wealth etc. since these are transitory ephemeral and impermanent in nature. It also makes one a receptacle of patience, understanding and fills them with compassion and makes them aware of others’ sufferings and pain, and makes them more attuned and attentive towards the will of the lord as they learn to put their faith on Him when everything and everyone fails. They are able to look inward and have silent conversations with the Lord when every one stops listening to them. Then they are able to put beside all things of flesh and follow Him wherever He intends to take them since they realize that their stay at this world is just a brief stop over or sojourn in their journey to the kingdom of the Lord, which is the final destination of us all, if we are obedient and faithful to Him. We often forget that the cup of grace is filled with bitter tears and we are ready to wish it away, the moment it is offered to us, but if we accept it unflinchingly it would definitely turn into the cup of blessings which it actually is, and not the cup of curses as we tend to perceive it.

We often see our afflictions as curses, never as opportunities to be seized and made worthwhile. These divine interventions are often seen as mere interference’s meant to play havoc with our well-laid plans, as obstacles in the paths which we have carved out for ourselves so painstakingly by devoting every fibre of our being geared to fulfill the chosen goal. We never pause to wonder what lies ahead and as we are afraid of unknown, we tend to slip back in our old comfortable ways to our monotonous routine of nothingness, which begets nothingness in the end. We fail to appreciate the fact that no test is given to us beyond our strength and capabilities. In fact the Lord is always with us to take care of us but we fail to realize this and we frantically turn to the world to solve our problems seeking their opinions advice etc. to tide over the problems, never outsourcing the problems to the Lord who is easily available in our times of misfortune as the Psalmist says in praise of the lord. If we are not ready to bear the cross we are given and have failed to follow His will, then we are not trying to be trustworthy. If the Lord cannot trust us with a small cross, He has given us, how will He trust us with the greater things of His kingdom, which brings glory to Him? In fact at that moment of time we are found lacking, unwilling to follow Him, then how can He trust with the keys of his kingdom which we all are so desperately searching all our lives. Only He is the source of all and every thing. Everything is meant to bring out his glory in this world. Unless we understand this simple truth, we cannot understand His will or ways and will remain ignorant of Him despite proclaiming otherwise.

So it is best for us to take pride in our incapability’s and weaknesses as He gives riches to the poor and makes strong the weak. He only can turn our bitter tears into joyous laughter and our defeats into victories. He makes us more than victorious. To stay in His shadow, it is necessary to be obedient and willing to follow him in adversity, singing praises instead of lamenting or blaming the fate. Sometimes it seems that all these are mere means to bring us all nearer to Him as we strays and are lost in the wilderness of this world. Only then we learn to lean upon Him and trust Him when we are reduced to nothingness or when we are broken in spirit or body with no respite in sight. The world despises and never cares for those who have fallen down rather it moves ahead callously rough shoddingly, but the Lord always hold them dear and keep them close to His heart, the people with broken spirits and broken wings and gives a new song to those mute broken reeds.

Happiness.....

Happiness lulls us with the deep relaxing stupor filled with sweet dreams but pain and sorrows makes us sleepless and restless. Pain makes you angry and depressed while the happiness gets you in a more cheerful mood and lets you forgive and forget things, which have caused you deep pain and anguish in the past. But to be able to feel pain is a sign of being alive and being aware of your surroundings. Pain unfortunately keeps you glued or chained to your past, but can also be interpreted as a sign of recovery as it ensures a chance for change, recovery and survival too, since the entire mind is concentrating or engaged in the task of fighting for getting back the control over our lives. Otherwise the pain will dull our senses and weaken our resistance to fight it with tooth and nail against its dominating power.

The pain is a reminder that you are alive. The pain is the greatest catalyst. It overwhelms us no doubt, but it also brings about a subtle transformation of one’s consciousness as it increases the field of awareness to such an extent so as to include others into the direct line of observation or the observation field. The pain gives us an opportunity to connect with each other with more compassion, maturity, understanding and sensitivity. This makes us aware of the pain and anguish the other person is undergoing which is tearing him apart just like us. This knowledge is the greatest tool one can have to transform the lives of those around him and eventually everyone including his own.

Musings

Why do we resent things that are sent our way? Why aren’t we ready to accept the moment they appear on the radar of our consciousness? Their presence itself invokes a sense of foreboding, confusion and a threat to our fragile and over the edge existence. They somehow manage to set off a chain reactions of reactive actions blindly following some distorted and warped sense of atavistic logic which has lost its touch with the reality and hence its relevance. We try to shut ourselves off from whatsoever those truths or things might be trying to convey. We are so comfortable and smug with whatever little knowledge or information we have, that we never want to step away from our comfort zone to reach out to those things that comes our way.

To make any effort to comprehend and understand the mysteries those things might be hiding within themselves seems foolishness, an utter waste of time and resources which can be better realized in furthering one’s prospects and eventually one’s future instead of running around in circles or chasing some elusive mirages or chimera. But our stubborn or mulish attitude towards change and our inability to adjust to ever-changing realities makes us miss most of the opportunities which come to enrich and add more colors and meanings to our dull and mundane lives and allowing to be transformed in turn. We refuse to be bent or broken as it makes us seem weak and vulnerable in front of everyone around us. But unless we allow us to be bent or broken and made anew the stale and moldy confines of our spirits would never allow the fresh breaths of the winds of change to enter inside us and caress our aching soul, to transform renew and rejuvenate it in return.

If problems be poems…

3.

What if problems indeed be poems bursting with secret meanings, of a secret world of their own, leading us by our noses, playing with a practiced ease? What if they were sent our way to test whatever little faith we all have, or to secretly keeping an eye, to cool our tempers and put a check on our lashing tongue, what if they meant to keep us from straying afar, stumbling after reaching the heights, since we were running alone to gather the riches, with no thought of sharing with all those fools, that’s what everyone else is called, who happens to be outside the hallowed halls, the curtains of bulletproof glass drowning the voices, bored, with the wretched zombies outside, watching the barricaded doors wringing their hands, what do you say, when life’s a party, who dares to permit the entry of problems even as a poem.

What can it offer to our jaded taste, who have seen and played all the games, its just a nuisance, a minor inconvenience, who need to be taught in such a barbaric way, so when the teacher is ready the student disappears. Who can welcome the problems amidst, when the roof is leaking and the walls have gone. But with a sweet smile and a kind voice living there, bids them to enter, to share their wretched lives. Since sharing things is the only way of life, with no place to hoard or hide, and refusing to wither and die, with no one to share with or to care for.

Maybe the problems seek such humble hearts, to make the connection and receive the gifts of wisdom and strength, praising the Lord, as Lord Himself seeks out the chosen ones to understand the poems and sing aloud the new songs, of praise and gratitude, of joy, hope and happiness, a promise of peace and everlasting love, playing through the broken reeds and the mute flutes, with Lord holding them close lovingly with infinite love and care.

If problems be poems…

2.

What if every problem sent our way were poems indeed, to guide us through their bright beams towards much wiser visions. The more poems er problems the life present us with, the wiser we grow reaching at the end of the guiding beams. It shows us, rather guide us how to appreciate things in their true perspective, never belittling anything, allows or rather encourages us to look for the reflections of the stars and rainbows in the gutter, instead of the slimy cesspool that everyone is looking at.

It makes us value finer things in life and we come to learn about our true priorities in the midst of the problems which rips away our make believe masks and facades which have come to hide our real self from others as well as from ourselves. Standing alone and vulnerable we learn to trust others and discover our strengths and become aware of our weaknesses which in turn portray a much more realistic portrait of the self than we had allowed ourselves to believe in.

It turns us away from the mad race or rather the rat race, allowing us to see the other side of the coin and to feel and share the real life with the hapless and unfortunate ones who were driven away from the glorious procession of life and were reduced to crawl behind the revelers who had always managed to get more than a fair share of everything effortlessly and for whom nothing else mattered. But when the talks turned to sharing and caring they would close their ranks and push

away others like some alien intruder whom no one would willingly invite to come and share their lives. In a way the problems teaches us a lot, if we were to act as an apt pupil eager to learn new things. But most of us would prefer to die than acknowledging our ignorance in public.

For to be seen as some ignorant fool, is to place oneself deliberately in the direct path of trouble, which no one in his right mind would do? Who would be ready to show the chinks in his armor, giving the other, an opportunity to attack? But the problems ask us to drop our masks and pretenses and to stop fearing since to be afraid all the time would sap all our energy leaving us listless and uninterested in everything else, the life has to offer to us. The problems wants to raise our threshold of experiences to new heights, exhorting us to be brave and courageous in every circumstance, come what may.

It seems that the sole mission of every problem is to strengthen us and leave us a little wiser while departing. It doesn’t enters our lives to break us but rather to make us a little more perfect, where we have been made aware of our shortcomings as well as our strengths. Life is a progression towards perfection, but even if it seems to be imperfect to our wary eyes, the life is still more beautiful and worth living. It wouldn’t be a wise step to put an hold on life in search of the elusive perfection, while ignoring the little quirks of life which makes it worthwhile amusing and charming, full of surprises and adventures, enough to last a lifetime.

If problems be poems…

1.

A lot of problems arise in this world out of misunderstandings. So when we encounter any problem we must not be overwhelmed by the sheer weight or size of the problem, rather we should try to probe into it to gain any insight or intuition about the inherent solution every problem hides in itself. A problem poses a test in respect of the skills or experiences gained by any individual in the course of his life. If one is a good or even moderate learner than he might solve it with some or fewer difficulties.

But if one detests any kind of learning, then he might find it very difficult to solve it, as he may seen it as a personal affront by the destiny or fate bent upon punishing him for some known or unknown misdeeds. If one sees every problem as a poem then problems would seem to be more fun and one would rather anticipate their arrival with excitement and not with trepidation. What if every problem was a poem in itself but we with our limited understanding and knowledge are unable to comprehend its true meaning and are playing a blame game making it out a sort of nemesis sent to destroy, or rather to mislead us, proving an obstacle a hindrance in our paths.

Every problem requires a bit of role-playing, as it forces us to think and find and discover methods or the ways to reach at the solution. We have to put ourselves in the shoes of the problem to get it reveal its true significance since it reveals a hitherto unknown facet each time we encounter it while journeying towards our goal.

Take on mistakes…..

We often make a great song and dance of mistakes made by us in course of our lives not taking them as missed opportunities to take or seize and make the most of it. We fail to think it in terms of stepping stones to move ahead in life, to flow with the life instead of refusing to move and choosing to standstill in the face of onslaught of the stormy and turbulent currents/ waves of river called life.

And then we complain as to how badly the life has chosen to treat us and not the other way round that we ourselves are also to be blames to some extent for not moving ahead as life would not stop for anyone or would let anyone stop and would forcibly drag one down if he or she refuses to move since life is the name of moving ahead despite all odds or obstacles lying in the path just like a river who has to carve out its course through varying landscapes in its journey towards sea its ultimate destination.

Very often mountains refuse to yield and make way for a young river but with the passage of time forges ahead wending its way through the heartland of mountains in form of underground channels springs and waterfalls and often traverse through the lonesome desert to quench the thirst of its parched lips and fulfill its promise made long ago to the accursed and forgotten landscape to make life a bit more bearable.

The Art Of Conversation

Most of us, like, or rather I would say love to talk most of the times, without pausing to stop even for a moment to see the effect on the listener. And most of the times we are talking about trivial matters, not that it is wrong to make small talks but most of the times we want to the other to surrender meekly to the verbal onslaught we had launched on the poor fellow who had the misfortune to step into the firing line. Well that is one of the reasons we talk with others to bring them around to our point of views even if it might be a big mistake that we would regret later but still we are unable to stop ourselves from launching verbal missiles that we are often very confident to hit the target accurately.

This vindictive streak in our nature is a sad reminder of our times in which we are living where everything revolves round the attainment of the ever so elusive, the so called success in life and utilizing all our energies to attain and maintain it at any cost. We are so bitten by the success bug that we are willing to sacrifice anything and everything for anyone who can give us the magic formula of getting successful in a jiffy. We are not ready to wait for our efforts to bear fruits in natural course of time. We are not willing to wait that long, rather we would like to enjoy the fruits of success this very moment and we are not even ready to work for it. Rather it should fall from the skies like proverbial manna of biblical times.

Since most of us are busy seeking shortcuts to our destination that we are unable to pick up the hints the life has strewn all along the way. Only if we were not so busy to plan and design our lives as everything now comes with a designer tag and the mad scramble to have a designer life which boast of everything being so designer like or custom made begins, where there is no place for all the problems the mankind is facing today.

Most of us use conversations as a means, tool or device, take your pick, whichever takes your fancy, to intimidate, ridicule, subdue or threaten others only sometimes it is used for its true purpose i.e. for exchange of ideas or information. Very rarely it is used for what it actually intended in the first place for understanding or taking an interest in the lives of the others. Most of the time the spotlight is turned on oneself, choosing to showcase the successes, conquests or victories to the world.

The self centred egocentric world we inhabit has no room for the others as our equals, they are merely welcomed in our worlds as inferior sidekicks, fall guys or scapegoats who must be ready to entertain and pamper the ego of the employer at any cost, at the drop of the hat, even it may seem a worthless futile and demeaning exercise just to keep the body and soul together. They must perform against all odds since this is what they are paid for with. But this proactive approach towards others is fraught of grave dangers such as being misunderstood or worse still being called a manipulator.

Being accused of playing with the emotions of others is quite a disgusting or disturbing trait one may come across, but though detestable it may be seen but it does not deter some people to do it with impunity and the most shocking thing is that people seem to enjoy it as long as it is happening to the others preferably to some strangers or unknown persons, then it is easy to distance oneself and remain unperturbed about it and commenting on the matter in a very casual, neutral or impartial manner. Often the information is used as a weapon to destroy or annihilate the other, never pausing to consider that it is a double-edged weapon designed to cut both ways. The wielder of the weapon is also in danger of cutting himself if he is not too careful when playing around with such a dangerous thing.

Veil of forgetfulness

The veil of forgetfulness is drawn so tightly across our minds/eyes that we are unable to peer beyond and see the light. We choose what we believe or rather we believe what we want to believe. And we often tend to disregard or disapprove or even go to the extent of disallowing the reality or the truth in our lives since they don't seem to synchronize with the beliefs or truths we have chosen to believe at that particular moment of time as it seems to be most suitable and appropriate at that moment of time.

We never feel the need to go behind the chasm or abyss of carefully chosen lies or half-truths about the uncomfortable and unpalatable truths of ourselves with which we surround ourselves. We keep quaking and trembling with the fear of being found out as not being the real things as we tend to project ourselves but a fake, an imposter or worse a non-entity the most hurting thing to accept about oneself.

Stepping stones….

I know rather understand that it is quite difficult at times to reach a clear cut decision in the face of such complex and confusing situations presenting themselves in front of us. One is bound to commit mistake or in the ensuing confusion, for which one can hardly find a fault with him or fault him as it is human to err. And every mistake can be turned into a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block as everyone tends to perceive them.

Because every mistake or failure in itself contains the tiny kernel of success, in fact a second chance to have another take at the problem in hand, by trying to solve it differently, which might unlock its hidden lock which we failed to open in the first instance as we were looking for the answers at the wrong places? Though we have so much of time at our hands or at our disposal yet we often show ourselves as too busy and preoccupied with so many diverse matters but the one at hand.

We are so convinced with our half-truths, which we proclaim as the ultimate truth with us being the sole bearer of that absolute and ultimate truth that we cry ourselves hoarse trying to convince others of the same so that they can turn into insignificant pawns in the intricate and treacherous game of power play. We have hardly any compunction in playing with the emotions of others or turning them into a mere pawn, a plaything to achieve our ends. People lose their importance and are reduced to being things to be used at will to gain something.

Dreamtime

Though it is said that there is a place and time for everything but somehow our lives seem so empty broken and lifeless. Nothing stirs or is vibrant or vivid. A kind of stillness/ stagnant pool of frustrations born out of our confused feelings and perceptions mirrors our day-to-day reality. Gazing into the stagnant pool of forgotten/broken dreams makes us gloomier and sad. We are so wrapped up in up and close personal worlds of our own making that we fail to take notice of the directions taken by the destiny which steadies our footsteps on the paths we are chosen to undertake in our lifetimes.

Nothing is meaningless or insignificant in this universe or shall we say multiverse. We all have been chosen to serve in this universe. We are not here by chance or coincidence or by some quirk of fate. The only lesson or mission is to serve each other with love as only love is real the only connection between us humans. But as we progress on our paths we find that this is the most difficult thing to do since each one of us wants to be served but rarely one agrees to serve willingly and joyously. Everyone wants to be in control of things people and would gladly vie with the creators to be the masters of the universe and destiny.