Why "Why" and Why Not "Why Not"

Something new confronts us. Perhaps interesting, maybe unwarranted, slightly diferent but definitely something NEW. And what do we do about it? Before we even warm up to it, we try and ward it off with a stubborn "Why"?

Just another of those human quirks that we have. And this one comes right out of Newtonian science. Its his first law - inertia. We are just too sceptical to step out of our comfort zones and embrace the unkown. While change might be the only constant, it is not something that we look forward to.

And why is it that this "Why" always confronts anything new that comes our way. It is not as if we're satisfied with our present lives. But its just that we are too stuck in our monotonies. The uncertainity of what changes the change might bring scares us off the change. The change could be good or bad. It might work for us or we might regret it for the rest of our lives. But darn, above all it is something NEW and we ought to give it a chance at least. If not try it out we should at least think about trying it out.

So try this the next time when something new steps into your life. Instead of the usual "Why" greet it with a "Why Not". And don't ask me "Why".

I Wish I Had...

You look into the past. You want to change this. You want to do change that. You wish you had done things differently. You regret having said yes. You lament the oportunity missed. You repent the decision you took. You desire going back to it all and changing everything.

Granted. Yes... granted. Granted an opportunity to use a Wellsian fantasy. Go back in time and change all that you want to. Press Shift+Del to wipe it out of existence and use Ctrl+V to replace it with that which you think is right or perfect. And voila you have got exactly what you wanted. Or is it?

Nothing is meant to be perfect and perhaps nothing can be made perfect. Going back in time and changing things might just be another oasis in this arid Saharan desert of a life. So then why do we constantly wish for it? Another illusion you want to capture? Another star in the distant sky?

Or is it becuase we're but human. And it is human to look back and crib about things that we no longer have a control over. Because if life had been perfect till date then where would we find a reason for being unhappy?

Burning Away The Morbidity

Tradition - a word which on its own reeks of 2nd century BC. Things imposed unto you by people who claim to know better. Things you always want to rebel against. The tyrant that prevents you from doing things "your way". But what if you were to create your own traditions and follow them to?

Two eccentrics once did initiate a tradition of their own. A real queer way of celebrating their success and leaving behind their failures in some hazy memory. It wasn't an idea that fell upon them like the Newtonian apple. Rather they just did it in a 'matter of fact' manner like many of their other quirks. But soon enough it became a tradition that they revered and religiously followed like none other.

There was a systematic process - clean, roll, name and enlighten. The tradition lay in naming it with uninhibted creativity and finesse. Sometimes the names went beyond personal successes and failures to embrace people or things that were truly arbit. From Maya John to Jan Tests, they all found their death as their names waned away slowly into nothingness. Memories good and bad were done and dusted with.

All the joy lay in the naming. It was an intriguing duel between both eccentrics to prove that each was the greater eccentric. The winner for the night was honoured with his ingenuity being engraved for posterity. And the one who finished second initiated the celebrations to follow. For him lay the greater prize of being the one to englighten the other's creation.

Like all traditions this one too met its nemesis. Distant dreams did the two eccentrics apart. But the bond that it created still lives.

Where Are The Shades of Gray?

A tinge of White here. A bit of Black there. And now hold you breath, for we have for ourselves Gray. Gray? But what is this Gray? Why is it that this colour which respresents the balance of a mundane life elude me? All through my sane years I've lived life in Black and White. Like a two dimensional matrix incapable of holding anything but pure ecstacy or infuriating gloom. Or like a multiple choice question devoid of answers like "Maybe", "Don't know" and "Can't say".

The question to be answered then - "Is Gray a Can't or a Won't?". If I allow my last ounce of optimism to leave the door slightly ajar, then the fish bone analysis points to the next logical question - "Why do I do this to myself?". If I knew the answer to this I would perhaps start seeing Grays. Or is convincing myself that I don't have an answer just another attempt by Black to rid my life of Grays?

Life is full of highs and lows... Ride the highs to new zeniths so that when you drop to the nadirs, the fall is so great that you bounce back up to an even higher zenith...