Derailed

Its often that we find that life can seem like a mighty hurricane, flying so speedily past us, leaving us dizzy and our world thrown upside down. But every now and then we realise, its not life, but us, moving like a bullet train, seeing only the glimpses of the life we've lived, from a beginning, without a middle, to an end too soon and die. And like a bullet train, never taking the steady scenic route, in which you can slow down for a moment to look out and see the wonders of the world. Instead all you see is just a blur, and the shaking of a speeding train.

And you'll find that moving at such great speeds, that life can get noisy, and feel so unsteady, and that the pressures of living weigh more heavily down when we're moving at great speeds. And yes, you're places, but you've not stopped to look at the places you've passed by along the track to a destination you hardly know yourself. Until you reach a point where you're craving silence, only to realise the noises are coming from you, and the only pressures you're feeling can only be stopped when you stop, for just a moment to take it all in.

So now I've run so far from the world and all its pressures, and its social calamity and its devious repertoire. And I have lengthened the space between myself and the graces of friends and frequent acquaintances, in all their mediocrity and dramatic declines. I've never been much further from the familiarity of family or of traditions and the roller-coasters of their precious demeanour. Only to find myself, even after all that, so far from all the pressures and chaos, not in peace or in quiet, but the unmistakable sound of my own stresses and prejudiced repose...All by myself, deep within myself, so far from myself...with the sound of a speeding track...about to be derailed.

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Love & War

It is said that all is fair in love and war, and that no matter what your intentions, your strategy of interception and attack must always be for the sake of victory for either side. But nobody wins a war with no goals, or takes up arms in a battle without a great purpose in mind. And so the same rules apply in any relationship, which should be discouraged if they have no clear direction for growth in mind. Because if its engaging in a battle, and yes...love is a battle, against all odds...without goals, the only two factions in that war are the two people in love.

Without knowing what they're fighting for, soldiers will lose their morale, until eventually they lose faith and are faced with either defecting or retreating. When two allies meet amidst a war, the strength of their front does not lie in their power, or in their wisdom or even the magnitude of their honour, no matter how dignified, but rather in their diplomacy, in their union and their trust. And without their rules of engagement in a war against time. And no matter how dire their circumstance, or how advantages their position in life, they must never become the casualties of a war against their own tides.

As is in war so the rules must apply when engaging in love. That without borders, barricades and boundaries, the rules will always be broken unless the laws are laid out on a solid line. And whether for the best of intentions, or for morals far from kind, as in war the rules of engagement, in love, must be clearly defined. Yes all is fair in love and war, but remember which treaty you signed, make clear the terms of your allegiance, against your enemies, and with clear goals in mind.

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Rogue

Strange, isn't it? That one of the strongest muscles in a human being's entire physical body, is also the one you wish you had the most strength of will to hold tightly down, and silence it from throwing a blow that can often be more devastating to a man than any physical attack. For it leaves the kind of wounds you'll likely never find, are easily concealed, but take the longest time to recover through the worst kinds of recovery processes. And even though you have control of it, still it seems to break free from the bonds of discipline, understanding and self-control.

It is said that, that which flows from the mouth of a man, is merely the overflow of the rivers in his heart. And if the river flows black from the taint of disdain, and icy cold from the chill of sadness, then from his mouth only hurt and anguish can flow. Soon hurt turns to hatred, and anguish to abhorrence. Until the only words he has left to say, are the rigid and broken descriptions of his own fears and the sharp edged fractures ricocheting against that which he loves, and the innocent bystanders he never means to hurt.

So if your strongest muscle fails to find the strength to simply tame itself and stop, then like any unruly thing, it simply needs to be taught the discipline of humility and the knowledge of kindness. But most importantly train your tongue in the skill of understanding, and slowly it will gain the wisdom...of Love.

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Ping

Interesting that in this world of Instant Messaging, Email, Broadcast Messaging and Social Networking, every now and then we come face to face with the realisation, that under all the technology, we still have our humanity. That in a world of political correctness, censorships, laws, jargon and colloquialisms, there's nothing quite like communicating on a basic human connection. And as it happens, I have only begun to fully realize how true and real this connection is when it happened at such a level that made me disappear for a minute or so, deep in thought of these facts, and ask myself...What has happened to our humanity in all a world of "Instant Living"?

We want to live things through sooner rather than later, get more done faster, and get everything done better, and to be able to do all of these things over further distances than ever. And in all this fast paced living, what has happened to the appreciation of the Here and Now? Its not that life has passed us by and when we realised things have changed, all of a sudden we're stunned...In fact its us moving too fast for life, to the point that we haven't slowed down once to notice the changes taking place...changes that we have created ourselves.

But one day you'll happen across the same connection as I did, as few of us did...Like pulling up to a red robot, and at that very moment looking into the next lane to find someone stopping at the same time, staring them in the face, and simply smiling...and you'll find the most remarkable thing will happen, when the next person smiles right back at you. And you'll realize, that above the mail alerts, the instant messaging and the social networking, that nothing is more remarkable, than the human connection...Like a human 'Ping'.

Picking Petals

Like picking petals in a park, there are times when a relationship feels like it sits on a scale...And counting the bundles piece by piece feels so exhausting and unnerving as we get closer to a final result. Because we can count the "He Loves Me" petals, and we can count the "He Loves Me Not", but in the end that's not how Love works. Its based on whole different set of scales.

You see sometimes there are more times that one says "I'm Sorry", than the times you say "I Love You", and it may seem a bit weary to the person or people that the words are meant to be given to. But its not about weighing one set against the other, or about which pieces bear more significance to the next. Its about the connection that you've just encountered, and knowing that someone still remembers to bring an "I'm Sorry" petal or an "I Love You" at all.

Yes, there will be times that there are more "I'm Sorry" petals than "I Love You" petals on one blossom, and sometimes it may strike you as frightening that it grows at all. So the key is to simply stop counting petals and remember to grow your relationship like a garden in bloom. Because one day you'll find yourself without anymore flowers, and only the petals from the garden you've picked.

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Earning Life

In life we must learn, that nothing comes from nothing, and that the only way we can ever benefit from anything that this world has to offer, is when we invest in something first. Whether it be a good deed, a financial investment, or even personal growth, we cannot simply expect something to manifest itself out of this ridiculous notion of "positive thinking", "karma", and "mental actualization". It is through action that a reaction is brought into being, not by sheer will. So it then baffles me, to the point of irritation, that some people simply expect the universe to grant them good tidings, when they have not earned it.

Then there's this idea that if you're a good person, good things will simply happen to you. This cannot be the case in a universe that relies on an input and output system. If you're a good person, who does good things, with love in your heart and of good and sound judgement, then all that makes you is simply a good person. You do not get rewarded for being good in this world, it is a basic expectation of your own humanity, not a gesture of greatness or the work of a man struggling to be great. Goodness is a character, and goodwill is mindset, just as dieting is a phase and healthy eating a lifestyle. If you want to reap the rewards of goodness, it will be done accordingly from those who have noticed your goodwill, or from those who a positively affected by it. But do not expect this to happen as a matter of principal, it is a reward that comes only to those who aren't looking.

Understand this, as simply as breath gives life, that good things don't happen to good people, because bad things happen to them too. And that sometimes out of ignorance, with the notion of being good, we can make poor judgements and bad decisions. Because sometimes the worst decisions are made with the best intentions. If you want something out of life, you have to work, work harder and happier, towards your own dreams, and manifest your own happiness. Because even your place in life, has to be earned.

Return In Kind

There are many arts of progress and social behaviours, that not only define us as people, but as a society and as an individual. And since the universe is run by systems of cause and effect and the overall progression and evolution of small actions that ultimately create extraordinary reactions and changes to the world we live in. That even the slightest change in the wind's direction can cause a complete shift in the weather and the landscape we live on, or how small seismic incidences can change whole tides in seas, wreaking havoc and destruction!

Now likewise there is a saying in human nature that teaches us the concepts of "Tit for Tat", or biblical concepts of "Sowing & Reaping", and even scientific concepts of "Push and Repel". And this crazy idea that if someone wrongs you, all that is naturally expected is for you to return the gesture in kind. But what does that say about human nature? That if we are pushed, we simply push back? And judging how we've evolved naturally in our environment, that since the world became harsh, we simply grew stronger and fought off the changes, adapted and survived. And somehow we've applied the same laws in society, that when the world grows cold, we grow colder, and when things don't go our way, we attack anything and anyone around us, in the hopes that somehow the universe will magically turn things in our favour.

But I have learned a crucial piece of information, that has, I think, helped me become a better person, a happier person with a sound mind. Call it the hypothesis of Life and Living if you will, but I figured, that since the universe works on the concepts of Cause and Effect, what would happen if I reacted in a different way to a negative incident, with positivity? Would this not negate or somehow change the set rules of circumstance, and does this not make the situation seem better for me and everyone else? And so far I've come to understand the method to my madness. That if someone wrongs you or if things simply don't go your way, don't return the gesture in kind...But return it in Kindness.