What is 'Forever' AND What lasts forever?

This is a beautiful read. I see lot of introspection and a process of “seeking” in your writing. Sometime back this was a topic that got discussed….

What is 'Forever'?

What lasts forever?

My answer was like this…….

I am flowing like a river

Origin known and the destination too,

Ever unknown is, what’s in between?

When I am joyful, I am a waterfall

When I am contented, I flow as a stream

Touching those pebbles as mildly as I can

and playing those notes, the music of love

changing colour, and sometime odour

all because of you!

whatever and whoever, comes in contact, what I become

all depends on you

but I never lose, what I am and what’s mine

because, I believe

What is forever

and what last forever

is nothing but this

that is the SEARCH

Search for love

Search for giving

Search for touches

Search for bond

Search for soul

Search for refuge

I am in search…

every time I research

all about life, I am in search

I am flowing like a river

Origin known and the destination too,

Ever unknown is, what’s in between?

I do not think one get answers for all our questions, especially the sort of answers that we look for, but yes we do get answers for all our questions for sure during the life process.

Going back – constant or changing?

“Can we go back to the way we used to be?” – a question everyone has thought about at some point in their life.

I suspect this is used as escape route from current problems and to get into comfort zone and live life the way they had in past. And for some, it is about resolving current problems. Alternatively, for some it is about reminiscing the “good old days” (school days/college days/courtship period/honeymoon period etc…)

But no matter what, going back to the way we used to be does not mean we will be able to really go back and live life the way we lived then. When we have moved to a new place/new job, at same time, others too would have moved on, mentally if not physically. And when we go back, we will feel the difference and sometimes feel whether we have made the right decision to go back. And then we will neither be here or there.

That is, everyone would have enjoyed their school days and college days as well, but after growing up (what is growing up is another subject to discussJ) into a middle aged person, you cannot go back and live the life of college days (hang out with friends, spending hours together just chatting, ogling at girlsJ, get drunk and what not…), though you might continue to wish.

Everyone has problems in their life and look for solutions. Though, they all sound same, our thinking and way of finding solutions are not same and are different/strange in their own way, but going back is easier said than done…

Inflation eroding savings - scary state!

Read the below article in newspaper and felt it perfectly explains the current situation in India and metros in particular where the savings / surplus money post expenses has reduced significantly. While the issue of increased consumerism was the cause till sometime back, now the increase in inflation year on year and consistently remaining high is causing the problem.

Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/inflation-eroding-savingsindiansmetros-survey_991462.html

Many middle income families are trying hard to maintain the consumption levels through opting for value buying (buying equal product at lesser costs), cutting costs where possible (reducing eating out, going out for movies, postponing expenses etc.). And similarly, many are also considering switching jobs to increase pay.

While, another survey suggests that average increment in 2014 can be expected to be around 11%, but after factoring in inflation, the rise in India is expected to be 2%. On companies side, the high inflation is putting pressure in terms of high input costs, slowing economy and coupled with demands for higher salary hikes.

These impacts the standards of living, lesser savings, reduction in net worth. Reports say that the household savings rates have dropped by a staggering 40% in last 3 years.

Scary state to be in currently and scarier, when you think of the future!!

Social Media or Newsmakers?

This article in ET caught my eye. It is interesting that this guy's FB post of Saravana Bhavan being bought over by Sun Group got noticed by a Bangalore based techie, Suseendran, as reported here by ET and journalists and finally led to an IT department raid.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-11-06/news/43733531_1_kalanithi-maran-tweet-journalists

I am not really a person for conspiracy theories, but do we now have newsmakers in Social Media, who randomly write random stories like this.

I am wondering, how much of news/updates that we see in Social Media are true? This leads to next question of, why do we have these so-called newsmakers or social rowdies in Social Media?

Is it for:

• Vengeance against the celebrities?
• Cheap thrill?
• First to break news, update friends?
• Gossiping, spread rumors?

Whatever be the reasons, this has led to many false news being spread which are far from truth – right from celebrities being pregnant to their marriages to their death.

Quite a many times, media picks up these news/updates, turns into news/articles and publishes it in newspapers next day. Is it because of lack of news or laziness and easy source to tap and create news?

After this, the concerned celebrity will have to defend his position, send more updates, etc, which again becomes news for Media.

In short, you create one news and that babies more news. Vicious circle!!

Do we need a fresh law to tackle this? Then, people will raise objections stating freedom of expression is curtailed. Question is, how much freedom is too much freedom?

Bottom line - do not trust a social media post blindly. Always verify, double-check its source and authenticity. Especially when it involves people, their families and their livelihoods.

To regret or not to regret…

Ever thought, what is it like to have a life without regrets? Does it mean that you keep badgering on something or some situation, someone until you get what you want? How irritating/nice is that? And why do we regret? Is it because, we feel guilty for achieving something others have not or guilty that we have not achieved what we should have, as per our wishes?

Is it like going after something that you want even though the ones at the receiving end would not really like to see you around? Where does irritating begins and go-getting attitude ends. Or just simply, where does the path of following your dreams end? Does it ever end or does it just transposes to a different path and dream after dream blends into, dissolves into another in a seamless manner?

Have you ever wished that you could have probably tried something a bit more harder and you could have clinched it?

Does having no regrets mean running yourself down? Or becoming a doormat? What is it like to desperately want something though all logic and everything tells you that it is not going to happen the way you want it? Been there? Felt that?

What is right for someone is wrong for another or it is not just meant for you.

There are several times that I wish whether things can be just black and white. Or maybe that kind of world would remain colourless. More than the black and white it is probably the gray that makes life exciting or confusing, despairing. And is it the despair and confusion that makes life, LIFE?

Even after pushing your limits, would there ever come a time, when you wish that you could have done things differently – may be, some other day in some other thought process – perhaps, a case of wrong day, wrong place? Wouldn't that be a brand of regret by itself?

There comes a time in everyone's life where you feel like a glass of soda. There is bubble after bubble rising up to the top of your conscious mind. And the bubbles don’t go pop. They just keep simmering. If that is ever possible. Well simmering bubbles in soda.. Wow, what a thought..

The problem is the bubbles don't come one by one. Several come at a time. And it becomes impossible to miss any of them – the onslaught rather. Sometimes the intensity is almost like someone is going amuck with a machine gun - only that the firing is from inside you., keeps popping up till it decided enough and settles down…

Have you tried making a straw stick to the bottom of a glass filled with soda? And the bubbles will stick to them and you will wonder what happened to the stick/straw that you had put in. If you let it go, the stick/straw will bob up and eventually fall out of the glass, on to the table. With all the unrest within trying to keep your wits about you is a lot like pinning the straw down. Quite an exercise!!

It is but a bubble, once it goes pop, there are going to be no remnants.. But that’s the issue. It is like each bubble has a center filled with color fast liquid. The bubble goes pop. It leaves a mark. And each mark is like a snowflake. Unique. Unmatched.

The biggest mark right now is the bubble of no-regrets.

And a lot of times these bubbles make you ask questions to answers that you do not yet know. Murky? You bet.