Ego...Your Worst Enemy

Hindu scriptures enlist Ego as mankind's biggest enemy. Mythology and history, both are replete with proof on how ego has been the prime reason for downfall of many. Whether it was Ravan who was so sure of his strength that he started to believe dEvil can win over GOod, or it was Bush who started the Ego war with Saddam...the result has been the same.

While being proud of ones achievements and standing up for ones self respect is the right thing to do, starting to think you are a notch above the rest merely because of your skills or achievements is a tad too foolish...because the fact remains that no matter who accomplished or how hopeless you are...you'll always find someone better off that you and someone worse than you. Judging yourself by others capabilities not only fills you with a feeling of notional superiority linked to the status of those below you, but also limits your development to the level of those above you.

So, to rise in life, make humility a part of your character, be open and willing to learn from those above you, be open and willing to teach those below you.

Life...an unknown journey

Monday morning was a shock for all us at my workplace. One of our colleagues and his friend, both in their twenties, had a fatal accident. It was Sunday night. They were at a common friend's place, when they decided to get back to my colleague's apartment during FIFA World Cup's half-time. They didn't want to miss the second half. They didn't make it. Their bike was hit by a truck, and what entailed was a gruesome end to 2 human lives. I'll leave out the details for they are too gory to be described. This incident got many of us thinking. We take life for granted. We work through the week, relax through the weekends and then grumble about Monday blues. We realized that we may not all have got the lives we bargained for, but this is the the only life we've got...and it may be sniffed out in a moment...as in my colleague's case, and we may never get the chance to complain about another Monday. So, its best to make the most of what we have...while it lasts. Because you never know when, one day, it may all turn into ashes or dust.

Lessons of youth...

The lessons we learn as kids are something that stick with us for the rest of our lives. As I grow in life, I find that I am what I am because of what was inculcated into me as a child. Whether it was by my parents or teachers or simply by life, my current value system is largely based on what I learned in the first 16-17 years of my life. It is amazing how such a short span of your life has the power to decide half a century of your life. I know it's never too late to change, but I also know that it's not easy to embrace change once you have become set in your ways.

In that sense, it can be said that parents end up shouldering a lot of responsibility because 9/10 times, their kids are what they make them out to be. Of course, that is not to say that parents are responsible for the poor choices their kids make as adults, but they are primarily responsible for their child's inability to make the right choice as an adult. May be that's the reason why we find harrowed parents supporting adult children who never seem to grow up or constantly make poor choices. Because somewhere deep down in their hearts they know that they should have done a better job at parenting. 

Parenting is not a thankless job, just one where the stakes are high...really really high...

What Really Counts

I'm reading a blog titled My Unemployed Journey these days which talks of the trials and tribulations of a 40 something TV producer, once successful, but now laid off owing to the big R (that's recession). He talks about how this is a blessing in disguise in some ways...like him getting to actually watch his kids playing soccer, him being able to steal moments with his bipolar mother, him able to help out his wife with the stuff at home. But, his blog DOES NOT glorify unemployment. He makes no attempt to hide how he feels being the - oh-once successful-now-unemployed guy, but he does manage to drive home some bits about the things that really count in life. Reading his blog this morning, sort of sent me into flashback mode to something that happened 2 years ago. My company was going through a tough time and there was a meeting held for a couple of us managers. I being the pessimist, assumed the worst and my head was reeling as we sat there in the conference room, waiting for the MD to come in and brief us. Finally, I said to myself, 'What's the worst that could happen?' The answers were--1. I lose my job 2.Get one that pays much less and that was it. I'd still have a supportive dad, loving mom and a sister who would make me laugh--those who'd treat me the same even if I earned a few grands less. And then...I waited for the MD to come in and brief us--about whatever it was.

Those few moments in the conference room, changed my perspective towards life and what really counts. That is not say I'm any less committed towards my work, or don't value money, just that I now do what I'm doing because I enjoy it...

And the briefing that day...was about something so inconsequential that I don't even remember it anymore!

Push, Shove, Elbow--Beg, Borrow, Steal

Anybody trying to get an entry in the elevator at CBD Belapur's 10th Tower between 10-10.15 a.m. knows it's a herculean task. In fact, the common joke doing rounds among people at CBD complex is that the elevator is more crowded than the trains arriving around that time. If you stood there you'd notice that people push and shove to be able to enter the elevator...sometimes, it's so bad that persons are not allowed to alight. The same thing happens in the 9.43 PL and 7.11 CST. This attitude of one-upmanship is further carried into our workplaces and sometimes even into relationship (When was the last time you were truly happy for a friend who did better than you?) Worse still, we're pushing this line of thought into the newer generations (Oh...xyz's kid got 98 percentile, why couldn't you?) So, the kids learn to push, shove, and elbow their way into school buses, exam halls, placement camps, offices, relationships et al...and somewhere along this trudge to the ultimate destination (whatever that is, nobody knows) they forget to enjoy the journey called life...

Travel Light...Travel Long

I have always been an advocate of minimal luggage when traveling. As 18 years of realization passed me by it slowly dawned upon me that this concept of traveling light can help you travel through life's rocky terrains better. A lot of people I know would grapple for support across slippery slopes of life, nimble footed, fearing a fall; (I was one of them too...) the reason being our excess baggage which weighs us down. My mother, a wise woman, has always advised me not to hold grudges. She always backed it up with the following reasons-

• Holding grudges only reminds you of the wrong done to you. 
• Holding grudges makes you unhappy because it constantly reminds you of  the above
• Holding grudges prevents  you from living your life to the fullest because you hold back a portion of what you really are
• Holding grudges prevents you from celebrating the many other good qualities a person may have
• Grudges=stress=heart diseases=short life=grieving loved ones, while people who are the root cause of this are not affected

As a teenager, these things never made any sense. I mistook her for being weak willed and 'unworldly'. But, as I said, the last 18 years of realization have told me she was right on this account.  So, I've pretty much learned to ditch the excess baggage and travel light through my journey of life. I'd be lying if I said I travel empty handed all the time because, sometimes do find a bit of baggage lurking around in my heart, yet none so heavy that I can't unload when I think of my mom's words.