What's that one thing?

Josh Bell--a renowned violinist whose show tickets were sold out for more than $100 per seat, once played at the D.C metro subway as a part of a social experiment. No one knew who he was--and no one cared. And he earned just $27 in 45 minutes.

Do you think you are one of them? I sure am that way sometimes...Running after the next train, speeding to cross the junction before the signal turns red and even hurrying through breakfast so I could start the day! We are often in so much of a hurry to 'get there' that we forget the most interesting part--'getting there', the journey.

Let's strike a deal today...every day of the week, we will find one thing to appreciate...one thing to soak in completely...one thing to get lost in... it could be something as simple as the wild flower growing in your building compound, a good cup of coffee, the cool breeze on your way back home from work, one song on your ipod or just a conversation with a friend that puts a smile on your face.

So, what's it gonna be today???

The Treadmill of Life

I run about 10 minutes on the Treadmill everyday. That's when I stop and think--on just about everything. Today, I was thinking of the treadmill of life. Aren't we all on a treadmill, constantly? Day in and day out, we run, trying to keep pace with life and all that it has to offer. We run for a better job, higher pay, we run to find love and sometimes, we don't even know what we're running after. I suspect many a times we are running away rather than running after something. What we're running away from, you may ask. I believe that we are running away from ourselves, from who we are, just that we term it as running towards a better future or better tomorrow. Life would be less of a treadmill and more of a winding path along a scenic hillock if we stepped off the treadmill for a minute and enjoyed and accepted what we have and who we truly are.

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.

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...