Be careful of how others drive.

If you ever got the opportunity to drive a vehicle, or even learn how to drive one, I am pretty sure you would have heard some version of "Be wary of how others drive" a million times. Or one pet dialogue which seems pretty famous, atleast in my area, "You might be driving right, but you don't know of the other person". 

It is funny, don't you think ? You are the person behind the wheel. You are managing that 'perfect co-ordination' between the clutch, brake and accelerator. You are the person deciding which gear to shift to when, when to be at neutral and when to simply set your engine to life. And yet. You do not only need to focus on what YOU are doing, but also on what others are doing, for your sake ! 

Like really ?! Nor do you take the responsibility of all those sitting in the vehicle with you, but to ensure their (and your) utmost safety you NEED to be careful of how others drive. It is not sufficient if you have mastered the art of balancing the three ABCs (as I was recently told, Accelerator, Brake, Clutch, in that order o.O), you also need to master the art of magically knowing that there will be some idiot in a completely opposite lane wanting to come right infront of you just to back to where he came from. 

In a general way, all those people who believe "live and let live", I really don't understand how that works. We live in a society where we are supposed to be 'social animals'. So how does one manage to live on their own without really caring how the other person is living their life is something I would love to know. I don't know, even if you do try to do so follow the 'live and let live' funda, I don't know for how long would someone be able to survive on that. It's more of ignorance that I am talking about right now. A complete state of ignorance where we just don't care of what the other person is doing. That's the kind of state that I have in mind. 

As easy as it may be to live like that, it's almost impossible. 

As easy as it may be to drive like that, it's extremely difficult. 

Be careful of how others drive!

What goes around, comes around

I am a believer of karma. Not at the entire reincarnation level, but at a simple day-to-day basis. I believe that what we do comes back to us. What we think decides what happens. Too much power to self, isn't it ?
It might not happen right now, it might not happen today or day after, but it does. Eventually. I don't know how true this is, I am too young to pass any judgement on that. But I like to believe that my belief is correct.

I like to believe that there is some greater power out there keeping track of everything that's happening with you in your life and making sure that you don't end up with something unjustified.

I like to believe that we all have these little notebooks and for each moment spent in despair there is this great huge moment of ecstasy being built up just somewhere in the near future and all we need to do is to hold on for some time to reach there.

I like to believe that when things go wrong, they don't go wrong endlessly and that the wrong stops at a point to give rise to something that we have been waiting for since long.
I may be naive. I may be over optimistic. But I like to believe that my belief is correct.

^Random, sudden realisations of self and beliefs.
^^Exam week about to begin. (:P)

"Come-back"

Sometimes you don't get the right words. Sometimes you don't understand properly. Sometimes words don't seem to do justice. But sometimes you just forget. I forgot to blog. I forgot to write. The thing that I was so enthusiastic about, I forgot about that.
Can I see a reason as to why it happened ? Can I pinpoint at something ? No. I don't think so. Sometimes it just happens ? I dont know. I feel guilty enough for not posting since such a long time just cause it seems I haven't done justice to myself.
But well, no point dwelling over the must-haves or the could-haves. Like this quote I once read, "if it could have, it would have". I really don't remember when I read this or by whom it was, my apologies for the same !

There are sudden moments when there's too much to do ? Absolutely too much ? All you feel like doing is just to get into your cozy blanket, turn on the music (full volume) and just vanish somewhere ? Before today I used to wonder how and why would someone want to do something like that ? Today, I pretty much get that. I completely and totally get that feeling. If you are one of those who don't understand this feeling, wait for it. Trust me, wait for it.
And you know what's even more frustrating ? Not finding the correct songs ! Seriously ! Someone needs to help me out here. I am terribly out of songs -_-.
Anyway, this is supposed to be my "come-back-post" and instead it's turning into a bunch of sad, depressing paragraphs !

So what if there's work ? :D Haven't we been doing that ever since so long ? So what if we have a bunch of deadlines all lined up ? It's not something new now, is it ? It's almost like a way of life now. So what if once in a while you feel like letting everything be and just take a break, it's pretty much allowed, isn't it ?

Just not when there's so much to do. Just not now ;)

A little incident

I'll straight start off.

I was in the market today, walking, going somewhere, pretty much lost in my thoughts. I was wondering about some weird things, to be precise, I was wondering how exactly can one make one's own mind focus on the positive when it's only the negative that the mind seems to be attracted to. I was thinking about changes. I was thinking about how I was not able to recognize the person who I had become and how I could undo the change that I had probably brought upon myself. I was thinking about how cold I was becoming. Yeah, all those who know me and are giving this post a raised eyebrow, that's exactly what I was thinking.

Basically, I wasn't really in the best possible mood. 

I was looking around, not exactly taking in the surroundings but just looking for the sake of being cautious on Delhi roads. That's when I noticed a woman and a little girl standing on the same side of the road. The girl must have been around four-five years old and the woman must have been her grandmother. The woman was holding the girl's hand and was looking down at something she was trying to do. Now remember, this is West Delhi market we are talking about, you can't simply stand in the middle of a path, not when there are so many people with so much important stuff to do in their lives who are continuously rushing about because they don't have even a second to spare. Or so they assume their lives to be ;)

Anyway, as soon as I reached closer, I realised that the little girl was trying to get her foot into her slipper which seemed to be facing the other side and she wasn't able to get it to rotate and nor was she able to turn around and face the slipper in the right direction because her grandmother was clutching her hand so tightly. Like the five other people before me, I saw the duo, respectfully said "excuse me " and went ahead. 

I had just walked three steps when I turned around, the kid still hadn't figured out a way to get her foot in that slipper, I stared for five seconds, thought "oh ho ", took three steps, rotated the slipper so that she could finally get her foot in it, smiled at the sudden shining face of the girl, gave a light pat on her cheek, heard a very happy "thank you beta " from the woman and turned back on my way.

It was nothing, right ? Still it left me smiling from ear to ear. It was just a little something that made me feel I'm not really that changed a person.

Sometimes, the tiniest of things leave a big impact. This was just another of those little incidents ;)

The Raaaaiiiinnn :D

Your surroundings play a VERY important role in the kind of mood that you are in. The people you are around, the atmosphere, the type of sounds you hear !

Bah. I am just trying to get a philosophical insight as to why the rain brings me so much happiness ! Not just me, I know such other people as well ;) So in case you are one of those who cringe at the term 'rain', only imagine muddy, disgusting water and fast speeding cars splashing that very water on your neatly ironed clothes, I beg you to not read further :P 

There is something enigmatic about rain. Something that I will never be able to understand and probably not want to either cause that would just spoil the entire fun of it ! Makes sense ? It's okay. That's what rain does to me ;)

I'm not even talking about getting wet in the rain. I am just talking about the kind of atmosphere that is created during and after the showers. It's almost like your World seems filled with clarity. Sounds mad, but if you are that fanatic about rains, you are bound to get what I am saying :D

It's when you feel that breeze on your face, smell the fragrance of wet mud, watch drops of water falling from the sky above, that's when you realize how beautiful everything actually is. Sometimes when nothing seems to be going your way, nature steps in to remind you of how perfect some things in your life are. Rain is just it's way of asking you to see things with a different perspective, to lighten up your mood and see things with more clarity ;)

Rains are beautiful. They make life seem bliss. 

How? Why? When? Where? 

I don't know but some things are best left just the way they are and if they bring you tons of happiness, you better hope they remain just the same always ! :D

When things go wrong, pray for rain. Seriously ;)

Doing the right thing

Don't we spend exceedingly large amount of time wondering about all the right things to do ?
We decide, we choose, always just hoping that what we're doing is the right thing. I got up from my sleep thinking about all this. Yeah, I even sat down to write :P
I don't know, but most of the time we see things as black or white. It's either right or wrong, this or that, here or there. But that's not how things are in reality, is it ? There is gray matter. There is loads of gray matter. All it needs is a bit of understanding and perspective to look at that gray material.
We try our level best to never be wrong, but what is it that means to be right ?
Doesn't sometimes being right constitute doing something for yourself, not thinking about what the World thinks of our decisions ? As in, we question people who do things for themselves without giving a single thought to the people around them, I question their credibility, but then that is what they feel is right for them, isn't it ? Aren't we all entitled to taking certain decisions, certain rare, out of the blue decisions that are right for us regardless of what anyone else might say or think ?
I have selfless people around me, loads of them, people who always think of others, who take calculated steps to ensure no one gets hurt. I don't know where I am getting with all this. There is this thing in my mind that desperately wants to come out but I am just not able to find the appropriate words to say the same. The thing I'm trying to say is the fact that sometimes what's right is what we want to do. Regardless of whatever happened with us, whatever circumstances came upon us, whatever other people said or did. Sometimes, the right thing is to do what we want to and proceed with it. The opportunities that we get today, we may never get another day. Leaving those cause of a bunch of people who know no better than to pull you down wouldn't be beneficial for anyone. Neither you. Nor them.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that ." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Somewhere, somehow the above quote makes a lot of sense with what I am trying to say. When the correct thing to do is to be the light but everyone expects you to join in the dark, it's only right to be that light. It's not too often that you find something to do with your complete heart and soul, I'm not at all talking about huge decisions like choosing a career or getting married, but sometimes there are some little things that you know you want to do, it's only right to do them then.

Change

"The only thing that is constant is change. " - Heraclitus

Nothing is ever really constant in our life. People, thoughts, our list of favourite things, obsession with a particular colour, most viewed sit-com, hobbies, the list can go on. From the simplest to the most complex, nothing is ever really the same.
Yet, we try to fight change all the time. We try so hard to keep things just the way they were that we end up reducing the space for growth.
We expect our friends to be the same, to laugh at the same jokes, to receive us in the same manner, to console us in the same way as they used to and if we are lucky, we find them to be the same just for a little more while.
People who have closely seen us grow expect us to be the same, to behave and speak in the way we used to, to pay attention to those matters that we used to, to laugh, smile and be jolly just the way we used to when we were kids. Yet again, if we are lucky, we manage to keep them happy for some more time by being just the way we were, by being kids.
As much as we like to think that we follow a regular routine and nothing changes, everyday something changes bit by bit. There is something new that comes up in our life with each morning sun, some new commitment, a deadline, a project, reading material, e-mails and what not. Even the toothpaste tube we use requires a change every month !
Yet, we try to fight change all the time. Probably because it's only human to be comfortable and hope to remain comfortable always, but the truth is that if nothing changes, it is a sign of stillness and that's not what life is.
Life is movement.
Life is activity.
Life is change.   
Most importantly, life is acceptance of the changes that we like and working towards changing those we don't. ;)

Random Clutter

The human mind and the human behavior have been a mystery to the Scientist and Psychologists alike since the past many centuries. We might have evolved significantly in these fields but are still not able to understand or predict how the human mind works and may work in a given circumstance.

Where is the distinction between the head and the heart ? How does the head decide what part of it's thoughts are influenced by whom ? As in, how does the head decide where to stop getting influenced by the heart in the matters of the mind ? 

Confused ? So am I. 

I am not able to understand how the human mind perceives and understands relationships. Not my relationships with my friends, but rather someone else's relationships with someone else. I know it might seem like a pretty weird thing at first as to why someone would want to understand someone else's relationship with a completely different third person. What I am trying to say is, how does our mind judge relationships ? How does it judge the relationship of two different people where I, myself am not involved. People assert with so much confidence that some person x can go to any level to help some person y, without even knowing the dynamics of the relationship between the two of them. Similarly, why do people try to create a divide between two people by trying to pollute their minds ? My doubt is rather a bit different, it is not the fact as to why people try to do such stuff, it is more of the fact that how do people believe that doing such stuff will be of any use ? Are you able to relate to what I am saying at any level at all ? I am only trying to say that why do people try to hamper someone else's relationship with a completely different third person for any reason whatsoever. 

Negativity is so much more contagious then positivity. People catch on to it so quickly, but refuse to do the same with positivity. We get angry on others so quickly. It doesn't even take a  minute for us to get mad at someone and be present with an entire list of expectations that ought to have been fulfilled. 

We even be unreasonable. Many a times, we love being unreasonable. What we forget is the fact that we may hurt close ones in the process of being in this "difficult" mode. It's okay to be difficult. It's okay to be sad. It's okay to shout on people for things that matter to you. What isn't okay is the habit of jumping to conclusions and trying to keep everything bottled up inside. We tend to take small things for granted, things which if weren't there would have probably ruined us completely. 

That friend who refuses to leave your side despite your shouting "leave me alone, leave me alone " ?

That friend who tries to resolve a dispute with you even though you were being rude to them for the nth time ?

That friend who listens to whatever it is that is bothering you ? 

That friend who is by your side in the thick and thin ? 

 Just a few instances. I could come up with an entire list. I think you got my point though. Be grateful for these people. Cause they care for you. They do now. They always will.

In this fast, accelerated world it is truly difficult to find people who genuinely care for you. If there is even a single person who does that for you, don't let them go. Hold on to them and do your best to not hurt them. 

I don't know what I'm trying to say, but as the title suggests it's just "Random Clutter".

At the end of the day, your relationships matter. They matter the most. Just cause we all are humans, we all feel and we love being loved. 

Pay them the required attention. 

Give time to people. 

Respect them. 

Love them.

Give Yourself A Chance

Exams just got over. Four days, five papers. Some crib about it, some rejoice in the fact that all of it gets over in a jiffy.
Exams are stressful times, whether you have done the entire syllabus or not, whether the subject is of your liking or not, just the word "exam" would definitely result in a rush of adrenaline in your body. It does in mine atleast. The fact that we have been giving these "exams" ever since we understood the meaning of this four letter word provides no respite either. The entire atmosphere in College changes during the preparation time. There's so much tension, so much anxiety, it's almost like people forget to smile !
We worry too much. We stress out too much. We put ourselves under excessive pressure and then expect the best possible results out of ourselves as well !
I don't know how the human mind works. I don't know how can we generalize such a thing either. However what I do know is that it responds to stress in a positive manner only uptil a threshold, the human potential can be exploited only till this level and not beyond it. Response to stress is what differentiates people on a  very basic level. How we handle a situation and react to demanding times determines our attitude towards life and vice versa. I know people whose logical reasoning begins functioning only in terribly tricky situations and then there are those who simply lose the ability to think clearly under the slightest stress. Where am I going with all this ? It's not just about exams, it's about a number of other small things which can be handled easily without stressing ourselves out, but we prefer to choose the latter.
Most of us are able to identify the amount of pressure we can 'safely' handle. What I am trying to say is, don't add unnecessary pressure on yourself from your side. There are a number of different things that we worry about. Pressure coming from all directions; parents, friends, teachers, society and what not. To add to all of this, if we begin giving ourselves a hard time, the cumulative pressure would definitely break us down !
We often have different sets of rules, one for other people and one for ouselves. If sometimes someone doesn't behave in an expected manner, we eventually forgive them, without even constantly reminding them of what they have done, while on the other hand we're not that easy with ourselves. We begin critising ourselves and make it seem like we did some huge, terrible, unrectifiable mistake for which we ought to be punished. I am not saying we all are like that. That would be height of generalization. What I am saying is that at some level or the other we tend to be too harsh with ourselves.
No one's perfect and we're all allowed mistakes. If we can give others a chance, we ought to give ourselves a chance as well.

^Post Exams Effect.
^Post Exams Realisation.
Whatever it is that you are faced with today, it's because you are capable of handling it. How to react to it, is what determines whether you will be able to or not.

"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it." - Lou Holtz

College Life

Often there are those certain eureka moments when you suddenly realise something, something that was there right in front of your eyes since such a long time but you just didn't see it the way you were supposed to. You never really saw things in the light in which you suddenly see them now.
"College" is not something new for me nor has something drastic happened that I would begin viewing it in a different light altogether. It's just another normal, regular,boring day today. Had classes in the morning, then lab, got back home and now I'm just sitting with my laptop on.
So what happened ? My sister's college farewell video. There is absolutely no connection, no relation whatsoever. It was a five minute clip made by their juniors to bid them farewell. It talked about all those fun moments, special locations and events of their college. For an outsider(like me) it should have meant nothing, right ? After all, it was just a bunch of photographs depicting fun in the true sense, videos of an infrastructure that I've never seen before and minute details of a life that these guys had been living since the past two years without realizing how much they're going to miss those little intricacies. 
They are done with their education now. They have jobs in hand. Someone with a higher pay-scale than the other, but I don't know how to put in words what I'm feeling right now. It's NOT my farewell ! I still have good about two years in this institute, two years that I intend to make the best of.
I just don't know why that video hit me this hard or maybe it's just the entire situation taking it's toll over me.
College. Half of the time we spend studying. The remaining half we spend cribbing about what we have to study.
Oh wait wait ! We laugh ! We do laugh ! We have fun, we get crazy, we pull each others' leg, we help each other out. We do all that.
But we keep forgetting, studying is probably one of the easiest things to do in life. I'm sure, I will get a lot of raised eye-brows on that one but somewhere it's true. It's probably the most simple phase of our life, when we don't have the added responsibility of someone else on our shoulders, we don't need to worry about earning, raising up a family or rising to the expectations of our boss and so on.
That's just what I feel. That's what maybe atleast some of you will feel as well. It's just some vague, random realization that whatever we're doing now, it's probably one of the best things that we'll ever do in our life, and you know somewhere deep down we all know this. Ask those who have passed out, who have been working since the past ten years, all those people remember their college/school days with utmost fondness. One person can be wrong, ten people might be wrong, but if an entire generation says the same thing, there might be something of value in what they think.
I don't know where I am going with this. I just realized, this is the best phase of our life which we ought to celebrate, click more photographs, have more moments, spend more time with one another, sit and talk for longer, hug more often, tell each other they are valued !
That's just what I realized, this thing that we have right now ? It's really the best.

Birthdayyyy :D

No, it's not my birthday, not yet atleast ^_^
The term "birthday" is such a bright word in itself ! You might be able to say "birthday" without having your lips curve into a slight, tiny smile but you definitely can't scream out a loud "birthdaaaaaayyyyyyyy" without bringing a shine to your face :D
There is this one day in the entire year which belongs to you completely. Yes, all other days are yours as well, but this is one special day when you get to be the ruler of your World, when you can and must do what your heart wishes to, when you can be happy for all the right reasons ;)
I've met people who treat this day just like any other, who do not understand the importance of this day in their or in someone else's  life, who choose to completely ignore the happy mood that ought to be omnipresent. If you're one of those, I suggest you to not continue reading cause whatever I have to say next might just be too sugary sweet for you ;)

Birthdays are meant to be happy ! Birthdays are meant to spread happiness ! I am not talking about my birthday here. The term 'birthday' in itself is like a bundle of excitement, surprises, flowers and good wishes. How can someone not be excited on a birthday ? You may not be ultra excited for your own, but not being in a happy chirpy mood for your loved one is something that I just can't understand. If nothing else, show some excitement for their sake !
Okay, this was not supposed to be a critical post. It was supposed to be one that speaks volumes of the kind of excitement that I feel when there is a birthday of some loved one around the corner ^_^.
One thing I've realised, excitement is a very difficult emotion to express ! The mind seems non-functional and refuses to make any meaningful sentences ! The only medium via which you can communicate is "ndigdsnvjksdbfishnflksdnjmdsbiudsgios" which becomes a bit hard to decipher for the human mind.

A Birthday is like one of those books or gates shown in movies which have this bright shiny light coming out of it which seem to exude happiness, excitement, love and all the goodness in the World! The rush of emotion felt just as the clock strikes twelve and you begin getting birthday wishes by the people who love you the most is one of the best feelings in the World. That's a proof of that fact that you are loved deeply.
Oh ! It's not that if people don't wish you at twelve then they don't care for you ! No no ! It's not an if and only if statement. Just an if one ;)
The level of excitement on someone else's birthdayy ? :D What happens when you are on the planning side of the table and make secret plans to make someone's day ultra special and those plans succeed hundred percent ? Isn't the happiness visible on the birthdayy girl/boy's face sufficient enough to confirm the fact that whatever you are doing is completely right ?
If you can make someone happy, that too on their birthdayy, you're definitely doing everything right ;)

We might not talk to people on a daily basis but a short text or a quick call on their special day just makes it even more special.
After all, what better than to be the reason for someone's smile on their own day ? ^_^

Apologies

For all those moments when it seemed I didn't care ,
For all those times a smile I couldn't wear,
I apologize.
For all those calls that went unattended,
For all the rudeness that never was intended,
I apologize.
For all those memories that I made distant,
For all those things lost in an instant,
I apologize.
For all those times I didn't call back,
For all those moments when I seemed to have cracked,
I apologize.

Cause its today I tell you, time simply flies,
We get so lost, in our lows and highs.
True people are those who will there  be ,
In a second everything they will believe.


Cause when you are alone, and all seems at peace,
Its moments like these that trouble thee.
Its people like these whom you remember,
And think of apologizing to make things better.
Cause deep within your heart, you love them every bit,
And however immense the anger, mustn't you quit.

Cause these are the people meant to be,
Cause these are the people who have seen,
You grow into a person so fine,
Accepted your flaws without even a sigh.
Cause these are the people, you cherish the most,
Even though at moments you might not show ,

Cause time is precious and too much I mustn't take,
So here with this, I end what I had to say,
For if it took too long to read through this ,
And something important you seemed to have missed,
I apologize.

It's All In Our Head

Firstly, a very happy New Year ! :D
Secondly, I am so glad I am typing this out and just hope that I do publish the same. I had started fearing that I would soon become one of those people who start off a blog with great enthusiasm, great frequency of posts and then suddenly that frequency dips down to a number, from where it just can't get any worse. Oh and if you're one of those, just hit "New Post" on your blog and you'll be happily typing away.
Back to the first thing I said. Happy New Year. Why do we celebrate New Year by the way ? No, I'm not trying to be cynical, nor do I have anything against celebrations. It's just that I am wondering what's so special about a new year ? What ? Are we like celebrating the fact that the Earth was able to complete a revolution ? Or maybe this year we were celebrating the World not coming to an end on 21st December.

We humans are such a funny specie! I mean, we need the Earth to orbit around the Sun completely to make us realize that yes, today its a new beginning. Why can't we do the same with rotations ? I mean give the planet due credit for bringing us day and night continuously without fail !
We need a special day. We need a day that is all hyped about. What happens once you enter a new year ? Do we forget the past ? Do we not remember what we did on 31st December of the previous year ? I have heard so many people (including me) calling a New Year as a new beginning. What I'm trying to say is, why wait for a new year ?
I guess a fresh year is just something that's been thrust upon all of us, hence we are forced to think of it as a new beginning thereby giving rise to all the celebrations. Imagine the mood if we started being grateful for the rotations as well ;)

I started this with something else on my mind(yes, again) and I went on to saying something completely different, not completely unrelated though. Since it was there on my mind, I might as well just sum it up with this quote by Henry Ford :
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right."

What's so great about this quotation is that it puts across the several theories on human psyche in such a simple language that it makes us wonder whether in reality things really are that simple ;) The line not just means that we know ourselves or the fact that whatever we decide for ourselves is correct(to the best of our knowledge). It is just so amusing. It is in our hands to think whether or not we can achieve something, right ? It is upto us and whatever we decide, it's right. So why not quit doubting and rather trust ourselves to make through whatever it is that's the next big obstacle ?

Human beings, you, are capable of so much more than what you give yourself credit for. It's all in your head. Really. Everything.
The fact that we're here simply means we must have been doing something right all this while. Let's continue doing just the same ;)

P.S : Happy New Beginning ;)