Tides of destiny

Tides of destiny keeps tossing around people from highs to lows. It likes to see how the pride of a person emerges out of the momentary stability of still waters. Right when a person gets deluded enough, it starts the play again. I have never understood what pleasure it derives from this sadist behavior, but that's how it's always been. Just as a person thinks he has everything, everything is shattered reminding of the fragility of life. I guess there is a purpose to it, to remind humans of their impermanence.

Burden of the unsaid

There is so much to say that stays unsaid, pent-up, bubbling in the lake of the mind, keeping it agitated. It's best to get rid of this burden of the unsaid and feel the peace that comes with it. But, a lot of the times the circumstances are not favorable for uninhibited expression and at other times the people who have to listen are not ready enough. The sooner one gets off it, the easier it becomes to deal with people and life, but a lot of times people don't find the courage to speak. Speaking is so important but some people, especially males just ignore it for most of their lives and they loose out on a lot of things because of that. If the unexpressed emotions are repressed for too long, they boil like steam inside a pressure cooker and will blow out as the whistle of anger.  Anger is the danger sign and one must unload before that.

Freedom

Freedom is what all men strive for,
it's something we won't mind dying for.
Some men are gifted freedom at birth,
and the rest are left to earn it with life.

To be free is to be one with life,
to have clear mind free of grief,
to feel boundlessness and infinity,
but still rooted to physical reality.

The body is free in today's world,
but the mind is conditioned.
Ideas restricted to suit others,
by rules to make a man civilized.

Once freed from the conditioning,
we hunger for freedom from baggage,
with desire of the joy of being alive,
one waits all life till death sets him free.

A lucky few don't have to wait,
for they are blessed with grace.
If freed from life before death,
they are set free for eternity.

Entertainment

Entertainment has been a basic human need since ages. There are multiple forms of entertainment, some self destructive and some rejuvenating. The rejuvenating forms of entertainment are usually the ones that one gets for free and the self destructive one is one that one gets charged for. Most of the entertainment becomes destructive because somewhere down the line it transitions to an addiction. There  is entertainment at the cost of others, and when that becomes addictive one turns almost into a sinner. Life without the hypnosis of entertainment is difficult for people who don't have control on their wandering thoughts. It can become boring, even depressing, but that's the greatest challenge of life. To be able to live happily without entertainment is to master oneself.

Traveler

I have traveled unknown roads,
roads that lead nowhere,
along muddy trails and trenches,
for no purpose but travel.

There were gardens I could go to,
but I chose to wander in hope,
of places more calm and serene,
but the search is still in vain.

I return back to the fabled gardens,
where there is beauty and order,
where flowers blossom on thorny bushes,
and with time wither with grace.

Reading between the lines

Coincidences are the sentences of life and it's up to us to read between the lines and figure out what they mean. It's as if the universe is unfolding and playing the game of chess with us and we have to carefully tune into it and figure out the next step that's needed from the situation. Reading too much into the coincidences is interpreting the universe wrong and that usually lands a person into a lot of avoidable trouble. It's better not to be concerned about coincidences than drawing wrong conclusions from them. It's very hard maintain the state of  attuned attention to the universe so that one can gracefully dance to it's every step. The risks are so high if one fails that it's best not to try until one is absolutely sure of the chemistry.

Challenges

There are people who like to be challenged and others who like to live in peace. When a man tries to live in peace the only challenges he has to face are the ones that come from inside. The outside challenges can  be ignored because the only purpose they serve is disrupting the peace established with a lot of effort. Challenges are a good way to develop oneself and achieve goals, but it's not a spontaneous way where least effort gets expended. However, for the peace loving effort is the dearest thing and they can't expend it at any cost. If life is allowed to continue without challenges in it's spontaneity it may become boring but there is an addictive ease to it. It's smooth like the water that gets gulped through a parched throat.

Against the universe

Sometimes the universe conspires against us and sometimes we conspire against it. Life is a breeze in acceptance but usually that doesn't satisfy a person. It's in the nature of a man to strive for more than what is and that leads to a resistance the whole of the universe. It's impossible to fight against the impulse of the universe which drives our beings.  It's much easier to align with the universe with humble acceptance and work with minimum resistance as it directs. Some say life becomes dull when there is nothing to fight for. But there is already a lot to fight for in aligning with the universe. The biggest fight of all is against the impulses that rise in the mind which is never happy & content with the present, after all that's where the universe conspires. These impulses can't be vanquished by suppression, the best a man can do is let them be and watch them as they withdraw like ebbing waves. 

Moods of nature

Nature changes moods almost every moment.
Sometimes it's windy, sunny and charming,
and then it suddenly becomes cloudy and dull.
Without anyone's control it changes at it's will.

Beyond the clouds and the winds,
there lies the untouched endless sky,
where only the rays of the sun shine,
but it's lost in the vagaries of weather.

Then comes the cycle of seasons,
natures swings over longer times,
irritating summers to damp monsoon,
to jolly spring to chilly winters.

Unperturbed from the seasons,
is the boiling core of the earth,
burning and melting into itself,
seeping out only as volcanoes.

Shivratri

Today is the night of the dancing god,

tonight he dances with ecstasy.

With a leg on the vanquished demon,

the other swinging in space, he sways.

Dancing to the beat of his own drum,

the beat that resonates in everything.

A hand with a ball of flame in it,

surrounded with a circle of flames,

he plays with fire by controlling it.

With delicate third and fourth hands

he creates an image of beauty,

pointing them in opposite directions.

Eyes closed in joy tonight is to see,

that which dances in the world,

through our breathing selves.

Evolving markets of India

It seems people with money to spare spend on two things. Men like to spend it on food and drink if they are single or on the female they have if they are not. Women like to spend most of their money buying clothes and shoes for themselves and their males. So most of online and retail markets have oriented themselves around the taste of females because that's where the spare cash flows from. There was a time not very long ago when men and rarely women used to bring vegetables from their garden or farm and sell it in small towns  and from the cash gathered by that buy factory made stuff and maybe some jewellery at times. There was hardly any spare cash left in the economy to do anything else. Then the middle class emerged from the services industry and so did the concept of spare money. Since cash rules any era, the next generation is going to be empowered by women and their choices. I wonder if a economy can flourish on clothes and shoes and jewellery alone or is it gradually decompose because after all there is only so much a man needs other than food, even if everyone has spare money.

Boring people

People who can't talk about the mundane things of the world with enthusiasm, people who can't tell interesting stories about things that happen to them, produce and articulate humor from life's circumstances are usually called boring. They are usually isolated because talking to them is not much entertainment. The flip side of that however is that they tend to live in their heads and the external conversation which was supposed to happen transforms into internal chatter of the mind. Sometimes that's a good thing because the person can think through long series of problems and ideas, however more often than not thoughts overpower the mind and the person becomes possessed. To the external world, this person manifests as someone lost in his thoughts. The antidote is awareness. Awareness is impossible for people engaged with the world  and only slightly easier for those engaged in their own thoughts. So boring people at least have some things going for them that they can feel happy about.