"The most profound statements are often said in silence."
-Lynn Johnston
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Blogging On...
I was quite amused to find many other people with blogs on similar lines; to read people philosophize on things that matter to them - love, change, future and the likes of therof. Before i go ahead i must specify that two kinds of people are exempt from this. One kind is the blogger who relates to life as is. No philosophizing, only stating experiences. They are very real. The other is one who collects such experiences and tries to paint a coherent picture of the world. While i may not agree with many pictures that emerge, i find them interesting nonetheless.
Many are like me. We throw in a few cliched quotes and somehow hope that the messy melange of words we have created will give rise to profound truths that were somehow withheld from man until then. It is narcissism that prevents me from seeing my own writing in this light, but i suppose i wouldn't be too presumptuous in allowing myself this luxury.
What set me off in this direction was a discussion on another blog on change. While one blogger was trying to grapple with change another proceeded to put forward his thought on the matter. It centered on this extremely pithy argument that 'the only thing that is a constant is change'. Now where have i heard that before? Almost everywhere else! And how does it help? It is like telling a terminally ill patient, death is inevitable.
Writing blogs allows one to selectively extract memories and experiences and string them up in a manner of their choosing. The beads are real and one can string them up to make necklaces that people are willing to buy. If you go around reading blogs you will be suprised to encounter lives so rich, filled with insightful experience, gut wrenching sorrow and heart warming love that your life will seem like a cup of clorox. If you find yourself falling for this, take out ten sheets of paper and write out a page everyday. At the end of ten days, your ten pages should be as interesting as the average blog! To make it better than the average blog try shuffling the pages!
Having convinced you of the vanity of the average blogger and the futile irrelevance of his efforts, what have i succeeded in explaining? Nothing more than what you already know; i hope :-)
Many are like me. We throw in a few cliched quotes and somehow hope that the messy melange of words we have created will give rise to profound truths that were somehow withheld from man until then. It is narcissism that prevents me from seeing my own writing in this light, but i suppose i wouldn't be too presumptuous in allowing myself this luxury.
What set me off in this direction was a discussion on another blog on change. While one blogger was trying to grapple with change another proceeded to put forward his thought on the matter. It centered on this extremely pithy argument that 'the only thing that is a constant is change'. Now where have i heard that before? Almost everywhere else! And how does it help? It is like telling a terminally ill patient, death is inevitable.
Writing blogs allows one to selectively extract memories and experiences and string them up in a manner of their choosing. The beads are real and one can string them up to make necklaces that people are willing to buy. If you go around reading blogs you will be suprised to encounter lives so rich, filled with insightful experience, gut wrenching sorrow and heart warming love that your life will seem like a cup of clorox. If you find yourself falling for this, take out ten sheets of paper and write out a page everyday. At the end of ten days, your ten pages should be as interesting as the average blog! To make it better than the average blog try shuffling the pages!
Having convinced you of the vanity of the average blogger and the futile irrelevance of his efforts, what have i succeeded in explaining? Nothing more than what you already know; i hope :-)
Friday, January 13, 2006
The Border Collie
The Border Collie is a sheep dog - a dog trained to guard and herd sheep. Came across the fellows on BBC; a picture of a young girl holding onto a pup. Links below.
BBC (navigate to pic.10 in the slide show)
Pictures of working sheep dogs
Info
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
This
For a while, i suppose, all i have been doing is existing. In the sense that what tomorrow brings no longer seems to fascinate me. I remember, it was not always so.
I still remember the sunny morning i woke up to, over fifteen years ago, when my legs weren't tall enough to touch the floor. There have been innumerable mornings ever since, but very few stand out. The older i get, the less fascinating things are. I suppose i could keep myself busy searching for new experience but why do the older ones seem to be less significant? I could easily spend a couple of hours blowing soap bubbles into the air a few years back but now, my enthusiasm for it seems to have waned. If this is what is called growing up, i wonder why anybody would want to?
I ruminated over this as i jogged last night. I suppose jogging got me thinking about this in the first place. When i started out running, every jog was an experience to cherish. Now, it is akin to brushing my teeth. I decided to take a detour, through a neighbourhood i had never been before. The sky was really clear and since the street didn't have any lighting, it looked all the more mysterious. Out of nowhere, like an illusion in the desert, a lovely house came up. My view had been obstructed by trees and suddenly i was looking upon a well lit house with burning candles at every window and a neat and well manicured garden. Following this one were many more houses, each one lovely in its own way. As i jogged past them, i felt strangely good.
Then it dawned upon me. This was probably what according to zen is called thisness. Commonly, it is called being in the moment. I realized the older i get and the more routine my task, my mind seems to fly away. Events and occurences become no longer significant because i was never there in the first place. My mind wasn't present. If you think this is easy, try not thinking about anything. No thought in the head, total silence, just observing what is around. See how long you last. If you did that even for five minutes, i assure you, those five minutes will seem like no other five minutes you have lived through before! Apparently that is what meditation is all about.
It is so easy to be present during what i can only term as moments of beauty. Driving down a beautiful stretch along a highway, a quiet evening with a loved one, a good meal or a jog along lovely homes; they have one thing in common: beauty. It is a concept that a word cannot aptly describe but something you will instantly recognize when you experience it.
I suppose the easiest way, without too much mental strain, to be present is to appreciate the beauty in all that is around. I know people who look up to the sky and smile when they see an aircraft fly overhead. How do you get there?
I still remember the sunny morning i woke up to, over fifteen years ago, when my legs weren't tall enough to touch the floor. There have been innumerable mornings ever since, but very few stand out. The older i get, the less fascinating things are. I suppose i could keep myself busy searching for new experience but why do the older ones seem to be less significant? I could easily spend a couple of hours blowing soap bubbles into the air a few years back but now, my enthusiasm for it seems to have waned. If this is what is called growing up, i wonder why anybody would want to?
I ruminated over this as i jogged last night. I suppose jogging got me thinking about this in the first place. When i started out running, every jog was an experience to cherish. Now, it is akin to brushing my teeth. I decided to take a detour, through a neighbourhood i had never been before. The sky was really clear and since the street didn't have any lighting, it looked all the more mysterious. Out of nowhere, like an illusion in the desert, a lovely house came up. My view had been obstructed by trees and suddenly i was looking upon a well lit house with burning candles at every window and a neat and well manicured garden. Following this one were many more houses, each one lovely in its own way. As i jogged past them, i felt strangely good.
Then it dawned upon me. This was probably what according to zen is called thisness. Commonly, it is called being in the moment. I realized the older i get and the more routine my task, my mind seems to fly away. Events and occurences become no longer significant because i was never there in the first place. My mind wasn't present. If you think this is easy, try not thinking about anything. No thought in the head, total silence, just observing what is around. See how long you last. If you did that even for five minutes, i assure you, those five minutes will seem like no other five minutes you have lived through before! Apparently that is what meditation is all about.
It is so easy to be present during what i can only term as moments of beauty. Driving down a beautiful stretch along a highway, a quiet evening with a loved one, a good meal or a jog along lovely homes; they have one thing in common: beauty. It is a concept that a word cannot aptly describe but something you will instantly recognize when you experience it.
I suppose the easiest way, without too much mental strain, to be present is to appreciate the beauty in all that is around. I know people who look up to the sky and smile when they see an aircraft fly overhead. How do you get there?
Friday, January 06, 2006
Courage
"It wasn't bad. I just went to sleep. I love you".
-Martin Toler -one of the twelve miners who lost his life in the Sago Mine tragedy- in a note to his family.
Click here for Times UK Article
-Martin Toler -one of the twelve miners who lost his life in the Sago Mine tragedy- in a note to his family.
Click here for Times UK Article
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