Happening New Yeahhh

Time did not exist, but we invented it. We sliced and diced it as we wanted, adding a week here or a month there, to suit the calendar of our life.

It's curious that at the end of each year – not month, week, or day – we engage in a wishing war. Shooting off last minute SMSes or making turn-of-the-midnight phone calls in order to perch ourselves in the moments between the passing of the last year and the emergence of the new. Goodbye Old. Hello New.

I, too, do all of that. But I also like to take the opportunity that comes at the end of 365 days (sometimes after 366 days, for the mathematically minded) to turn my gaze inward. To think back, to reflect, to pause for a moment at the absurdities and profundities that went through the cauldron of my mind.

And if people share all those goodie goodie wishes, why not spill out some thoughts that indeed make us who we are? And that prod us to become what we want to be?

Please feel free to share anything you like or dislike below. Just don't forget to attribute the quote to me :)

Best wishes, then. Here you go:

Time flies
But tomorrow never dies;
It merely frolics in the lap of eternity,
Unfettered in the boundless skies...

* So many of us want to live the good life. But so few are willing to do good.

* Looking at the mess around us, we can now divide society into just one class - the Muddle Class.

* To avoid the coma of its aroma, give a bigger pause; use semi-cologne!

* The mere thought of children puts a smile on my face, a song in my heart and a supreme sense of blessedness in my soul.

* Being lost in time is often the only way to find our space.

* We often forget that being connected is more about listening than talking.

* For the rich the world is not enough; the poor don't know what is enough.

##
The child inside man never dies;
Only, more and more silent grow her cries
Of joy, of pain, of wonders infinite...
Ah, won't we be child again if time'd permit?
##

* We keep thinking of doing so much, without even taking the first step; all the same, we keep doing stuff we barely pause to think about. This mismatch between thoughts and actions is one of the key disconnects in the world today, isn't it?

* Life = death = life. . . Death is an interregnum; life, a continuum

* Inside God's mind at each apocalyptic moment: Aw shucks! I got it wrong once more. Now I have to start all over again. . .

* To cry sincerely is as important as to laugh freely. Perhaps more...

* In India you don't Do the Dew, you don't Do the New – you only Do the Queue...long, long queue.

* Difference between vampires and politicians? Vampires stop sucking after the victim is dead.

* For some dull people there's never a bulb moment.

* If God did play dice and won, would it be by chance?

* Kindness of the heart is in direct proportion to broadness of the mind.

* Truth can have many versions but it has only one character.

* I'm necessary but not sufficient: if I were not necessary, I'd not have been born; and if I were sufficient, I'd have been dead.

* We can wander much farther in our mind than we can in the physical universe.

* Man tends to be absent-minder; God, absent-bodied.

* Potential is not what you can do as a matter of routine; it is what you can achieve at the extreme edge of your abilities.

* Part of a writer's job is to reflect the true image of society. And do it with as little distortion as possible.

* The problem is neither with us nor with the world; it's always with the relationship between the two.

* Understanding comes with Dime – lots ov 'em! (with undue apologies to Time magazine)

* Too many meetings makes it discuss-ting!

* Flyovers in Delhi seem to have become Cryovers!

* It is not the truth that is ugly; it is our reluctance to face it.

* “Kentucky!” Cried Chicken. Or so it seemed. What the bird actually shouted before it was killed: “Can't-Take-It!”

* As long as there's possibility that the poorest man alive can be happier than the richest one kicking, there is hope.

* What do you call a complete ass? The Ass Whole.

* Not a fable: The Thirsty Grow.

* It is irrelevant whether the world was built bit by bit or all at once; the main thing is, it was built.

-0-

Some Old Thoughts on The New Year...

For many, each New Year is a time for resolutions. I have often made such resolutions - and usually broken them (just like most others)...

This year, I'm doing something different. I'm just going to reflect on some of the thoughts and 'bulbs' that flashed somewhere in my grandest personal 'home theater', one that needs no electricity but displays the highest-definition results (you guessed it right, I'm talking about the mind). Some of you would've already seen these as Facebook posts, but hey, in a world of retweets, ain't I entitled to some rethweets :)

Without much voodoo, here you go:

* Your own heart and mind is the best place to escape the wretchedness of the world.

* Love and hate have remained constant since the time of Adam & Eve - 50:50.

* If we truly try to be sincere to ourselves, there'll be no need to feign sincerity toward others.

* There's so much heartburn in the world, it's causing global warming.

* Wanderlust often leads to wander*lost* but that doesn't mean we should stop exploring - only that we should be aware of where we are going.

* The world is full of a**holes - but that's no reason why you should be one...

* As long as children have the ability to love unconditionally - no matter how much the grown-ups tamper with that - there's hope for all of us.

* The future shocks us, because we spend too much time reconciling our present to our past.

* An evolved person is not necessarily one with a refined palate, but essentially one with an exalted mind.

* Regrets are nothing but detritus of past actions that keep floating in our mind until we forgive ourselves.

* A heavy heart is worse than a heavy mind.

* A lot of politicians call themselves public servants. They are right - with a stinging twist: Public Serpents.

* The distance between despair and hope can be a leap of faith or a chasm of doubt.

* The mind is the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And the rainbow itself is the bridge - invisible but perceptible - from the heart to the mind.

* The way a child touches you - physically, emotionally and spiritually - nothing else possibly can. . . Is there anyone who still thinks angels don't exist?

* Music is the vacuum cleaner that smoothes out the cobwebs of tangled thoughts from the remotest corners of our mind.

* What we do not do often reveals more about us than what we end up doing.

* Do not give me wisdom at the cost of kindness.

* In many places in India paperless office is dead; paper mess office, however, is still alive - and kicking you where it hurts most!

* Don't mortgage your present to your past - the future has no interest in it.

* The burden of the lies we speak is nothing compared to the burden of the ones we live...

* The day I stop doing any of these three L's - Learning, Laughing and Loving - will be the day I stop Living. . .

* There are only two things that really matter in life - unfortunately, nobody knows what they are!

* How to get more time, you ask?? Stop killing it!

* No matter where we are, most of us tend to think we should be somewhere else!

* Diwali is not so much about setting fire to crackers as it is about lighting up your inner selves with the spirit of celebration - of joy over sadness, of good over evil, of friendship over enmity, of love over hatred...

* Dieting tip: don't lose steam; lose cream!

* It takes a little time to realize that mathematics is the science closest to God. Thankfully, you don't have to be an Einstein to say this.

* No matter how much we know, there'll always be more to know than we do.

* Theory of relativity: what's "austere" for a few is simplicity for some, necessity for many and, unfortunately, luxury for many many more...

* What Obama probably said (or should've said) to General Motors: "I know what you did last Hummer!"

* The world is a stage and we are all puppets - but some of us do try to pull our own strings...


Let's continue to hope that the drama played out in the global theater becomes more interesting than ever in what can be construed as the year of Vision Perfect: 20-10

Happy New Year...