The paradox called life

Paradoxical as it may sound, despite being an essentially absent-minded personality, there is one thing I am a particularly keen observer of, and that is human behavior...

Now I do understand that there is probably a very thin line between just observing human behavior and judging...so let's just put it this way, defensive as it may sound, I love interacting with people from all walks of life ....human behavior fascinates me, and while I observe and try to figure out why a person behaves the way he /she does without letting any hearsay /preconceived notions bias my opinion, I don't judge,for the most part I give people the benefit of the doubt and prefer to just go with the flow and let relationships develop, if they are meant to ...all the while, trying to keep those human sensitivities, I have observed in folks over the years, in mind, while interacting...

Now there is a good side to this trait and a bad...the good side is that, not having fixed/inflexible notions of what is right and wrong, I have the capability to allow for all shades of grey in human beings, including myself of course :)...and learning not to be judgmental has helped me form some beautiful, warm friendships and relationships in life, that I'll cherish forever...the downside however, is that for each of those five fulfilling friendships and relationships, there are always a couple where over time, you realize you have been taken for granted / been taken for a royal ride and where there was perhaps only an illusion of warmth and affection...for in a lot of cases, the little and sometimes even big things and thoughts in life go unappreciated :))...

Oh well, that's life...and it' s paradoxical indeed...

Now coming back to the post...so what's paradoxical about life...some observations…

The fact that when people have a job, they wish they didn’t, they could just laze around and chill instead...and the fact that when people don't have a job, they wish they did...
The fact that when people have children, they wish they were just a couple...and when people don't have children, they wish they did...
The fact that when people are surrounded by folks who love and respect them, they take them for granted...and when they are gone, they crave their company...
The fact that when people are unhappy and sad, they give the illusion of perfection...
The fact that when people have all that they have ever wanted in life, they realize their search hasn't ended yet...
Essentially the feeling that the grass is invariably greener on the other side...when it isn't :)

Yes, the paradox called life…

For all our differences, and believe me there are many, for once D and I are on the same page at least on this one...live life in the moment and live it up...that helps us try to keep clear off these paradoxes for the most part...and I do hope it will remain that way in the years to come...but then you never know,do you... after all life is a paradox in itself and only time will tell what is in store for us...:)

Happy Friday folks!!

P.S. A couple of days back, a long lost friend of mine called from India to share a piece of good news...it was around 1:00a.m. in the morning when I received the call and despite not having had a chance to speak to her in the past 5 odd years and over the period of years, the email exchanges having become extremely rare, it took me less than a second to recognize the voice, after the initial,"Hello, is it Priyanka?" :)...the call made my day...and yes, there I was flooded with memories of all the times we had spent together ...a friend who has been very much an integral part of my life journey so far :)...so cheers to that!

Memories...the journey and the destination

Last Sunday, we went for this play called "Broken Images" performed by Shabana Azmi...I love theatre and fortunately for me, unlike in a lot of other activities, it hasn't taken much effort on my part to bring 'D' into the theatre watching fold :). Being an ardent Shabana Azmi fan, it wouldn't have taken much for me to get impressed anyways. But it was a stellar performance ,indeed, by the Indian theatre icon as she kept us on the edge of our seats , engrossed in the one act plot of Girish Karnad's psychological thriller for a full hour...Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to go for another wonderful play called 'the Blue Mug' starring cinema and theatre personalities, Konkana Sen Sharma, Ranbir Shenoy, Vinay Pathak and Rajat Kapoor, among others.

'The Blue Mug', which apparently falls into the experimental theatre genre explored the importance of memories in the lives of human beings...with each of the actors depicting real memories from their personal lives... 'Broken Images', a post modernist play, demonstrated the exploration of the subconscious mind and pysche of a renowned writer,trying to come to terms with her sudden rise to international fame, through her memories...

Whoa...don't stop reading here... this blogpost is not supposed to be an elaborate review of the above two plays...I mention them only because they got me thinking about how important a role memories play in our lives ...the vacuum, that personally, my life would be without memories :)

For a moment, sit back and think about the following:

When you undertake a venture or for that matter do anything in life, be it personal or professional...what is most important to you....the 'journey' or the 'destination' ...the journey, as in, the relationships you build...the good times...the bad times...the falls...the learnings from failures...the small stepping stones...the love, affection and respect you make and take...

If the 'destination' and the 'end' is all that matters, then this post probably would not make much sense to you...you would be among those laughing your guts out, right now, about me making such a big deal about memories ...'cause for you, the excitement and thrill all lies in 'the end'...the 'destination' is all that matters...the 'journey' and hence memories have very little meaning...the end always justifies the means...good or bad, that's the way your life will probably always be...for the major part perhaps - devoid of any meaningful, valuable memories...

However if you are one of those for whom the journey is what matters rather than the destination, then you would understand why I am making such a big deal about memories:)...yes, memories that make you smile, memories that make you pick up the phone and make that long due call to a dear one, memories that make you reach out to your loved one and give him or her a warm hug,memories that make you laugh,memories that make you cry...good or bad,memories that make you 'YOU' !!

Today, as we celebrate,Diwali, the festival of lights in India, for all of you for whom the journey is as , if not more important than the destination...as you start a new year and make new beginnings in life, may your life be filled with beautiful memories that lead you to the destination you aspire to reach - whatever, whereever it may be :)

Happy Diwali folks!!