March 30, 2009

Abstract musings

I've been in a pensive mood during the last few days. It is that part of life where I frequently traverse through. It is like the one-step-back-two-steps-forward way of going through life, if there ever is a way like that to spend life. But then, who cares. Life is very personal!

These days three abstracts are occupying my mind a lot. Death, poverty and future.

Death is painful, always, for everybody. Not for the dead, but for the surviving. I am scared of being a survivor too, witnessing such painful deaths. Very scared. Dying is easier than leaving someone behind when you die. I feel so. I believe so. Death is a great leveler. Most people get more respect after death than they earned when they were alive. When someone around you part away from you forever, for how long would you feel the difference, the absence, the void? A month, a year, few years? The question sounds harsh, but the question is real. Reality can be harsh. Reality does not try to appear before you in a manner you wish or like. it just appears. Reality is. IT simply IS.

I was seeing a movie the other day in which a little girl, who has lost her mother, retorts while she is crying, looking at her mom's snap: I am afraid I will forget mom. Very deep words. Truthful words. Only a child could say that. Adults are incapable of that.

Nobody prefers to be poor yet many are. Poverty makes you lose perspective of what you are capable of. A person living on hand-to-mouth basis cannot, in most cases, think of creating a better world. And there is a lot in this world that has degraded. A less poorer world can take care of other tangibles more aptly. Many of us have a genuine chance to make a real difference to the world around us. Many of us do not. Give me a crore of rupees and I could spend it away for the greatest of comforts and luxuries. I am already doing it. Not a crore, but may be a million. For a bigger house, for a more peaceful life, for a more secure future.

Future. It could mean hope. It could mean gloom. I spend my millions, some their crores, for hope. I leave many to look forward to gloom. I could change it for them. I could at least try to.

I do not fear MY future. I do not fear MY death. I do not fear MY poverty. But I fear each of it for many OTHERS.

4 comments:

Vaidehi said...

Amazing thoughts....very powerful!

Dont know why but somehow got reminded of a defination that I had read somewhere:

Planning for the next day,
Without knowing whether you would be alive the next second
Thats's hope!

Joamoo said...

hmmm.....

Nilima ;) said...

Thinking about poverty, can remember you saying that “It’s not that we are here or we are receiving all these comforts because we deserve it, but because we have been fortunate enough to get it. Where as there are more deserving people in this world. But it’s that they didn’t got proper and equal opportunities to prove themselves.” This is very true, looking at poor people I find myself helpless; just don’t know how I can ever help them. People shell out money at their luxuries, and more frequently at temples. I can’t really understand why people spend money at temples, from when God have started needing material things like food, clothes, ornaments etc. etc... Have we ever seen that whatever sweets we offer to him that has reduced in quantity? Many people donate money thinking that it’ll be used for some good purpose, but these panditjis have this idea of preparing everything of gold for god. I don’t understand that, where this huge amount of money can be used for helping living beings instead it’s being used for an idol. No, that’s not correct we people really make our own definitions and our own assumptions saying that god may need this he may need that, but that’s not true according to me. That is why I hardly offer any money at temples instead I prefer giving that money to the helpful needy ones who find it difficult to survive. I am sure God will not be angry saying that why I didn’t offered anything to him? Because we only say that in every humanbeing their is GOD. That’s personally my thought but really speaking isn’t that making sense that there are some people dying because of cold and we offer blankets to god. That mere waste of money according to me instead I feel it’ll be good if we use that money also for our comforts atleast we will not have this wrong conception that we used it for good purpose. This makes me think that helping others is also an art our money should be used properly if we are spending them. We must see to it that it serves the purpose. We always think that we’ll do this we’ll do that when we grow rich but as soon as we reach that position we forget all those thoughts. I hope God give me money only if I can return it to the society in the best manner. Because serving ones parents, wife, children, and siblings is what every Tom, Dick and Harry do . We do it because it’s our duty we are born with that burden on our shoulders. But if we are helping others than it’s that, we really did something in this life. Before closing our eyes forever we must have this feeling in our heart that we did something.Not for someone to appreciate us but or our peace.
It's like "Work for a cause & not for aplause.Live life to express & not to impress. Don't strive to make ur presence noticed, just make ur absence felt."

As far as death is concerned then yes, it’s very difficult to live without the person who has been there for years with us and suddenly one day we are left alone in this world. It’s really unimaginable that suddenly world is empty, someone is missing for the rest of whole life, we can never see them back, we can never share our things with that someone. I just hate this fact called death. It’s the worst feeling; I may prefer dying than having this feeling. Yes this is also one of the truths that, we humans tend to forget things. One day I’ll forget you and you’ll forget me, after someone leave us for a good amount of days we forget them let them be any important to us at that point. People who don’t get to marry their love forget them after few years but yes surely they will forget, though they may never accept it ( like in HDDS movie how Ash forgets Salman’s love not because Ajay loves her more but because she forgot his love and because Ajay is now with him his love she can feel more). Like I have forgotten my school friends they were so important then and now we have new ones and we enjoy equally with them. In the same way we also forget the one who left us. It’s difficult to believe but it’s really true. But one question which I am having in my mind right now is that; why we find it difficult to live without that person, is it because we think that who will now perform those duties of that person and after few days, months or years we forget them because now we can cope up and manage well without them?
Can anyone help me in understanding this?

Unknown said...

Nice piece..
i was just wondering that the basic thing that can change almost all d things in one's life is the family where they are brought up.althogh poverty teaches u many things,anything in excess is bad,even one's richness.If a brilliant child born in any poor family then he may not even be able to satisfy his basic needs but just replace him being brought up in a well to do family,he ends up achieving all he wished to,may be sometimes more..well may be poverty is just a matter of luck..may be one has a better bad luck..