Imperfection

I have realized,rather late in life,not to chase perfection, to allow myself and others around me to make mistakes, learn, undo when possible and live with the consequences if irrevocable.
In no way does it mean that I aim to make mistakes. On the contrary, I plan and then leave the rest to unfold...sometimes it goes as per the plan and sometimes there are deviations.If I dwell too much on the abberation, I lose focus and spontaniety...I get mired in what 'must'/'ought'/'should'have been and thereby lose joy and satisfaction of the bigger goal/task that I was engaged in.
When I allow some imperfection in my life,I am compassionate towards myself, more human than God,in the now.
Working towards perfection is an impediment to creativity, serendipity. It promotes anxiety and is abrasive in interpersonal relationships.
Allowing imperfection is a form of letting go...a blissful state of mind.

holidaying

There is one kind of holiday when you pack your bags and go to another place , in doing so discover new places, people, experiences and it triggers new thoughts, learning and change in your perspective.Can be a lot of hard work as well!!
There is another kind of a holiday , which is taking a break from the daily routine, can be taken in your backyard, at the office while sipping coffee...when you appreciate the skyline of Bangalore as the black monsoon clouds roll in and rain pelts on the lush treetops.Its a holiday when you get up one day and decide not to go though the routine...instead...explore the city market on foot, do a long drive outside the city, go for a movie. Its a holiday when one Sunday you set the brunch in the backyard or terrace or some new place and not the dinning table, its a holiday when you sup on the terrace one night , under the stars , watching the moon rise between the treetops.
Holidaying is the art of relaxation, of spontaniety,of responding and giving in to your childlike instincts of having fun ,enjoying,appreciating the beauty of nature, of rejuvenating a tired mind ....of innate playfulness.It does not have to start someplace else , can happen right here , right now ...its in your mind .Do it.Enjoy.

On death

I for one cannot understand why death is associated with fear.I do not seem to get the connection at all . I can empathise with the emotion of grief for the death of a loved one ...an irrevocable, permanent void, never to be filled and that leaves one paralysed for a while...but fear? where does that stem from ..is it for one's own death? Is it for the process of dying?or is annihilation a daunting prospect?

Is the lack of acceptance for this inevitable event the underlying reason? ... to my mind it is simple ...what is born must die , anything alive , breakable , exhaustable is limited in its existence ...at least in the form that we recognise...then what is the fear about?
I was born, I must die,just like a tumbler of glass which shatters one day.... what is so difficult to comprehend?
Are some of us under the delusion that since we are 'superior'in some way...materialistically, spiritually, we will be exempt from this? We go to great lengths to prolong life,avoid disease and then what do we do with the extra years? How many years and experiences are enough? When can I say I am done ...ready?

On curios and photographs

When on a holiday , we begin clicking pictures as soon as we land and we collect curios of the local places we visit. I for one prefer pieces of wood, pebbles etc.to man made ones.The enitire trip seems to be captured in these two formats, set in time.
Makes we wonder whether these articles we gather and the pics we click help us to recall and capture the visit, moods , places or limit our memories to these two formats.At some level they are an impediment coz after some years that is all we remember of the places...the few pics and an odd inanimate object. If we did not have these,maybe,our memories will be more fresh and vivid ,we will have a larger repertoire of images to fall back upon,a new detail or scene may emerge if we trusted the mind's eye?
On a trip to Goa,I did not take the camera and clicked no pics , yet the memory of the place is intact ...will it still be after 20 years have elapsed when the memory will have faded or will i sit one evening with my son, with whom I took the holiday , and together we will unspool our memories, one scene at a time , each filling in the details of the outline that the other recalls?I wonder...

adapt

'A mighty tree cracks in a storm and the humble blade of grass stands untouched'...a simple insight into how to manage the rumble and tumble of life's offerings.
Many a times we find ourselves getting stuck, rigid in our view point, ideologies and strategies as we go through Life. We get fixed in our roles , in our routines and set in our ways. We do not even realise we have become this way .
It hits us only when we find ourselves in deep conflict with our surroundings, unable to cope, in a state of disharmony and restlessness.
At such a juncture,if we introspect, we will find that some of our ideologies have become rusted, too old , and need to be discarded.New ways to adapt to the dynamic environment need to emerge.
We become parents when we give birth,yet parenting itself undergoes a major change through the growing years of the child. If we get stuck in a certain phase, we can cause more harm than good...same applies to being a child to your parents ..the role reverses in the old age of our parents .With the spouse too , you take on many roles ...father, son, brother, friend, lover...continue taking cues from Life and continously adapt ...

within

'Within' is an oft used word ...specially in the philosophical/spiritual context....everything is within you , they say.
What does the word mean? ...that what you see in the 'out there/outside',is your perception of the world from your point of view.It infers:the 'outside' is a perception and that if you want to change the world around you , you need to examine how you perceive it,your thinking.You do not have to change the physical, the tangible around you to make this happen.
It also means that the way you perceive the outside is not the way the rest of the world does...and that is huge ...that is the crux of our differences.
If you want better relationships and harmony with your environment, be aware of your perceptions; which in turn stem from your thinking process.Make an effort to understand where the other is coming from.Even the color 'red' we see is different from the way others 'see' it.
They say'The outside is a reflection of the inside' and vice versa also holds true.You carry your world with you, literally!

Life

Life is a work-in-progress, a continous cycle in which we as passengers, get on and off.Life is a process , not an end result or a product.
In this context , if I were to review the 'goal setting process', I would say that goals will fit this ultra dynamic, everchanging cosmos if we apply them to the process rather than to the final result.
You have to earn a living ,define how you will do that and in doing that do not get so caught up, that earning rather than living becomes the goal!
Did the founders of Google and Facebook make their discoveries by defining the end result?You may define a problem and look for alternatives to solve it , in which case a clear goal is in mind.That is a linear way of reaching results.
Most new ideas, inventions or innovations focus on the 'now',the current need,the dynamics of the environment and a lateral solution,a never 'thought of before'path opens up.
Setting a clear defined goal becomes an impediment as you are working from the limitations and opportunities of the current situation.New possibilities will emerge when you move out of this 'limiting' mind set.
Results are a corollary of effort and so should be goals ...a corollary of living.