Monday, December 03, 2012

meaning


Philosophy warning: This blog has a lot of Philosophy in it. Read at your own risk. the state of mind of the author can be gleamed from the tone of the blog. It may be transient and may not have a lasting impact, though for the moment - it looks like the shit just hit the roof. Read on

There was a funny incident yesterday. I was pretty much frustrated with the whole world. I want to do a  lot … with swimming, training, office work etc etc… my mind was in over drive. I was frustrated that no one else was getting what I can see on the wall. I could get anyone to see the math side of training for swim meets or client acquisitions at work. Ya ya… the two are unrelated but the genesis is that both can be handled by a high use of past data and analytics. But anyways I was at my low point.
In the past I have always bounced back. I think resilience is a quality I have. Shit will hit for some time till I learn to deal with it and then I will hit back at it. And when you are down and out inspiration comes from many quarters. It comes like a bolt from heaven, as if god is trying to tell you something at the time. Possibly that’s why the religious books give a lot of people a lot of solace in troubled times. They are obviously written with a lot of symbolism and meaning on every page. So with so much meaning dripping out, it is not that difficult to find something that means something to you at the right time.
The same goes for T shirts. If enough Tshirt sayings are roaming around you with meaning, your mind will find one that gives it the meaning it’s seeking. I know my mind works faster and more logical than most others. It is ready to move on and quickly makes its decision and takes a few steps ahead. Now the world on an average has trouble catching up, which in turn leads to serious issues on the frustration front for me. So yesterday when I was angry with the entire world, moping that no one understands or cares or can do anything. Hell they don’t even get it, at the point one kid is roaming around with the t shirt that says “sometimes you have to stand up alone, just to know you can still stand”.
How bloody empty and corny is that. But I am ashamed to admit… ok not really ashamed, but, you know… it struck as a voice from above. Without too much explanation and analysis, I can tell you, I found meaning in the line. I took what I wanted from it. Yes, I will have to stand up alone.
I was reading a book where there was this one story of a king who got the wise men to write all the wisdom of the world. The wise men wrote an encyclopedia after ten years which the king dismissed. He wanted it shorter. After another decade he got a book, which too did not please him, then a chapter, and then finally on his death bed, they read him the wisdom of the world in a line. It said “there is no free lunch”. As a corollary to this story I add – you are alone.
And I don’t mean this in a depressing sort of way. Surely there are enough who care for you and love you. But the real truth is that you are alone. You are responsible for your actions or in actions. You are responsible for your ideas and implementation. There are always forces moving you around, but the truth is  - you are alone. The faster it sinks inside of you the better it will be for you. You will not search for answers or meaning outside. You will not look outside but inside to find answer and happiness.
Jispa – your dad is there and your mom is there for you. Tomorrow you will have a partner who I hope loves you and you will in return. You may bear children and have a lovely circle. But the truth is simple – you are alone. You are responsible for what is happening to you and what your state of mind is. I have written about this book before. The title says a lot ‘if you meet Buddha on the road, kill him”. If you look for anything on the road and find it, kill it. There is nothing out there. All what you need is inside of you. Harness it, it will tell you what to do. There is a reason I don’t pray. Now you know.

2 comments:

  1. Am not sure whether this is coincidence or whether you are actually right in stating that we know the answers and are merely looking for an external sign to reaffirm it in our mind. Yesterday I was miserable all day and kept sulking as I felt alone in various aspects of professional and personal life. Today I read your blog and then realise you are right.. I have made the choices, they are my decisions, in this aspect yes I am alone. But I still have a mental block, confusion and this awful feeling that I have to FACE the consequences of these decisions alone.. Am searching for buddha inside me but no luck till now :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. For me it’s simple. Once I realize it’s my doing, the onus is on me to face the consequences. Once that’s done… then I know I have to focus on solving it. Alone. The serenity prayer - God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
    Hopefully your Buddha will come to you. you know – many times I find him while swimming or while playing or in a shower or a movie or when I am explaining something to someone. And most of the times – the problem simply goes away from the mind. Who needs a Buddha when you have a good budhhi that simply forgets the problem :)

    ReplyDelete