Live in the moment.

Here is a saying which has been overdone these days: "Live your life in the moment".I came across a nice take on this saying,which gives it a different and beautiful dimension altogether.

People across the spectrum have had their share of people, familial or romantic ones,good and bad ones,bitter and worse ones, which have left us question the very basics of human bonding and relationships.Are they good or bad?Is they even worth the pain?DO I deserve it?
The problem can be that the person is bad.But most of the times we are reluctant to realize or to concede that some error is on our part also.By agreeing, it hurts us where it matters the most:pride;and we are too proud of ourselves.

Learning to "Live in the moment" will enable us to avoid the pain and suffering.
By that I mean, we have to learn to look at the person "in the moment".
When you look at someone in the moment,you are totally in the present.There is no past or future.There are no pains of the past, or expectations of future, from this person.Then we begin to appreciate the person for what he is and there is a "wow" every single time you see him.Every look brings in a "wow", a rush of joy,that beautiful feeling which we all long for, but which no longer exists.
That "wow" which we saw in him/her when we first laid eyes on that person;
that "wow" we felt at during the many,many first moments enjoyed in their company;
that "wow" which depressingly eludes us needs to be discovered which is possible only by learning to "Live in the moment".
Be "wow"ed every time you see the person.Be "wow"ed by seeing the GOD in them.Just be "wow"ed.
Disclaimer:"This holds true not only for romantic,but also for all kinds of relationships.Please don't try this on weirdos,serial killers,psychos.........(you know the drill)Your safety is in your hands and it matters."

There's another meaning to the "Live in the moment" mantra.
To live in the moment also means to see in the moment.
We, on the basis of our culture,background,education,etc etc, have developed a vision which is a biased interpretation of reality,of our pure sight.We continue to see the world around us through this narrow sight.Whatever we see,what all we see, is only through this narrow vision and seeing more will not help.It's the way we see,perceive stuff that should change; and not what we see.
There are two types of distorted vision here:the invisible vision and the logical vision.

Invisible vision(more suitably un-visible vision) means seeing that which is not there.It means we are in a reality, rather in an illusion built by us, and we presume it to be real.In essence we see that which is not there.It's a lie which we have built around us and we are not even aware of it and all our cognition is based on that lie.

Logical vision is the more dangerous of the two.I would like to call the educated vision.In this, we see things and analyze them logically, based on our "wisdom".Most of us ,the so called"educated" people are prone to this hazard.The problem with logic is logic.What is logic?Logic is a build up of arguments,principles,inferences starting with a idea/assumption.If the foundation is wrong, logic simply becomes an extension of our own ego/self.

If invisible vision is matrix,logical vision is a matrix inside the matrix inside the matrix.......

To live in the moment is not to live lives aimless, promiscuously, and careless.It is to live now.To be alive NOW.That's the real meaning.NOW,right now.

"Wisdom should not be confused with theoretical learning or correct beliefs, for ignorance is not intellectual error. It is spiritual blindness."
--this beautiful quote is shamelessly lifted from here

nice.

Nice mail I got today.

" Little girl and her father were crossing a bridge. The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter, "Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall into the river." The little girl said, "No, Dad. You hold my hand." "What's the difference?" Asked the puzzled father. "There's a big difference," replied the little girl. > "If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go." In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond. So hold the hand of the person who loves you rather than expecting them to hold yours... This message is too short......but carries a lot of Feelings. "

The importance of GOal

I saw the movie "goal" again for the nth time in a cable rerun.Anyone who is a soccer fan will definitely have seen it.
In short,it's a movie of a aspiring footballer,who (un) surprisingly ,against all odds,succeeds in his lifelong dream of becoming a football player.The movie is well made.The actors play their part.It hits the right chord.
What attracts me to movies like this is that you get to see a lifetime of of emotions packed in to a hour and half timespan.
There were moments which captured my attention,notably,

• The boy,santiago's father.He pretty much personifies those who come along and make us think, that dreaming will take you nowhere.He represents the nay-sayers who we come across everyday in our lives.That being his father puts drama into the film.


• Santiago,representing the fight we all go through(or chose not to) in our lives to get the better out of ourselves.The instant where he says "I'm American" when he is introduced as mexican, potrays well the desire any human soul has for better things in life


• The part where he doesn't go back to america to attend to his dead father's affairs is a powerful moment.He says,he has a reason to tell himself that he failed and he was not responsible for it.It's a easy way out.We all procrastinate and find fancy reasons to justify it.He chooses not to.He says to his coach,"You and only you can tell that i'm not good,but i still may not agree with you"


• The distractions that every sportsman/man goes through when successful(drugs,girls...);the temptations of evil in our path.


• He doesn't get to make peace with his father and he dies.He regrets it.This relates to great ironies of life;;death.say what you have to say.There may be no time;not even to regret.The consolation:his dad sees him play before he dies.

It's a good movie on life.Everyone,even people who don't follow football should see it.Infact all great sport movies are not movies about the sport,but about life.

We need to be like a sponge;just keep absorbing(sucking out) good things out of life when and where we come across.
Just try to be better persons.
A great man once said,"If you are still happy,after looking into the mirror everyday,then it's a life well spent".
Heck,many of us fear the mirror let alone see into it.
The significance of introspection should never be lost out in life.It's the best tool we have been provided with and it alone is sufficient to become everything we are not.

--despo

I'm free.

Distance:140kms
People:4
Ride:The beast(not mine) and the ugly(my bike.Bajaj caliber)

About two weeks back,I called up my friend on a saturday morning and we were discussing about one of the realty investment we had jointly made in the other town(B).We never had a chance to look at it and it was decided that we will visit it.

The crazy guy he is,calls up and says let's go in a bike with a couple of other friends.I don't know what I was thinking(I wasn't), I said yes without thinking of the bad shape my bike was in.
(I didn't tell my folks about this.They wouldn't have let me go on a bike.)
We leave at around two in the afternoon,on a cloudy day.We are interrupted intermittently by the rain.I'm nervous about the bike's condition.Midway we have a stop and I call my dad after seeing some10 missed calls on my cell.

He doesn't call me at all unless ....
He is screaming and scolding asking me to throw away my cell;"what's the use if you aren't reachable when needed" he says.Aaargh.
My cousin sister had given birth to a baby(of all the days...) and I was expected to be @ hospital.After evading him by cooking up some story,we continue.We reach town B at 5 in the evening;attend to our affairs there and start back.

Now the real fun began:It's dark and it started to rain.I can't see the road properly without my glasses and I can't see the road properly with water on my glasses and only 2 out of 4 knows how to ride.

I just kept following the other bike from a distance.
We finally made it back to my place by 10:30 in the night.

This may not sound like much but consider this:

• Indian roads can be tricky


• People don't have traffic sense and bikes are mainly used for intra-city commute only


• The highways have potholes at some places which can fatal for two wheelers


• Highways are not accesss-controlled.People,animals,other vehicles cross the roads and drivers have to watch out


• There are speed bumps without proper reflectors and signs which are hard to see at night.

Travelling at around 80mph,in rain,on a slippery road,in a unreliable bike, with no eye-glasses,with cars whizzing past splashing us with water,and with only tail light of my friend's bike as reference and being responsible for on more life other than me gave me a great 'high'.

My friend who rode with me plainly said that he wasn't sure if we could make it safe.

Such a rush OMG.
With age slowly getting the better off of us,I don't know if I can ever take such a risk again.
One thing's for sure:
I will never forget this day in my life.
I had never felt more alive in my entire life before that day.

(interesting times we live in)
--desparado.

m o l l y-the beautiful bride.

m o l l y, originally uploaded by jaki good.

With this post and a few more to follow,i'm taking the risk of joining the ranks of what I term as flictch(flickr bitch).
I'm referring to lots of blogs out there which just blog on the images ,giving flickr the free publicity(which they don't need) and page rank(which they deserve).
NO I don't want to be stereo-typed as one of them.
But this photo is totally worth the risk.

Ah,the photo of a beautiful bride(molly i suppose.congrats btw).
I'm happy that i stumbled upon it.
This is the first photo that came my way when i joined flickr and logged in the first time.
The picture is very simple,nothing great;albeit tastefully photographed.
But it's complexity lies in the simplicity.
The girl looks stunning.
She's reaching out,towards a new beginning,eyes filled with hope,joy.
The dress,the flower all are so simple,so innocent,so deep.
She looks happy,A sense of strong feeling,a glow, an aura around her assuring love and nothing but only love can behold her,make her happy for life.
They said,it's not her,it's just the photo.
They are wrong.
It's the people who make the picture.As far the photographer goes,I feel they are the blessed ones,who were fortunate enough to witness in person,the wonders which we only get to see through their eyes.
My prayers for molly.
May god bless you and god bless us all.
Your photo has been a ray of hope to me for a long time to come.