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The Twenty Eighth of May

Welcome to the world. Much of the direction and theme of a written composition is determined by its first couple of lines, and I shall do my best to screw up this particular piece of forced write-up, just like the countless others that have preceded it. Change is what we secretly desire, but change also is the thing we dread the most. The world is a (seemingly) haphazard assortment of spring – mass systems, in seemingly unstable equilibrium, equilibrium because it has inertia and unstable as it has springiness too. The paradox about change is only too well known, but almost never appropriately documented, which perfectly complies with the paradox of change itself. The world can sometimes seem to be standing still, constant and unmoving, almost agonizingly so, the next moment, another facet of the same subject would display mutating volatility, making you doubt your premises and ultimately doubt the world around you, you being the pivot of it, the tool for its cause and the recipient of its effect. Cause and effect they say, checks and balances. The world can make you feel big and small at the same time, if only you can hold these two viewpoints in your mind simultaneously. The whole soap opera industries including its viewers have *gregariously* embraced the phenomenon of contradiction and its fallouts and prepare themselves for the ever changing steady state that’s life and console themselves by showing fantasized love stories or impossible hero-worship-inducing action scenes. The result being today’s entertainment industry or showbiz, the name a perfect epitome of the contradiction surrounding us. How can entertainment ever be equated to business? Sadly though, it is, and people fall for it, into it, they dive into it hook line and sinker. The evil of sensationalism, amplified and glorified by the media, serves as the perfect escape for formally-high-aiming-mediocre who would like nothing more than to safely negotiate the present moment, and live to negotiate another day. What I am talking about is people without a sting in their tail, without an edge to their so-called knives. We live in a society of degeneration camouflaged as peace and harmony, rather a perennial attempt at it.

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The break of para eventually came in the form of a soup break. And I have forgotten what I was writing, except that it was futile anyway. So I start fresh.

Let us talk about “high”. I have found a host of things giving me (or people around me) a high. But what is this high anyway? What is the deal with the altered state of consciousness, of “tranquility”, “trance”, “the alpha state”, “meditation”, “hypnosis”; as also “drunk” “stoned”... different words for the same outcome, then maybe not? It is all in the head isn't it, eventually. What is it that drugs (legal and illegal) can do to you that you cannot do to yourself? We all, without exception subscribe ourselves to substances or acts which get us into one of these (different?) states of mind, ranging from drinking, smoking, sex (or simulation), coffee (trust me), drugs; as also meditation, pranayam, prayer, yoga, the likes. Why do we need an institutionalized approach to achieve that temporary glorious feeling, when it is our mind that generates and makes-real the feeling eventually? It is like liking for happiness in money, objects, people and situations. Isn’t it the mind that generates the feeling of happiness, and don’t give me the crap that you anyway aren’t in control of your mind, in which case you will be well advised to commit suicide. There ain’t no fun living a live controlled by another independent phenomena. It just isn’t right, ask yourself why. What I’m driving at is simple, and glaringly obvious: why not try and tame your mind, and constrain (?!) it to be happy, rather than signing up for art of living courses or worse so, letting material ambitions drive you to a machine-like state of worldly trade of goods and services; and the worst the money (and more importantly) time and energy in trying to “find” true love. I agree it is the age of technology and media, but you do not “find” love, or friendship or happiness for that matter, on networking forums such as orkut, facebook, MySpace, twitter, hi5 and the thousands others that are making money out of your stupidity. No, contacting your friends et al is not a waste of time, but downloading “hot” pictures and sending anonymous friend requests and “proposals” sure is.

The last I heard, the level to which social networking had progressed was this: “Will you do loveship with me?” Hilarious or sad, your call.

I am not a cynical old man who can see no good in this world anymore; I am just a guy who believes some things have got to change. Change for what, change how – well I am still working on that part. And while I am at it, why don’t I swim in my self-made dump yard, and ask you to think for independent of social standards, and look for a unique, coherent and practical solution to the mess we find ourselves today.

A litmus test for what is right: does it feel right? No not the shell, penetrate the worldly cocoon and see, you’ll know.

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