Typing this simple word makes my hands shudder with excitement... "Ulysses" Every time I read this poem, it fuels my passion to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield... The very thought is Orgasmic!
With tears of joy that someone, somewhere thought this way and that I am not alone, I engulf myself in the intensity of these thoughts, feelings and words...
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Ulysses - Alfred Tennyson
It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match'd with an aged wife,
I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel; I will drink
Life to the lees.
All times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea. I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known,-- cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honor'd of them all,
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life! Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains; but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
to whom I leave the sceptre and the isle,
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfill
This labor, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro' soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail;
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me,
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads,-- you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honor and his toil.
Death closes all; but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks;
The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends.
'T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho
'We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Monday 23 July 2007
Sunday 15 July 2007
Judgement or analysis
When I think about it now, judgement is so subjective. Yeah, I'd rather call it analysis. I am doing this because judgement seems to have a moral connotation and I speak of purely ammoral inference.
Humans are too complex to be swept aside in the wink of an eye. However, most of our gut feelings are true because people have a basic aura and we learn to sense this aura when our hearts and minds are open to these inputs. Yet, there always exists a margin of error and we must be aware of this as well.
The crux here is being open to the world but not open enough to lose yourself in the process.
Humans are too complex to be swept aside in the wink of an eye. However, most of our gut feelings are true because people have a basic aura and we learn to sense this aura when our hearts and minds are open to these inputs. Yet, there always exists a margin of error and we must be aware of this as well.
The crux here is being open to the world but not open enough to lose yourself in the process.
Friday 6 July 2007
Judge not
For ye shall be judged in the kingdom of heaven.
From childhood, I’ve been asked not to judge. Why? Because the authority to judge rests with god. “Blah!”, I thought as a child. “Then all I’m supposed to do is see!”
This made life look pretty boring changing me from an almighty human being to a docile living creature whose life itself depended upon the judgment of the lord.
Why do I say that life is restricted to seeing? Because, understanding something in totality is what leads to wisdom and holistic understanding involves not only the subject in question but also its moral/ethical and allied impacts. So wisdom then would mean logical interpretation and judgment.
I must add to this that being an agnostic atheist adds a considerable advantage to this stance. There is no big guy writing the rule book for me perched on a throne in heaven… So hey! I guess I’ll have to do it by myself!
What makes a judgment of a human different from that of a wine? I analyze the characteristics of both and decide what I like about them and what I don’t. Then what does the world have against the former?
A human without these opinions is more like a non entity watching the world pass by and doing nothing because it isn’t allowed the right to react. Very much like a surveillance camera that watches stoically as a bank is looted with nothing more than empty black stare to offer.
I’d like to rewrite a couple of the commandments then.
1. I judge therefore I am.
2. I am, therefore I fear not another man’s judgment.
Sorry big guy. The glory is all mine for now!
From childhood, I’ve been asked not to judge. Why? Because the authority to judge rests with god. “Blah!”, I thought as a child. “Then all I’m supposed to do is see!”
This made life look pretty boring changing me from an almighty human being to a docile living creature whose life itself depended upon the judgment of the lord.
Why do I say that life is restricted to seeing? Because, understanding something in totality is what leads to wisdom and holistic understanding involves not only the subject in question but also its moral/ethical and allied impacts. So wisdom then would mean logical interpretation and judgment.
I must add to this that being an agnostic atheist adds a considerable advantage to this stance. There is no big guy writing the rule book for me perched on a throne in heaven… So hey! I guess I’ll have to do it by myself!
What makes a judgment of a human different from that of a wine? I analyze the characteristics of both and decide what I like about them and what I don’t. Then what does the world have against the former?
A human without these opinions is more like a non entity watching the world pass by and doing nothing because it isn’t allowed the right to react. Very much like a surveillance camera that watches stoically as a bank is looted with nothing more than empty black stare to offer.
I’d like to rewrite a couple of the commandments then.
1. I judge therefore I am.
2. I am, therefore I fear not another man’s judgment.
Sorry big guy. The glory is all mine for now!
Shunyatha
Shunyatha or nothingness: the concept of non-existence propagated by the Buddhists. I like their take on the creation of the universe. “Everything”, they say “arises from nothing”. The seed of everything around us (including us) is present in the nothingness that came before. The roots, therefore, of all that exists is in this pregnant primordial nothingness. Various sects believe that meditation focused upon this shunyatha makes us one with the universe. This, in their opinion, is the rightful place of all living spirits.
Now selfish as I am, the first question I ask is… “How do I retain the ‘I’ after becoming part of the whole?” So far that doesn’t look like a possibility.
One way to look at it would be that the niche of the universe that is me cannot ever be filled by anyone else. So I fill MY niche to blend with the whole. But, on doing this, I AM THE WHOLE!
Principally, this sounds like an attractive option. I will have to wait until my rendezvous with an informed Buddhist though.
Until then, I cruise on through this cluttered world of experiences feeding my senses, intellect and emotions, simply being me.
Now selfish as I am, the first question I ask is… “How do I retain the ‘I’ after becoming part of the whole?” So far that doesn’t look like a possibility.
One way to look at it would be that the niche of the universe that is me cannot ever be filled by anyone else. So I fill MY niche to blend with the whole. But, on doing this, I AM THE WHOLE!
Principally, this sounds like an attractive option. I will have to wait until my rendezvous with an informed Buddhist though.
Until then, I cruise on through this cluttered world of experiences feeding my senses, intellect and emotions, simply being me.
Monday 2 July 2007
Democratic leadership
This is something I wrote more than a year ago. It's interesting to look back into my logic as it was back then and feel the evolution.
A Democracy typically implies a situation where every individual has the right to contribute to the decisions of the group. His/her view definitely features in the final conclusion. He could be part of the winning majority or the losing minority; but, he is a part of the whole.
Now, leadership implies influencing/ controlling/ manipulating a group to work in unity. Unity is something that is not characteristic to a typical group. Every individual has a perspective and assuming that every person’s perspective in the group synchronises would be unrealistic. Therefore, leadership is what helps glue the group together in spite of their differences. This is done by emphasising on one commonality amongst this set of diverse individuals; the Objective.
Another term I would like to emphasise is facilitation. Facilitation involves coordination and management of an activity. It acts like a catalyst. From a group perspective, facilitation would mean enhancing the thought process within the group and giving it direction.
What I would like to emphasise through this discourse is that Democratic Leadership does not exist. These two terms contradict each other. If there needs to be a democracy, there cannot exist leadership at the same time. Yes, democracy can exist before leadership is elected, but not with leadership in place.
Democracy involves respecting every individuals opinion and featuring it in the final decision. Democracy has its obvious drawbacks like the multitude of ideas and perspective and the turmoil this can cause in any group effort. However, the answer to this is not leadership because leadership curbs true democracy.
Therefore, the term ‘Democratic Leadership’ is not a congruent statement. It should be modified to ‘Democratic Facilitation’ because democracy and facilitation complement each other.
A Democracy typically implies a situation where every individual has the right to contribute to the decisions of the group. His/her view definitely features in the final conclusion. He could be part of the winning majority or the losing minority; but, he is a part of the whole.
Now, leadership implies influencing/ controlling/ manipulating a group to work in unity. Unity is something that is not characteristic to a typical group. Every individual has a perspective and assuming that every person’s perspective in the group synchronises would be unrealistic. Therefore, leadership is what helps glue the group together in spite of their differences. This is done by emphasising on one commonality amongst this set of diverse individuals; the Objective.
Another term I would like to emphasise is facilitation. Facilitation involves coordination and management of an activity. It acts like a catalyst. From a group perspective, facilitation would mean enhancing the thought process within the group and giving it direction.
What I would like to emphasise through this discourse is that Democratic Leadership does not exist. These two terms contradict each other. If there needs to be a democracy, there cannot exist leadership at the same time. Yes, democracy can exist before leadership is elected, but not with leadership in place.
Democracy involves respecting every individuals opinion and featuring it in the final decision. Democracy has its obvious drawbacks like the multitude of ideas and perspective and the turmoil this can cause in any group effort. However, the answer to this is not leadership because leadership curbs true democracy.
Therefore, the term ‘Democratic Leadership’ is not a congruent statement. It should be modified to ‘Democratic Facilitation’ because democracy and facilitation complement each other.
Sunday 1 July 2007
"Boulevard Of Broken Dreams"
I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and
I walk alone
I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps and
I'm the only one and I walk alone
"My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I walk alone
I'm walking down the line
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the border line
Of the edge and where I walk alone
Read between the lines
What's fucked up and everything's alright
Check my vital signs
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone
I walk alone
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I walk alone
I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk a...
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Til then I walk alone..."
Get the depression out of this song and it, quite aptly, defines my journey.
Some join me through this journey and leave when it's time.
It isn't easy saying goodbye. But, I take solace in the fact that they also leave me with
the indelible impressions of experience that forms a part of my soul. I take these wherever
I am because they are part of the definition of Michael James.
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and
I walk alone
I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps and
I'm the only one and I walk alone
"My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I walk alone
I'm walking down the line
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the border line
Of the edge and where I walk alone
Read between the lines
What's fucked up and everything's alright
Check my vital signs
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone
I walk alone
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I walk alone
I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk a...
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Til then I walk alone..."
Get the depression out of this song and it, quite aptly, defines my journey.
Some join me through this journey and leave when it's time.
It isn't easy saying goodbye. But, I take solace in the fact that they also leave me with
the indelible impressions of experience that forms a part of my soul. I take these wherever
I am because they are part of the definition of Michael James.
Unconditional love
Initially this word didn’t mean much to me. However, there are simply so many ways to look at it. The ambiguity in this topic gives it an almost mystical effect!
One way would be to contemplate over the ubiquitous mother and child relationship, unconditional in the true sense of the word. What distresses me in this case, however, is that it doesn’t matter WHO the child is. She would love him or her anyway. That makes the human being substitutable and the title of child being his or her only claim necessary to earn the mothers love.
However, unconditional emotional is a frame of mind. Unconditional bliss, for example, would be a bliss that transcends circumstances. It would be a natural state of mind similar to nirvana. One would feel bliss doing anything his or her soul heads towards.
In the 1st case, the folly was connecting the emotion to a specific person. We could, as an alternative, detach the person and simply focus on the emotion to describe the existence of an unconditional element of feeling. We could feel unconditional love not necessarily for a person in particular but towards nothing and everything. That is the only justifiable existence of this phenomenon.
Love for a particular person must necessarily take into consideration the person involved. We love someone for their virtues. It’s a unique individual we fall in love with, not a substitutable object like an empty desk in an MNC.
That particular love will never die. It remains as a part of our beings as we explore different facets of this magnificent emotion.
One way would be to contemplate over the ubiquitous mother and child relationship, unconditional in the true sense of the word. What distresses me in this case, however, is that it doesn’t matter WHO the child is. She would love him or her anyway. That makes the human being substitutable and the title of child being his or her only claim necessary to earn the mothers love.
However, unconditional emotional is a frame of mind. Unconditional bliss, for example, would be a bliss that transcends circumstances. It would be a natural state of mind similar to nirvana. One would feel bliss doing anything his or her soul heads towards.
In the 1st case, the folly was connecting the emotion to a specific person. We could, as an alternative, detach the person and simply focus on the emotion to describe the existence of an unconditional element of feeling. We could feel unconditional love not necessarily for a person in particular but towards nothing and everything. That is the only justifiable existence of this phenomenon.
Love for a particular person must necessarily take into consideration the person involved. We love someone for their virtues. It’s a unique individual we fall in love with, not a substitutable object like an empty desk in an MNC.
That particular love will never die. It remains as a part of our beings as we explore different facets of this magnificent emotion.
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