Melancholy – A subdued emotion

Happy faces and wide smiles everywhere.  Celebrations, accomplishments and all things good take the limelight – be it everyday life or social media. Almost as if we are not allowed to connect with our deepest feelings of sorrow and grief. Toxic positivity is a thing that never gets addressed often in this world where everyone is either obsessed of being happy or is pretending to be happy.

Only if we bring a culture where melancholy is not looked down upon, will we be able to discuss openly about fears that lie deep inside the darkest corner of our hearts. Only then will we learn to understand each other better, only then will we be able to get rid of each other’s happy masks to have a heart-to-heart talk about something that is simmering inside us.

What we fail to realise is that there is beauty in melancholy too. What we fail to do as a society is have a more inclusive outlook where everyone’s feelings, nature and emotions of sorrow are respected.

It’s not really about cheering someone up. It’s about being just there for someone who is going through a rough patch. It’s about being a patient listener and feeling the pinch of someone else’s moments of grief.

It’s not a sign, it’s a curse

We believed we are the center of this universe

But now, it’s only getting better for the worse

Oh, can’t you see, it’s not just a sign, it’s a curse

Nature has its own ways

To make us count our days

life is to love, only to love, it says

When at every step we only stumble

When the race is about to perish and crumble

All we can be is humble

Thousands have come, millions have gone

In the end, they only lived till their last dawn

It’s true for us too, we forget, that day won’t be long

The victory flags you wave

The heaps of pride you save

All your diamonds, of which you rave

What for? Nothing is here to stay

You could have kissed and hugged a little more, but now you can’t

Now what’s the point of all the medals you flaunt?

Why is it illogical to expect someone to react the way you want them to?

You are simply a compilation of images that you’ve created about yourself and perceptions you have about others. You expect someone to react the way you want them to because you assume a lot of things even without taking an effort to know that person.

The matter of the fact is, no matter how hard you try to know someone, you can only try up to a certain extent. You have absolutely no idea how the other person thinks and how he/she was brought up.  You have no idea about the kind of circumstances he/she has gone through, the influences he/she had, the experiences he/she had in life etc.

Yes, it’s extremely difficult to break the image you’ve created about yourself and about others. There’s a lot of ego you keep feeding in the process. This ego keeps growing so much that it’s next to impossible to leave your ego behind after a point. In fact, we actually start believing that we are the images that we’ve created about ourselves.

We need to understand that these images are simply assumptions and not real. So, you really cannot except how another person is going to respond to you. 

The only things which are common among all human beings are the feelings of sorrow, hurt, pleasure, love, happiness etc. These feelings take different forms in different people based on their experiences, memory and all that we talked about earlier. When you realise this fact and control the image-making process in your head, you will ultimately feel at ease, because you are not expecting the other person to respond to you in a certain way.

Playing a sport is sometimes like meditation

For playing a sport, one needs to have the perfect equilibrium and coordination between the body and the mind. There are very few things that play in the mind of a sportsman who is in action.

For example, a football player is constantly trying to manoeuvre the ball correctly so that his/her team ultimately manages to score a goal.

So, if you want to draw an analogy between football and meditation, then the scoring of a goal is like enlightenment. However, the moment a football player thinks of the end result, he/she won’t be able to be in the moment. So, I suppose pure mediation is about being in the moment without thinking of the outcome. If you do that, you may or may not score a goal/ experience enlightenment. But as a player, this shouldn’t play on your mind, else you won’t be able to be in the moment and manoeuvre the ball like it actually should be.

Stillness and effortless living

Fear is one of the most influential aspects of life that imprisons the mind at different levels. It overpowers our ability to think logically and ends up creating a mess in our head. Human beings, including me, have become so accustomed to fear that we think it’s a natural phenomenon. Maybe it’s natural, or is it? Let’s find out.

Happiness is a choice, or is it?

There’s a flip-side to everything in life. The choice is all yours, at least that’s what they say. Every situation, every interaction and every conversation can be perceived in a unique way. You can either feel bad, hurt and angry about something personal that happened to you or you could just turn it around and analyze the matter through a different lens. Fool yourself to believing that the more soothing perspective is the right one. This presumably, would make you feel at ease. Although, one could debate that this way, you would only be living a lie just to feel good. The question is how long can you run away from the truth, which could be harsh and bitter many-a-times?

कुश्ती में दिलचस्पी कहाँ…

मुझे हराने की कोशिश न कर,
मै इस खेल में शामिल कहाँ
अकेला चला मुकाम ढूंढ़कर
कुश्ती में दिलचस्पी कहाँ…

An Artist’s Ego

Holding onto the ideas and stories you believe in can be very strenuous at times. You might easily get intimidated by someone’s intelligent remarks or another superior artist’s works. Moreover, every artist is sensitive at the core as they face a mountain of insecurities every passing moment. But, if you are going to get bogged down by these external forces, then you are not really doing justice to that beautiful story which germinated within you.  This story needs to be told and you are the only person who can bring it out in the open, exactly the way it should be. Opinions, suggestions and reviews can be very helpful on many occasions. But, don’t allow these wise words to muddle your stream of thoughts and ideas. Even if they enhance your story and make it bloom the way you had imagined, you might not be truly satisfied. If these suggestions are taking away your identity and ingenuity, then it’s always better to stay insulated. You can call this an artist’s ego. But, I believe no artist can truly exist without possessing this ego.

Clarity is about minimalism

Nothing is as clear as it looks. Human life and emotions are so complex that no matter how hard you try understanding it, you will only keep getting entangled and sucked into its own web. The best way to remain composed and stable is by being clear in your mind from the start to finish. Over-thinking is like an overflowing dam that can lead to a flood of unwanted thoughts. Just cut the crap around you and remain focused on your priorities in life, be it relationships, passion, work or anything else for that matter. The reality is that you cannot resolve every complex situation in life, but you can at least choose the problems you really want to resolve and deal with them one at a time with clarity.

Why Artists Need Your Love

When you know you are here to do something more than simply normal things in life, it’s a strange kind of a feeling. And when you are surrounded by people who expect you to do normal things in life, it is even worse.

Depression is a part of every artist’s life I guess. He or she feels lost every once in a while, especially when he or she is forced into a normal situation. This very state of mind then transforms into a driving force for many. It is this very state of mind that urges an artist to take that courageous step to express something special. No matter what the world thinks about his or her form of expression, a true artist will keep on going on. After spending too much time in a stable state of normalcy, an artist starts feeling the pain inside.

Artists are good at heart. Some are pure and naive, timid at times. So, this is a shout out to every Normal Person on earth. Please encourage artists. Talk to them, appreciate their work, even if it is not that great. Tell them how they can get better. They need your motivation, not your strange looks, pre-assumptions and heartless criticism.

Some artists are spearheaded; they know exactly what they want to do and how they want to do it. They don’t care what the world thinks about them or their work. They are basically not at all afraid of failure.

Not all are that way though. Many are confused, trying to find their own path. Some are depressed because of normalcy. Some are going through a rough patch financially; some are trying to find their confidence back. Some are going through a transition phase from being confused to becoming spearheaded again.

Don’t neglect them. They are human beings too. They need your love and positive energy. Because art is beautiful. The world needs it.