That fabled calling
I am afraid I haven’t heard it yet…
But nature,
Clever in its design
Didn’t give us the choice
To Un-hear
So,
Despite the din,
I wait
With patient ears,
Trusting the design
Of the Universe
Category: Man’s search for meaning (Page 6 of 10)
In today’s age of hyper-connectedness it is easier than ever before to share your your life, your work of art with the world.
We have cleverly designed platforms that we choose to express ourself through.
While these social media platforms have simplified the act of expression,
It has also sowed inside us, a seed of constant hunger,
Of seeking validation.
Today, the act of creating itself cannot find the isolation it needs.
We are busy sharing that we are going to do something, we have just started doing something…..Up until we are finished with doing something.
We fail to shut the door on the world to actually get to the process of creating something without distractions.
It is the result of the clever architecture of these platforms that are dictating our behavior and psychology.
We need to feel we are relevant,
We matter…
We are but,
human after all.
As a contemporary artist, I’ve always felt the process of creation never finds the isolation, incubation and single minded dedication it calls for.
The continuum of creation is always interfered by the parallel world of validation (read social media) we choose to dabble with.
In a way we are driven to be ‘Like’ minded .
This culture is detrimental to an artist’s growth in the long run in my opinion.
Once an artist shares his labor of love, he expects people to take notice, like it and share it with the community at large.
The feedback comes through a single click,
A like button, a heart shaped button and their many cousins…
This cursory appraisal is only valued when it comes in numbers.
There is no way of knowing how much what you created affected another person.
Maybe a masterpiece of a portrait you worked on for months got 20 thumbs up and a goofy selfie of yours got 200.
But maybe the 20 people were moved by your art, and majority of the 200 encouraged you out of habit and the prospect of reciprocity.
A pertinent question here is,
‘How does an artist find honest critique amid this culture of numbers, of short attention spans and a juggernaut of new feed?’
Here is where good old friendship and mentorship stands strong.
On social media you’re more likely to find cursory attention than love, virulent hatred than critique.
A friend or a mentor on the other hand, cares about your growth. You are more likely to find honest opinion, encouragement and suggestions about avenues to grow, when you share your art with them.
It is a matter of privilege to have these handful of people around.
If you still wish to get a sense of how many lives you touched through your art through social media,
Look for how many people took out the time to write something about your art.
Did anyone feel moved enough to leave you a comment?
The written word means so much more than ten thousand clicks on an icon.
What would you remember more,
A number or an emotion you stirred in someone’s heart through your art?
As an artist, for the sake of better art, we need to stay clear from the culture of constant gratification.
Only when we give ourself the isolation to work with all our heart,
Can our work add up to something remarkable.
Also, as responsible consumers of content, we should choose the written word to express our feelings more often than giving someone a thumbs up.
We are capable of being more articulate about our emotions than that !
Once we look at life as art in making and choose to voice our opinions in a more conscious manner, we will enable a better atmosphere for art to find expression and constructive critique.
And Life,
as art,
will inevitably,
Thrive.
The beauty of the human existence is in duality.
On one hand each and every human being is unique. The way one looks like and they way he looks at the world is peculiar to himself.
Even the way he does things, from the littlest of idiosyncrasies, to a life consuming passion is particular to him.
It would even be safe to say that there have never been two humans in history with the same traits.
Individuality is hardwired in the human experience.
On the other hand, there are qualities that we all seek that make us all similar in our pursuit of life.
Our longing for love and companionship, our desire to have a shelter, warmth, nutrition, good health and freedom are things that have been common across time and space.
In these matters, we are all walking on the same path.
Each individual, however unique in personality, is longing for the same things.
And it is the understanding of this basic truth of existence,
this duality,
Of seeking individuality on one hand and,
On the other hand, longing for the same things as everyone else,
is what makes life easier to comprehend.
Human beings are capable of making the most irrational of decisions. And sometimes it does not make any sense at all as to why one would do something that seems so illogical to the third person.
Be the act as extreme as the act of killing in the name of God, or ending one’s own life,
It stems from the desire for freedom and emancipation,
No matter how unsuccessful either acts are in reaching the ends they desire to.
Looking at human aspirations through this sense of duality, I believe,
would help in coming with holistic solutions to problems.
We are all communal beings. In some capacity or other we work in groups.
And quite often, we do take decisions for the whole community, either democratically or hierarchically.
In that process,
If we’re mindful to address this duality,
And not compromise either of,
a) the individuality of a human being
b) the basic human aspirations of all beings
Then that would be a more holistic way of dealing with any situation that confronts our existence.
The next time you find yourself in a position to take a decision, for yourself or for a group that you lead,
Address it through the lens of this duality.
Is everyone being given the space to be the truly individual being they are?
Does the decision help every person reach for the common longings in life of us all?
If it addresses both these questions,
The decision you make,
Even if it is just for one person,
For yourself,
Or for a group,
Will be far more fufilling in every being’s pursuit of life.
Over the past few months, I’ve had the fortune of travelling in three different countries. While most of my commute during the travel was on my bicycle, I also had the chance to use other modes of transport. I’ve loaded up my bicycle on trains, boats, buses and aeroplanes a few times over.
While using these other modes of transport, I’ve had the chance to observe my fellow travellers.
One thing that I found to be common among all travellers, regardless of their nationality or economic background is the humble lock they all put on their luggage.
It could be a number combination padlock, a tiny lock with a key, an airplane baggage lock tag or even just two zippers secured with a nylon string.
It does not matter if it is a high end briefcase or a tattered backpack, the owners prize the contents inside their bags equally.
For a poor woman travelling back to her village in a bus with her infant children,
The few hundred rupees she’s hidden in her bag and the measly ration of milk for the children to last on the ride is worth securing with a little lock.
To an executive travelling business class, whose briefcase is a thousand times more expensive than everything the village lady has ever owned, the bag mandates even getting a travel insurance!
But once we think beyond the monetary value of the bag and its contents, and think about the absolute value each human being attributes to their belongings,
Is the tattered bag of the village lady any less valuable than the executive’s briefcase?
Extrapolating further, think about the infants in tow of the village lady and the little children of the businessman waiting for him back home.
Is the life of one child more precious than another? Granted they have separate realities of life and in comparison have a completely different future ahead of them.
Yet, they both mean the world to either parent, don’t they?
We are all born with different privileges.
But some things are tendered equally to one and all.
We all have the ability to love,
The ability to be of help,
The ability to smile,
The ability to bring a life on earth…
All of the perceived unfairness of life is mitigated by the solemn realisation of these inherent gifts we are all have the liberty to partake.
The most precious of gifts can never be locked and secured.
It is the gift of life,
Of existence,
The time we have on earth.
A person who doesn’t know how to read the time on the clock is in fact, as rich as a person wearing an expensive watch when it comes to the time he has on the earth.
Perhaps the moment we start to live life with this realisation, in each living moment,
Each living soul will feel equally rich.
As the gift of existence,
Of time on earth,
Enables democracy over happiness to each living soul.
One of my favourite authors wrote a masterpiece of a novel when he was in Jail. Even the locks of the prison chamber had no power over the gift of existence he utilised to create a work of sublime art.
He used his freedom over time even in incarceration to add meaning to his life.
Time is the yarn we are all gifted by life,
And at each moment we are alive,
We are weaving our story,
In the tapestry of existence.
Let’s realise this gift,
And live a life full of purpose and meaning.
A few days ago, one of my friends asked me a question that I had never confronted myself with.
‘How do you manage to write a blog post every day? What’s the most difficult part about it?’
I thought about it for a while. And I realised, writing a blog post is not the most difficult thing in the exercise. It is writing the first few lines of the blog post that’s most challenging. Once you’re past the first few lines, the blog post fashions itself.
All I have to do is get past the first few lines. Once I am past the inertia, it is a breeze.
The same is also true for physical activities. I remember the toughest phase of my bicycle trip to the mountains to be the first half an hour of the ride.
Once your body is warmed up, you don’t even realise you’re bicycling. The process just happens on its own.
Extrapolating further,
I wonder if the same is true for the more human qualities one wishes to embody.
We all wish to be better human beings.
We desire to be more loving, more accepting, more friendly and allow ourself to have an open heart.
But if we think of starting to embody these qualities all through our existence, the task, however desirable, seems to be far too daunting.
‘How do I have such an open heart full of love all through my life !’ one would wonder.
But there is a way of thinking that makes the task much easier and accessible.
Say you wish to be more compassionate and loving.
Don’t think about being compassionate and loving all through your existence.
Just start to be compassionate and loving in the present moment.
Once you are past the barricades you’ve built around your heart, the task becomes easier and but natural.
Of course, this has to be practiced every single day with solemn awareness.
Just how I choose to begin to write and get past the first few lines every single day.
Before you know you will have a continuum of existence, full of the qualities you always wished to embody.
Open your heart and ask,
What quality do I wish to imbibe.
And start.
Everyday.
You will realize your better self with every glorious sunrise.
To your undeniable growth.
How we define a friend changes with age doesn’t it?
I remember when I was little, anyone who would choose to share time and space with me was my friend. And what an eclectic mix of friends did I have !
The carpenter working at home was my friend, so was the lady selling Jamun berries on the street. The scientist uncle who introduced me to the wonderous night sky to the toddler rocking in the pram next door,
The immediate world around me was full of friends!
But over time, as it happens to all of us, the group of friends narrowed down to a chosen few. We had limited time on our hands and had only so much of our attention we could give to people around.
Friends became our world but that world also shrunk considerably as compared to childhood.
We share a mysterious friendship with a childhood friend. Even if we haven’t talked to them in years, the moment we hear their voice over a phone call, we feel a profound camaraderie.
Why is that?
A few reason I can think of that could explain it :
1) A childhood friend reminds us of our roots, of who we were,
Of where we’re coming from. (Past)
2) They not only serve as a repository of nostalgia but also a messenger that informs us how much we’ve grown from who we used to be. (Present)
3) And most importantly, they care about our growth, about where we are headed. (Future)
It is a precious bond indeed.
Over the course of my bicycle journey I experienced an emotion I had never experienced before.
I felt a deep sense of friendship towards people who I was meeting for the first time. It almost felt as if they were all similar to a childhood friend in some mysterious way.
I realised that most of the people I met on the road exhibited one of the three above mentioned qualities
For instance, a little Thai kid on Phuket beach who lit a bonfire for me reminded me of my playful and exuberant childhood. He reminded me of where I came from. (Past)
A sister teaching her brother how to ride a bicycle on the street reminded of how difficult it was for me to learn to do the same. It had taken me several months.
And today, I’m fearlessly Bicycling into the unknown.
They reminded me of how far I’ve come.(Present)
Or an old Thai grandma who on realising that I had a long uphill ride to finish before sundown, chose to push my bicycle while I was riding to help me get to the destination.
She helped in whatever way she could because my growth, my progress mattered to her at some level. (Future)
These experiences only opened up my mind to consider everyone I meet as a friend.
Every beginner reminds me of who I was, where I started, where I’m coming from.
Every expert, through his work, helps me yearn for betterment. Despite not knowing me personally, I still see a friend in them because I’m sure my growth would matter to them if they came to know how much they inspire me.
Every contemporary guides me about my growth over the course of time I’ve known them.
I am of the firm belief that we can only design a better world if we all grow together, collectively.
For the growth of the world, personal growth is indispensable.
How do I see the growth of the world in the light of friendship?
To me, a friend is someone whose growth matters to me.
If I wish to see positive growth in the world, I need to see the same in the individual, in each human being.
In the interest of engineering a better world, we ought to care about each other’s growth, even that of a stranger’s.
Having this worldview helps to cultivate compassion towards everyone around us.
Your growth matters to me,
And hence, You are a friend in my heart.
I hope, in your heart,
I too am a friend.
And I believe,
Our collective growth,
Our collective friendship and brotherhood
Will engineer the change in the world we all wish to see.
What do you think, my friend ?
My bike ride uphill was already in its 7th hour. I was ascending towards the mighty mountain pass named ‘ Khardung La’ arguably, the highest motorable all weather road in the world.
I had reached an elevation above 5200 meters. Oxygen was scarce and I had to push my bicycle at times just so that my heart rate stayed under control.
Patiently, with all my soul, I moved on.
Past a hair pin bend, I saw a milestone:
‘Khardungla – 1km’
Excited to know that I will be at the highest motorable road in the world soon, I got on my bicycle and pedalled onward.
After 15 minutes, I, with my racing heart, finally reached the summit.
I felt an inexplicable calm at that moment.
I had anticipated that I would jump and sing after achieving such a challenging goal and crossing out one of the tasks on my Impossible list.
But I felt tranquil and meditative.
At that moment, I wondered,’Have I changed as a person because of this achievement?’
‘Am I any different at the summit as compared to who I was at the last milestone?’
To my heart, there wasn’t any difference at all between the two states of being at the two different places.
Then I extrapolated this thought further.
‘How was I any different at the last milestone as compared to the second last milestone?’
‘Extrapolating further, how was I any different at the beginning of the ride uphill as compared who I was at the summit?’
I realised that I was much stronger in my mind at the beginning than at the end.
To dare to bicycle up Khardung La is no mean feat.
Especially when you don’t know the terrain, the temperature is low, the UV rays are burning your skin and you have limited oxygen to inhale.
At the beginning of the journey my mind was steadfast.
And I made my first decision.
Of choosing the right path.
The second decision was made out for me by the road itself.
There was a milestone after every kilometre of the road, giving me constant feedback about the progress.
Even if I was moving at a measly average pace of 4.5km per hour, each milestone informed me that I was on the right path.
I realised that along with my willpower, these two decisions of choosing the right path and having milestone markers made sure I reached the summit.
Without any of the above three,
a) willpower
b) the right path
c) milestones
I would have not been able to scale the mighty Khardung La.
Drawing a parallel to how we approach a challenge in life,
We ought to have these three factors in place to achieve something.
We need to develop the willpower to persevere, we need to choose the right path and finally we need to have little milestones that reassure us of the correct direction we’re headed in.
Say, if someone has the goal to be a better artist,
He needs to
a) Show up everyday to practice his art and stay away from distractions (willpower)
b) Choose a way of life that ensures maximum learning (the right path)
c) Have an archive to see how better he is as compared to a time in past, have a mentor who could give him honest critical feedback (milestones)
If one designs a way of life based on these three simple steps,
Progress will become a way of life.
Scaling summits will become a habit.
The path sculpts a man into who he could be if he chooses to get past milestone after milestone while demonstrating the willpower to keep moving no matter what.
Coming back to the question I had posed myself earlier,
‘How was I any different at the beginning of the ride uphill as compared who I was at the summit?’
In the begining, while downhill, I had only the sight of a goal, a solitary summit I had to scale.
At the end, while at the summit, I have a vantage.
I have gained a wider panaroma, a broader worldview,
And from here,
I can choose the next summit of the many that I gained access to.
You climb up, not just to enjoy the view, but to gain a perspective,
to choose the next summit in sight,
Higher, mightier,
But never beyond
the undying spirit of human endeavour.
I wish you too choose a summit of your own to climb, and from there scale on further and gain wisdom and perspective in this elegantly revealing process.
May you realise more of who you truly are.
Crossing off an ambitious goal from my Impossible List,
I am ready to dream bigger,
Dream anew.
To the undying spirit of human endeavor.
Yours,
Sreenath
We are living in times where we dwell in two worlds at the same time. One is the real physical world, where all our interactions happen, and one is the virtual world, where we curate how we want our life to be seen as.
In the real world, a person experiences a whole range of emotions. On one hand he experiences pain, sorrow, rejection, depression, anxiety, diffidence…
On the other hand he also experiences pleasure, happiness, exuberance, emancipation and a sense of confidence.
The real world is a kaleidoscopic experience of all these myraid emotions.
But in the virtual world one dwells in, one always projects the happier state of being. All pictures shared by someone, be it of a momentous point in life to the banal selfie stream, it all has a positive connotation.
On social media, everyone is happy.
All seems to be well.
But is it?
If our life was seen only through our curated virtual identity, all of us are living an incredible life with no trace of pain or sorrow.
But deep inside, we all experience challenging emotions as much as we enjoy positive ones.
Our indulgence with social media has consumed our time and mind space which would earlier be engaged with real conversations with friends.
With friends, we would talk about what pains us and what makes us happy in the same breath.
But now we don’t have time to speak to a friend. For some reason the dopamine rush of social media validation eclipses the experience a real friendship promises.
This culture of curating a happy state of being comes at a cost. The challenging emotions like sorrow and diffidence that test our character are being avoided at all cost.
But how will one shape his character holistically if he is in such a state of avoidance ?
In life, one should always strive to have a space to speak about what pains him, what makes him sad and how lonely he feels at times.
For such a space to exist, trust is a must.
And that can only be found in the company of a trustworthy friend.
Speaking about challenging emotions brings forth clarity in one’s mind about who he is, while avoidance only enfeebles and diffuses his identity.
If you wish to have great emotional health, foster a trustworthy friendship. And share things with a friend as frequently as you share your curated happy state of being in the virtual world.
It will do wonders to your understanding of your own self.
To your wholistic growth,
To acceptance of happiness and sorrow as it comes.
‘You have grown up quite too much now!’ remarked my mother over a phone call on my birthday.
‘Well yes, I have turned 28!’
‘Now it is time to be more responsible in life !’ she alluded.
‘We are not talking about marriage mom !’
Laughing at her fruitless attempt she said,
‘ But you are at the right age to take the next step in life.’
‘Will you listen to what I did today Mom before we continue further ?’
‘Yes , surely. Tell me.’
‘Yestersay, while trekking up a hill in the lower Himalayas, we noticed that there was a lot of garbage lying around everywhere on the route. It left me quite sleepless the whole night. The next morning, with our heavy backpacks and a garbage bag, we set forth to do our bit to make things better.
All throughout our 5 hour downhill journey, we knelt down and picked up as much trash as we could. In the end, my friend and I had collected a total of 5kgs of plastic from the trail.
Now, my dear mother, tell me,
Am I not taking responsibility ?’
‘ Yes, I am glad to know about how you decided to do your bit, when it was easy to just walk past and not do anything.’
‘Mom, I feel that one should not wait for an age to start taking responsibility.
I cannot promise to bring a bride home,
But I promise to be a responsible human being at every living moment.’
‘Do what makes you happy my son.’ she said encouragingly.
The conversation with my Mother on my birthday made me realise how we use an age as a benchmark to start being more responsible.
At a certain age, you should take responsibility of another person, start a family, earn a living, buy a house etc…
And most of us in the urban middle class succeed in doing all these things.
But accomplishing all these life imperatives does not necessarily mean we are being responsible.
Let me cite an example.
If one is not responsible enough to take care of his own health, exercise, eat well and sleep on time, is he in a position take care of another person?
If someone chooses to jeopardise his own health with vices and endanger his life,
Is he being responsible about the gift of life that has been bestowed upon him?
Once someone is responsible about his own health and well being, does he seek more responsibility to change things in the little world he dwells in?
Only when we start looking at the act of taking responsibility as a way of life, do we head in the direction of creating positive change both within and without.
Maybe while talking to kids, instead of saying ‘Be Careful’ we should say ‘Be Responsible’ more often.
I urge you to think about how responsible you are being about the immediate world that you interact with.
And try to be a little more participative, a little more responsible with each passing day. It should be a way of life !
Today, as I was approaching the end of the downhill trail, I saw two contrasting events.
Behind me was a group of young urban yuppies, choosing to throw wrappers on the trail.
In front of me was a group of village kids, sweeping the streets to keep the lanes litter free.
Now,
Who is older?
And who is being more responsible?
I leave you with that thought,
And the promise being responsible holds.
To a better world of our own making.
About five years ago,
I read a blog on the internet that planted a seed inside me.
It was a list, called The Impossible List, compiled by Joel Runyon.
He compiled a list of all the things that he thought were impossible for him to achieve at that moment. And from then on, he set out to accomplish all these goals. With an enduring spirit of challenging his limits, he kept accomplishing all his crazy goals one after another.
He is a truly inspiring human being.
I’ve been trying to compile an Impossible list of my own.
It took some time (4 years!) and a lot of courage to get ready to share it with you publicly.
So today, to celebrate the 100th post of my blog that incidentally coincides with my birthday,
I am going to share my impossible list with you.
My Impossible List
Travel/ Adventure
– Visit every state and Union territory in
India
– Visit every continent
– Run to Bhutan
– Cross an international border on a
Unicycle
– Ride a bicycle to the highest motorable
road in the world
– Street perform at a tourist attraction and
raise money for charity
– Become a certified Scuba Diver
– Jump off a plane
– Jump off a cliff with a bungee cord
Physical Fitness
– Run a Half Marathon
– Run a Full Marathon
– Run an Ultra Marathon
– Learn to swim
– Swim 1km, 2km, 3 Km
– Complete a Half Ironman
– Finish a Full Iron Man
– Learn to do a Handstand
– Walk 25m on hands
– Do 100 consecutive push-ups
– Do 25 consecutive pull ups
Meditation
– Learn to Unicycle
– Walk on a slack-line forwards
– Walk on a slack line backwards
Writing/ Content Creation
– Publish a free E-Book a year
– Write one book a year
– Feature on a music album a year
– Publish a collection of poetry in a l
language I don’t speak yet
– Write a short film script and assist it.
– Start my own music channel on
YouTube
– Earn 1000 dedicated followers on my
Blog
– Do a collaborative project with another
artist every year
Entrepreneurship
– Create ‘Tribe of Compassion’
– Start a social business enterprise
Gift Economy
– Share my best work for free
– Be featured on the Wikipedia page of gift
economy
Mentoring
– Start a mentoring program based on Gift
Economy
Volunteering
– Start a volunteering space accessible to
Everyone
– Start a Volunteering movement
Language
– Learn to read, write and speak 6
languages
Build
– A shipping container home
– An Earthship
I’ll add more to the List soon.
Now, I am off,
To accomplish all that I think is Impossible.
More power to you !
Love,
Sreenath