Eternal Life - Live for as long as you want.

I feel really blank today...sitting with a pen and a paper just for the sake of it.

Usually I write only when my mind is overflowing with thoughts...but today I'm just hopelessly blank...so I guess I'll just summarize few of my past experiences...

Recently, I visited Bangalore and Bhubaneshwar for exam and admission purpose...so naturally, I got to explore and tour a lot...and the most interesting part of this whole journey was that every little thing felt so extravagantly beautiful. From sky scraping buildings to old men at coffee shops....from flightless little birds to the endless cacophony of the traffic. Every passing moment was personified for some reason...and it made me feel like life was finally being lived.

I kept linking this unnatural experience to something I heard in the distant past. "We all live a little longer as a kid." Time is stretched for the younger souls. As a child, everything our senses touch upon, is new. We put more focus into everything that surrounds us, we are awestruck by the simplest of events just...just because they are new. All our senses remain alert for us to intensely experience every moment. We live the most.

On growing, our alertness to everything around us diminish...and we get the illusion that time is flying away, at tremendous speed. This piece of theory intrigued me...affected me deeply. As I've mentioned previously, I already feel that my time is limited, so, when I heard about this theory,  I sort of realized that there's a way to live way beyond the years that Time allot to each and everyone of us.

It is the simple act of observation. I am a witness myself. When I really observe something, I get connected with it, which helps me to understand the true nature of the object. It can be anything and everything...mountains, bottles, cats, clouds...absolutely anything. When we are observing something, we are actually sparing a thought or two for that object. This is a very quick process, but as we are thinking...and we know that thinking is a very complicated process, we have the illusion that time is being stretched.

And this really works...when we wonder like a child at everything we  see, every moment elongates itself, making us live a longer life in our mind.

The only obstacle to this illusory long life is that most of us don't bother to wonder at the simplest thing our life gifts us. We just don't give a damn about the common everyday stuff...which can very smoothly be turned into a rare piece of admiration. The key ingredient is imagination...with a hint of rationalism. This mix acts like a magical potion which connects the internal and external world. Every other time one sees an object, he must view it with a different perception...view it from varying angles. Flexibility of the mind is very important. Once we see an object, we form opinions about it...but the next time we see it, our minds must be powerful enough to go past those opinions...and...and look beyond!

This multi-angled view sometimes makes us lose faith in our own decision making skills...because every angle which used to be wrong, seems legit from another angle...Having a different set of opinions for different perceptions will cause internal conflict, but only then can one understand the beauty of the bigger picture and the pleasure of conflict...and ultimately, the decisions grow firmer, better.

So, when we'll view things from varying angles, every other time, we'll be amazed by the discovery of a new potential the object traps in itself. The more we'll observe, more alert will be our senses, the more we'll live in our minds.

Its really that simple. The key to eternal life is mere observation.

...and I'm grateful for having realized this.

So, coming back to the link between the tourist spots and the theory, I think all those places...the monuments, the lighted streets, the strangers from the new city...everyone and everything, opened my senses a tad bit more! I wanted to take it all in at once..everything was new and fascinating. Perhaps that was the reason I felt so rich mentally.

There's a high possibility that this theory edges on not being accurate, but I believe in it, because my experiences tell me to do so. It has made me live longer than I would have usually lived in a given time span.

It is a major illusion...or may be not
...but most things are...
And sometimes...just sometimes...
Illusions are better than reality.

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Date: 22nd May, 2015

Time: 4:20 PM

Picture courtesy: en.wikipedia.org

What's Your Story?

                           

                                    Lately, I’ve been realizing many things. These realizations tend to give my life a new meaning and a new perspective. I’ve written about it previously, but I’ll mention it again. This is that realization which says that every human is as important as the other. Its a very common thing to say perhaps, but its highly difficult to realize. I talk about this often as this fact strikes me everyday. 

I get up every morning, thinking about my own day and everything that can go wrong with it...but when I step out of the door and face the world and its faces, I can’t stop myself from imagining their stories and realizing again, that at that very moment, all those faces have a reason to live....not because they are an “extra” in my story or a supporting actor perhaps...but because they are the lead of their own amazing story. They live with the knowledge that their story must go on...because its important...in their own minds. 

I go to sleep thinking about the faces and how I no longer am the protagonist of my own story. My mind gives way to million other stories, which are so gloriously beautiful, that it no longer feels like concentrating on one trickling story...which is my own. Every night I cease to be the protagonist because I choose to...but also there is no other protagonist...my mind becomes a book of short stories. 

However, again when I wake up the next morning, perhaps because of natural human instinct, I go back to how my day will proceed, how she will react to what I say, what impression I’ll have on him and so on...but realizing everyday, that its not all about I, me or myself, just by observing random faces of people I may never know, is strange indeed...

                            Coming to the second observation, I feel I’m losing the power of youth. There was a point in time when I strongly believed that I had no limits...that I can’t perish under any circumstance...but sadly, I suddenly have come to realize that I actually have my limits, which were previously blurred by the illusion of youth. I’ve found that I’m neither perfect nor the best but I’ve found joy in this very fact. 

My mind has lost most of its power...things are draining out and I do not know why. They say...a mind can never cease to grow...and I do hope earnestly that they are right. I can’t remember things...things which are supposed to be remembered forever...they are lost in the maze of my memories. Sometimes, I feel that its a gift...to forget...and sometimes I feel that its a curse. I think I owe my lack of emotions and inability to cry truly, to this power of forgetfulness. 

The best part is that I’ve learned to control my memories. I can choose to forget and remember at will, which is another drawback of draining youth (and I'm not as old as this sentence suggests. 17. In fact, I'm supposed to be gaining youth instead of seeing it drained). Dark lanes of my past are still hidden somewhere in my mind...but when I choose to remember them I simultaneously choose to not remember the feelings and my association with that moment. This is perhaps why recently, moments of nostalgia get me into an utter state of confusion...because nostalgia brings back feelings, without my permission,...and I’ve been living all along thinking that I’ve forgotten how to feel. 

...and well, when the happy moments get in the way, all I can gift it, is a moment of gratefulness...because I’ve forgotten how to cherish memories...I can only live the moments now (another excuse to click tons of groupfies).

          

                          Third. I’ve also realized that its a sin to stop dreaming. Its never too late to be someone we have always dreamed to be. For instance, I’ve always wanted to be someone who’s above the crowd, someone different, someone who is known for having done something worth doing. This is also why I do not regret becoming the protagonist every morning...after all, its not so bad to think about our own selves. 

I’ve always wanted fame, knowledge and prosperity...and I believe that its not only my dream...this dream belongs to all those random faces in the crowd who get up thinking about themselves and end up trapped in another story which isn’t their own. I want to live their dream and follow my own too in the pursuit of finding a reality better than all our dreams. I know, its too much to ask for...but I don’t expect anything miraculous to happen...and neither do they. All those faces who stare blankly at the stars thinking of red carpets, lush gardens and abundant love from all who can acknowledge the same stars, are the ones who truly know what it is to live a dream within a dream...and honestly, sometimes, just sometimes, dreaming is way better than realizing that very dream. 

"I have a dream."

...and I suggest you do too. 

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Date: 3rd March, 2015

Time: 10:03 AM

The Uncertain Path Towards Beauty

Date: 08/01/15

Time: 9:00 PM

Location: Kolkata, India

                                Sometimes, what we really want is, proceed in the direction where everyone is headed. There's this new faith and a longing for experiencing the subtle human emotions and behaviors by walking with the crowd itself (and not being a part of it at the same time). There's this sudden discovery of beauty in the everyday human lives and the humans themselves and all we know is how much we love being alive and that too as a human. We suddenly know what magic really means and realize the potential of every object that can exist.

From sas.rutgers.edu

                               That's exactly the feeling that I'm going through at this moment. There's this strange "feel-good" feeling which makes everything way more beautiful than they normally are- the heart feels lighter, people are more reliable, kids act as a symbol of joy rather than annoyance and I somehow manage time to watch the moon late at night and imagine strange disney stuff!...No, I'm not in love and also not quite a hopeless romantic. This just happens...and I'd say that I've been fortunate enough to realize the beauty of everything that's there, many a times. Its that time when we fall in love with not just one person...but everything that's human...and everything else too! Okay...if this is confusing...more simply it means that you suddenly know what it means to be alive and know how gorgeous life really is...and this knowledge is so intense that breathing in and out suddenly becomes the most magical experience that you've ever had! The beauty of the world becomes so overwhelming that you know tears were never made for sadness. 

From pathtoayurveda.com

                              Frankly, I do not know much about life or the living and this is so because I've not had the opportunity to experience much (did not yet step into the realms of the adult world)...but I know, I'm on my way to discover the most wonderful aspects of this world...the journey has already begun...and somehow I feel this journey towards a more experienced me, is going to be the most surreal experience. Sure, there'll be a lot of low points in this uncertain path, but that'll only amplify the beauty of what matters. Darkness is important because that way I'll know what is light. One of the most extraordinary part of this journey will be the path towards self discovery...because presently I'm highly uncertain about everything related to me. I know my name, but I don't really know who I am. I know my goals, but I'm unaware of my purpose. I know what my thoughts are about, but I don't have a clue about the secrets deep inside my own mind. I'm a stranger to myself if not to the world. I'm a stranger to the world if not to myself.

From quotesdump.com

                              When I think of the Earth, I feel that I simply need to know even the known facts. I know about the gorgeous Alps, the mind boggling Stonehenge, the tranquil Himalayas and even the unearthly Aurora Borealis. However, at that instant of time when I was told about these splendid features of our world, I had not the slightest idea of what 'beauty' meant. I was a child and did not know the skill of making the mind believe what is beautiful and what is not. I'm still not quite sure of what beauty really is but I've come across things and instances which make my mind feel at peace and spreads a sheet of serenity over it. 

From reddit.com

                              So, even though I know a bit about things which truly are beautiful, I'm still awaiting that time when I'll know how to appreciate the beauty to it's full potential. Maybe in the near future I'll learn a new way of feeling which will serve beauty and knowledge in the right proportions! The concept of beauty obviously is different for different minds...I'll just have to decide which one to plant in my own mind. 

From quotehd.com

                              So there are many questions which are best unanswered at this point. The list tends to be endless but more than being annoyed by the endless questions, it'll be wiser to appreciate them...because there's beauty even in the way these questions were born in the minds of the living. I don't know whether the answers will promise the same. Sometimes I fear that I'll remain unknown to myself forever but isn't that great?! Maybe I'll have the privilege to discover a new side to myself every moment. I'll never be complete because there'll always be some new attribute added to me each passing day! We can never be complete. Can we? 

From mrswilsonscience.com

                             Nothing is absolute in this Universe, not even the universe itself. Not even science is absolute or decisive...which obviously makes the answers hard to obtain. There's no one to decide which is a better question but even the silliest questions do not have an absolute answer. The uncertain path towards beauty promises the gift of the answers much sought after. The answers which may just change the next moment...

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First image from: diversehumancourse.com