What will you do?

This is very different from all of my previous posts, every single one of them!

Here, unlike before, I'm seeking your opinion, rather your ideas which will be invaluable to me as I attempt to shape my future, some kind of a gauging the pulse activity! So, considering the nature of this post, it is my request that you spend sometime in thought and be sure to give me your thoughts, no matter what.

Take a good look at your résumé, which I'm sure elucidates your accolades and testimonials of the number of years that you've been working. Now, take a good look at yourself.

Does ambition drive you? What is that you truly want to do? I'm asking this question in consideration of your jobs, those that help you sustain a livelihood, more importantly, those which appeal to your intellect and further it a great deal.

What would you want to do? Be a visionary entrepreneur and lay the foundations for a world class organization that is highly process oriented? For instance Indiblogger, which was founded by Renie?

Or, do you aspire to be a highly successful leader in a corporate entity and equal the ranks of prominences such as Sushim Mukul Dutta, Jack Welsh, Larry Page and the likes?

Maybe some of you are driven and motivated by eminent people in politics and bureaucracy, such as Dr. Manmohan Singh, Hillary Clinton, Edward Kennedy, Angela Merkel and so on, and would like to see yourselves in similar positions in the coming times.

For some others, musicians, sports persons, artists or actors may serve as a guiding light in inspiring themselves to be what they want to!

Tell me, every single one of you, what is it that you want to be? What is the vision that drives you forward?

Cliched still, but relevant, I ask, where do you see yourselves in the coming years?

Footnotes:

And as they say, no idea or suggestion is bad, so do not hold yourself back due to an assumption that what you intend to say is trivial and thus worthless. I can assure you that it will not be so!

Please ensure that you leave me with your thoughts, no matter however inconsequential they may seem to you. Should you feel uncomfortable leaving an opinion in the comments section, do send me an email and I'll be sure to respond!

A day in my life

Have you ever experienced weightlessness? Why? No? Hasn't your boss stayed out of office? Now, doesn't that equal weightlessness? Bosslessness = Weightlessness? Some other choices that can be used, could range from boundlessness, blamelessness and a host of other bright, but not-so-long-lasting possibilities!

Thank God for India being a practicing democracy, else I'd be bitterly clobbered for my seemingly spiteful vocals about co-existing with a Black-tailed, wide-eyed Racoon, a pink Polar Bear, a thoroughly perverted Jerry Mouse, a quick flashy Blue Fox, a photochromatic-eyed Crocodile, a lousy Crow, two Rabbits and a Bush Baby!

Point made for a Monday morning, it seems! Now, can you even remotely imagine how difficult it is to be me?

I'm sure a number of you, being good natured, fun loving comrades, will appreciate me for my wry sense of comparison and humorous spontaneity here. For those of you who may not, I suggest empathy! Condolences are welcome too! ;)

Jokes apart, I'm not sure if I told you how stressed I am lately! It is not often, after all, that your folks make you a marketable product for advertisement on a matrimonial site, is it? Has anyone of you been on display lately?

Never mind the state of stressfulness, I made sure that my worst picture (ever) was sent out to the webmaster for display on the site! And, I've made a mental note to send the same picture to many more, webmasters and compatible products - both!

Now, that doesn't end the story there, especially if Lion King (call sign for His Excellency the Pop) calls up with a few dozen folio numbers, (IDs of prospective suitors; pardon the poor man, whose life has been submerged in business for over 4 decades now, as a result of which he may not appear to articulate much distinction between products and people), and calmly insists that I 'check them out and report back!'

Mumsical (meaning Mother's whimsical) murmurs of me 'not-being-up-to-it to find someone', is an apparent contradiction of parent hood, for if I were to oddly surprise her with an emphatic yes, I'd be sure of meeting up with more oohs and aahs in a single conversation, than what I've been subjected to in a lifetime, collectively! So, avoiding misadventures is prudence!

And, as if all that wasn't already enough, my team - the most wonderful people that I've ever known, (that's a gross exaggeration people, the worst ever, I can assure), suggested an epitaph phrase for me (when occasion comes) to read "Thank You Dear God," to which, Nimmu, my other brother, was quick to add "At last."

If not for good natured humor, our lives would've been hideously dreary and uninteresting, don't you agree?

Now, as we embark upon a journey of sorts (that's precisely what a working week is, right?), I'll leave you some interesting information that, I'm sure, will bring cheer and insight. Firstly, its been ten years since the first Blogger blogs appeared. Read more about it here and also here. Secondly, fellow-blogger Sumit Singla has made perhaps one of the most interesting presentations that I've seen lately! Do take a look here and make sure you vote for it too!

Have a great week ahead, all of you!

Footnotes:

Blogger Buzz - The Official Buzz from Blogger

The Alphabets Tag

Of late, my posts, many of you may have noticed, have been intense, heavy and subject to a certain trajectory path and hence, when Vee (a.k.a. Vivek) tagged me, I thought it apt for a deviation and saw a welcome change from the profound themes that certainly needed a short break.

So here we go.........

A – Available/Single?
Unavailable, Available, Unavailable, Available, Single ........... Currently Available, Single and ready to mingle ;)

B – Best friend?
A handful to count, by the grace of God!

C – Cake or Pie?
Neither! Not the sweet guy, errr, I meant the sweets guy!

D – Drink of choice?
Single malt scotch, mild beer and sometimes (rarely) Stolichnaya.

E – Essential item you use every day?
My PC and net enabled phone! A lot of my day is spent with the PC and the phone helps me catch up with a few dozen RSS feeds, emails and news feeds, while on the move. Can't imagine a life without technology!

F – Favorite colour?
Blue

G – Gummy Bears or Worms?
How about worms cooked in black sauce and served with peppered mayo? ;)

H – Hometown(s)
Ooty, Tamil Nadu and Kannur, Kerala.

I – Indulgence?
Of what kind? ;)

J – Jealous or Benign?
Benign, most certainly!

K – Kids & their names?
No kids, yet! Am scared when Mum repeatedly says "May you have kids just like you." Not sure if that's a blessing or a curse, though its reasonable to assume the latter, given my doings!

L – Life is incomplete without?
Folks, books, buddies and blogs!

M – Marriage date?
Good question! I read a facebook status message that said "I remember when I got married. I remember where I got married. But for the life of me, I can't remember why I got married."

N – Name? Your real name!
Rakesh and their derivatives Raku, Rak, Rock, Rocky and Raks...... all of which are real too!

O – Oranges or Apples?
Oh, this is about eating! I thought........

P – Phobias/Fears?
None! But ask my friends and they'd be sure to tell you about Rakesh-phobia!

Q – Quote for today?
Never do something unless you are sure of yourself, but never relinquish doing something because somebody is not sure of you!

R – Reason to smile?
As elementary as a bright sunny day, a Friday, the weekend and a lot more! The same cannot be said about a monday morning though!

S – Season?
Winter

T – Tag 3 People?
I'll leave this open

U – Unknown fact about me?
My alter ego and its demented thought process!

V – Vegetable you don’t like?
Perhaps this question should have been "Vegetables you like," for it would have been easier to answer "none"

W – Worst habit?
Hmmmm.., Should I risk stating that here? ;)

X – X-rays?
On eye glasses? ;)

Y – Your favorite food?
Nothing beats Dal & Chawal!

Z – Zodiac sign?
Virgo

Awarded

Destiny Infinity has been very kind to give me the Addicting blog award, which I'm very thankful for! I'd like to pass this on to all of you, who are each, such wonderful sources of encouragement and support, and also sincerely thank you for being so! Without friends such as you, it would have been very easy for me to have lost steam and direction. Thank you!

Envisioning the future

The Earth has truly evolved along with all its inhabitants! It is lush green and more fertile than what it used to be! The environment is well balanced and free of any threats to it! It is truly a home, worth living in! There are no instances of pollution in any form.

The number of inhabitants, however, has drastically reduced with very few people and animals. They live in groups, at peace with one another, with a very high regard for the environment around them. They live in harmony, free from anger, hatred, confusion, disease, despair and sorrow! No traces of any negative energy exist!

People are in constant interaction with one another and live very content lives. Their focus is on intellectual development, education, arts, culture, heritage and the likes. In essence, there is a lot of emphasis on development, intellectual and spiritual. Strangely, physical attributes are not accorded much significance. This is a different realm, a higher level of consciousness altogether!

Most importantly, there is infinite peace and harmony like never before and a strong sense of contentment prevails.

This, my friends, is a vision of reality in the not so distant future of our planet and most importantly, our own lives!

It appears difficult to comprehend, but the possibility is very real! Take a few moments to envision in picture what you have read and experience the warmth that is associated with the thoughts!

Having said that, I'd like to draw your attention to the present, which is without doubt the most important aspect of our lives. How we live out our present will define the future that we desire and thus it is important to focus on the present more than the past and the future, which, in effect, have bygone and will emerge sooner in time, respectively!

Footnotes:

This is a reference to an original vision mentioned in one of the works of Dr. Brian L. Weiss, of whom I have written in the immediately preceding post! I have deliberately not included the subjects here or for that matter, the title of the book itself! Also, this post is not a verbatim replica of that mentioned in the book. I have read the contents of the book extensively and reproduced it here with the help of my cognitive imagination, purely for the sake of representation and visualization, since it greatly comforted me to do so, and was reasonably sure it would be of the same effect to many of you!

Back to the future

Reading up Dr. Weiss, has perhaps been the most pleasurable experience I've had in many lifetimes! I'm embarking upon a journey, like never before, a journey into the past to reason out with the real me and understand, possibly, the purpose behind the raison d'etre!

I don't really bother, if all this has been branded as the fanciful extractions of a mad hatter psychiatrist, but for me, I seem to have found an instant connect, which is irrefutable!

Have you, not once wondered if there were something beyond the realms of proven science that cannot be quantified, yet so overwhelmingly ubiquitous?

The future is born from the past!

Don't you think so? Aren't actions done in the past, definite of consequences to come in the future?

The idea of a past, rather many pasts, may certainly sound radical and gibberish to many, but one cannot refute the wisdom of many cultures, that state with certainty, instances of a higher consciousness, multiple planes and so on, all in such striking commonness!

The ability to prove the existence of a certain phenomenon should not always be regarded as a conclusive measure for deciding its existence in the first place! For instance, the universe being such a hugely extended realm, stretching across billions of light years, makes it certainly possible for life forms far away, never to come in contact with its counterparts on Earth. Would it therefore be wise to conclude, merely as a result of non-established contact, that life does not exist outside of Earth?

Quite similarly, the duration of our lives, I believe is not entirely conclusive to a certain time, place or person, rather it is, I must say, many short windows in time before we embark into timelessness!

I recommend you read the works of Dr. Brian L. Wiess, not with the aim of acquainting yourself with a definitive understanding of the past or the future, but with an open mind that welcomes the knowledge of a certain subject and its deep intricacies, by which one can establish a certain sense of deep connect to oneself and the world around!

On an ending note, I must thank my colleague for having introduced me to a series of masterpieces, which even before conclusion in reading, are enjoyable to me and will continue to be so!

Footnotes:

Dr. Brian L. Weiss - The Website

This post, I'm sure many of you have noticed, has been written in a very characteristic abstractness, one that does not really outline the subject as it ought to. This is intentional, and done so to let the reader's mind not form many perceptions before beginning to read books written by Dr. Weiss.

I will, in the forthcoming post, take you through an elaborate vision, of the future and how important, rather joyous, it is to be a part of it. Stand by!

Pune under Swine Flu attack

Pune is under an electric grip of swine flu, and one can see people swathed in masks, milling around while doing the chores and running errands. There is a certain sense of fear that is understandable. To add to the panic, fresh instances of positive tested cases are being reported every day.

My organization has issued strict travel advisories and warnings and I'm taking them very seriously, restricting my movements to a bare minimum and putting off all non-essential travel within the city!

News is just in that a doctor in Pune and a boy in Chennai are the most recent casualties to have succumbed to the epidemic. The number of critical patients is going up!

Health Minister Gulab Nabi Azad's statements over the weekend have done more harm than good. Now, with nearly 800 cases so far, across the country, the Prime Minister's Office has stepped in to take stock of the situation, amidst raging fears that the rate of contagion could be higher!

However, panic should be the last act, and people should focus on maintaining sanitation, avoiding public places and strictly effect necessary precautions to avoid contraction of the flu!

Although, it is difficult for me to say this, I must urge that all non-essential travel to Pune and other affected areas be postponed indefinitely. I also hope that this scourge subsides soon and that normalcy is returned in the lives of people, especially those who have been proximately affected by the outbreak.

For now, it is wait and watch, perhaps, the most excruciating part!

Remembering Hiroshima

64 years have come to pass since the devastating bombing of Hiroshima by the United States. It was today in 1945 that the "Little Boy" was dropped over the Japanese city that resulted in the instantaneous loss of 70,000 lives and the many thousands that followed as a result of radiation positioning!

Untold horrors, as a result of the nuclear attack continued for several decades and this day serves as a grim reminder to one of history's darkest moments ever.

This post pays homage to the Japanese people who suffered colossal loss of lives and unspeakable humanitarian damage that ensued as a result of the bombings of Hiroshima and subsequently Nagasaki.

I pray in sincere earnestness that such a moment shall never come to be witnessed, ever, in future and that all nations, particularly nuclear powers, understand the ill effects of nuclear engagement which has only one sure end result, that being Mutually Assured Destruction!

Footnotes:

Image Courtesy - Flickr (Under Original Copyright)

Image Description - Floating candles in Töölönlahti Bay, on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, 2007

The Wikipedia Page

Where am I going?

The pace of my life upsets me! Days repeating themselves all over with no marked differences, routines that are dreary and dragging with seemingly no purpose and all that time that gets away quicker than it ought to!

What has life come to be? Monotonous, mechanical, distasteful large shades of gray and monosyllabic instances that, it seems, are intended to leave me to to wear out in a fate unknown and unfathomable. There is a certain missing connect though all is well, which is perhaps as a result of the inhuman pace of events that have been occurring, taxing the mind to concur to everything that it comes across and assimilate happenings, a task which seems to be more of a cruel exploitation than continuance of a regular schedule!

Part of me, rather my whole self, wants to break free and head to the mountains, liberated from the evil clutches of technology and information, both of which have saturated my poor self and committed it to irreparable ruin. I want to go away, not once ever to think of returning, to what the mass calls mainstream! I wish to feel traces of comforting warmth in the cold yet scintillating expanses of large sky hugging lush green blue like mountains, walk along the broken bubbling creeks, let the slow paced afternoon brush of air swathe my face and listen intently to what the ravens are talking to themselves about the wilderness!

I want to be a child, again, and live life on my own terms......

Am I a rebel, or person who loves to take cognizance of the splendor of life and emphasize on living well rather than be part of an excruciatingly maddening rat race?

Honestly, I believe its a lot of both!