Minds Eye Of Life

The other day in midst of a long tiring journey from the airport I zoned out in thoughts, looking outside the window. What was I thinking? I was trying to fathom as to what's the single most element distinguishing mediocrity from excellence. A lot of us have this beautiful idea in our mind to be achievers of some sort. Each individual has their own definition of excellence. All of it leading to creating a happy space in our minds. But these remain mere ideas and definitions in our head. We have a lot of clutter occupying our minds. Some of it even includes being less appreciative of others success. Being too bothered about right and wrong of others choices. A bunch of useless thoughts which in no way are going to be helping us in our pursuit of happiness. When we are done with all the wining about the world and people in it, we get on with our mediocre life. We seem to believe that there is solace in the cocoon of mediocrity. "There are no easy ways, no escapes, ...

Life always has few surprise cards stashed away from the deck of cards you are dealt with. It's not everyday that you chance upon meeting people who leave you with these little nuggets of powerful message. Just the other day I was at this party on the shores of Kovalam Beach. Needless to say that after a long day of chatter and conversations largely related to work, the soul seeks a way to unwind. In midst of the busy gathering a conversation that I had gave me enough fodder to share few interesting thoughts in this blog post of mine. This conversation was with a man in his early fifties, I am assuming that his age should be there about. The conversation generally kicked off with the rhetorical question, "so what do you do?" "Travel photography", pat came the reply. Being an amateur photography enthusiasts I couldn't resist not engaging in the conversation. The next few minutes we talked at length about the places he has traveled to and some of...

They tell us to be happy, be in the now, be present. But what do you do when the now that you in is the source of unhappiness and the unpleasant. The need of getting away from the now then becomes imperative.  The need is known, the desire is strong yet you don't move. You stay stuck in the now, whining and complaining. You feel you are shackled and tied. Little do we realize and accept the inability to get away is our own doing. The shackles are in our mind.  Sounds silly at times that we become incapable in moments of low in life. It's okay  don't be too hard on yourself. It's nature of human life, there are moments of high and low.  It's these moments in life that challenge our beliefs, our preparedness, our abilities. Some of these instances reshape you as a person. It makes you question your choices. It makes you look inwards.   It's true that sometimes you need to go away from the now to get a better perspective. Although its hard when you figh...

"Truth is tough, lies are easy,  Sometimes we choose the easy over tough.  To preach is easy, it's tough to learn.  The truth about learning is, it's a need,  To stop learning, is to become obsolete.  Choose tough, stay tough." These words were written a few days ago. Then they lived a lonely life in the draft folder. There is more to it than being mere words that don’t rhyme. I have always believed that life's journey is insignificant without the learnings, a big part of it. Learnings and lessons are lot beyond few hundred pages of a book and the four walls of a classroom. It's not just about the fear of becoming obsolete without new learnings. It's also about the loss of experiences that count. The other part to it is the choices we make. Most of us want to avoid the tough ones, in the hope that easier choices build a easier life. If there is one thing that I have come to realize, it's that there is nothing called as easy life. Ev...

The world will not end by my absence, The world will not change for my presence. Yet I question myself everyday, What is that I need to do different, To live and not to just survive in this world. -VJ Says Cheers and Peace

When things don't add up, When quelling within the mind doesn't subside, You keep questioning yourself, You try to weigh the options, All the math still doesn't drive away the confusion, And then you question your choices, Wish you had done things different, Or you simply accept the reality. - VJ says Cheers & Peace

"Hushed music is what I hear, its the little drops of rain, The darkness around is scary, but your memories keep me sane. I hear the voice of love, which sounds distant, but I know its just you, Far away you might be, but distance can never fade my love for you. I hear it again and realize, its your heart beat that I feel within me, Its real and forever, just pure and blissful like the waves of the sea." Words trickle off the pen and adorn the blank canvas effortlessly when you remember your beloved. The art of poetry comes alive when its one soul talking to another through words. They say, distance only makes the heart grow fonder. Its true what they say and I can feel it too. I wait anxiously for my love to be back in my arms again and I promise myself to love her more than I have loved until now. For love grows forever exponentially with years spent together and life is always divine with the one you love. -VJ says ~ Cheers and Peace

My travel so far has been exceptionally interesting. On one end of the spectrum is my quest of sort, to rattle me off the comfort zone I had built around me. At the other end of the spectrum is a lovely couple in their sixties who patched up with me to come along, which was totally unplanned. Of course certain patches of this travel have been solo. But mutual exploration of sort is also underway between two generations. Yesterdays travel was destination Karwar and its countryside. A great mix of spiritual abodes in the hinterlands and sparsely populated beaches. Both gave me different perspectives but the calming effect were the same. In one of those many moments of self introspection I penned the words below; "We humans are either superior hypocrites or down right idiots! Well the plain reality is that we all want to find nirvana, We travel in the name of peace, tranquility and higher purpose, The obscure bigger reality is that it lies within and not around. The trut...

Nature's enchanting beauty has never disappointed anyone and never will it ever disappoint anyone. Its true as long as we make sure we keep nurturing it and help spread more smiles. When you truly let yourself get absorbed by its enigmatic serenity you will feel the smile extending from your face to your heart. The train ride from Mangalore to Ankola today was one of the best I have experienced in recent pasts. During the first leg of my journey I was simply wowed and was engrossed in clicking pictures trying capture as much of natures beauty as I could. A little while later I  asked myself, what was I doing? I was being a lame me, try to cage the beauty of nature in mere images. The next couple of hours was spent simply looking outside the window, trying to to absorb the beautifully changing landscape through my eyes only. There was now a silent connect between me and nature. The landscape changed from that of a still lakes with distant view of hills to that of lush gree...

Traveling is simply not about getting from one place to another. Although the literal meaning might be that. But when you set out from home hoping to discover something new its a travel that is beyond getting to some place. Of what joy is a travel if there are no experiences to be carried home. The discoveries are not just limited to finding something that is out there. Its also about things that you discover about yourself through this process. Yesterdays travel had both the learning's. During a visit to a lesser known village called Atikari bettu it dwelled upon me that nothing much had changed with regards to education infrastructure in this ancestral village of mine. Parents wishing to educate their children had to get them admitted to a school in Mulki. That's a healthy 8 KM ride by cycle to and fro. I checked with dad he said it was the same for him in college days 40 years back. What has changed in this countryside?  Roads and electricity infrastructure are b...

The music in the street is still loud. Its 2:30 past midnight but the madness of celebration is no where close to ending in Mangalore. Its the last day of famous Mangalore Dasara. Its famous for its procession, the city is all bright and shining with sparkling lights. For a click happy person like me its been an amazing day. Spent almost all day capturing different emotions of people in this city. I might be an ammature in the field of photography. But I ain't competing with anyone, its for the joy of the soul I try to capture moments and freeze them in time. Learning, well quiet a few. When you know you are least bothered about being judged you simply enjoy what you do. Like my photography no one takes it seriously, so continue to enjoy it. Disagreements and love for dear ones can always coexist. Classic proof me and my parents we enjoy each others company despite our disagreements. Don't over burden your soul with expectations. When you really get into the groove ...

Sometimes you travel because you hate sitting at home on a holiday. There are times when you travel for adventure. There are also times when you feel you need to unwind with a vacation. All these travels are great yet they are still different from the ones where you travel not for reasons that enthrall your mind but to find clarity and cleans your soul. That day I decided I truly need to make this happen. Let my heart lead the travel and just explore. Sounded like a great proposition. The thought gave me sort of a high. Next step was to avail leave, may be a short sabbatical of sort. Spoke to my boss about the journey that I want to go on. He seemed to really encouraging of it. I then shared my plans with my better half then. She was a little uncertain if I really want to do anything of this sort. But then she told me that may be I should really make it happen. She had her fears, for she is sweet and loves me a lot. But somewhere within she too believed I had to do this. ...

The saddening news of one of Hollywood’s most revered actor Robin Williams’s death was probably the most talked news yesterday. Social media was abuzz with talks about his alleged suicide. This got me thinking on the age old topic of life versus death. Life can be easy or difficult. But death can only be easy. Death is a moment of reality. I have heard people talk about painful death. But how can it be painful, because if you can feel the pain then you are still alive. Many a times we wish for death. May be we feel defeated; maybe we don’t have the courage to face life. But when death stares at us, eye to eye, we get scared and pray for life. If not all, few of us for sure would really feel the fear. Death like darkness is patronized by all at some point in everyone’s life. It thought of death enlightens the poet in all. It’s romanticized by writers too. Some believe it to be evil. Others say it is a simple reality of life. A logical thing, you may say, since ev...

Sitting in the park, amidst the lush greenery, I saw a few people having conversations with a smile, A few people lost in time playing with their innocent kids, And a few others are sitting in solitude yet happy. The air I breathed smelled of joy and happiness, It smelled of content and peace all around, A moment peace was found amidst a tranquil surrounding, I looked inwards and told myself that life is indeed beautiful. -VJ Says ~ Cheers and Peace

"Thoughts can be powerful yet catastrophic too, The trigger could be anything that you never chose, But the choice of acting on those thoughts are your own, Own the mind and be a wise charioteer." Uncertainty is a given in our mortal life. Everything and anything around triggers a million thoughts. The choice to act on these thoughts are solely ours.  Many a times we act on the wrong thoughts and dwell into the act of over thinking. The negative vibe of the thought grows on us and our actions are influenced by it. It is always a matter of choice. Had we decided to crush the bud of the negative thought we could have had a pleasant outcome.  A lot of problems that we seem to battle are our own creation. Its a choice we always have a simple one is to be wise. Lets simply pick and nurture the positive thought and life ahead will sure be a smoother one. ~ VJ says ~ Cheers and Peace!

"It doesn't matter what happens after you die, Whether you are buried or burned is immaterial. What certainly matters is how you live your life, Cynics will blabber, you just get busy being yourself." A substantial amount of our life is lost in thinking about the future and some more is lost in obscure thoughts about life after death too. Another chunk of our life is lost in thoughts of the past. In all this mayhem the most critical phase gets the least attention. That’s the present! I know a lot has been written about and a lot has been read by almost all of us. I am not a preacher of any sort. I am just analyzing my own life and hope that I make all possible attempts to live and relish the present. Uncertainties are part of life and just another to be accepted reality. We all know what should be the ideal path and we all in our own way strive to stay on the desired path. But we all at some point keep straying away from our desired paths. And then we need...

As I walked out of the office into the wet street a smile escaped my lips. After several weeks of unbearable summer heat it had finally rained. The cool breeze of wind only added to my joy. There has always been something mystical about rain. Especially the occasional ones which are blessed in summer. They bring along a wave of positivity, a sense of hope, a feeling of liberation.

Sanjay seemed to be in a hurry to get to work. He searched for his mobile phone to check if there were any missed calls and found it had been switched off.  He was having a severe headache, blame it on the hangover. To top it he had failed to wake up early again. He cursed himself for getting back home late from the party last night. He switched on his phone and shoved it into his pant pocket. He shut the door with a bang and rushed down the stairs. He hired an auto and was on his way to office when the mobile phone rang. It was a call from an unknown number. He received the call nevertheless. The next few minutes he seemed to have gone numb. His voice choked as he asked the driver to take him to Swaraj park.

It doesn't take a long time for people who criticize cynics to turn cynical themselves. If we were to deep dive within, we would realise that shades of hypocrisy resides within all of us. Some may disagree, to them I would say, it still exists within all and may be dormant for now. As a society we all have individual opinions. More often than not we have opinions about everything. Even about topics about which we may not have complete understanding. Many of us turn arm chair critics. Walking forward on this path we become judgemental and eventually cynical.

Some battles of life are to be fought alone. At times it may seem that all battles of life are being fought alone. I have come to realise and accept that there is no getting away from harsh realities. On the positive side if you were to fight them all with the right intent you will emerge only stronger. The consequence of these battles may or may not be in your favour. I keep asking myself is this entire struggle just about survival? What about the intrinsic desire to live life to the fullest? Well I guess all these come along with some pre conditions. We simply can’t get away from certain responsibilities entrusted upon us by life, or can we?