Keep Me Burning

Humans are social animals, animals nevertheless. No two people are alike. Some love being the center of the attention, some run from attention of any kind. While both of these moves are absolutely their own choices to which they are entitled, it is also the bad virtue of  humans to judge. We judge the others, the moment we find something dissimilar. We judge, when our ideas don't match, we judge because in our own minds, we know the best. The others are never as important as us, and if they are, the same others would stump us out, the basic nature of us, social animals.

We, in our own little stories, are the flames that give the light to others so that they can see what is going around. In glory, we burn bright, in misery, it seems that life is up against our flames with strong winds, we flicker, but we do survive. Our survival, our stories, our ups and downs are all encompassed in that one little lamp of life, and as long as life goes, we must keep burning.

We don't live alone. Humans have built an entire society to live in and live by, and if some of us just can't go through all the rules of the society, still we are not all alone. We have a close few, who make our life what it is. For others, who are extremely sociable, there are so many, far and wide, a big number of people around. Their life seems to be a party, so bright, so much mirth, fun , laughter and light. When seen closely, we are all lighting our own little corners. With a number of lamps lit together, of course, the scene is bright, and pretty and shimmering with joy. But our close knit groups of lamps look equally beautiful from afar. Most importantly, even if somebody is absolutely lonely, their own light is enough to show path to another, to flame up an entire forest, to give the light of life, to somebody else.

So it is our duty to regularly oil our lamps to keep us burning. Our own, as well as of those who are around us, the lights must shine. We must know what fuels us. Desire is one of the most effective oils. Unless we are driven by a desire, what would we aim for? What would our goals be? Desire is important to burn our own lamps. However the same oil cannot be used to fuel those around us. They need something different.

To light up those around us, there is no better fuel than kindness and compassion. It might take a few minutes of our lives, it might be just a mere few words to us, but we really never know the wonders that could be achieved by a few kind words of compassion and encouragement. Maybe that's all that is needed to guard a flickering lamp facing a strong wind. Maybe, those few words could liven up a dying flame. Truly, there is no bigger joy than to watch someone lighten up with a bit of our own help. Whether they acknowledge it or not, we know what we are capable of.

We often talk about the world being a big bad dark place. If we know the right people, the world doesn't remain so dark anymore. It is important to know who are out there to help us keep our flames bright. It is equally important for us to be one such person, who would keep burning, and help the fellow lamps light up the surroundings. Together, we could never fail to create a bright and beautiful world around us.

You Only Live Twice

The journey of life is truly a very colorful one. It is full of adventures, new places to go, new people to meet, new things to see, an extravaganza of experiences. We may almost dare to call it a carnival, where we are lost in our own tune, trying to find our way back, getting shoved this way and that way in the crowd of people around us, but ultimately finding our spot, or maybe not. In all that we see, all that we learn, our life forms its own shape in the process. Our experiences shape it up, our stamina helps it grow, and most importantly, our determination defines that shape. And yet, in spite of all this, at times, we fall short of expectations. These expectations might be our own, might be of others, not always can we fulfill them all. Some of us cope up with that shortcoming, while there are some, who just fade away. Most of us miss out an important point here.

The important point being, you only live twice. Yes, twice. Once for everybody around us, and once for our own selves. The length of these two lives depends on us, whether they will run parallel to each other, or they will come consecutively in order depends upon us. Whether we want to live both of these lives, or just one of them, totally depends upon us.

Our family, friends, close ones and not so close ones, actively and passively bring in a lot of goals in our lives. These goals we love to meet, to see that one person smile, to make that one person happy, to ensure, that one person still has their faith on us. We take up the pressure at our own will, but the task is not always smooth. Like every normal task, hurdles come in, things get complicated, and even before the others come to know of it, we start doubting ourselves. Regret sets in, energy wanes away, things start getting darker, without the slightest of realization that all of this pressure is coming from that one cumbersome yoke on our shoulders. We can easily put it down and free ourselves, but mostly we forget to do so, or worse, don't even consider it as an option. 

A big part of this burden also comes from comparison. Either we ourselves, or our near ones, put up an ideal figure before us, and the comparison begins. Our life, our story, our journey, everything is compared to that one figure. Down this path, after some time it does not matter anymore if we begin to judge a fish by it's flight capacity, all that matters is, if they can, why can't we! Needless to say, this path is absolutely unhealthy. Our mental health, physical well beings, moral judgement, everything suffer, we change as people. Nothing else matters, except the fact that we have to reach that bench mark that has been marked by somebody else. Comparison blurs out everything else, comparison kills.

The second journey is more self -centered. It conveniently evolves around self-set goals, self-evolution and self engagement. We set our own goals, smash them, and set the next. No peer pressure, no comparison, no rigidity, just what makes us happy from within. Our life, our story remains unique, having its own beautiful colors, reaching its own unimaginable heights. This may sound very self-centered, but then a person who is happy and contended from within, can best serve the others to make them happy, within their own capacity. Not only does the fish swim as far out as it wishes, it leaves behind all of them, who would expect it to fly up in the sky, even at the cost of life. 

Our lives are a combination of both of these journeys. Many of us have traveled down the first path way too long to ultimately realize how exhausting it is. Many of us had chosen the second path at some point or the other, to realize the bliss that comes along with it. We do not fit in every available shoe, no matter how fancy it is. Our shoes, our stories, our lives best be their unique selves, bringing out their own combination  of colors. It is upon us when to switch the paths, where to stop on one, and how to steer the chosen one. It is highly unlikely, that we can't turn one of these two lives into our own proud canvas full of arts.

Truth or Dare

As a child, I was told that to lie is to sin. Now what does a child know about sins, so to bring things to a clearer picture, it was explained to me, that if I tell lies, which is a very bad thing to do, I will have to face punishment, God will punish me, and will send me to hell, which is a very uncomfortable place. I tried to live a secure life, as a God-fearing little girl, never lying, always saying the truth. But life is not easy, not even for a little child. Soon enough, circumstances arose, when I would either have to tell a lie and face the wrath of God, or tell the truth, and face a sound beating from my parents. In the face of such horns of dilemma, going to hell seemed a far away prospect, even slightly amendable if I pray hard to God, but my parents looked far more dangerous. Thus came out the first untrue words from my lips, and I slipped slightly downwards, towards the gates of hell.

The results of this sinful act turned out to be very much in my favor, I got away scot free from the situation. But then I prayed hard, with all my mind and soul, asking God to forgive this one time, and I would never do it again, little did I know, that this promise was my second lie, to God and to myself. A second situation soon arose, and with a little more hesitation, I sinned again. The results by now were looking pretty neat, and the burden on my tiny soul was growing heavier. This time when I prayed for forgiveness, I dared not promise that this would never happen again. I was saving myself from getting into another trap of lies, I was opening a new path for myself, the path of crime, sin and treachery, on which, I didn't know back then, I would be cat-walking my way through.

By the third time, the little pious part of my soul had resigned. I knew that I had previously sealed my entry to hell, and this new lie wouldn't really be anything worse. So I lied, I lied left and right, up and down, big and small, here, there and everywhere. I had started my journey down this treacherous path with a mere " I didn't do it" for a broken plate, and now I am standing on an ever-increasing pile, throwing caution to the wind, knowing, I am not the only one building their own empire of falsehood. We are all in it together.

We truly have developed this habit, where it is not a big deal to slip out an innocent lie that'll do no harm to anybody. We cautiously say bigger lies to save our skins at times. Sometimes we lie to save others as well. At times we lie so that our principles may live, do what you will with that information. And the worse of the lot, there are those lies that we feed ourselves, consciously or otherwise, to make life a bit easier to deal with. Now life will remain what it has always been, difficult, not a bed of roses, and none of that can be changed with all the truth of our lives. But when we face ourselves at the end of the day, or look back at the path we have walked over the time, there remain some lies that look unnecessary, which were better of unspoken. Some lies about us, the ones where we tell things that we should have done, or how we should have been, yet we are not. When asked why,the most common answers that come to us are that the situations have turned us this way, or life itself has conditioned us in this way, and this, is one of the biggest lies that we tell ourselves. The last and most damaging lie in this series is that, now what's done is done, and nothing can be changed, we have to live with it.

In a continuous journey like life, where constantly people are changing, situations are arising, problems are being solved, and miracles are happening here and there, we can do away with the last lie, that we have to live with how we are. Change is the only constant, and we are definitely subject to change, just that we need to wish to bring it to ourselves. If we spare a few minutes of our ever-so-busy lives, taking time to judge whether all the things that we tell about ourselves to others, and that we believe within, are true or not, a couple of facts are bound to catch our attention. Here at this point, it is like a truth or dare situation. Do we start telling the truth, where we are not so perfect, not so ideal, not so adorable, but a very truthful version of ourselves? Or do we take up a dare to simply change ourselves to turn the lie into the truth, and become a better version? Truth, or Dare?

None of the choices is easy. This game we are playing against life, and when has life ever been lenient with us? If we just sit down to think on this line, we have started the game, and now we have to choose. Well, of course, there is always the easier, more convenient choice of calling quits on the game and simply continue with our well-polished lies, who would ever know? Nobody except us. But then, we will always know, that little tug at the back of our mind, that little prick in the corner of our heart will come back now and then, time and again. This is a game for the courageous, for the ones who can take up a challenge and complete it. And it is upon us to decide, are we game for it?