Shelf life

The mere mention of the title strikes a deep cord within all of us. Does everything end? more importantly, does it have to end are the kind of questions which come to our minds. Its not that we are not aware of the inevitable, nor is it a situation where we have not had a passing thought fly through, its just the whole concept of a finiteness baffles us. We have been taught to aspire for the stars and beyond, and now you come and tell me that there is a shelf life to everything, how can that be?
We pick up food and look at the expiry date for each. Medicines are not spared either and if I really look at my peers, most of their relationships all come with a similar tags. Its a constant reminder which seems to  stares at our faces in every walk of life. Then why is it that we overlook it and continue to indulge? why is it that we rarely even admit it and want to still hold on to something way past the date?? how is it that everything has not collapsed and every industry ( which also has a shelf life for high profits after which its a struggle ) shuts down and closes shop until we find a permanent solution to this epidemic. The whole concept should be creating a pandemonium throughout the world, but for some reason, the topic never surfaces.
I guess if i have to find the answer, I have to look back to Darwins theory of evolution. A constant throughout the ages of time has been change. Be it in the physical state, the adaptability to the environment, the social as well as the economic changes. People have to constantly evolve themselves, better themselves, take the chances and change with the time. Its not easy, and definitely sounds like a mammoth task but it has to be done. The theory of selection says that only the strong ( definition of strength may vary through time ) will survive and the weak shall perish. I guess, if we don't keep topping up our shelf lives in every circle, we shall also fade away and probably fail to live. 

An Analysis of Bonds

With every day that passes us by, we create a new world around us. The people around us evolve and what we know, and what don't we know also changes. It is in this rapidly changing world that we try and build some semblance of a structure. We create our network of people and a web is spun around us. The furthest are those acquaintances whom we keep, for a gain in the future and exchange of favours. Its a network which is dynamic in the outer peripheries but as it comes closer to the center, the bonds that attach us to the people increase, and thus the fixed nature of the relationship. It becomes very difficult to severe those relationships. There is an element of flexibility that is lost in these relationships as they come closer to you. But these are the support structure of your entire network. Without these, basic survival becomes a struggle.

But i guess, we all know these things. Reiterating the obvious is not really some stroke of brilliance. What my little experiences(more from observations) with relationships have taught me is the inherent expectations that we all have from each other. We all want and expect somethings from the other person in a relationship and those are the criteria which decide the quality of the relationship. For example, we expect our friends to be there when we need them, and listen to our bullshit when we shell it out in an endless manner. There is, however a relationship which we supersedes all others, which is the most delicate and yet the most closest to the center of our existence. A relationship many of us have so many preconceived notions while entering, and one which becomes at times, the essence of our being. Our spouses, play such a vital role in every thing we do, and yet we spend so little time trying to understand it.

There is a fine balance between expectations and the working of a relationship. Its almost as if we weigh one side and match it with the other. A increase in the expectations only brings down the quality of your relationship as the people who are involved are trying to match the expectations while forgetting to grow in it. Its almost mathematical, the whole equation. As we add extra variables, the value changes and eventually the whole equation changes. The opposite is also true, where in, you reduce the expectation from the other person, and watch the relationship flourish. Simplicity seems to be some sort of solution to the magical question "What makes a marriage work?" The whole concept of giving up to gain sounds implausible, but there is substantial evidence to prove the appropriateness of this concept. I guess, over time, we all have to find a way that works..

Pursuit of Happiness

We often spend our lives searching for something. Most of us have no clue what we are looking. And some even call it happiness. The idea of having a bliss, a high which will never leave, self sustaining even, is rather charming, but who among us has not had this dream. We all seek different avenues to try and attain it. Some look to career, some look to companionship, and some look to religion.
The paths we choose are determined by a gamut of events which occur through out our lives. Some big and life altering ones, while some are just simply there as if they have no where else to go. The people who steer and the people who row, both play an important role. I suppose one would not do without the other. But let us examine this more closely. Where is the person who stirs taking us? Are the rowers rowing fast enough? Where are we heading with all of this? and isn't life really in our own hands?
While we ponder through this, can't we conclude that a large portion of our of our lives is not in our control? If so, what is it that we choose? and what is it that we have to flow through?
I guess there is no simple answers to all these questions but there are a lot of theories floating around. My personal favorite is simply enjoy everything. Its hedonistic to say the least but lets leave our ideals aside for a minute. Isn't personal pleasure a path to happiness? Don't we spread happiness if we are happy from within? and enjoying everything is the most simplistic way of looking at it. Its not about satisfying oneself, nor about giving into your every need. I don't think life gives you anything that you want. All I say is that want what you have and little some more. There are so many ways of looking at everything and each event can be a source of entertainment and I believe that once you recall an event, no matter how painful it was at that time, with a little bit of mirth, it shows acceptance and moving on.
I guess there is humor in everything. Sometimes, we just forget to see it...

Importance of protocols

This was an interesting topic which i came across in one of my many random discussions. "Protocol", by definition is a rule which guides how an activity should be performed. Simple enough to understand. Its just basically rules. Interestingly, these rules apply to even Gods and demons alike. I mean, think about it, wasn't the mahabharath a fight between good an evil. Didn't krishna reveal himself as God himself. Then why is it that he did not destroy the kauravas and save us the bloodbath which we called the Kurukshetra war. What about the Ramayana. There too, Hanuman could have simple carried sita back to ram and wiped out the entire lankan army as well as ravana himself. What was it that stopped them from doing so? They certainly were powerful enough to execute the task. What stopped them from doing what they could have easily done?

I guess, its simple and basic rules. They had to follow the required protocol of the time. They had to play by the rules. After all, the system was built by God himself. What He created, he must implement. It would have been much easier for him to send his chakra and cut all the heads, but the consequences of that would have been far more disastrous. As they say, everything has a time and a place. Its almost predestined. Yet we have the right to choose. We are the masters of our own destiny. Even those who are the so called "outcasts" have their own set of rules. The only thing which is not acceptable is total and complete chaos.

There is a time and place for everything.The protocol must be followed