Love

Lest I ever forget..

Love is always patient and kind

It is never jealous

Love is never boastful nor concieted

It is never rude or selfish

It does not take offense and is not resentful

Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins

But delights in the truth

It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope

And to endure

Whatever comes.

Love never fails

Out of the three, faith, hope and love

The greatest of these is love.

If.. by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;
If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And which is more; you’ll be a Man, my son!

If only..

I found this in an paper some time back.. sorry of I’m not recognizing who actually wrote it..

If you can float in life without your morals drowning
And never in vanity, struggle with time or age.

If you can smile, when the whole world is frowning,
Knowing the veils and candour of laughter and rage.

If you can commit each day and hour to learning
And be wise enough; not your inanity to conceal,
Be brave enough to surrender your heart to yearning
Yet have strength, never to yield your soul to zeal
If you can remain faithful, through life ever changing
And equal respect to wisdom and emotion grant.

If you can know the edge of calm and of deranging
And appreciate the power of silence and exploding rant
If the simple bird songs can stir and inspire you
Or to quench your thirst from morning dew you dare
Know the hearts that secretly admire or detest you
And brilliant minds by the magnificent dreams they bear.

If even in haste you stop to smile with a stranger
Or give of your time and strength for another to care
If you forsake your comfort and brave unfamiliar danger
To uphold the truth you know, and to speak it dare
If you can bear the blizzard of omnipotent delusion

Or the frustrating hesitation and shiver of prudent hand
With patient wisdom delay the judgemental conclusion
Bind your eyes to the heart and seek to understand
Then i guess you are pretty cool…

But if you are the type who falls in love with strangers
Yet act as if your heart has been locked in a deep vault
And avoid crossing roads, perceiving threats and dangers
Of navigating through traffic or a careless drivers fault

If you drink scotch, and boast of alcohol’s medicinal assets
Or when contradicted, you argue, scream, cry and run
You are a model of humanity with its most intriguing facets
And, which is more; you are also a hypocrite, my son

Economics are just theories..

So.. new school year, and new subjects. Something I wanted to write about. Economics is the study of scarcity and choice, and that everybody cant have something because its limited and there’s not enough to go around.

How does that explain the fact that there are countries wasting tons and tons of food, while some other countries dont have enough to eat? That the world is overpopulated and there’s not enough land? I see barren land everywhere, in the colder and warmer parts of the world. Its just crowded in cities, thats all. And money? If we believe that money is limited and there’s not enough to go around, then why are people even trying? Then the term success and security will mean nothing to the world. We just say that things cant be changed, that it is fated that some people are rich while others remain poor.

Not a nice theory, or a realistic one at that. That is not true, its an old, outdated, pessimistic view of the world. I believe that the world is abundant in everything we need, but it is distributed unequally. Inequality exists and so today’s world issues are the way it is.

Tears of love

Clear, jeweled drops glistening,

Down from the vast skies above,

Billows of the carrying wind,

The patter of water,

as it touches surfaces down below

I sit, gazing

Momentarily filled with emotion,

A calm, soothing wave

gushes over my body,

Washing away concerns

and trivial worries,

Its a dark, rainy night

Cool, comfortable

Romantic somehow,

The flashes of light

and the voices of thunder,

Lulls me to a dreamy state

I wish of curling up cosily,

And hugging something warm near me

With the arms of someone warmer

Holding me,

As I listen in a contented spiritual peace,

To the teardrops from the sky,

Blessings from above,

Tears of love.

Grateful to life..

Sometimes life is a roller coaster.. all you keep doing is going through its ups and downs and turns, and its up to you to keep sane and alive through it all.

I have a health condition, well its mostly hair condition I guess, alopecia areata. Apart from the fact that my hair looks like crap sometimes and has all this issues to take care of, and my self esteem and confidence falls flat occasionally, I’m perfectly fine and physically healthy. Although its a whole chapter in my life which I dont want to indulge in today, there are times when I wish that it never happened to me, and that life is unfair and cruel.

I was thinking through the exact lines some days back, and somehow thoughts just come rolling through my mind, of what I went through, the whole journey of denial, anger and resentment, hope and acceptance.

My thoughts went deeper though, not being blinded by my own trifle worries. I’m so fortunate to be free in my mind and my body, that no force inside me was controlling the way I think or do things. I live in a country that gives me freedom to do what I want, and freedom to speak out, and live without fear. That I can sleep comfortable and safe each night and not to worry about tomorrow. That I have such a loving close family, that I dont have to worry about my life being torn to pieces by the decisions of others. That I have people I love safe with me, and I live without fear that people I love will be taken away from me. That I dont live afraid every second of my life that someone else is going to take it away from me. That I dont have to live in a crazy life where I’m fighting for food to eat and a safe place to stay. That I’m able to live in dignity as a human being, be provided for, have the ability and freedom to an education and a future that isnt just based on sole survival. That I am able to feel for others, that I’m able to hear beautiful things of this world, that I’m able to see beauty. That I have a heart which is able to care for other’s pain, worries and suffering. That I can be free to discover what the meaning of my life is to this world, and how I can contribute to making this world a wonderful, peaceful place. That I am free to dream. Free to make decisions for myself, that I dont have to count my living days, that I dont suffer physically, and I’m away from people who can harm me mentally and emotionally.

Sometimes, we just dont see how fortunate we are. All we can focus on is how bad our world is and not that we still have so much good in our lives. When I thought about these things, I couldnt help but feel so fortunate and grateful that I have so many things in my life. It still doesnt solve and make my circumstances any better, but it changes the way I think about it, my perspectives.

Knowing..

What aggravates me the most is not ‘knowing’. I dont care whether its good or bad, whether I regret it, at least I will have the comfort of knowing what I know.

In movies, I need to know the storyline and how the story ends before I watch the movie or I will not be satisfied. Trust me, I’m not a good movie buddy to be with in the movie theatre or a movie night. I would comment forever about the movie during the movie, impatiently wanting to know things before they happen, annoy everyone else watching. I probably watched the trailer and read a hundred reviews before so I know exactly what the movie is about. Hate suspenses, love spoilers. I’m not content in just watching the movie to find out what will happen next, the uncertainty. Sure, some may call me a movie spoiler, but I’d rather read about and know the basic storyline and whether the ending is to my taste rather than complaining later that it’s a shame that everyone dies in the end.

When the Harry Potter book, a new one came out, I had to know whether Dumbledore had really died, or if Snape was really the bad guy. I couldn’t read the book without knowing. They are not spoilers, merely information.

Its like going on a train destined to go somewhere. Which stupid person would just enjoy the ride and takes it as it comes? Of course, you need to know its destination and then enjoy the ride. Otherwise you are a person without a focus, seeing today without picturing the bigger tomorrow, without direction in life. What kind of person would live such a life? Because it is inevitable that we cannot know everything in the ride, but at least we know the outcome, what to expect, where the ride is taking us.

The same applies to friendships, for me anyways. It irritates me to no end when I write someone a letter or email and then wait for days for a reply, not knowing if they will even write back. Tell me the reason, at least a note; saying something, even if its “I’m too busy”, or “I’m a terrible person in keeping in touch”. At least then, I know, and even though I wont be happy about it, I wont begrudge the person. It will also show me that in the same amount, I must place my value on them, that I also have to be too busy for them. Its a two way street after all. Its the ignoring thing which I cant stand. Pretending, and having facades. Am I left to my own devices to wonder if they are busy, or are not willing to write to me because they feel I’m not important to them, or they were unable to connect with me due to some reason or other. Because what they say will never change who I am. Just because to them I’m not valuable to keep as a friend, doesnt mean that I’m not a valuable person. So either say positive or negative, say something. Dont just not say anything.

Many things in life should remain mysteries, but from them, you should know a little about them. Not everything sometimes, but a hint of knowledge. Knowledge is powerful and can be utilized effectively. A soft petal, a knowing smile, an inspiration, a wistful glance. It has to be known.

Stranger

Take one look at the life of a stranger

Whose life you can only merely guess

What is his name, where does he live?

Does he have a family and a home?

Does he have friends, people he trusts,

Is he happy and content with his life?

Is he warm and gentle

kind and friendly?

Will he be able to understand you

As you seek to understand him?

Will he be able to save you,

To bring new hope and faith inside you,

To make you believe again.

Is he a man merely walking on the earth,

Or is he an angel, here to make sure you are safe and protected,

That no harm will ever come your way

Waiting for you to approach him

and be his friend.

Would you be able to help him,

Maybe he needs you more badly

He’s hurting inside and has shut himself in,

Will you be able to take his trust

And keep it in your heart

Safe

Will you be able to love him and make him feel loved?

Maybe he has things he wants to tell you,

Dreams he wants to share

Smiles and gestures ready to give

Laughter and warmth,

Love of life’s wonders

Share you world with him.

Too long we have judged other people,

Without pausing to see them,

And how they feel

The same way we do

The love, the hurt,

the uncertainty of life.

Look at the stranger and smile at him,

After all, we all live,

And fall somewhere

Stranger, what is your name?

I want to know you.

How networking affects my life..

Networking has become a priority for many people’s lives today if the number of members increasing in sites like Facebook and MySpace are any indication. Personally for me, I consider the internet to be a double edged sword (I believe thats the expression). I moved around quite a bit and picked up a number of friends along the way, and it is so easy to connect to most of them using Facebook. Some of my friends dont have access to internet and do not have Facebook accounts and I find it tough to keep up relationships with them because postage costs are extremely high and letters take time to reach the recipient, and there is always an issue of whether it will reach the person or get lost along the way. Also, when people change houses, its so easier to lose touch with a friend, especially when addresses and telephone numbers get changed. The internet, in that way is much more reliable because the internet account address will not change no matter how many times you may change houses in real life. You can keep up a stable relationship with friends far away somewhere across the world.

I’d say, from my experience that it is better to connect with people  with a networking site like Facebook rather than try to keep up with a friend through plain email. Email, in many ways, is very limited because it is designed only to send written text and it is not suitable to send pictures because it takes so long to attach onto the email. It is so difficult to keep replying to a friend’s email especially when both of us keep checking our mail daily; we run out of things to say to each other since we live in two different worlds. In Facebook, it doesnt have to be replied immediately, plus we can share photos for friends everywhere to see whats new in our lives, comment on friend’s photos, join discussions which interest us and basically do hundred things in one site.

You Tube is another very entertaining and educational site which I usually go to. There are so many new things I learned through You tube and that kind of availability of information is very beneficial.

Networking is a great way of meeting people, who in real life you may have not had a chance to get to know or someone who you would never have thought of getting to know before. It is also possible to find people who have your same interests and share your same goals.

You enter a virtual world where you can create your own identity be it your real identity or someone you want to be. People sometimes tend to lose track of reality and the virtual world they create is not always ideal. There is a huge gap between what people do in real life and what they do on the internet. Internet is a place where people can speak their minds because there is no pressures which many experience in the real world from their friends, family and society. People can type anything they want into the internet, and can reply to people anyway they want to because it is a ’save face’ world, where people are not talking to people face to face. However, due to this ’save face’ option, you also can lie all you want because no one will ever know its you.

People are so immersed in the virtual world that they are unable to connect with and talk to people in the real world. I had personal experience and this is the main reason I stopped using msn chat. I was talking to many people and yet in school, I didn’t know how to relate to them. This made me realize that I was having a virtual relationship with all of them and that was something which wasn’t productive in any way.

You have to be very careful of what you write on the internet because it can be personal information about yourself which is put out to the public. There can be risks of hacking, illegal things can be done in your name, and you have to be careful of stalker personalities.You cannot trust anybody in the internet.

An identity of a person is the character that people think he or she has. Usually people have several identities which I believe they display around different types of people in order to communicate and be accepted by them. I dont believe that many people have two identities, I think they show different parts of their own identities. Socially a person would have to adapt several customs and rules in order to live in this world. It could be that a person should be polite and helpful and those values would be included in a person’s personal identity.

There are several types of identity classifications, religious, cultural, ethnic, gender, or based on a person’s colour. These classification’s affect one’s identity as a person. Girls are more controlled by their identity because they are always judged by other girls and boys. This also explains why girls spend more time looking and changing their appearance.

A person’s online identity would be a little more open than in real life, because there is no internet has no strong community and community values because its a diverse world. There are relatively no norms or rules to play by, and that gives people the freedom to speak their minds without worrying about implications.

The difference of identity comes when the person’s idea of how he views himself is different from how others view him. This is how it appears as though a person has two identities that seem to contradict each other.

As the documentary showed several types of people and how they are affected by internet. It showed different points of the whole story behind networking and its pros and cons. There was a boy who committed suicide because of online bullying. This shows the worst form of human behaviour because the internet hides your real identity. There was then a girl who had a gothic appearance, who put provocative photos of herself on the internet.

However, I do admit, I get tired of the internet very quickly and there are times when I dont touch the computer for days. Fortunately, I am not attached or addicted to the internet, although I have friends who are literally wasting their lives in front of the computer, watching some movie or networking. That is not a positive lifestyle, and their obsession is not very different to any physical addiction. It amazes me how time flies when one is on the computer browsing over the internet.

I dont understand globalization fully, but I do know that because of internet, the world is becoming a very small place. We can reach almost anybody now, be it our teachers, some famous celebrity or political leaders because they all are connected to the world wide network. It is yet to know whether, like globalization, one person’s work could impact the rest of the world.

Heya..

now i have a blog.. hmmm..