Mind speak

Every now and then, life whispers sweet nothings into your ears. While it makes you happy and content, by the time you figure out the meaning behind those sweet nothings, the moment is past and the excitement has faded. You ride on a high wave and feel triumphant. When the ebb is gone it is back to the same reality, the same mundanes. Which leaves you wondering if anything is ever good enough to satisfy the human mind, to feel content that you have it all. The more you give this a thought, the more you realise what's missing in your life, resulting in a greater depression. And so it continues until the next tide arrives to give you the much needed push!

What can I do with a mind like this That wanders often and stumbles so, That hurts and pains but doesn't give up That searches for something it is not sure of. What can I do with a mind like this That desires what cannot be obtained, That seeks to find what cannot be seen That asks to get what cannot be achieved. What can I do with a mind like this That doesn’t tire, doesn’t stop, That doesn’t think, doesn’t deliberate That hardly knows what it wants. I could ask it to slow down; I could ask it to be careful; I could ask it to be sensible; I could ask it to grow up. But a wandering mind can hardly be curbed. You cannot set boundaries, you cannot tie it down. It’s meant to soar high; it’s meant to wander, Let me let it find it’s ground!

What do you bring to the table that's different? What do you have to offer that nobody else can? What makes you leave a mark that cannot be erased? What can ensure that you live on even after you are gone? Once we find the answers to these questions we will realize that it’s all so momentary- money, fame, family, career. Someone will come and beat your highest score; somebody will create a new record over riding yours. Someone will become the next sensation; somebody will find a way to earn more money than you.  There will always be new water flowing to replace the old; there will always be new seeds to grow new life.  We slog our whole lives and then one day we are gone- just like that! The important thing is- did we live each moment? Did we make at least one face smile? Did we help wipe away at least a drop of tear? Did we love wholeheartedly rather than wait to be loved, fearing reciprocation?  It’s not a perfect life and we are not perfect creations. We just imp...

ಜಾರಿ ಹೋಗುತಿರುವ ದಿನಗಳು, ಕಳೆದು ಹೋಗುತಿರುವ ಜೀವನ, ಓಡಿ ಹೋಗುತಿರುವ ಕ್ಷಣಗಳು. ನೋಡು ನೋಡುತಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಕಣ್ಣು ಮುಂದೆಯೇ ಬದುಕು ಕುದುರೆಯನ್ನೇರಿ ವೇಗವಾಗಿ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಅದರ ಜೊತೆ ನಾನೂ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಗೆ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಸೇರಿಸ ಬೇಕು ಅಂದರೆ ಏನೋ ನನ್ನನು ತಡೆದು ಹಿಡಿದಂತೆ.  ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋಗಲಾರದೆ, ಹಿಂದೆಯೂ ತಿರುಗಲಾರದಂತೆ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿ. ಎಲ್ಲ ಇದ್ದು ಏನೋ ಕೊರತೆ. ಯಾವುದನ್ನೋ ಹುಡುಕ್ಕುತಿರುವ ತವಕ, ಬಯಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಹಂಬಲ. ಬಹುಷಃ, ಇದನ್ನೇ ಗ್ನ್ಯಾನಿಗಳು  ಜೀವನೋದ್ದೇಶ ಅನ್ನುತಿದ್ದರೇನೋ. ನಮ್ಮ ಬದುಕಿನ ಸಾರ್ಥಕತೆ ಕಂಡುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ನಮ್ಮ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ. ಕಲವರು ಜೀವನವೇ ಪಯಣಾ ಅಂದರೆ, ಕೆಲವರು ಪಯಣವೆ ಜೀವನ ಅನ್ನುವರು. ಕಯ್ಯಿ ಚಾಚಿ ಕಳೆದು ಹೋದುದನು ಬಾಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಹೋದರೆ ಒಂದು ಹಿಡಿ ಜೀವನವೂ ದೊರಕದು. ಅಂದುಕೊಂಡರೆ ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಇದೆ, ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಏನೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಇರುವ ಮತ್ತು ಇಲ್ಲದಿರುವ ನಡುವೆಯ ತುಮುಲವೇ ಬದುಕು. ನನ್ನೊಳಗಿನ ಬರಡು ಭೂಮಿಯನ್ನು ಹಸಿರಾಗಿ ಮಾಡುವ ರೀತಿಯನ್ನು ನಾನು ಹುಡುಕಬೇಕಿದೆ. ನಡೆಯುವ ದಾರಿ ಎಷ್ಟು ಮುಖ್ಯವೋ, ಹೊಗ್ಗುತಿರುವ ದಿಕ್ಕು ಹಾಗು ಪಯಣದ ಉದ್ದೇಶವೂ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಮುಖ್ಯ. ಆದಷ್ಟು ಬೇಗ ಈ ದಾರಿ, ಉದ್ದೇಶ ಮತ್ತು ದಿಕ್ಕನ್ನು ನಾ ಪಡೆಯುವಂತೆ ಆಗಲಿ ಎಂದು ಬಯಸುತ್ತೇನೆ.

Sometimes when I look at the fishes in my aquarium I can't help but wonder- what is it like to be a fish, to spend your whole life in water, to live, eat, reproduce and die in that small tank. I mean these guys just swim, swim and swim the whole time. Is there a purpose to their life? Is there life beyond the water? Tough questions, evasive answers. Think about us. Do we know what our purpose in life is? How many of us have the courage and conviction to explore the world outside, the one beyond "our waters"? So afterall I am like those fishes I see in the aquarium in front of my eyes. I can continue to remain one or I can choose to be a shark and break free, to test the waters and face the unknown. The comforts of a known life are much but the temptations of the unknown need to be addressed as well. While I gather the courage to attempt this, I continue to remain within the walls of the aquarium- the one made of glass, the one I have built for myself, I continue to rema...

A traveler of life hardly ever stops. From one destination to another, The journey is never ending. Days dawn and nights grow darker But he must go on. A traveler of life hardly ever stops, He may falter, he may fall, But halt he never will. Unknown places, strangers for company, Unforeseen circumstances- They are all for him to see and face. A traveler of life hardly ever stops. He doesn't have the luxury of choice. Go on he must, with little scope to return; He may look back at what he came from, He may look ahead at where he is headed to, He knows that if he rests He has finally reached the end of his journey!

एक ज़रा सी ज़िन्दगी मांग के आये थे एक ज़रा सी रोशनी थाम के चले थे दो पल चल के, दो पल रुक के धीरे से आगे बढ़ रहे थे हम पलकों में ख्वाब अभी जवान हैं  पैरों में पंख जैसे हो निकल आये अब जब हम इस मकाम पे हैं तो मुढ़ के देख रहे हैं जो बीत गया वोह बचपन था जो आ रहा वोह भी जीवन हैं  रात गयी और उम्र भी जो रेहे  गया वोह बस आज हैं

Like a tattoo sitting firmly on the arm, Carefully sketched, painfully borne, A joy for a moment, a scar for life. Desired, nurtured, protected, celebrated. So sit in mind a bundle of memories That cannot be erased, that cannot be ignored. Giving pleasure one moment and pain the other. Etched forever, created to last- for a lifetime.

ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ  ಅಂಗಳದಲಿ ನೂರಾರು ನೆನಪಿನ ವಾಸಾ, ನೂರಾರು ಕನಸ್ಸಿನ ಸುಗಂಧ. ಮುಂಜಾನೆ ಮಸುಕಿನಲಿ ಎದ್ದು, ಗುಡಿಸಿ, ಸಾರಿಸಿ, ನೀರೆರೆದು ರಂಗೋಲಿ ಹಾಕಿದಂತೆ, ಉಲ್ಲಾಸದ ಅನುಭವ. ನಸುಗೆಂಪು ಸೂರ್ಯ ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಕತ್ತಲೆ ಓಡಿಸುವಂತೆ ಸುಯೋಚನೆಗಳು ಮನ್ನಕ್ಕೆ   ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸಿ ಪ್ರಕಾಶ ಮೂಡಿದಂತೆ. ಮನೆಗೆ ಬಂದ ಅತಿಥಿಯನ್ನು ಆದರದ ಸ್ವಾಗತ ನೀಡಿ, ಸಂತಸದಿಂದ ಬರಮಾದಿಕೊಂದಂತೆ ಇರಬೇಕು ನಮ್ಮ ಮನ. ಸದಾ ತೆರೆದು, ಸದಾ ನಗುತ್ತ, ಸದಾ ಹೊಸ ವಿಚಾರಗಳನ್ನು  ಸ್ವಾಗತಿಸುವ ಮನದ ಬಯಕೆ ಇರಲಿ. ಒಳಿತು ಕೆಡಕುಗಳ ನಡುವಿನ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸ  ತಿಳಿದು ನಿರ್ಧಾರಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡುವ ತಾಳ್ಮೆ, ವಿವೇಕವನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯುವ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಸಾಮರತ್ಯ  ಬರಲಿ. ದಿನ ಕಳೆದು, ರಾತ್ರಿಯಾದಾಗ ಮಲಗುವ ವೇಳೆಯಲಿ ನೆಮ್ಮದಿ, ನಿದ್ದರೆ ಬಂದರೆ ನಾವು ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಹಿಡಿತದಲ್ಲಿದೇವೋ, ಮನಸ್ಸು ನಮ್ಮ ಹಿಡಿತದಲ್ಲಿ ಇದೆಯೋ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗುವುದು.

It's right in front of our eyes and yet so elusive. It's like a mirage- you walk towards it only to find that it keeps getting further away from you. Sometimes it's camouflaged to look like something else. So much so, you tend to overlook it and move ahead until you realise it's too late to turn back. You may know it by many names-  complacency, fulfillment , gratification, peace, serenity.  We struggle our whole lives to attain it, gain and lose it every now and then, wish we could buy it with money, mistake other worldly pleasures to be it, only to realise in the end that it's been within ourselves all the while. When we introspect and rank our priorities we begin to journey towards it. When we aim towards it the path becomes clear and achievement a possibility. That's when you begin to feel it, experience it. The journey, in this case, is also the destination.  CONTENTMENT, Thy name is mystery!

I wandered lost, long enough Until I thought I found myself. It was a mirage, a trick well played, The road I thought had closed, the peace I thought  was made. From post to pole, from light to gloom, No stone unturned, no chance taken, You think you made it, you think you won, Only to realise you are mistaken.   The eye, it sees what your mind shows- The heart it feels what your soul speaks, Life, love and labour lost; Nothing gained at no cost! A dream I chased, a goal I found. Moving ahead in a new direction- Life doesn’t stop at that for sure It makes no promise, it doesn’t always assure!