Illusions

So I am at the terrace of my building again.. It's become my haven these days.. I turn to this place when I want solace, when I want to simplify life, when I want the assurance that all is going to end well.. Or when I just want to have some time with myself, when I want to do some self introspection.. Or even when I just want to enjoy a nice musical sunset.. Yes, so basically I come here whenever I possibly can, which is very often these days, considering I am on a vacation (can't say I am jobless exactly)!

So I am here again and while staring at the tiny buildings in the distance, I wonder how amazing is this rule of relativity on which the world works. These huge constructions, taking years to be built and even more years to be made into homes, containing people's dreams, aspirations, emotions, everything..! Especially in a place like Mumbai, where so many of us work an entire life to be able to own a decent space we can call our home, these spaces of bricks and cement mean more than life to so many. But when I look at them now, they are nothing but insignificant tiny structures in the distance..

This is one of the most empowering things about being here at the top.. Makes me feel like a creator looking at her creation below.. Or like a queen looking at her country!  "It's only an illusion, duh!" I say to myself.. But then, I wonder who knows this entire life might be an illusion too.. I mean, think about it, don't dreams seem real when we are dreaming about them? What if this whole existence is a dream? Say, a king is dreaming of being a butterfly.. But what if it's actually a butterfly dreaming of being a king who is dreaming in the dream of being a butterfly! Yeah, 'Inception', right?! But still.. isn't it worth considering? We live in illusions all the time! How often does it happen that we presume to be misunderstood or taken for granted by somebody only to find out in the end that it wasn't the case at all! Illusion! How often do we think we are controlling everything in our life and everything seems to be completely in sync with our wishes when suddenly, an event occurs changing everything in our life in a single moment. That event could be anything like a minor accident making us look at life differently, or it could be huge like a natural disaster completely shaking us to the core! So many times we are made to realise that life is so much more powerful than our tiny minds.. That the apparent control that we have on life is a mere fantasy! An Illusion! 
Its strange how these little things, these little moments make u look at life and yourself in grand ways..! The other day I spotted a couple of black ants in the kitchen sink and as I turned the water tap on and they started rushing to save their lives, I wondered if we humans look any different from this when something like a Tsunami hits us! It's just different dimensions then, isn't it? For all you know, we are being looked at as little ants by another beings! Scary thought!

Well, the point I am trying to make is that, for all you know, we might be living in illusion anyway. Now the choice that we have to make every time, every moment, is whether that illusion makes us happy or not. After all, happiness is what we all aim for, however vague that term might be! If we choose to live in the illusion of having a mediocre existence; or if we choose to believe that one has to fight and survive life and life isn't fair and all that stuff, we might just end up having that exact experience, that's what an illusion does to us! So why not choose something better, why not choose to believe in all the amazing things that life can offer, why not believe in miracles, in having a grand life, in the goodness of everyone and everything around, why not believe in the abundance and sheer awesomeness of the infinite possibilities that life has to offer! You never know, we might just get a glimpse of heaven in that experience! Food for thought?!

Perfection

After a somewhat depressing and tiring day, I needed the comfort of a late night rom-com movie tonight to keep me from thinking about the stuff that's going "wrong" in my life. It usually works as a little therapy to cheer me up. Beautiful people, falling in love.. At beautiful locations.. and after a couple of mishaps and a few tears, falling even deeper in love and then eventually, living happily ever after.. That's the thing about romantic comedies.. The oh-so happy endings! The perfection! Can't get enough of it, can you? At least for those few hours, you can easily believe that good things are on the way for everyone and things are all going to fall in place one day.. That's the kind of comfort I was looking for in the movie tonight.. Well that's exactly what I got but in a little unexpected way..

I was watching "The Accidental Husband" and one of the best dialogues towards the end was that.. it's not always necessary to sweat the small stuff.. You are allowed to make a couple of mistakes!" And I thought, well, that's some advice I could use right now! So what if things aren't exactly the way I had planned.. They are still pretty manageable. So what if I am not living in the most idealistic way possible.. And anyway, is it possible to even define the single right way to live life? I don't think so! Sure the "procedure" of growing up studying and scoring ranks, getting a degree, then working as bankers and engineers, getting married and having kids, and then retiring and waiting to die, seems to be working for most of us! But there are still many who would like to look beyond all this, to step out of mediocrity and take risks, make mistakes, learn and find their passions and try and add value to this world through their work.. many who live each moment and not just exist!

Its hard to be different, to take the unconventional path, to not be accepted for who you are, to make mistakes on the path of finding and creating your true self.. Sure it's all difficult.. But isn't it worth it, if it provides the possibility of a future which satisfies your soul? Won't that be perfection? Perfection is subjective after all!

So why get into these socially accepted norms of being the perfect person, why not do something new, take chances and follow your heart! Why let others define you when you can do it so much better for yourself! I so wish one day we will all be able to listen to our hearts, to follow our dreams and add value to our lives and of others.. And in the end, we can all be the perfect versions of our own selves! Now won't that be perfection?!

A little moment....

Sitting here at the terrace of my building, looking at the brilliant orange sunset on one side and the slight trace of the moon on the other, I wonder what life is all about..
I wonder what are we all here for, after all. Sure, thanks to my love for spiritual books, I read and hear about all this stuff everywhere.. Some say we are here to learn our lessons and move to better worlds, others say we are here to make the world better, while some believe we are just here to experience ourselves.. I wonder what I have been doing in the last 24 years of my life.. I guess I was mostly learning how to live in the beginning, and have been trying to "unlearn" most of it lately.. It's difficult to decide what was right... It's hard to decide what's the idealistic way to live.. I would wish it was easier to know, but then like everything else, life is not black or white..
Anyway.. I see these birds fly and glide, distracting me from my trail of thoughts that was moving towards depression.. But these birds.. not caring for a thing in the world.. their glide makes me feel the freedom I am fortunate to have.. To be able to enjoy this beautiful breezy sunset and rejoice in this grand celebration.. Sure there are questions that need answers.. Problems that need solving.. There will always be.. But the grandeur of this moment makes my so called complications seem so insignificant.. 

For a few moments, I am nothing but a part of this beautiful creation.. Which, well, I anyway am.. I just realise it this moment.. Strange how the simplest of things like a sunset or the flight of the birds, can teach you so much about life.. How the littlest of these experiences help you think clearly about the "bigger things in life". The dreams, the ambitions, the goals that we all carry.. That we get so engrossed with every day.. Considering each day as one more opportunity to put the pieces of the puzzle together.. These goals, these efforts, don't they sometimes make us completely forget about the little things in life? And although it's pretty cool to know where we want to be, wouldn't it awesome to have fun all the way.. And just pause and appreciate the simpler things that life has to offer? 
I guess most of us would agree to this; but hold on.. It isn't all that simple to note the simpler things you would say.. To pause and smell the roses when you are rushing to make it to office on time, or to smell the coffee when you have the "urgent" tagged stock of projects on your desk or to appreciate the rainy weather when the trains could get late because of rains? Well who says it's easy.. I just say it's worth it! Give it a try.. And well, let this text be a reminder.. To have a beautiful day!