I hate my rapids on Dauntless but
then writing is a stress-buster. Two, I find myself discovering new wells of
insights. You just need one thought that improves on your past storehouse of
thoughts; that’s the trigger for new thinking, possibly a better feeling, and
prayerfully a change in action. A “new thought” is the mother of change – that important
it is. So please don’t cringe on my almost 3-4 blog posts a week. If I had
enough of living moments, I would prefer just one blog post a month.
But then I am a hopelessly idle body and so the mind goes into overdrive. Fancy
that!
I
was listening to Swami Paramarthananda’s gurupurnima talk and it inspired this
in my mind: We are eternal beings not limited by time. We always
exist in some form or the other. It is up to us whether we stagnate for
thousands of years or cultivate peace of mind to whatever degree. This
thought is so elevating that if you start ruminating on this half a dozen times
a day, it’s unlikely you will act in haste, or be inordinately selfish for short term gains, or
try to steal a gold bar when no one is looking (life is a game of golf on
integrity – no one is checking on you but no golf player steal meters for any
advantage). It been decades when I feel so upbeat over an insight.
I
loved the movie “Ford v Ferrari” and motor racing is a manly sport. When you are introduced to this world of motor racing
– the builders, drivers, engineers, design fabricators and works – you marvel
at their obsession. They push the machine to its limits. There is a
pursuit of perfection (which is more than excellence) for a Ken Miles or Nikki
Lauda or Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher on driving a perfect lap. The gear
changes, braking at corners, full blast on the straights – perfection in any
pursuit is “god performing” work. I loved the revving sounds of the engine, the
pit stops and it took my mind to reading Hemingway’s “Death in the afternoon” on bull fighting. These two worlds are so far removed;
but the artistry of Hemingway had me hooked. So was this movie. Now I add two items to my bucket list – watch a bull fight in Spain and watch a
F-1 race in person.
I
also like my music to be masculine. I loved Bon Jovi’s acoustic version of “It’s
my life” and take any Dire Straits song or rock music as a genre, it’s not for sissies. The percussion is at your face, volume is blaring, the lyrics are
never straight forward but the intent is to beat the hell out of you. Bring that attitude of “rebellious” and “my own thinking” to life.
These
days I find myself ruminating a lot. Death of the body is no cause for sadness.
Look on it as a change of clothes, you get a newer and younger body. You also
get a new set of parents and a new of set of lovers and wives – not a
bad deal at all. Any time I go to a temple, which is rare, my constant prayer
is this: Lord, give me a mother in my next birth who bonds. I don’t mind being born a dog or cat or any of your everyday
humbler creation but let there be this primary bonding. If you get this wrong, the entire
life is a burden. Ask me!
Now
let’s go back to that insight that “I am an eternal being where time has no
relevance for I always exists in some form or the other.” As Gandhi articulated
so well: Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live
forever. He deserves all the honours for generating this thought despite
bungling on the political fronts. To live with courage, act with freedom, speak your thoughts unabashedly each time, to be the master of your time and
energy is to live. You finally realize that the outward
gains of money or fame is this world’s accounting and nothing to do in the
cosmic accounting book. And if
you are obsessed about perfection in any field of activity you are indeed
god. You have no one to impress but the face in the shaving mirror.
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