A gift

It's the most valuable thing one could have received in life — a critical mind. It must be used consciously, like anger, because it can be both a tool or a weapon. Use it right, it will bend the strongest of wills; use it wrong, it will break the stoutest of hearts.

A critical mind can be used to see through people. It can penetrate almost anything in the world. The best results are achieved when it turns upon itself, when the mind examines itself critically.

Others are just mirrors

Sometimes, what you think of yourself

is what they will think of you.

The other times, what others think of you

is what you think of yourself.

Separate one from the other

and dignity will be yours forever.

Mix them all up, then get out

of self-pity you will never.

Asking someone to join you

If you want someone to go somewhere with you, there are two approaches you could follow (that I know of). You could say:

1. "I going to such and such place. You can join me if you want to."
2. "Do you want to go to such and such place with me?"

The first approach seems to work better in some situations, based on my experience, than the second one. The first says, "I am going there whether you come with me or not, but I would like you to join me." The second says, "I will go to this place only if you join me. Otherwise, I am not going."

The former shows confidence, individuality, care and respect for the person you are inviting. Compared to this approach, the other one only shows that you will simply do what others do and have no strong will, desire or opinion of your own. Also, please note that the validity of my assertion varies very much depending on the person you are asking, the place you want to go to, who you are in relation to that person and most importantly, why you might be asking that person to join you.

Do you have other approaches that you think work more often than these?

Outsider

I come from a distant land,

I don’t fall under any category.

You must try to associate with me,

because my life is a total allegory.

Proxy for the root language?

I heard (when a protagonist of a movie said it in an accusatory tone) that money is the language one most easily understands. I laughed at it as I listened, but I realized something just yesterday. I have been trying to find a way to explain my thoughts in a more forcible language to the common man and what I think is more vigorous than simple English (or a simple version of any language, for that matter) is the language of finance and economics.

Since it's a known fact that insurance firms put a price tag on human life and even happiness (whether it's true or false; accepted by people or not), I personally think it's a better way than just trying to verbally (or even philosophically) explain the truth hidden in our daily lives.

I used to detest/hate the finance industry for no logical reason (maybe the fact that it's just money-based), but if there is one reason I would be interested, this would be it. The financial advisory project I am currently working on, I should say, came as a blessing that brought me to this realization.

Next chapter in finance? Maybe I should find a financial (or economical :)) way to quantify human emotions, primarily, anger.

Watch out!

The world is always watching. If it's not, it might be.

Random thoughts

Why should you watch the road while you could just watch the vehicle in front of you instead?
Because if you hit the road, you won't fall on the vehicle in front of you.

What happens if you open your mind to a fool?
He throws his stupidity into it.

Writing

A language teacher cannot be a writer or a poet for the same reason a mason cannot be an architect.

Civilisation

The more civilized a culture is,

the less wise it actually is.

Oh, forest and desert dwellers!

Lead us to immortality!

We, who are in concrete jungles,

bow to you in real green jungles.

Oh uncivilized, teach us how to live our lives!

Oh brutes, teach us how not to hurt others!

What do I choose?

Do I choose idealism, or do I choose realism? I would instead choose to be the needle point of the balance on which the two isms swing.

Look closer

The wings of the butterfly are beautiful, but only its wings are beautiful.

Inside us

If there's one force within that binds all of us together, it's the force of nature. It's in my nature to talk of natural forces. Naturally, we all try to force one another in to what we think is natural. But, only nature can dictate what is natural and what is not. Each and every one's nature is different by natural design. So there is no necessity to call another unnatural, just because he/she is not like us. If we are natural, they are too.

Every instant

The moment you start liking all weekends
is the moment you start hating all Mondays.

The moment you receive a compliment
is the moment you know that it seems empty.

The moment you are called crazy by them
is the moment you know they think you were right.

The moment you see a clean desk surface
is the moment you know its drawers have filth.

These are the moments that we live by,
but these are the moments we all skip.

Every instant in our lives is such a moment,
because a moment saved is a moment earned.

Not to Confound!

They say when you meet that person
that your heart so fast will pound.

They yell when you fall for that person,
that your mind is wandering around.

But, when I am with you, woman,
both these of mine you astound.

How long will this battle last,
and when will my ship run aground?

We are all lonely together

1. Long ago, one of my friends had once complained that all the academic textbooks now read like the authors' blogs and personal opinions and he started complaining heavily.
2. Finally I realized the difference between empathy and sympathy in one of our training classes: "When you think, you empathize; when you feel, you sympathize."
3. I heard a great quotation from someone yesterday: "Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people." I knew he was subtly referring to me when he said that, but I had an idea and said, "That's a good quotation, I should note it down!", and he fortunately took it in spirit and told us another one: "The confident says, 'I can do it.', but the arrogant says, 'Only I can do it.'"
4. I want to write about people referring to their own blogs on their blogs and explaining why they can't post regularly or couldn't write something the previous week, but I wonder how I can do that without being arrogant or hypocritical.
5. No poems or thoughts come to me as I sit and wait. I think and feel, I sit on my chair and wait. I am still waiting. No poetic emotions come to me. No enlightening thoughts. I wonder if That has forsaken me, either temporarily or permanently. But, I am still aware that I had once a copy of That in my mind and heart, and I know I can find it again and again, every time I lose it. For that is the beauty of That.
6. You know what I want? I want to learn the key to learn all the languages of the world in one go. Will even learning the root language help me achieve that goal? I guess not, because it's either no longer being used or it's vastly different from modern and current languages. Possibly, even the right answer to "What is that, knowing which, I can know everything?" won't help me with this problem.
7. I want to not use the words 'right' and 'wrong', 'good' or 'bad' ever, for they are ever so subjective, especially in professional settings. But then, how can I make people understand or even convey my meaning to them if I don't speak their own language? They use it in an introductory or a context-setting sense. Can I set the context using different adjectives and adverbs? I most certainly should be able to: 'extremely abysmal' or 'heavily disappointing' or 'immense room for improvement' could be some setters that I could use. I have no idea: Ich habe keine ahnung.
8. Coming back to the desire to master all languages, I consider having 'perfected a language' only when I can read and write literature and poetry in that language.
9. More?

What is not being afraid of making mistakes?

People talk about what real courage is all about and explain that it means not being afraid of making mistakes. But all it does is make you wonder how to tell when you about to make a mistake and still want to do it. I just imagined a situation like that:

You have a goal. Sometimes you are working, and when you are free, you think about that goal always at the back of your mind. And some day, opportunity disguised as your friend knocks on your door and shows you 'one' way to your goal. Like all goals, the path is not easy. It's simple but not easy. But since you have nothing better to do in your life than to achieve your purpose, you pursue that goal. On the way, you have to convince someone to let you pass their property, borrow something they have or get them to do something for you and you would pay them for it. They refuse to do it at first. You get angry. There have been countless times this has happened in your life – people refusing to do what you ask them to do, even beg them to do. And still, you argue, request, order, yell, beg or simply ask them to do something for you, knowing not every time whether or not they are going to help you. But not always you are going to be not angry with them. Nevertheless, you are aware that the angrier you get, the less there is chance of persuading them. And so, there are many moments you are angry at them and are arguing about why they should do your bidding.

There it is. You are fully and consciously aware that you are making a mistake by getting angry and arguing. You know you are helpless. You know that you are pushing them away by giving way to anger. There's the mistake. But you see no other way around, because at that moment, that's the only way to your goal you are aware of. So, you make that mistake knowingly. You are not afraid of committing the mistake of getting angry at the person you want to help you. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, because not everybody is the same. Some people are intimidated and do as you say. Some get angrier and throw you out or call the police. On the off chance that they might be intimidated, you let yourselves get angry.

There you go. You just realized that if you are not afraid of making a mistake, courage and success will be yours.

Is there such a woman?

I've noticed that most women complain about you when you disrespect them but don't praise you when you respect them. Is there a woman in your world who does the opposite?

I am time

My dad once told me that time is the solution to most problems. But what if I don't want to wait until time solves the problem? What if I want to solve the problem?

The solution is simple, but not easy. I must become time. But then, what am I but time? What is time but the rising and setting sun, moving hands on a clock's face, rotting food and dead carcasses, growing trees and falling fruit? What is time but moving matter, joining parts and breaking down of constituents?

What am I but all of these? I wake up and sleep everyday, go in circles on a regular basis, wash away dead skin cells in the bathroom, eat vegetables and fruit. What am I but a moving body of organs and limbs, assimilating and disassembling molecules and atoms?

I am time, the ever-changing entity that runs like a thread through a string of pearls. I am time, the intangible entity that exists in every human's consciousness. I am time, the wind, the sun, the earth, fire and water. Fire cannot burn me. Water cannot drench me. I am time.

Courage and caliber

This piece of monologue might suit perfectly to a real hero:

"Enemies. I heard somewhere that you cannot trust someone unless he has enemies. What would you expect in your enemy? Certainly not cowardice. I pity and hate cowards. I want to have nothing to do with them. I want my enemies to have a certain caliber and ability. I want my enemies to be my equals. How else can I justify my own skills and strengths, unless I demonstrate them against my enemies? And how can my skills be considered worthwhile unless I meet my match? That is why I look for enemies with deadly skills. I am worthless if I have a coward for an enemy."

Stumbling across the truth

I heard somewhere that most people stumble across the truth, brush themselves off and continue on their way. This reminded me today of what I do everyday while I commute to and from my office. Everybody is on their way to some place or another in or on their vehicles. They are all driving or riding their vehicles smoothly, grimacing at people who are faster, and honking their horns at people who are slower. As we have all heard that one must enjoy the journey and not worry about the destination, so must go this ride on the road.

And so I travel everyday. One day I came across a speed-breaker, also known for some reason as a sleeping policeman. What happens when you forget your destination and concentrate on the journey itself? Different people do it differently.

The patient and careful rider slows down well before he reaches the bump, hurts neither himself nor the bike, and continues.

The devious look for gaps in the bump, at the left or right ends of it and pass through them no matter what the riders behind or in front of them are doing on the road.

And then there are the rash, the careless and the over-confident. These completely ignore the bump. They neither slow down before it nor look for gaps to pass through. They continue at the same speed they were riding, caring neither about their vehicle's shock-absorbers and tires nor about their own backbones.

I wonder if there are people who do it differently than these three types of riders.  If not, do these constitute the bike-riders' Trinity?