Peace!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Now you know I have made it a point to do all the fun things that I like doing and doing new things, etc and all that jazz which makes people happy and which makes you want to run around singing ‘aaj main upar, aasman neeche’ type songs. You must know, dear intelligent and in-touch-with-your-soul reader, that we must not let what other people think is good or desirable affect what we want for ourselves. This becomes especially important if you’re marooned, somewhat, in a place full of 500 people who were very, very bright, interesting and had crazy different unique dreams in their heads before they landed up here. Now what happens to most people in my place of study, o discerning reader, is this. Some of them get ultra enthu to ‘kill the system’ and become all ‘studly’ and ‘awesome’ and worshippable by doing the things that most such worshippable people have done before. Follow precedent, basically, regardless of whether this is in unison with their crazy unique dream. Some think the system ‘sucks’, that it’s absolutely unfair and they don’t need to give a damn because that’s cool and they any way don’t care about their grades. They’re assured of a good job when they graduate from this place. Then there are some who’re just… there. They study, do their thing. Work when it’s time to work, chill when it’s time to chill. Form the bulk, basically. So there are the studs (including the almost-there studs) the theres and the this-place-sucks-so-I’m-going-to-dope-my-way-out-of-its. Now, there are also some people who’re in touch with their subconscious and so happily live happy lives dreaming about wonderful things and making them happen and do make them happen, etc.. Now, the best part is that these are some people who could’ve easily been a part of the theres but because they truly love their life, they vibrate at such a high frequency that people stop and take note of them. Well, most people do, barring some perhaps who’re so obsessed with doing the right stuff that they just forget to live their life.

So. Now, I’m not passing any value judgment or saying one is better than the other. All I’m saying is this. Why should we let other people’s dreams become our dreams? Why should A’s dreams be better than my dreams? Why should I care about whether people think I’m doing a better job of my life? Think about the enlightened ones I mentioned in the previous paragraph. We do take note and salute them in our minds and hope we could be as happy as them.

Then there are some cliquish people who think that the ‘best thing is do is ____’. Excuse me? Please add a ‘for me’ in there somewhere. You can’t decide what the best thing for XYZ to do is. And even if you think activity A is better than activity B, it’s only what you think and that perception is based on what your experience has been with activities A and B. Right? Right. So you don’t go around crowing one thing the most ‘studly’ thing to do, because honestly, it’s not that tough and doesn’t take an Einstein. And would only Einstein-ish things be worthwhile? Everything one does requires a certain kind of Einstein. Why should one type of Einstein be better than the other? Those who know what I’m talking about also know that when you portray yourself to others, you shouldn’t come across as a someone obsessed with one kind of Einstein. Einstein himself was not obsessed with one thing! Nor was Leo, nor was Newton, nor was or is anybody at all who is worth knowing and learning things from. If everyone just let themselves be and did everything for the kicks of it, without really thinking about how awesome it makes them in others’ eyes, then everyone would be studly. So status quo is this. Everyone here is still very very bright, except, some have progressed to being tube lights who’re in series resistance and glow very brightly when the voltage is high and because the voltage is high; and there are some very few who’re in parallel connection who glow brightly regardless of whether the others in the connection glow brightly or not. They really don’t care. And they’re the happiest of them all.

It’s just that you learn about the best and the worst in people only in certain circumstances, and the happy enlightened ones don’t really care about how well others are doing. You can’t keep measuring yourself against this scale which consists of the achievements/failures of others. It’s incredibly difficult for us to do that here, but I think that’s why we’ve all come to this place. I guess most of us are in the ‘temperance’ phase of our tarot-story-lives. You’ve got to keep going through it, till you learn the lesson :)

So just do your thing and don’t measure yourself against any such scale, alright? Please. Because you’re a lovely, beautiful, intelligent, creative and happy person. And X’s doing cool things doesn’t make you uncool. You’re cool yourself if you just do your thing. And I’m telling myself all of this more than anyone else, so PEACE! And yes, some of it is directed towards the general universe at large. Thank you very much, and PEACE, again!

8 comments:

Shreya said...

I HEART! And agree completely! :D

Sneha said...

lowe, shraa mommy!

Anonymous said...

I agree with most of this. Interesting how people think in cliches though and dont really understand most of what they say. "Because you’re a lovely, beautiful, intelligent, creative and happy person".

Frankly I don't think there are more than 15 people, if that many, who are really all of those things. And unless you have some scale to measure yourself against very few people would do much.

There is a BIG difference between measuring yourself on some scales (good) and measuring others against those scales (not so good). Not to say that you should measure yourself against a scale you dont believe in.

Sneha said...

ok i have two points to make:
a) the fact that YOU think there are not more than 15 people who're all that is based on YOUR definition of those words. i think everyone is all that. it's just that we fail to see it, or they fail to see it themselves and hence fail to show it to the universe. but everyone in all honesty is all that.

b) i never disputed that we shouldn't have a scale to measure ourselves by. what i did dispute is that that scale shouldn't comprise the achievements/failures of others and your own tanglible 'achievements' alone. all the shit that one has overcome to get where they are (which is not on you cv) is one's achievement yaa. and in a place like law school we have to make a conscious effort to keep reminding ourselves of that. i tell myself at times, dude relax you're not from the same background as everyone else.. different circumstances etc look what you've done with whatver you've had etc etc.. so yea. can't keep judging yourself by what others do. that way we'll never be happy.

A ditty said...

Way to go! It would be lovely if more people in law school thought your way... :D

Spaz Kumari said...

i find the cliques and self-obsession in law school more amusing than anything else, actually. :-D

BlueBuddha said...

I'm speechless. You've said it all.

Sneha said...

note: i want to know who anon is!!

@ siddharth- :) it' amusing how you leave comments when you're 'speechless' and don't when you claim to be so otherwise. hehee.