Satisfaction VS Achievement – the pillow way.

Friday, November 21, 2008

I started to sleep after a stressful nightshift and my brain was still awake. Surprisingly, my brain began to talk to the pillow. The pillow was inquiring about my wellness of the day. My brain started to crib about the day’s bad happenings. At some point of time the pillow had to interrupt and said “Stop that. Why are you so pessimistic?” That was hard to take. Pessimistic. I was never a pessimistic person. i don’t see the empty half in a glass of water. The pillow said “Is that just sufficient. A person who knows psychology can never fail a psychic test”. True, the actual test is not just that simple. Pillow continued, “Life is simple. Just live it.” The brain asked “But how, what will happen to ambitions, the landmarks which want to cross. Importantly, my promises to keep before I sleep.” The pillow asked “what are they”. The brain listed all that I wanted to do from my childhood and never achieved any. The pillow asked “is that what you wanted to achieve.” The brain said yes. “Will you be satisfied then ..?” the pillow asked. The brain said it will try. The pillow asked “Do you have a hobby? How often you’ve rejected your own idea? How many things have you assumed rather than understanding the actual?” The brain started to ponder. The pillow continued “Great people don’t compromise. They don’t work for achievement; but it’s their passion. Satisfaction is just the state of mind. State of contentment. But passion is a burning desire it never sleeps. It never recognizes milestones. Neither hatred nor flattery falls in the sight of passion. Passion leads to achievement and achievement leads to glory. Passion is hunger and satisfaction is contentment. Think of what you can do today than tomorrow” The brain started to think “What am I working for? Money, glory, passion or just the need? Am I really passionate about something..?” The pillow stopped but brain started to think “is this simply my inability to cope up with the change or should I create something of my choice…”
To be continued….

Tough needs to be going ... before I sleep!

When Going gets tough, the tough gets going! The going is getting tough; I am not sure if the tough will get going at once. I am in the late twenties now – half of my life is gone now and I have not done anything great – not yet! When will I do that ‘something’? How will it be done? Will it be done or will it happen? When will it happen?

Well, too many questions to (en)counter now. Too much of question marks all around me – in office, at home and everywhere else. I have got questions to answer before I sleep. I know; but then, working for 9 hours in the night shifts with an additional 3 hours of travel – one needs to sleep – I need to sleep. I don’t get enough, but when I do, I ensure to have my pillows all around me. There was this incidence when my wife came back home that day and I was still sleeping. Looking at the bed, she asked, “are you sure, that you were (only) sleeping?” Well, I was sleeping – trust me. I could do nothing else that time, once I reach home after office at dawn. All my tiredness and my anxiety end when I hit the sack. The time is odd – I understand, but then, this is the time when the Americans sleep. They are the ones who pay for my living – so, I have to (literarily) sit when they do; stand when they do and sleep when they sleep. No worries.

Self Satisfaction is factional. It has to indulge your family and the people sharing time with you. In my case, family means my wife, as my parents stay far from me. I spend the lion’s share of my day with my colleagues in office. So, all these people contribute to my satisfaction – factional satisfaction. You say you do not need so many people around you to be satisfied. May be you would go to Himalayas – but you would not be satisfied if people concerned to you are not. You can avoid your thoughts to roam around your family only if your family is satisfied and can go on without you. You will not be happy if they long for you and you pine for them in return – not even if you are in the Himalayas and you want to become a sage.

Where am I? No, I am in the same track. I was telling that with all these questions revolving around me, how can I be satisfied? I cannot be. And till I am (read my soul is) not satisfied, I cannot relax, think, dream or act with discretion. To do these one needs peace of mind. Peace, I get only when I am among the pillows in my bed – fast asleep. Well, I can practice Self Control – actually, one has to practice that. Without ‘Self – control’ one would not be able to relax, think, dream or act with discretion when there is no peace of mind.

As the heading of the blog says, ‘I can and I will’ find peace of mind someday and will answer all the queries and I will be happy! Till then – “thanks to my pillows.”

SELF CONTROL

Monday, November 17, 2008

Let us learn the basic lessons of self control from this lovely little friend. What ever is the scenario we can see that these pillows are calm and collected; not just that after all human torture we can see them back at work- " no grudges". This can be said to be as the signs of Orthodox Professionalism.
Let me explain: At the heights of frustration; my biggest satisfaction is in punching the pillows and throwing them with out any aim, as if I am throwing away my anger far away from me. Pillows are so loving and so caring that they literally take off all our anger and when we go and take them back; they would come back to us again with a beautiful dream. I know pillows are life less but there role in our life is remarkable. A pillow gives you something beyond comfort. Now you may think Comparing life less things with life is craziness, but I feel it’s not a mistake; because we can learn life from any thing or any one. India is a fast growing country now. We can see a remarkable growth in all aspects of Indian life. All this happened after force fully taking in, a handful of a life less substance called salt. Thus we know how we can make life with life less substance.
Just like soup without salt, sleep without pillows is incomplete. And a life without sleep would be a disaster!!! So let us break the shackles of hesitation and prejudice and get freedom from all our physical and mental bondages; with a good sound sleep over these sweet little pillows.
“Let’s relax”
“Let’s think”
"Let's dream "
“Let’s act with discretion”, and
“Let’s practice self control”