Come away with me...

Life is a journey, they say. But that sense of constant motion and progress is often broken by periods of stillness. Periods when life is stationary and still; and contrary to what it may seem like, this  phase is not peaceful and tranquil. In fact, it feels like a trap one needs to cut through; a wall to break through or a dense forest to trample through. It feels like the warm waters trapped by a frigid arctic ice sheet waiting for that evanescent summer. In this stillness, there is a restlessness, a desperation, and a force that cannot be contained for too long.

I know you have just come but I've been at this station for a while now, dear friend.  I have seen trains coming and leaving. People coming and leaving. I have seen families meeting and parting, friends becoming and unbecoming. I have seen people falling in love and falling out of it. I have seen the young and the old; even the young becoming the old. I have seen people come in and out of my life. I have seen life pass me by as I have waited for the right train. And now, I feel like I need to just move because it is the stillness that is unbearably stifling. Because now staying in the same place is scarier than going to the wrong place. 

After all, what is a journey without the sense of progress? And what is life, if not a journey?   

And that is why I say, come away with me. Even though, I know we just met and I am ever so glad we did...the truth is, that although I may want you by my side, I won't be able to hold on here for much too long. Cracks are appearing in the frigid layer of ice and I can see the future welling up.  I know the next train is on its way and I need to take it.  

Not want, my friend, but Need. 

I Need to move on but I also don't want to leave you here. 

So, come away with me, my friend... 

We will roam the earth and walk on the clouds. We can sleep under the stars as we wait for them to fall. We will travel through the lands and write our own little stories. We will meet old friends and make new ones. We can laugh with each other and cry for each other. We will find new answers even as we rediscover old questions. We can become a little more of our better selves in learning from each other. I know we will, because, we are better than each other when we are not like each other. 

We can show each other our lives and our stories because I do want to hear them all, from you. I want to hear of your best and worst moments and I want you to know of mine.

I know you have just come to this station but trust me when I say, there are better things ahead. I wish you would just come away with me and we can begin another journey, another life... 

  

Negative spaces

Spaces and people are most commonly defined by what they contain.
And yet, unappreciated or perhaps under-appreciated by us, the empty spaces that surround them are also defining them constantly - quietly, sharply and effectively.

A negative space, as defined by artists is the space around a subject, not the subject itself that forms an interesting shape, in turn becoming the "real" subject of the image. The concept of negative space has been used effectively in many optical illusions, images and visual tricks; from Rubin's vase to the Japanese gardens - so much so that it is considered a key element of artistic composition. 

Most of us, tend to define our lives by who we are, what we have and what we can bring to our lives through hard work, planning and dedicated effort. And yet, I now realize that we also allow ourselves to be defined (especially by others) by the negative spaces around us - by what we lack and what we cannot have.

I now realize that despite my many attempts to focus on what is there, I have also allowed myself to be defined by what is not there. I have allowed others to define me by "my negative spaces". So much so, that there have been times when these dark, empty, 'negative-spaces' have threatened to swallow me intact or annihilate my very identity. Much like the Rubin's vase in some sense because once you see the faces, the vase is lost a little bit.

This is a note to myself and to others who have been on these roads - a reminder, to not just let the negative spaces define us; but instead to actually use them and find new meaning in life. The absence of one thing allows for the presence of something else. As we sculpt our lives, dreams and visions of our future, we need to visualize the negative spaces for what they bring to us, than for what they lack.

People of the coast...

There are a few among us who belong to the coast.

We grow up looking outward and wondering about that which lies beyond the oceans. We look towards the unknown - the heavens above and the oceans below. The mass of humanity behind us does little to interest us. Their concerns of everyday living are practical and important but at the same time uninteresting to the likes of us.
We are the people of the coast. The people who live on the edges of the world.
We grow up watching the boats coming in; hearing stories of far and distant lands; and imagining what those lands really looked like. We are the children who can't wait to try the new thing.
The stories that would quench other people's curiosity would only fuel ours more because we haven't lived those stories or seen them with our own eyes.
We wonder about the people that inhabit those distant lands. We wonder if the tall tales that the sailors have are indeed true. We hear of the mythical creatures and wonder what else lies there - beyond these oceans.

We are the people of the coast.
We live at the cusp of two worlds - the known and the unknown. And while we appreciate the security and comfort of the known, it is the unknown that fascinates us. That tingles our sense of curiosity and colors our dreams. We grow up listening to the stories and taking in all their elements. We dream of great explorations in our future even as we work through the world and acquire the skills of everyday living. We grow up watching the ships being built and learning the tricks of the trade. The sailors regale us with the scary tales of big waves and thunderstorms. We listen to them in awe and watch the big waves crashing on to the shores. And yet, we are not scared, not daunted. The lure of the unknown is too strong for us and blinds us of these dangers. We grow up wanting to be sailors and explorers - the discoverers of new worlds. We work our way through hardships because of the unknown and the unseen that stands before us.

And then one day, after decades of work and struggle; after explaining to our loved ones, our need to explore, it is our turn to build our ship and map our journey. And so, we build our ship; perhaps, not as grand as in our dreams but definitely sturdy and ready to battle the waves. We prepare ourselves for the storms, for the rough-shod waves, for the cracks and tears and for those other scary eventualities.

And we leave all that was known to us - and march into a world, unseen and unknown. We hope for the best and yet we think we are prepared for the worst - for the worst of the storms, for the winds and the pirates, for the rocks and the blizzards.

But, then something strange happens - the ocean turns placid and we are stranded by inaction. The winds cease and we are left moored on the ocean, waiting for that gust of wind that will lead us forward.
Waiting.
For motion, for action, for an opportunity - to do what we trained for all our lives. And yet, there is no escaping this. And so we wait. Stranded for days, weeks, even months - hoping that the breeze will pick up and would lead us on.

Sometimes, all you have to do is wait. And hope. 

On the road where others have been…

Reading for me has often been a quest to live multiple lives simultaneously, to compress time and to see how the 'story' ends. Its a way to read people's thoughts; their biggest dreams and their darkest fears.
And in this quest, it is most comforting when I find a resonance of my own sentiments and thoughts. Just to know that other people have been here and have made it through.

And so after having written about the breaking and remaking of selves, when I found these quotes, my heart felt a little more comforted and a little less lonely…

Look up at the stars...

Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.

Stephen Hawking

Some one liners for a laugh...

A good 30 laughs - Dilbert's one liners:

I say no to alcohol, it just doesn't listen.
A friend in need is a pest indeed.
Marriage is one of the chief causes of divorce.
Work is fine if it doesn't take too much of your time.
When everything comes in your way you're in the wrong lane.
The light at the end of the tunnel may be an incoming train..
Born free, taxed to death.
Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.
Life is unsure; always eat your dessert first.
Smile, it makes people wonder what you are thinking.
If you keep your feet firmly on the ground, you'll have trouble putting on your pants.
It's not hard to meet expenses, they are everywhere.
I love being a writer... what I can't stand is the paperwork..
A printer consists of 3 main parts: the case, the jammed paper tray and the blinking red light.
The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was the genius.
The trouble with being punctual is that no one is there to appreciate it.
In a country of free speech, why are there phone bills?
If you cannot change your mind, are you sure you have one?
Beat the 5 O'clock rush, leave work at noon!
If you can't convince them, confuse them.
It's not the fall that kills you. It's the sudden stop at the end.
I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
Hot glass looks same as cold glass. - Cunino's Law of Burnt Fingers
The cigarette does the smoking you are just the sucker.
Someday is not a day of the week
Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock.
The road to success.... Is always under construction.
Alcohol doesn't solve any problems, but if you think again, neither does Milk.
In order to get a Loan, you first need to prove that you don't need it !!!

Quotes that resonate..

“True beauty, the kind that doesn't fade or wash off, takes time. It takes incredible endurance. It is the slow drip that creates the stalactite, the shaking of the Earth that creates mountains, the constant pounding of the waves that breaks up the rocks and smooths the rough edges. And from the violence, the furor, the raging of the winds, the roaring of the waters, something better emerges, something that would have otherwise never existed.
And so we endure. We have faith that there is purpose. We hope for things we can't see. We believe there are lessons in loss, power in love, and that we have within us the potential for a beauty so magnificent, our bodies can't contain it.”
― Amy Harmon, Making Faces

“You loved ferris wheels more than roller coasters because life shouldn’t be lived at full speed, but in anticipation and appreciation.”
― Amy Harmon, Making Faces

“It's hard to come to terms with the fact that you aren't going to be loved the way you want to be loved.”
― Amy Harmon, Making Faces

“Death is easy. Living is the hard part.”
― Amy Harmon, Making Faces

“Sometimes a beautiful face is false advertising.”
― Amy Harmon, Making Faces

“I don't think we get answers to every question. We don't get all the whys. But I think when we look back to the end of our lives, if we do the best we can, and we will see that the things we begged God to take from us, the things we cursed him for, the things that made us turn our backs on him, are the things that were the biggest blessings, the biggest opportunities for growth.”
― Amy Harmon, Making Faces

“I was scarred but I was not broken. Beneath my wounds I was still whole. Beneath my insecurities, beneath my pain, beneath my struggle, beneath it all, I was still whole.”
― Amy Harmon, A Different Blue

“Have you ever stared at a painting so long that the colors blur and you can’t tell what you’re looking at anymore? There’s no form, face, or shape–just color, just swirls of paint? I think people are like that. When you really look at them, you stop seeing a perfect nose or straight teeth. You stop seeing the acne scar or the dimple in the chin. Those things start to blur, and suddenly you see them, the colors, the life inside the shell, and beauty takes on a whole new meaning.”

Amy Harmon