Death of Silence

Electricity supply was gone; sun had just gone down from a heavy day’s duty, workers who were busy in renovating the walls of the room next to mine also halted their work for a while. I shut the lid of the laptop and sat quietly. At that point I realized that I had been missing a forgotten friend, silence.

In bustling routines I hardly hold on and listen to the silence. The ears are all the time occupied, mostly with music, sometimes with lecturer’s eloquence, friends gossiping, carpenter or construction workers working, vehicles racing, people in flats quarrelling or just any other sound in usual. Somehow in all these hustle bustle the silence got sidelined. Got lost.

Not only had the silence got sidelined, but also the things that usually accompanied it, slowly recede and fade away from life.  

I often think that thus sidelined; silence wants to tell me so much. It wants to answer all the questions that I have been busy finding answers to. However I have hardly let her voice reach me.

Is it that I assume her to be too dumb to be of any value through her opinions and answers…?

Or

Is it that I think the words of my silence are too, outwardly and not really applicable or relevant to the regular life that I have been so comfortable with?

Or

Is it that I have knowingly killed her, out of my fear that it may ask me some question which I can’t answer.

Or even tell me a thing or two about myself that I am afraid of listening to?

Have I really killed my silence, cold bloodedly?

We will have to wait for silence to tell us that, too…….

Reflections on an article

In order to appreciate the below mentioned points, you are requested to first read an article from HBR "How will you measure your life?" 

http://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life/ar/1

This was one of the best articles I have read in long time, and fortunately, I came across it timely. I now understand why it is put as an opening essay in the book titled “Advancing your career”.

I would just highlight the points that I ponder after reading this,

1.      Purpose of life – Does the sense of purpose emanate from sense of duty? Or is it the other way around?  A greater concern here is that in an environment where our thoughts are so much conditioned by various forms of media how does one actually realize that the purpose one is following is truly his own.

Answer perhaps only lies in talking to oneself, as the article suggests. But should not one build filters in order to keep the undue/external influences at a bay? If yes, what could these filters be like?

2.      How to spend an additional hour – The sense of achievement which author talks about is perhaps not as limited as Prof. Christensen thinks it to be. In fact doesn’t so-called “Rising Aspirations” of middle class of such vast majority reflect the same kind of bent of mind?  “It is easier to make a good living these days than to lead a good, calm and happy life.[1]” It also bothers me that at a personal level I should not confuse movement, change, growth and development. Clear understanding of what we mean by them is essential, but they perhaps evolve with time, and need to be reviewed every now and then. Most of the times we end up chasing things that we do not really want/need. Such chases, even if successful, lead to lot of dissatisfaction and frustration.

3.      On Metrics:

Does good observation skills be a guide to replace the need for immediate progress with that of a seemingly slow but even more important progress. For example, if one observes a kid’s or student’s behaviour carefully, one will surely able to see the results of even higher magnitude than the ones that are offered by a career. This can be equally true for a case of creating one’s own enterprise.

The marginal costs idea conveyed is really a fascinating way of stressing on zero tolerance on ethics, for me it was the best take-away from this article because after I graduated, I have never heard anyone (apart from couple of Gatherings) stressing on this point!!

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[1] Philosophy of Happiness – a Video in TED Talk by Allan De Botton

Channelling Besties.... :)

Recently while reading “Last Lecture” from Randy Pausch, I came across an expression where he wrote that while he was on stage giving that lecture, he was, mostly channelling the theatrics and narration skills of his father, who too was a great storyteller.

This aspect of channelling others set me thinking about instances where I have –or wished to do at least - channelled, skills, attitude, approach and conduct of some of the most wonderful people I have come across.  Cynics may call it copying; however those with hearts often appreciate it as a mere imitation of the best by an impressionable child.

To illustrate this aspect of channelling the best, I would like to put forth following instances. While rooting for a particular idea, I would always like to channel an energetic friend of mine who has been running a creative writing website as a mere hobby since last 3 years, it takes a lot of time and effort but whenever you listen her talking about it, you never get to hear a sense of fatigue….. That’s a type of energy one would always like to exhibit while rooting for an innovative idea.

 At times when I am faced with insurmountable tasks I try to channel the determination and persistence of a friend who just completed his chartered accountancy, we always used to discuss that big things are often built, bit by bit. This allows breaking down the bigger problems into smaller ones and handling them each at a time.

Fear of loss, this is one of the things which often sound bigger and heavier until faced. It is perhaps right that one will be at one’s strongest most when faced with a big loss or adversity. Whenever this fear cripples me I try and think of the worst outcome and compare it with that of the grievous most loss faced by some of my friends. This makes me realize that there are people who have taken head on to even more difficult situations and come out stronger. This idea is fascinatingly refreshing and gives one a new perspective of looking at things.

If you are reading this, I want to let you know that – known or unknown- there is a bit of you in me. And I am thankful for it. J