To judge or not to judge

It was just another day.. Another normal day which went by.. A not so unusual situation happened that day.. Generally I wouldn't have given it a second thought, but these since I'm on a high analysis mode (maybe my project work flow is slowly beginning to affect me!!), I couldn't help but realise it..

Its all about judging people based on what others tell us.. Why has it become so common these days that everyone from a celebrity to someone whom we know are labeled and given tags based on the popular opinion.. Why?

It all started with one of my friends saying "I heard he's a major snob etc.. ", about one such guy in our class, when we were generally talking about people whom we knew by name and face and not been acquainted with.. That's when I thought.. "Hey I don't know this guy in person, then why should I believe whats being told about him?" For all you know, that guy may be a huge introvert and has problems speaking to people.. and people judged him otherwise.. and worse.. they spread their misconceptions and pass it off for a fact!! and that poor guy is never given a chance to disprove it.. Why? Because people barely have time and patience to invest and make judgements on their own.. And misunderstandings breed.. And its one disease which spares no one.. including myself.. Stephen Covey's son has a word to describe this phenomenon.. its called building paradigms about others.. A paradigm is an image we create about others based on what we get to hear about that person specifically and probably never bother to crosscheck.

Its not like everyone believes whatever is being told to them, about a person, but general behaviour of public is to accept it, without putting much insight into it.. There are some verified sources, whom you can trust and there are people who just like to talk negative and then there are some with personal grudges against whom they speak about.. One must know how sieve to separate the chaff from the wheat. and that again comes with only experience of knowing people around you.. so its like a vicious circle .. Ah.. but then in today's world where time is segmented to a fraction of a second, who has enough heart and willingness to spare a few moments and think about others.. Instant decisions and instant images are being conjured up in brains.. That's it.. and we keep moving on spreading the germ..

That's when I realised how unfair this whole thing was.. One thing I know is, no matter what people have to say about others, I will always strive to search for the blossomed lotus, in the pond of made up muck!!

WHY BLOG???

Well.. Its quite been sometime since it was on my mind.. Especially after that chat with my invisible yet omnipresent fren of mine.. It all started with me asking a simple question to him.. Its as follows:
Me: Did you see my blog?
My fren: Yes, I did
Me: Then how come you never mentioned abt it to me? gimme your comments on it..
My fren: its a nice blog
Me: nah.. you are telling that to keep me in good spirits.. tell me anything that I can improvise on? writing style? grammar.. maybe choice of vocabulary?
My fren: tell me , do you blog so that others notice it or do you blog for your own satisfaction?
Me: {Touche!!} Well.. That depends...

And so on the conversation continued.. But this thought kept on niggling me.. What was the main purpose behind my blog? It definitely did start out with me just wanting to write as and when I felt like scribbling something.. Then why do I wish everyone appreciates my blog or atleast check it out? Why do I have expectations from all corners of my life.. Even in something as abstract and virtual as the net is? Whew..

Not that I aspire to be some saint completely devoid of all desires and expectations etc, someday.. But then its these little things which sometimes ticks my self appraisal switch on..

Its true.. I admit.. Man.. I have too much expectations from myself and from the world in general.
Why is she like that?
Why cant he just shut his mouth?
Why doesnt India ever win a match decently, without any hiccups?
Why doesnt the posts ever come on time?
Why the hell does everyone irritate me when all I want is some peace?
Why does she say thinked when she means thought? ( why is her english that bad!!)
Why this?.. why that? and more whys follow..

Then again, taking a fair stand, its not like I dont figure in most of other people's set of Whys!! For some maybe I'm a pretty dominant "why" of their life!!!

Thats when I say to myself.. Hey.. take it easy, gurl... its life.. and learn not to be too hard on yourself.. thats when you never get to appreciate little things in life.. like the phrase goes.. "time to stop and smell the roses"... hmm.. Well.. I prefer carnations :) .. sadly they dont smell good!!

So, to start over a new leaf, today I blogged with a difference!!! I inked as I thinked (he he) :)

S-TILL TIME STANDS!!

Note to the reader: I wrote and edited this piece over a month in leisure, during my hols, three years ago.. So please dont be surprised if the other posts look different.. And yes I have liberally burrowed references. Ok now, you can carry on..
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'Time, you old Gipsy man,
will you not stay,
Put up your caravan, just for one day.'

Goes an old ode teasing a while which is forever endowed with an hour glass figure, the 4th dimension -time, it has built in absurdity, one that works always and all ways.. Time stands still!!

By which I really mean that time has not been proselytized by all the changes that it has itself induced, not once has it swayed to change itself..

And Time stands still...

When we least want to.. In all those painful moments when we rather that it moves into oblivion in a flash, is precisely when sands of time desert the very thought of easing on us or even providing a welcome mirage to our stung eyes. Of all the words it was in the work of Austin Dobson, that I find a fitting finale to the fact that is past the very future..

'Time goes, you say? Ah, no!!
Alas, Time stays, we go.'

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Ever seen a face??

"I have seen a face with a thousand countenances, a a face that was but a single countenance as if held in a mould." - Khalil Gibran

So, people... Have you really ever seen a face?? I mean have you ever studied a face indepth?And gone beyond that face?A face is so powerful that it can build and break a million assumptions simultaneously. It makes you respond, think and dream.. What does a face tell you..Emotions, hidden fears, desires,ambitions, achievements, failures, triumphs, losses? Ever wondered what lies beneath those layers of epidermis?

Nothing could be more upsetting knowing that one cannot do without a face(isnt that the driving force for most of the beauticians??).. A good one for that matter.. I never gave it the importance that it demanded.. I always thought I could look beyond those eyes.. I was wrong.. I realised that no matter what I'm still human and the basic tendency to judge any person instantaneously is by his/her face.. It speaks volumes they say.. Some can read, some cant..

An old beggar who lived by the end of the road, looked the same everytime I passed by him. Same ashen look on his face, semi bald, anticipating eyes, grown wise by the age wrinkles spread over his face, a toothless grin, uneven salt and pepper beard. There was something comforting about his face. Weird ,but it soothed me everyday as i passed his face. It unknowingly told me there was yet another day, yet another summer, yet another year to come. It sort of amused me that an unkown yet a known face could stir some emotion inside me. He aint there anymore and I'm still searching for some unknown face to comfort me (or maybe feel blessed that I've been given a good life).

One of my favourite pastimes is to sit by a glass pane and watch people scurrying about. The first thing I observe are their faces.. Worried faces, happy faces, sad faces, defeated faces, many such faces.. I'm yet to come across a contented face..

It was a frustrating discovery for me that a face is all we all have for identity in this superficial world. Who looks at the soul?Who looks at the talent?(Isnt that the same crap those fairness creams advertise?) Have you ever tried being friendly to an ugly person? Why do we instantly judge people by their faces? And what are the parameters to judge a goodlooking face? Can you actually pinpoint what features of the face makes it so appealing or otherwise? Helen- a face that launched a thousand ships.. Wonder what kind of face was that she possessed. (I bet Fair and lovely and other similar inc. insist she was fair!! Sheesh!!)

Its true, we see what we want to in every face.. To end with Khalil Gibran again..

"I know faces, because I look through the layers of fabric that my eyes weave and behold the reality beneath.."

So have you really seen a face??