Something to wake up to : Blog # 187

Something to wake up to

I remember the day when I completed my last semester’s exam of Engineering. There was a void. I did not have anything to do at all – no assignments, no projects, no examinations and no deadlines for submissions. The fact that I did not have a job offer in hand also helped. Unlike many of you, I am someone who enjoys doing nothing. I am not someone who has to have something or the other to occupy myself with. Inspite of this, I did not enjoy the void that I felt on that day.

We all complain about our hectic schedules. We all fret about how our lives have become a never ending pursuit of deadlines. But what do we do when have some surplus of time with us? I happened to think about this a couple of months back. I shifted to a place which is closer to my office and suddenly, I got about 3 hours a day which I did not know how to handle!

I think we land up in this situation due to the fact that we let ourselves be consumed by a single facet of life that is work. It is important that we respect work , understand how it gives us a sense of purpose to live with and of course how it contributes towards our sustenance. But equally important is the realization that work will come to an end one day. The day wok comes to an end, all of us might feel the void that I mentioned above, I know atleast I will for sure.

I have heard people say quite often that if you choose something you love doing , you won’t feel like working at all. Somehow, I cannot find truth in this statement. At best, I can imagine one not hating the fact that one has to go to office when one likes what he/she is doing. But the awareness that it is work afterall will be there at the back of one’s mind constantly is what I feel. Thus falling in love with one’s work is a difficult proposition especially when all of us have managers J.

We should cultivate and develop interests beyond work. It can be nurturing relationships with loved ones, friends or extended family. It can be some hobby or interest. It can be a creative endeavour. It can be sports, arts or craft too. But there should be something which should help one disconnect from work. Also, having something of this sort help us get in touch with the larger purpose of life. If it is not a passive interest, one might end up creating something for posterity!

Sooner or later, a day will come in all of our lives where we don’t have much to do. In days like those, having an interest or passion of some sort will gift us with the feeling that you have something to wake up to. In our busy to breathe lives, we often forget the fact that dusks are longer than the dawns or so we perceive them to be. When we slip in to those dusks, it will be comforting to know that you have something to wake up to.

Arun Babu

It’s complicated : Blog # 186

It’s complicated

Relationships have never been better defined by words than these two – It’s complicated. The more we try to understand them, the more complex they become. Many a time, we tend to think that relationships evolve by themselves. This is rarely true. They need and want to be nurtured.

Strangely, it is the little things which help relations flourish. I still remember one of my uncles taking an effort to find me a job post engineering when no one else bothered. It did not work out. But I am still grateful for the effort he took. I am sure all of you have little things which you remember people by. It doesn’t take much time and more often than not, not much effort too. But one has to have the heart to do it. This doesn’t come by easily. One has to cultivate that habit.

In our part of the world at least, relationships play a huge role. Be it family, friends or acquaintances, having a ‘connect’ with someone is valued more than anything else. Then the decisions are made by the heart and not the head. I remember once, under a situation of immense pressure, I called up a colleague for something quite late in the night. He told me that I am doing this since YOU are asking me. Otherwise, I need not and will not do it. I would say one of my greatest learnings from working for the little time that I have done is that it is people who get things done and not processes. So if you need to get things done in a work environment, you need to connect with people and it doesn’t happen in a day or two. One needs to build relationships. Only then people will at least try to go an extra mile for you.

It is quite easy to let relationships fade away. But getting them back is not quite as easy. More so,in today’s time and age where we are under a sort of siege by technology. Relationships begin and end between the time one logs in and logs out.I think the way we seek out relationships also changes with age. Early in life, we seek out similar people- people who are like us because there in lies happiness. Later on, we should try and seek out people who are different from us for they will help us grow as an individual.

Recently, one of my friends told me that we haven’t met in a long time. I told her that we have been always in touch through Facebook. She laughed and asked “Since when did that become your idea of meeting?” One fallacy that we commit these days is in thinking that virtual interactions are as effective as meeting people in person. This is far from truth of the matter. When you meet a person, they are able to see your eyes lighting up seeing them, they understand your genuineness through your physical gestures and touch. They realize you travelled all the way to be in their presence.

Relationships need time. It is like water to a plant. By spending time with each other, one learns more of the other. We must understand that companionship is one the greatest comforts. There are times one needs to be alone. But there are also times when one needs to be with people. And more often than not, the latter need happens more frequently. It can be family, friends or neighbors. But these relationships don’t happen in a moment. It might take a lifetime but these are what makes living a lifetime worthwhile.

Arun Babu.

Watch Your Words : Blog # 185

Watch Your Words

        I walked in to one of the Toastmasters meetings where my friend Akanksha spoke about her dreams which failed to live through their destiny. During the course of her speech, she said that one unintended passing comment from someone whom she looked up to crushed her dream of becoming a journalist. I could completely relate to what she said and I am sure many of you can too.

There is power in the words. This holds doubly true for people in positions of power or in capacities of influence.  I am sure we all know that adage but thanks to Spiderman’s grandfather; we are reminded of it time and again “With great power, come great responsibility”. One might argue that a person holding a position is also a human being and he/she is bound to make some remarks which are off the mark. Although there is merit to this argument, the problem here is that for a mistake of one’s own, the price is paid by those who listen to him/her too. One can afford to make mistakes if it doesn't have any bearing on other people. But when it does, one has to take that extra ounce of care.

I have heard many great people urging the youngsters to tread the path less traversed. But how many of these people will be comfortable when their own dear and near ones choose those paths? Haven’t you frowned when a well to do relative of yours decided to join politics? Haven’t you gone skeptical when a cousin of yours who has impeccable academic track record decided to venture in to his own start up? Knowingly or unknowingly, I have at times! Chasing one’s dreams in itself is a herculean task. The least we can do is provide some words of encouragement. For all you know, your unintended words might become the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back!

There are enough naysayers in our world. Many a time, people don’t even realize that they are bringing the morale down for someone else. It is good to be a cheerer for a change. I don’t think there are even 1411 left in this endangered community. It is interesting to note that very few people cause damage by being positive to a fellow being. For instance, if you are instilling confidence for a friend’s initiative of any sort, that person has his/her own reasoning to ensure that he doesn't go wrong. But if you were to criticize his/her effort, chances of that person letting go of that effort completely is quite high. So let’s come together to ensure there is enough optimism in this world clogged with cynicism.

Like everything in life, there is a choice for us too, for the listener I mean. We can’t help hearing what people say but we can make a choice as to what needs to be listened to.

                                                                                                            Arun Babu.

A guide on how to Use Twitter ! : Blog # 184

To Kill a Mocking Sparrow ~ How to Use Twitter ?

        Twitter is among those things which appear to be frivolous at first but which are in fact a treasure trove of a value add. A surprising majority of us are blissfully unaware of how Twitter works including many who are present on Twitter!

            To begin with, Twitter is no Facebook. There is a sea of a difference. If FB is a friendly neighbourhood in a small town, Twitter is an upmarket gated community in a Metropolitan city. The element of personal attachment is lesser when it comes to the people who you come in to contact with on Twitter. It is more a group of people who share their views on various topics of mutual interests on Twitter whereas on FB, it is a group of friends indulging in random chit chat.

            Twitter works like this – You ‘tweet’ something and it appears on your timeline. The beauty of it is that your posts can be a maximum of 140 characters long(just got changed to 280 characters on 27th of September, 2017) and not a syllable more. People who ‘Follow’ you can see what you tweet or

post. So if you keep on tweeting mundane details of your day to day life, very soon your ‘followers’ will start ‘unfollow’-ing you. Only celebrities can afford to do that on the pretext of sharing their personal lives with their fans and thereby becoming closer to them! As mango people or as people who has no celebrity status attached to us, we should use twitter to obtain and disseminate information that interests us. Only this will want people to ‘follow’ you. Tweeting “Woke up to a sleepy morning” is of no use to any one but Tweeting “Went to bed late reading ‘A song of ice and fire’. A must read!” is acceptable. The idea is to write something which is of use to the person reading your tweet.

            Speaking of followers, there are celebrities who have millions of followers. Mr.Bachchan has over 9 Mn followers and Katy Perry has the highest number of followers at 54Mn. People like you and I will have hardly 100s of followers. Learning who all to follow in twitter is of prime importance. The idea is to follow those ‘handles’ which will tweet ideas/posts which is of interest and is informative to you. Mostly only celebrities make financial gains from twitter. So don’t get in to the business of getting more followers. It is near to futile.

            Now, some technicalities of how to use a twitter account. Your username is your twitter handle. Try to make it interesting. You can use ‘@’ to bring a person’s attention to your tweet. If you want to bring the attention of say, Shahrukh Khan to your tweet, you may use @iamsrk “Your message in 140 characters or less”.  Hashtags are used to indicate a common thread or topic of discussion. For instance, #Indiabudget or #Newyearseve. If more and more people start using the same hashtag, it starts’ trending’.

            If a person ‘Retweets’ your tweet, then your tweet is visible to that person’s followers. It is the e-version of word of mouth publicity. There is an option to ‘favourite’ a tweet also where in only you will come to know that another person has liked your tweet. Then there is the question of how to know if the person you are following is a genuine profile or not. Watch out for a blue tick mark along with the twitter handle of that person. The presence of blue tick mark indicates a verified profile and it is the real person be it Barkhadutt or Shashi Tharoor.

              Although twitter is all about public conversations, there is an option to have a  private conversation too. There is a 'DM' or a Direct Message option. But this works only if the person you want to talk to 'follow's you.

       

            Benefits of being on twitter include access to information on real time basis. It has become a medium where news spreads like wild fire. The tsunami that swept across South Asia was reported first on twitter. There is also the advantage of news and information given being unbiased. Add to that,the opportunity to get exposed to multitudes of opinions on diverse topics.On a lighter note, you are privy to the friendly banters and conversations of the people you admire too.

            One should know how self indulgent one should be on twitter. The key is to package information in a way that is appealing yet not preachy. If you select the people you want to follow astutely, twitter can be an incessant source of intelligent conversations that you can be part of.

Arun Babu

Death knell to Orkut : Blog # 181

Death knell to Orkut

I was reading through an article which elucidated Google’s decision to log out of Orkut permanently.  Isn’t it the largest example of someone missing the bus in recent times? What is more surprising is that an Innovative giant like Google could not identify such a humongous opportunity!

Many of us began our parallel lives on the social media through Orkut. It still evokes nostalgia when you see that purple circle and a bunch of faces. The scrapbooks,  the albums and the testimonials are soon going to be a  thing of the past. As you login to Orkut one last time, let us look back to see what went wrong.

Orkut was an idea which was ahead of its times. But what is painful for Google is the fact that it was not decades ahead. It came prematurely only a couple of years earlier. We all know about first mover’s advantage but Orkut is the classic case of a first mover’s curse. No one expected Social media to bloom on this large a scale. Google was also caught napping on this new phase of growth that they were gifted with.

There are lessons to be learned from this debacle. To begin with, I think Google as an organization did not nurture this sprouting sapling well. They might have been busy tending to the Sequoias in their garden of innovation. What they failed to understand was the fact that the existing technologies which have grown to become giant sequoias have scaled their heights already. It was in the sapling that is Social media where the potential for enormous growth lay.

Also, when the portfolio becomes large as in the case of Google; it becomes quite a task to devote equal attention to all the tracks. De-risking by putting the eggs in different baskets is one thing and being able to nurture all the baskets equally, quite another thing. It doesn’t matter how huge a corporation you are. There are always competitors waiting in the wings to take off just when you slow down to take a breather.

The spectacular emergence of a competitor is what makes this missed opportunity so conspicuous. Facebook grew by multitudes of leaps and bounds during this time. The organization invested time and dedicated effort to the extent that it has almost attained network externality. Network externality in this context means a state where in a technology becomes so ubiquitous that the popularity of it drives its growth.

All these point towards the necessity of organizations to be agile and alert about the business environment. In the last few years, the rapidness with which defining changes occur around us has become quite frequent. These days, an enterprise might think it is off to take a short siesta but chances of it waking up as a Rip van winkle is quite high.

Having said that, even though we move on to better things, one can’t help but feel some fondness for Orkut. Log in one last time, go through your testimonials, archive your albums, read through the scrap book and give it a fitting adieu. As with other things in Life, let us retain the best memories from that time of life and move on.

Arun Babu

Path much traversed : Blog # 180

Path much traversed

 The rain having subsided and the morning slumber reluctantly leaving my droopy eyes, I went out to run some errands for my mother. Out of the blue, I got this urge to drive down some lanes which I used to frequent as a child. Quite often, we hear about the need to take the path less traversed. Today, I realized it is equally important that we revisit those paths which we used to frequent often in the past.

            To begin with, there is a rush of thoughts that hit you. One realizes how amazingly innocent one was. The biggest of worries which used to fret us once up on a time seems to be puny now. The largest of efforts which used to weigh us down earlier now seems so easy. One wishes to go back to those days when life was much simpler.

One also realizes how far one has come from those days. At times, it surprises you how kind Life has been to you. One feels blessed and thankful to have traveled far ahead of those lanes. Looking back now, one feels all the potholes and long winding curves along the way have made one a better voyager.

            At times, it also makes you ponder on the dreams once you had. It might so happen that you might not have gone as much ahead as you thought you would. Even then, walking down those familiar lanes instills in you a belief, an urge to strive again. One never knows what surprise a second attempt might bring you.

            In these little by lanes of life, one also comes across those people who used to walk along with you. Very few things in Life can be more joyous than reminiscing about those days with them. When you see them, you realize how kind they were in your times of need. It also makes you feel good when they think of you in the same way. It’s funny when you meet the people with whom you had a fight on these lanes. You feel grown up when they come up to you and have a laugh about it. If not, you feel sad for them having not grown up.The funniest is when one meets people whom one competed with on these very roads. One realizes the frivolousness of it for the lanes which you walked through might have been the same. But, now you know the destinations were not J.

It is surprising to learn that once up on a time, you thought your life cannot move on without visiting these lanes. Yet today, you realize how far you have walked away from them. The fondness is very much still there. But you are thankful that you walked away and visited the world outside of it.You are grateful to the world beyond for having educated you..

Arun Babu.

Collective Who? : Blog # 179

Collective Who?  

I have come to think of Collective responsibility as an Oxymoron. Look at the various instances that we come across. Whenever an accident occurs and if a mob gathers around, chances are that no one will help the person who met with the accident. Here everyone shifts the responsibility to the other person in the crowd.

Consider another situation.  A group of people is assigned a task without specifically telling them who is responsible for what task. They are told it is the collective responsibility of the group to get the job done. Add to this; let it be a group of members who are equal in all respects; where there is no hierarchy. Don’t be surprised if the task doesn’t get started at all. A very recent example being the EGoMs (Empowered Group of Ministers) that we used to have in the earlier government and which were dissolved last month.

I think the reason why the concept doesn’t work out mostly is due to our inherent need for ownership. The moment you state collective responsibility, there is a loss of individual accountability at some levels. The thinking goes on the lines of even if one doesn’t pull his/her weight; the other members will do it for this person. Eventually the social loafer in each one of us begin to come out more often than it would if the task were completely owned by a single person.

In a corporate environment, one hears about collective responsibility quite often. This happens especially in two situations; one in times of success and the other in times of failure. In times of success, as in other positive situations, people tend to be graceful. The credit is shared with the team and collective responsibility finds some definite meaning. It’s quite interesting though in situations of failure. The team which started off the project on the contract of collective responsibility now becomes a collective slugfest! People start attributing the wrongdoings to other members of the team. Then starts the allegations of who was supposed to take care of what task!

I think collective responsibility works in only two instances. First, when the ownership of smaller tasks is assigned to individuals and the larger job’s responsibility is that of the team. Second, when the task is intrinsically motivating which means people are doing the job for reasons other than those which can be measured. People have undertaken the said job for reasons that appeals to their noble emotions rather than a reward in cash or kind. For instance, a noble activity like the cause of charity. Here, people tend to look at the larger purpose and try to go above and beyond whatever is expected of them. Else, it gets reduced to just another set of words which sounds good.

Arun Babu

In the backyards of the beyond : Blog # 178

In the backyards of the beyond

        Last week, I travelled to this part of the world which I hadn’t imagined in my wildest dreams that I would visit one day. I stepped in to the scenic, lush green, pristine piece of Earth that is Uttarakhand. There is an old world charm about this place, uncorrupted by the ways of the modern world. It isn’t crowded, polluted or clogged with vehicles. The roads were long and winding, serenaded by monstrous mountains and huge pine trees.

            What struck me about the place was its deafening silence. I did not quite get used to this sound of silence. There was always this feeling that I was missing something. I felt I was in the backyards of the beyond; away and aloof from everything. I went out on a walk where I couldn’t find a person on the road even after a good 10 minutes of stroll. I found a fox cross my path only to be told by the guest house manager that tigers also came down at times. Seeing the horror on my face, he said “Nothing to worry, they are small tigers”. I couldn't fathom how it is a relief!

            I realized how much of an effect the surroundings have on one’s mindset and approach. I was lamenting about my commute back to Delhi and eventually to Chennai. I wondered if the hairpin filled roads would block my way and the people there said it is quite common and I can travel the next day. There was a sea of a difference in the way people looked at the concept of time. Generally, we all would like to reach a place before 11 if we want to reach there by 11. Here, people factored in various happenings like a tree falling or a truck breaking down right at the turn of a hairpin. Connectivity here is never taken for granted. Your cell phone can go on mute and the internet can blank out at will. They were more accustomed to these uncertainties.

            Another difference was the abundance of time people had in this part of the world; so much so that I began getting terribly bored. Being used to a life where one needs to compromise on sleep to catch up with the world, here I was with a surplus of time and completely caught unawares how to deal with it. I asked one of the professors in the college there as to what he does after work. He said “I reach home in 15 minutes after the class gets over by 5.  I have a cup of tea and relax. This being a remote place, there isn’t many TV channels that you can watch. Internet can also get sporadic. Add to that a power outage which is highly dependent on the weather.” So how do you pass time, I asked. He said that they went to a nearby town ship. On my way back, I saw the town ship he mentioned. A handful of shops and eateries was what the township was all about.

            I hadn’t got as much time to myself in the recent past with nothing to do and nowhere to go to. I slipped in to a bit of introspection and realized how important it is for me to be around people whom I hold close. Also, how easy it is to find some time for oneself and for those one cares about.

            We all fret about how we don’t find time in this fast paced world of ours. But when gifted with an hourglass full of time, many of us don’t know how to deal with it. At least I did not.

For all the foibles of the city, I was dying to get back to the hustle and bustle of it. It is good to get away to places like these once in a while. If not for anything, to realize how blessed with comforts most of our lives are.

Arun Babu

Of relationships & Life : Blog # 174

Of relationships & Life

Somebody asked me what will be that wish I would ask for if I am granted just one. I would wish for the ability to love as much as I am being loved. These days,the ability to love is like common sense – not common at all. In fact there are very few people who can love fellow beings in the true sense.

    Many a time, we look at our relationships as secondary. We tend to forget their importance in this ever transient life of ours. Coming to think of it, relationships are among the few constants in our life; the relationships that we have with friends, family and hopefully not foes J. Everything else in life doesn't stay till the end; education, job, success, failures et al are passing phases. But relationships stay with you from the first breath till the last.

It takes time and effort to nurture relationships and it is worth it and how. It is these relationships which lend the much needed charm to our lives. People who have moved across cities in their life would know. It is not the glitz and glamour of the city that makes it close to ones heart. It is neither the amenities that the city promises nor the ambiance it holds within which makes it loved. It is the people; it is the relationships which we build in a city that lends it a character in our minds. Amidst all the steel and glass, it is the relationships which lends the city its soul.

Of the few ways to find some semblance of this conundrum that is life, I think the most enjoyable one is to bond with a few fellow souls. All we have is some finite time on the face of earth. Wouldn't it be great if we have a handful of people who care about us? More importantly, whom we care about! We have come to a state in life where all we are concerned about is oneself. I read somewhere that if something else moves you other than self pity, consider yourself to be blessed! What a sad truth, isn't it?

Many a time we underestimate the fragility of relationships. The smallest of deeds can make or break a relationship. If one were to compare Life to music, relationships are the most difficult notes yet the most soothing ones.

It is said, In a relationship, there is always one person who loves more. All of us strive constantly to be not that person. Once in a while, it is ok to be that person. May be, there is happiness in being that person. How will one ever know if we don’t take the plunge in to the sea of relationship? At times, it can be a tempestuous one which will need us to sail against high tides and strong currents! But the serenity in between, resembling a cool breeze on a sultry summer day is worth sailing for.

And about the lack of time in our life these days, all we need to think about is that one might want to scale a summit alone but not many would want to celebrate a birthday in solitude.

Arun Babu.

Respect for Women ~ Catch them young

Respect for Women ~ Catch them young

        One of the benchmarks for wellbeing and social maturity of a society should be the way it treats its women. Going by that thought, the lesser said about our society, the better. It is time we brought respect and dignity to our women which they rightfully command.

         A large number of crimes against women that are happening in our society is due to the mindset of the perpetrators; the mindset that women are in some way inferior to men. It is this cancerous a thought that need to be uprooted. For this to be achieved, we need to put in efforts from an early stage.

To begin with, we should look at ways to establish respect for women as a deed that is not a choice but a habit. There can be one person who advocates this thought in every educational institution. Right from when a student clears his/her lower primary schooling (when they reach their 5^th Standard) one session which lasts one hour need to be conducted every month for those students.It can be called 'Equality Hour'. In these sessions, the person who anchors this initiative will educate the students about the role women play in our society. This will be done in very subtle yet innovative ways. For instance, showing them films in which women play pivotal roles, inviting women who have contributed to the society in any way to address the students, showing them videos of women achievers, et al. The idea is to get the students understand how women play as equally important a role as men in our country.

Once this pilot program succeeds, the idea can be extended to include taking students to witness women working in positions of power. For instance, the students will visit a Lady who is a district collector or a Police commissioner carrying out her duties efficiently. The intention here is for the boys to begin to accept women as equals and for the girls to envisage themselves in pivotal roles in the society.

The root of all evil is destructive thoughts and these thoughts arise and grow over time. If these thoughts are clipped early on in life, unwanted intentions will be eliminated and so will be the undesired acts. No amount of punishment is deterring people from indulging in heinous crimes against women. What is required is a change in mindset and this initiative is looking at achieving just that.

                                                                                                Arun Babu.

Of Godmen, G.D.P & Maslow : Blog # 173

Of Godmen, G.D.P & Maslow

         A strange line of thought sprang up during the evening tea. Does the rise of middle class have anything to do with the flourishing Godmen and their sprawling businesses? I think it does.

Much has been written about the emergence of great Indian middle class. It has far reaching consequences in a many a fields that impact our lives. It is the reason why multinational retailers are dying to open their stores in India. If there is a reason for universities to flourish like cocoons, this is it. If automobile sales are skyrocketing in our country when it is slowing down across the globe, you don’t need to think far from this thread.

         To try and understand as to how the emerging middle class and Godmen are connected, let us explore a concept called Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in the field of Human Resources management. In a nutshell, Maslow says at different stages of life, different things motivate people. The initial stages of hierarchy are the basic needs – physiological, safety and social. Then comes need for self-esteem and then eventually, self-actualization. If the initial needs are met, then in order for a person to be content,the higher needs of the hierarchy need to be appealed to.

          As a result of the surge in the economic growth in the last couple of years, a large population of the country has moved in to the middle class who has purchasing power. This means that a considerable population has fulfilled the initial needs. To put things in perspective quite literally, these are people who has a house, a job and has time to sit on the balcony with a cup of tea and fret about the finer things in life. Having found that time, one begins to feel a void – a sense of not feeling complete and thereby a lack of contentment.

            It is here that the Godmen/women have found their opportunity. It is exactly the two upper strata of the Maslow’s hierarchy that they appeal to. I talked to a couple of friends who follow some Godmen or the other. Most of them said that they are seeking two things 1. To figure out a way to feel good and 2. To understand the larger meaning of life. What else is self-esteem and self-actualization but these?

         I wonder if any other group of people would have benefitted as much from the economic growth as the Godmen have without as much as lifting a finger.

p.s.  I still would like to believe that there are some spiritual leaders who are genuinely striving towards leading the human race to the greatness that awaits it. 

Arun Babu

An Ode to Serenity Prayer : Blog # 171

An Ode to Serenity Prayer

          Many of us pray, don’t we? We all have varied reasons for saying our prayers. For some, it’s out of fear; for some, it’s out of reverence and for many amongst us, it’s out of sheer habit. Having been exposed to varied forms of prayers (thanks to my schooling under varied religious trusts), I have noticed a couple of things. Mostly, a prayer is a note of thanks to a higher power. Many a time, it is asking for forgiveness and it also becomes an earnest supplication for protection at times.

            Since prayer largely concerns our ‘self’, we tend to lack objectivity. This is the reason why we commit the gravest of sins and have the audacity to ask for forgiveness. This is why we reach out to the higher power only in times of need and conveniently forget otherwise. This serenity prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr that I came across made a lot of sense and I think that objectivity is what makes it so unique and universal.

It goes like this:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.

            This prayer addresses our world and thus our lives in to two – that which can be changed and that which cannot be. Through my eyes, I see it as a prayer to help us to do away with the feeling of ‘regret’ in our lives. I look at ‘regret’ as cancer to spirit of our soul.

We regret about things that could have been done differently. Do not mistake regret with repentance. There is learning involved in repenting because in that state, we learn from our mistakes and thus strive to become better beings. In ‘regretting’, all we are doing is putting ourselves in to misery due to an occurrence from the past which cannot be undone. These are among things that we cannot change.

In the second line, again it implores for power to not get in to the downward spiral of regret is what I feel. It asks for the strength of mind to go ahead and do things which one is capable of. It implores within to make a difference in the lives of one self and of others. It asks for courage to not hold back when one is capable of doing something noble. Largely, we are asking to be blessed with contentment when we look back in Life.

It is said we worry mostly about the eventualities that never happen in reality. We think in our own mind about things that could go wrong and the repercussions there of. We should know what is worth fretting about and what’s not. Hence the need for wisdom to know the difference between both.

Don’t you think these three lines of prayer embody our journey of Life in itself?

Arun Babu

Dare you become a politician? : Blog # 169

Dare you become a Politician?

Politicians are one class of people who get abused by one and all. Those among us who shy away from speaking ill of others also don’t stop throwing dirt at them unabashedly. Let me try and play a devil’s advocate for once in favor of the politicians.

To begin with, the allegations of corruption against them! How many of us can vouch with utmost conviction that given that kind of an opportunity and access as given to politicians, you won’t get corrupted? Many a theory surrounding human behavior has proved time and again that in an unsupervised environment, we humans tend to behave in a way that benefits self often at the cost of the welfare of others. We must accept the fact that politicians are nothing but a slice of the demography that we are. If many of them are corrupt, it speaks volumes about us as a society. What should be done is to make changes in the system – make it less susceptible to corruption. For instance, what IT has done to many government projects. Red tape has come down and bribery is almost gone, thanks to the transparency and empowerment that IT lends to the system. Another solution is to increase the remuneration of our politicians. Come to think of it, a high ranking politician in the system earns just about the same as an MBA with 5 years of experience. And this designation comes to the politician, after a lifetime of toil.

Many a time, we ridicule politicians as a bunch of fools. Here, we are forgetting two facts. One, the number of politicians around you is countable. There is some merit to this exclusive lot of people. It is not easy getting to the elected positions where they have reached. Getting 100 followers on twitter is a challenge. Imagine getting lakhs of people to believe in your ideals and to vote for you! The second fact is that there are people who are high achievers in the political spectrum too. There are people who are extremely driven and hardworking. There are politicians who really care about the well being of people. It is unreasonable on our part to expect the same kind of dedication from every single politician. Again, being a politician is a job, it is a career choice. Don’t you have both kinds of colleagues – those who are extremely talented and those who has just as much intellect as a tadpole? Same is the case with the fraternity of politicians. There are good and bad people. We shouldn't pass a blanked judgment on the class of politicians.

The third and last argument in favor of politicians is the sacrifices they make. You can go on and on about the privileges that they enjoy. But let’s face it. Being accountable to a large constituency of people is no easy job. It is a 24*7*365 job, add to that the constant media scrutiny. Imagine yourself working under such an environment. Most of us can barely put up with being glared down by a manager and some of us can’t even be responsible towards our own family. Don’t you think we should cut some slack to the political beings?

Let me conclude my case by asking you a question. Given a chance, how many of you will wholeheartedly give up a peaceful Life which allows you the freedom to crib and become a politician? If you find yourself thinking even after a couple of minutes, it is time you started giving some much deserved respect to political class.

Arun Babu.