thinking be4 leaping,,, na...not always...

Memories we recall tend to cause a lump in our throat or tears in our eyes. College does it to us I guess. When we are in college we never realize how precious those years are as we are too busy cribbing about studying, playing pranks and building rumours about people. Time flows like sand through our hands. We can never totally grasp anything of the past as it just flies by us to become something far away and distant. We treasure every moment and recollect them when we are discontent. It makes our journey through life bearable when we have this treasure chest of emotions, memories and relationships to fall back upon.

When I talk about treasure chest the weight age I attribute to it is immense. The value of life and the relationships we build our growth upon keeps us rooted to the ground. In Shakespeare's " Merchant of Venice" we see how Portia watches Bassanio choose the casket upon which their lives will depend. He makes a beautiful speech which sums up life and how men are deceived by outward appearances and material things in life and how they fail to realize the heart of things that is hidden deep within.

BASSANIO
So may the outward shows be least themselves:
The world is still deceived with ornament.

Lot of things we see or hear are not completely true. Be it about a person or a place you can never blindly base your assumptions on something someone has said. Take things as suggestions but see things for your self and then experience life to the fullest. By not meeting people and travelling to new locales we are only losing out on life. Just because earthquakes happen in Pakistan/ Gujarat or a Tsunami happens in Bali or Chennai does it stop people from traveling? No... It doesn't. Anything can happen anywhere at anytime. It's just your bad luck if you’re around. You cannot stay cooped up in your house just because you fear going out will harm you. If you don't go out the fear will seize you and drive you to the extents of madness.

An Indian myth comes to my mind when I ruminate on how we are responsible for our short comings. The story is about a tyrant demon king called Hiranykashipu whose never ending thirst for power drove him to believe that there was no Greater Bhagwan (means "God" in English) than himself. He did not believe any other god existed and was angered against a sect named the Devas who were avid devotees of Vishnu. Hiranykashipa vowed to kill anyone who went against him. Given a boon from god, Hiranykashipu lived life without fear. The boon was that no man or animal could harm him either in the night or day. The ironical part was that his son Prahlad also strongly believed in Lord Vishnu. The egoistic Hiranykashipu failed several times in his attempt to dispose his son. In the nth moment his son would still be alive as his faith in Vishnu was strong. The frustrated Hiranykashipu challenged his son to show whether Vishnu existed in the pillar. Prahlad firmly believed in it and to affirm it, Vishnu leaped out in the form of Narasimha(A form half lion half man) and taking Hiranykashipu to the doorstep of the palace devoured him when it was neither day or night but during dusk. Thus ended the reign of Hiranykashipu. Fate excuses no one be it a king or a normal human being. Every dog has its day. Just because you're rich today doesn't mean you will be rich forever. Time can change everything and nothing can stop fate from taking its course. Be it Lady Macbeth who grew mad with guilt or Hamlet and his endless procrastination, our life is a product of the choices we make.

Like a famous proverb goes:
' think before you leap...”

But just don't keep thinking and not leap for you never know how much in life you will miss!