Random Images ....

For a while now, I have been thinking for a theme to blog on but some how, nothing seems that pertinent to write on elections, hate speeches or monster dads. So just decided to pen my thoughts on some random images which have stayed with me for the past week or so.

A perky 4 year old kid in a train

I saw the kid in the train accompanied by his parents and he was one cocky, loud kid screaming his lungs out at 6.00 am in the morning and at that time did not seem cute at all to me or the co-passengers. But there were two stand out moments in the journey though

• At one point of time, the train was going really slow, he said mom i will get down and push the train to move faster, his mother giggled at this show of strength the kid obviously hurt said he is really strong and pick up the train too with all seriousness
  
• Second really funny moment was when the kid was given a drawing book to color and he was to color Mickey Mouse, the kid ended up coloring the entire page black and saying mom see how fast I can color with proud approving glances from mommy dearest !

What can I say, the innocence and the perkiness of the kid and love of the supportive mother made this image stick on my mind.

A photo of a newly wed bride

Thanks to the update features of social networking sites, the most often thing you see are newly updated photos, and I saw one such photograph which captured a very serene and peaceful look of a newly wedded bride. I mean there was love and happiness in the eyes too, but the strong sense of completeness which has come about by the union was very apparent.

The reason the image stuck in my head is probably I often see people happy and over excited which often is short lived and leads to strife soon but then we do find the one eventually after a few bumps on the way and we know it is the bond of a lifetime the moment is rather special.

Old Age a Reality Check

I met a relative of mine close to 7-8 years later and found him a completely changed person, teeth gone, sagging shoulders and mentally very tired. As a kid, I remember him as a very sharp, intelligent and well dressed person but time has taken severe toll due to illness and other problems.

This image did shake me up a bit, I cannot generalize but I always behave like I am going to live for ever and I take a few things for granted youth, intellect and health perhaps I did exist in a bubble of illusion. The bubble has finally burst and I do have food for thought.

Summary

If I have to just put a common theme around these three images, in childhood we are rambunctious and so full of life, we do not know what lies in store in the future. In our youth we face our victories and defeats which shape our lives. Finally time catches up with us and we fade away inevitably.

Quoting from a movie I saw long back, which had these closing lines which are apt here

"Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives, but I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived"

The choice is up to us if we want to fear time as an enemy or enjoy the moments as they come.

The importance of being Assertive ...

The inspiration for this article was a soft skills training I attended recently. Most folks attend such trainings because they are on bench or like the pretty instructor or similar such nefarious intentions, but this session on assertiveness did force me to think a lot about it for several days.

In today's world people seem to operate at extremes only. If we see the actions of the Taliban or extremists attacking the civil world or the US trying to bomb Afghanistan and Iraq into submission. In India itself, the self appointed 'moral' police who are uncultured brutes who resort to aggressive tactics to suppress the rights of women. The usual common man in India backs down to such pressure and does not bother to vote and takes the passive way out to deal with the world. What both sides are missing is the virtue of assertiveness

Let us take a simpler closer to home example, how many of us have been mollycoddled into doing something we did not want to do by our loved ones, to act against our will. Haven't we all not succumbed to pressure not wanting to hurt others and ended up hurting ourself at some point of time?

Assertiveness as per definition is standing up for your rights without infringing on the rights of others. In a way, referring to the epics Lord Krishna asking Arjuna to take on his cousins in the battle of Kurushetra to even history Mahatma Gandhi leading the non violent freedom moment shows us the importance of being assertive in our lives.

Rights of an assertive individual

• The right to voice his opinions without fear
  
• The right to make mistakes ( without malice or as Hriday points out freedom to make mistakes and not a right persay )
  
• The right to be accept one's ignorance
  
• The right not to be emotional manipulated
  
• The right to change your mind
  
• To right to make unconventional decisions
  

As they say, with power comes responsibilites, we cannot be just self centred in pursuit of own rights so there are some duties as well.

Duties of an assertive individual

• To listen to other person's point of earnestly
  
• To work for a workable compromise
  
• To stand by your views in adverse conditions

Before, we start practicing assertiveness, what we need as individuals is the clarity of purpose, an open mind to entertain opposing views and the ability to engage in dialogue without being highhanded. With these thoughts in mind, I think the world will be much better to place to live in if we can find the voice to speak our minds and offcourse listen to others.