21 thoughts at the end of 21 years of the 21st century..

So here we are – At the end of 21 years of the 21st century, a century that most people from my generation entered, cockily sure of ourselves, into a brave new, super-connected world & with all the success literature swimming in our heads. No destination seemed off-bounds & no dream too audacious, as we set off accumulating our identity capital. The small town youngster in me quickly let go of his quest for meaning as I dived into an ocean of freedom, setting off to conquer an elusive world. It was the summer of self-expression, the season of the self – a self that I thought others thought me to be. Soon life started stacking up like a photo album, a collection of temporary disjointed moments archived in the order of social validation in descending order of ‘Likes’ from random strangers I didn’t care about , and who didn’t care about me either, like a self-aggrandizing brand manager consistently promoting myself , begging superficial applause for a carefully painted cooler and more photogenic version of me who was desperate to become famous for being famous. At work too, I enlisted in my races, found my heroes, and tried to model myself around them as I got increasingly busy being busy without pausing to ask myself if all the busyness was worth anything. Work ceased being a vocation and became a zero sum game.

And soon, a fifth of the century was gone. And somewhere in these twenty years, I missed a few turns I set out for & found new ones instead, buried a few dreams & discovered a few relationships, discarded old beliefs & uncovered my own philosophy to deal with life as life dealt with me. Just like you. And like everyone else.

 I look at the silent city on a Sunday morning outside my bedroom window. And I write. These are the moments at the end of a week when I need to forget to be. And write myself out of me. I’m not sure my rant qualifies as aphorisms. Disjointed thoughts perhaps – to smile & coast through life when it lets you down, as it often does these days.

1. Most people can’t handle failure after success. Then there are some who can’t handle success after failure.
2. If your calendar always works as planned, you’re in the midst of a slump.
3. If someone rejected you because of someone else’s opinion about you, they both don’t deserve you.
4. An anonymous 1-Star rating about you is never from a critic. It’s an envious friend, a vulnerable foe or a jilted Ex.
5. Always be a little suspicious of a conservative lover & a liberal spouse.
6. The greatest revenge against politics is to refuse to participate in it.
7. One giveaway of undeserving humans & haters is the ferocity with which they try to defend their reputation. On haters again, the best comeback against them is to demonstrate to them that you don’t hate them at all.
8. If you’re lonely when you’re alone, you need to read Sartre ( & switch to Bourbon). Later, move to Seneca.
9. The most scenic views show up during missed turns. The best destinations, after U-turns.
10. When someone has failed in all attempts to convince or confuse you, he might try to correct your grammar.
11. If you’ve not been a little frivolous & a little reckless in your youth, you might also not end up being too wise when you’re older.
12. Next time you’re pissed with someone for being rich & shallow, do examine if it’s the ‘shallow’ part of it or the ‘rich’ part that pisses you.
13. If, at 40, you still need a Biz card to introduce yourself, you’ve missed the bus. If, after 40, people miss your absence at a party more than they notice the presence of others, you’ve made it. On 40 again, even when you’ve crossed it, you’re old only when you have more memories than dreams.
14. You can read a man’s personality by mapping people who love him. You can read his character by observing those who don’t.
15. Writing a blog is giving voice to the you who you pretend to be. Writing a journal is listening to the you who you’re trying to avoid.
16. Books in your bookshelf, like people in your life, have vibes. Just like there are people who’re no longer around you except for a pleasant feeling their memories evoke, likewise there are books whose content is forgotten, but the sight of them uplifts you and makes you want to reach out for them. Hold them, smell them & examine their dog-eared pages.
17. A critic is like an impotent man who is asked to write an essay on sex . He knows everything about how something needs to be done, but cannot do it himself.
18. In 2021, as travel resumes, cure yourself of the desire to buy business books at airports. Read autobiographies & philosophy if you need books. And obituaries if you have an in-flight newspaper.
19. If it’s failed, it wasn’t love in the first place. When you love, you make it work.
20. A human being’s inadequacy is directly proportional to his desire to control others.
21. The problem with an academic is that he has questions you cannot answer. The problem with a politician is that he has answers you cannot question. On politicians again, notice carefully & you’ll see that the most politically correct political leaders seldom end up doing anything productive except for giving great speeches & pushing lofty causes that sound sexy but mean nothing.

==============================

My Sunday Rant – 6th December’20

My new book, ‘As You Life It’ , is out & available. In case you wish to check it out, gift it to a friend or colleague, or refer it within your network, you could follow the links as below –

 https://lnkd.in/eA5kUqb ( Paperback version, direct from publisher. In India)

https://lnkd.in/eBr_BXQ ( Amazon India. Kindle as well as Paperback)

https://lnkd.in/gpWSWcZ ( Amazon Australia. Kindle is a better deal)

https://lnkd.in/g98phRb ( Amazon, US. Kindle is a better deal)

https://lnkd.in/eSUfy75 ( Google Books)

https://lnkd.in/eBDm2ft ( Smashwords)