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Summer Internship::

Project guide Quit job! Even before we got a chance to meet (See, I told you- I can have disastrously damaging effects, without having to put in much effort. My mere presence/existence does the trick.)

15 days of pure waste. That’s what it all boils down to. Not surprising.

Let’s see what tomorrow has in store for me.

Disappointment:: More People Letting Down

Political correctness. Inertia. Indifference. Sadistic pleasure. Voyeurism. Cynicism.

Helplessness. Confusion. Moral/ Emotional dilemma.

These are some of the things one gets to see all around—writ large on people’s faces.

Sometimes, it evokes pity. Sometimes anger/ frustration/ hurt. Sometimes, questions.

And finally, one draws a blank.

Okay, no big deal. 21 years should teach one what to expect from life.. from people.

There is right, and there is wrong, and there is rightly wrong, and wrongly right.

There is My Right, Their Wrong (rarely, do people have it the other way)

Quoting Detective Riordan from The Genesis Code, ‘it all boils down to a big -So What?!’

Basicalllyyy …

This is not Food For Thought, but really, food for food-poisoning.

Unsettling revelations again

Well, not exactly ‘revelations’ but .. well, the same story retold from another perspective.

And somehow, leaving a bad taste in the mouth.

And well, I would like to leave a message here for anyone who has ever attached themselves to anyone, to the point of an inexplicable feeling of (emotional) loyalty towards them.

Maybe sometimes, it is OK to do a re-think, and ask yourselves a few questions:

Do They deserve it?

Do they deserve it from You?

Would you expect the same from them?

What if they didn’t meet your expectations? Would you be hurt? Does it matter to you?

Does it matter enough for you to do a re-think on the attachment and loyalty?

For your own sake?

Is the ROI on this person enough to make you stay invested?

Andd… does your Investment in person A (a part of your ROI to them) cut unfairly into the ROI that you owe to person B?

(Please note that all these calculations are based on a natural presumption that all deals are based on fairness, honesty, transparency and justice)

*** see note at bottom

(Arps, that would be Return on Investment; Investment of your loyalty and attachment, now the returns may not have to be in similar terms- could be anything- learning, social security{if not emotional}, justice, etc )

So, if the ROI does not seem much, I would say, re-think as to whether you want to stay invested. Not ‘staying invested’ does not mean harbouring ill-will towards anybody, or giving a raw-deal. Be fair and just in all your dealings. And be fair to yourself. This analysis will help in many cases:

· You could be making forced (unsolicited or uninvited)-investments where you are not desired/appreciated, (and then when you dont get commensurate returns, you will find yourself complaining- when the other party never desired a deal in the first place!)

Hence, you are being unfair to them, and hurting yourself unnecessarily.

· You could be making investments-on-solicitation i.e, where you have been indicated that your investment is eagerly sought, and desired and valued. And the ROIs could be low—maybe the other party does not care about it being a fairly equal deal. Your investment could be exploited for personal gains, with no intentions of reciprocal returns. You are harming yourself, and you have yourself to blame.

One would do well to remember (however crude it may sound..) that there is no such thing as “charity”, there is NO “free lunch”. Of course, this is a fact well-known to all, but acknowledged by very few. Now, before people jump to listing illustrations of unselfish acts and behavior, when I say, ‘free lunch’, it’s not just the tangible returns I refer to ..

There can be intangible, fair returns .. such as loyalty, moral and emotional support, kind-intentions, good-wishes, kind thoughts, timely help in times of need, among the other obvious ones.

Even Mother Teresa (a great, divine soul perhaps by all standards) was driven by fulfillment of needs of the Self. She derived maximum pleasure out of alleviating pain and loving the socially ostracized and abandoned, rather than .. say, she would have, if she were working as the Political Leader of a state struck by anarchy, and in dire need of an able leader who would lead them out of mess. Well, that would be a great social contribution too-for the good of others, to administer well, and run a state, manage the economy, politics etc such that people are well-fed and watered and clothed.

However, she adopted the other way. Coz that was what came naturally to her. What we choose to do in life is ideally, always something that matches that which gives us maximum happiness, n a feeling of achievement and self-fulfilment, with our physical and mental abilities.

In my opinion then, it makes little sense to hide behind the protection of abstract notions like “charity” , “self-less work for the larger cause of others” etc .. which really do not have any basis in reality, and then struggle with the complications and moral dilemmas that they throw at you.

And for the record, it would be a good idea to confess to ourselves that no rational order would equal “morality” with “self-less charity”

Why punish yourself for liking something well within your legitimate means, by way of earning the fruit (without unfairly eating into someone else’s share), and then giving it away, or giving it up – just coz For Some Reason THEY say It would Be the More Proper thing to do , even though it sooo does not feel like that, right now.

Basically, the idea was to convey that one must not fool oneself and others into believing that one’s loyalty, attachment etc for anybody is NOT an investment, with an eye on returns. Although the calculation is done implicitly, and subconsciously, and naturally, the point is that the ROI IS an important factor.

Why it becomes extremely important to recognize this, is that the lack of such honesty about the dynamics of human relationships leads to confusion, guilt, deception and unfair dealings, Truly IMMORAL and UNETHICAL behaviour (as people struggle between the innate, natural desire for fulfillment of self-interests, and the external dictum of how fulfillment of self-interest is bad, low-rated and socially undesirable/unacceptable.)

The fight between the internal Truth and the External Untruth/Lie results in manipulation, so that one can appear to adhere to the Socially acceptable External Untruth, while in reality fulfilling his/her own strong, internal, actual truthful desires (doing this in contradiction of the former of course!)

Half the problems that we see around us, with people – the disappointments, lies, deception, political scheming, plotting etc all stem from this lack of honestly to our own-selves (which naturally leads to dishonestly towards others)

*** I’m throwing these questions at the universe .. Okay, for the record, this outburst certainly has no connection whatsoever to my personal, first-hand experience.. it is an observation. And I wanted to note it down for the benefit of any soul, who might need to look at things this way.

And those who don’t understand what this means, now… well, it’s contextual, maybe one day when you experience it yourself, you will come back to this post .. and wish that you had understood the word of caution put up in this space :D

I was taken aback by something that transpired today. And wondered about the ignorance in which people live each day. About the Investments they make, and the ROIs which they take for granted! This is all I can do at my end. Let out a clue. God and good judgment should do the rest!

It’s nice to be nice.

It’s nicer to be nice to all by default- without prejudices or malice.

And It’s nicest to begin by being nice to yourself!

Remember the morning prayer at School..

Humko man ki shakti dena,

Man vijay karein,

Doosron ki jay se pehle,

Khud ko jay karein

Let us locate the temple of God within ourselves. This way, it will also ensure Good and clean acts and behavior from our end.

I am sacred. I am not to be defiled.

I am holy. I would never defile the sanctity of another.

Win-win situation for all!

Signing off …