Being a democrat through and through and not being an action movie buff, I find very little that is appealing in Arnold Swazzy, the Governor of CA.
However, a recent news byte made me inch my opinion about him in the positive direction.
He had been heckled by a Democratic lawmaker (something that seems to be becoming commonplace in US politics). When vetoing (obviously) one of the bills co-authored by that lawmaker, the note he sent out explaining the veto, appeared to carry a hidden meaning. Putting together the 1st letter of every sentence in the note happened to make a very commonly used phrase, actually a profanity. The 1st word being the four lettered f-word and the second one being y-o-u.
The Governor's spokesperson's reaction to this was, of course (paraphrased) "OMG, what a wild coincidence". But NPR interviewed a University professor who would be qualified to make a statistical estimate on the probability of this being a coincidence (based on the frequency of the various letters and words) and it turned out to be 5.5 in 1 trillion!
Full marks to the CA Governor for his irreverence and his (or his officials') wit.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Why should I wake up every morning?
I had an interesting discussion with a friend of mine the other day. The premise was, unless you are deeply passionate and completely fired-up about what you are doing, what's the reason for you to wake up every morning? Unless the day holds the promise of a deeply cherished and fulfilling activity, say for example, playing a game of tennis, why should one bother to get up in the morning?
As I contemplated this question, three distinct reasons emerged in my head:
1. To explore, learn and experience. For example, if you had never learned to play tennis in the first place, you would never have realized that you love it, that you enjoy it, that its an activity you cherish. However, this was not something you knew on the 1st day of your tennis lessons! Unless you take the effort to learn new things, to explore things, you will never know! You need to work (sometimes hard), for anything that's worth having - this also applies to fun! I think we are all born with a passion to explore, learn and experience. That's why kids are so full of enthusiasm and always have a ton of curiosity and cant wait to do the next thing! Because they have fun (through exploring, learning and experiencing) on a very regular basis. As we grow older, the demands of adulthood make us lose sight of this very fundamental truth. I think that is what is meant by keeping the child within you alive - remembering to explore, learn and experience to have fun!
2. Whenever we meet someone new, the 1st question we ask them is, what do you do? Every adult chooses to focus all their passion, energy into a particular field - it becomes their profession. We spend our entire day working on this. If we make the choice that is right for us, if the profession we have chosen is our true calling, then we are set!! We will wake up every day (well, at least most days), excited and looking forward to a new day at the office to do what we love to do! Well, the fact of the matter is, statistics (that I am just pulling out from my butt) show that less than 5% people are actually doing what they are most passionate about. There are some who know exactly what they want to do, but ha vent found the right opportunity and there are a significant number who ha vent yet figured out what they want to do and may end up in the profession that they happen to be good at, that pays them well or other entirely wrong reasons. For all these souls, having the fire to keep working on figuring out their true calling in life is, is the key reason why they wake up every morning! Here again, the daily rut of life can quench this fire - and keeping it alive is akin to keeping the possibility of true happiness in your life alive! Some people have very basic reasons for waking up every morning - for finding food to quench their hunger, for finding a roof over their heads. If you have the privilege, to not worry about these issues, you have the freedom and responsibility to figure out a cause, a profession that makes you feel as passionate as if you where hungry and looking for food!
3. And last but not the least: People. Life would be meaningless without other people. People enrich our lives and make them meaningful! It is super important to have clarity of thought, to not "need" other people, to not seek validation; it is super important to be independent. The key is to surround yourself with people who motivate you (to do #1 and #2 above), who care for you, whom you can have fun with, who provoke you, who push you to your limit and who love you. And its very important to keep seeking such people. Not in a desperate, leechy way, but in a subtle and honest way while exploring, learning and experiencing things! :-). Having the right people with you makes any activity, be it watching a movie or going on a trip, exponentially more meaningful!
So, you should wake up every morning, because life is full of endless possibilities of learning, exploring and experiencing new things, of doing something meaningful in your calling in life and of sharing exquisite moments of joy, triumph, love and friendship! But none of these are going to happen if you don't wake up in the morning!
Life is a gift, a privilege!
As I contemplated this question, three distinct reasons emerged in my head:
1. To explore, learn and experience. For example, if you had never learned to play tennis in the first place, you would never have realized that you love it, that you enjoy it, that its an activity you cherish. However, this was not something you knew on the 1st day of your tennis lessons! Unless you take the effort to learn new things, to explore things, you will never know! You need to work (sometimes hard), for anything that's worth having - this also applies to fun! I think we are all born with a passion to explore, learn and experience. That's why kids are so full of enthusiasm and always have a ton of curiosity and cant wait to do the next thing! Because they have fun (through exploring, learning and experiencing) on a very regular basis. As we grow older, the demands of adulthood make us lose sight of this very fundamental truth. I think that is what is meant by keeping the child within you alive - remembering to explore, learn and experience to have fun!
2. Whenever we meet someone new, the 1st question we ask them is, what do you do? Every adult chooses to focus all their passion, energy into a particular field - it becomes their profession. We spend our entire day working on this. If we make the choice that is right for us, if the profession we have chosen is our true calling, then we are set!! We will wake up every day (well, at least most days), excited and looking forward to a new day at the office to do what we love to do! Well, the fact of the matter is, statistics (that I am just pulling out from my butt) show that less than 5% people are actually doing what they are most passionate about. There are some who know exactly what they want to do, but ha vent found the right opportunity and there are a significant number who ha vent yet figured out what they want to do and may end up in the profession that they happen to be good at, that pays them well or other entirely wrong reasons. For all these souls, having the fire to keep working on figuring out their true calling in life is, is the key reason why they wake up every morning! Here again, the daily rut of life can quench this fire - and keeping it alive is akin to keeping the possibility of true happiness in your life alive! Some people have very basic reasons for waking up every morning - for finding food to quench their hunger, for finding a roof over their heads. If you have the privilege, to not worry about these issues, you have the freedom and responsibility to figure out a cause, a profession that makes you feel as passionate as if you where hungry and looking for food!
3. And last but not the least: People. Life would be meaningless without other people. People enrich our lives and make them meaningful! It is super important to have clarity of thought, to not "need" other people, to not seek validation; it is super important to be independent. The key is to surround yourself with people who motivate you (to do #1 and #2 above), who care for you, whom you can have fun with, who provoke you, who push you to your limit and who love you. And its very important to keep seeking such people. Not in a desperate, leechy way, but in a subtle and honest way while exploring, learning and experiencing things! :-). Having the right people with you makes any activity, be it watching a movie or going on a trip, exponentially more meaningful!
So, you should wake up every morning, because life is full of endless possibilities of learning, exploring and experiencing new things, of doing something meaningful in your calling in life and of sharing exquisite moments of joy, triumph, love and friendship! But none of these are going to happen if you don't wake up in the morning!
Life is a gift, a privilege!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
And so...
Why do we all love/get inspired by Barack Obama so much? One of the (primary) reasons I believe is because he personifies (one of my most favorite adjectives) life-affirming! All his speeches and (very thankfully) actions as president are beyond positive - they are at the next level of being life-affirming. The urgency with which he is making things happen is mind-boggling. Truly makes one realize the power of: kal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab!
Talking of life-affirming/inspirationl, it was very much so to hear Dr. Edith Eva Eger on NPR. Her write-up on survival skills is so supremely insightful!
A more visceral life-affirming/inspiring experience was watching a squirrle pull herself out of a jacuzzi filled with freezing water!
Talking of life-affirming/inspirationl, it was very much so to hear Dr. Edith Eva Eger on NPR. Her write-up on survival skills is so supremely insightful!
A more visceral life-affirming/inspiring experience was watching a squirrle pull herself out of a jacuzzi filled with freezing water!
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