Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Humanity: The true wonder of the world

Hello there everybody! Hope you're doing fine! As we say goodbye to the month of September 2010, another month awaits us with unknown opportunities and events. You might embark on a new adventure or perhaps you might just achieve that one goal in life you've always dreamed about! Believe in yourself and you will be amazed at what you are capable of, for there is no better a tutor than self-confidence in any walk of life. Before we get excited about what the next month has in store for us, let's sit down, have a cup of tea and think about a long forgotten but easily remembered word called Humanity. Everyone would have heard about this word. Some use this to enable good deeds and some, well...try to enable it for their own selfish gains. However, the former is more dwarfed compared to the latter. How and why, you ask? That's a very good question. The answer to this question lies right in front of our eyes but many do not even attempt to look at it. Instead, they seek to look past it and end up wrecking their lives. It doesn't stop here though, for the actions performed by an individual will at some point, have an impact on society as well. Hence, in the long run, others are affected by it too. Some overcome it and improve their lives and for some who are unfortunate, bend their will and accept it as truth. When Humanity, that known but yet unknown wonder hidden deep inside of us falls, everything righteous and good cease and get destroyed.

Indeed it's happening as we speak, or read if you prefer. The concept of Humanity is on a steady decline in the whole world today. It's not just one particular country or continent or a city or even a village. It just happens everywhere and even though we get a thought, it remains as a thought. There are very few who actually strive to convert that thought into reality. Even their efforts are either in vain or fall on deaf ears as anti-social elements strike them down. This is where the true purpose of Humanity is lost. Unity magically disappears when there is a need to fight for a good cause and instead fear is born out of it. This known truth might be sour or even unbearably bitter to your eyes and ears but unfortunately it IS reality. We have the power to change this harsh reality into a world called paradise. We have the ability to do it and we have the knowledge to do it as well. So why do we fail in this area alone? Why do we fail in the most simplest yet the most vital part of our life?

It's said that an example explains stuff better than anything (or at least I believe it to be so). Let's take a simple example: How many times have you seen the news and heard about innocent people being imprisoned for many years just because they crossed what would seem to be the "borders" between two places? And said imprisonment continues for a long time even after they are proven to be innocent until it's exposed! Or how many times have you seen news channels popularize a calamity so much that they hold debates which stretch on for hours or in some cases even weeks? How do you think that the people who actually went through that ordeal would feel living it all over again everytime they turn on their TV sets or go outside? You also might want to recall the last time you saw a reporter faithfully doing his "duty" and showing you a person suffering on the ground for a lot of time instead of helping him. These aren't the only times when Humanity bows down it's head in an agonizing silence.

For crying out loud, people talk about the concept of "our world" and yet love to point a finger against those who supposedly "tresspass" inside what they say "my area, my country". Don't get me wrong, those are of course measures set in place to remove people with bad intentions but most of the time, those very bad people end up getting away. One pressing thing is that Humanity always banks upon a certain thing called trust and right now, it's not available in plenty. Because of atrocious activities done by some people, every single human is viewed as a suspect today. Trust is very hard to win over and it is rightfully so for only the righteous achieve it. But right now, trust is being discarded like a use and throw material by many.

I'll tell you guys one thing which I believe with all of my heart: If only every human viewed another as just another human being like himself/herself, then any darn or damn problem in the world could be solved. World peace? Done. No wars? Done. Solve your problem with the next-door neighbour? Done. You name it, there IS a solution to it. Can anyone in the world achieve any sort of world peace or something like that without this pre-requisite? It's beyond impossible. It won't be the real deal. People will change again and go back to the old ways. The solution is to not to force the concept of Humanity on people. People themselves should know and understand it. Yes of course, this is nearly impossible. But there's a nice difference between what's nearly impossible and what's beyond impossible. The former means that a chance does exist no matter how small or insignificant and the latter as it says, less than zero percent. There's a starting point for the first one and with determination, one could transform something which is nearly impossible into a nearly possible scenario.

I'll dwell upon one last point. How long and how much effort would it cost us to think that we are human beings like everyone around us? Nothing. It costs absolutely nothing and takes almost no time and what's more, it transforms you into a better individual. Think Human first, not American or Indian or French or German or British. Remember that no matter what, whether on the other side of the world or having better looks or not looking better or have different beliefs and what not, EVERYONE in the world is still another human being just like YOU. Let the human in you come first and everything else later. Think human and empathize as a human. You will eventually gain ultimate understanding above all others. Have a great time! ^_^

Friday, September 10, 2010

First impressions of a soul at work

And so it came to pass that in those days I would no longer be a student but a working individual who has to handle responsibility sooner or later.......okay I'll stop uttering a prophecy and get to the real thing! I'm going to miss those wonderful days spent with my friends at college and at school, and of course the overall miracle that is a student's life. But then again I have moved on to bigger things which will make my life better as I'm now stepping out into the wide world for everyone to see. The best thing is that I can still meet up with all my friends and it's great to see them succeeding in their lives as well.

It's really not the end of the world when you move into this phase, only that you have to leave something behind to grow into a successful individual. The "say goodbye to one of the most wonderful times in your life" something. Hard to forget and hard to leave behind. People would say:that's life. I would say: take the best part of that phase in your life, add a little excitement, determination for the future and stir well (clockwise, or anti-clockwise if you prefer) for an amazing combination. Then sit back, relax (not really) and watch as you ascend higher and higher onto the planes of happiness.

Anyways, enough with that sort of stuff. First day at work was a strange mixture of excitement and expectation for me. It was nearly similar to what I had imagined and as the days passed by, it was a smooth process for me to make a transition into the work environment. But I still held on to what was or rather what was left of my student life and convinced myself that as long as I was in training I could still coax myself into the false impression that I was still technically a student. It was both right and wrong at the same time, both maintaining a sense of equilibrium. It was purely right because I had to have that urge to learn as a student and it was absolutely wrong because I also had to change myself into a contributor, an employee who gives his best rather than sitting in the dark looking at false images. So far my training has gone well and I have also been interested in learning all the concepts which spring up from time to time. I do have confidence in myself that one day (which is soon, honestly!) I would transform myself into someone who strives forward for achievements while keeping all of his life's memories with him on the way. It's both easy and hard to do it.

So how have you guys felt when the time came for the big change in your life? Were you like "Whole speed ahead!!" or perhaps you had to caution yourself with every step you took in today's industrial world? Don't worry about the steps you take as long as it shapes you into the person you want to be in the world's tomorrow. But don't forget the memories of yesterday though. Look into the future and you are a good candidate to succeed. Take the past, learn from it and then look into the future, you WILL succeed. And with that, I say Good Evening folks! ^_^

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The art of Art!

How many of you love drawing, sketching and painting? Or perhaps even doodling? You might have fleshed out those wonderful creations in your notebooks (when you thought your teacher wasn't looking) or even your desks, walls and anything which looked remotely like a canvas (hopefully you haven't stumbled across stranger things). If you aren't interested in doing it yourself, you would have surely admired works done by great painters in the world. The beauty and creativity in their imagination spread out on the canvas is a feast for the eyes. Vibrant colours and beautiful scenes can have a very big impression on our mind as we finally get the message which the artist wanted to deliver.

I like drawing, painting and doodling in my free time. However, I'm still a rookie at painting stuff and I'm currently hopeless at light sources which means that those wonderful shadow effects and shading stuff will have to wait. I grew up teaching myself about drawing in the form of Outline Drawing. Which is to say, I never ventured into the area of shading until college or so probably because I didn't know how to do it properly or I wasn't aware of that at that time. I believe that immense concentration is the key to drawing properly in any situation as I have found that it has helped me a lot to improve myself and I haven't taken any training. For those who believe me, hello there! For those who don't let's test it out!

Take a sheet of paper and a pencil or a pen. Now without focusing much, draw a straight line. Yup just a straight line. And oh don't try to make it look smooth just give a feeble attempt. Now, next to it draw another line but this time devote all of your mind to it, concentrate and focus on it and try to make it look as smooth as possible. Once you're done, take a good look at your work. You will usually find that the second time you had a better result than the first one. That's all there is to it! Drawing doesn't require any sort of special skill nor does it require you to be a born prodigy. All it requires is your concentration which is present in every single person in the world.
Oh sure, you would argue against me saying that one just cannot become a Da Vinci or a Raja Ravi Varma. That part is true. However, it's partly misleading as well. You cannot become a great painter by hoping to become one, but rather you CAN become a great painter by willing yourself to become one. Start drawing something, anything and try your best to make it look similar to the picture in your mind. You might start off with a wonderful sketch or a half decent sketch, but for one who perseveres, the end result is the same: the ability to paint wonderful pictures.

I'm not a famous painter nor am I very good at creating art but the above stuff has come from my personal experience (Remember the part where I said I never took any training).
So what are you waiting for? All you need right now is a big heart full of inspiration and fingers itching to sketch the next masterpiece in the world! Get drawing and remember: Stay away from those who call you drawers! While you're at it, I'll get back to my current dilemma: What do I draw next? :D

Monday, September 6, 2010

Assignments, Deadlines and hectic weeks of work!

How many of you experience those weeks which make you feel all worn out and longing for the weekend? I suppose everyone in every job faces this situation either when the workload becomes too much or if they are running behind deadlines which should have been met a long time ago. The former is manageable with a steady pace but the latter is what strikes fear into every worker's heart. Everyone loves the sound of deadlines which simply whoosh past you like the wind. Yes it would be great if all they did was blow past but unfortunately they go past and take us with them as well......right into oblivion.

One second we find ourselves frantically trying to outdo ourselves beyond our capacity to get that job done before the last minute ticks off and the next, you find yourself face to face with the ever terrifying possibility: it's time to face the music...err...the boss. These kind of meetings are often not pretty and leave people wishing that they had managed to finish their tasks ahead of their deadlines. Prior planning before starting a task is a good practice in order to prepare yourself for the obstacles ahead. The most important thing, however, is adapting the plan according to the situation as required. This will implement flexibility in your plans and allow you to overcome any difficulty without much effort.

Let's consider that I have a task (or an assignment) which I need to complete in approximately 5 days. The first step I would think of taking would be to break down the effort required into five portions, each comprising of 20% of the task. It would be better of course to plan for 4 days rather than five as it would enable you an extra day in case something goes wrong at the last moment. The next part I should concentrate on is, no prizes for guessing, concentration. It's really no use if I plan well and ahead for a task but instead end up not following it. It's as good as not planning at all. I feel that following these base guidelines would help people get started (if not get a clear idea about what they need to do) as it's the hardest thing to do. Once we get started, we find to our own surprise that we automatically travel to where we need/want to be.

So what do we need to succeed in our day to day tasks? All we need to do is quit sitting there planning for eternity and begin doing it with a base plan! Let the plan evolve with you, change with you and most of all adapt with you. And while you guys adapt to this, it's time for me to stop lazing around and return to the task at hand. Good Luck! :D