Human Facades

Should I be surprised at the secrets someone holds? Should I be surprised at someone who smiles and is cheerful all the time but actually is in pain? I have been surprised recently by what some people have revealed, but pleasantly. It shows how fragile and complex all of us are.

Some of us hide emotional pain behind a curtain of joviality. Others hide anger behind a drape of seriousness. Many hide insecurity; insecure about being left alone and not being loved.

I have learnt many things in the past few months, in particular, interesting facts about others and myself. In general, the following observations have been corroborated:
Everyone deserves being listened to, no matter who they are, what they have done and what they think of others.

Not everyone can listen. Some are good, some try to be good and others are just impatient. Some of us share our thoughts with everyone, while others only talk to a few friends who are self confessed counsellors/good listeners/ advisors.
When you lend your ear/shoulder don’t think that you have to say something or give advice or try and change someone’s thought process. Just listening is good enough. Like they say, a problem shared is a problem halved.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/preeti.k.1

Anger

Ever felt like smacking someone's face off their shoulders? Or making a guy sing like a high pitched opera singer? Or felt like using a crowbar to smash someone's car windows?

Gosh, you might think, this person has violent tendencies. On the contrary, am someone who thinks twice before doing or saying anything, or at least I'd like to think I do.

I'm sure everyone has volcanic eruptive moments, where you just want to give the other person a piece of your mind. But what will that do? Nothing. So count to 3 or 7 or 20, depending on your requirements, and then move forward.

When there is good understanding between people, they will know when the other is angry. That comes with time. Of course sometimes people are way off and just add fuel to fire without knowing that they are doing so.

Don't let anger eat you, and don't let it eat at others. No problem was ever solved (without causing friction) with anger. So breath in...and release. Now move on, with a smile. After all, just as Benjamin Franklin said, Anger is never without Reason, but seldom with a good One.

A Message, A Question

When the wind blows eastward
And the sun begins to rise
My message shall fall upon your ears
And you shall see with your eyes.

I stand here before you
Asking a question, a rhetoric one
About life.

I stand tall, because of who you are
You told me to look forward into the future
And behind into the past
To learn and remember.

I fight, I cry, I laugh and lie.
But never do I mean harm.
It might seem that I don't listen
But I cannot subscribe to one thought
For I thrive on many.

I am myself, still moulding and mending,
Learning and living.
I ask you, who am I?
Then I can do justice to telling you who I am.

- Written on 22/8/7

THUD

Thud...ouch...momentary concussion.

Did I just fall out of a dream or did I actually fall? Hmm...I can't tell the difference anymore. Can the two worlds meet, the dream world and the conscious cold cruel world? I wonder.

Maybe I'm in one of my dream states now. Who's to know?

Things are never black or white, things never move in a straight line either. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, not only applies to particles but to human beings too.

But hang on, you can pull the reigns of life and take control. That is why we are human. Sure, sometimes the horse doesn't listen and goes its own way, but you can control it. You might wish to stroke it, give it attention, or just kick its side and make it trot on. Which one is better? Whatever suits you and the situation I suppose.

Hahaha...how can one not see what is coming though? Maybe because you're enjoying the moment a wee bit too much. Hmm...

Life is a lot of fun, but for some people silly things...ok not silly; things bring them down. I guess not everyone is brought up with the phrase 'chin up dear' ringing in their ears.

Now, does pulling one's chin up mean ignoring issues or does it mean facing them chin on (couldn't help the pun!) ?

Oh well, whatever the case may be, everyone will have issues. Everyone has different ways of dealing with them. Some deal with them and some don't. The point is, try and get what you want without hurting others. Try and get what you want by hook and not by crook.

So children, the moral of the story is...don't fall asleep on the job. Keep your heart and mind in check.

Fear

Some people are scared of flying while others are scared of enclosed spaces. People can be scared of so many things. The reaction of people towards their fears is the same though...they dash for the door or roll up their sleeves to fight it off. Its the innate fight or flight concept.

Fear of change is another phobia. For some it is severe. They keep things the same for years, same old routine, same diet, same friends...That must get tiring and boring. But I suppose it is a method of keeping 'change' at bay. Isn't that cowardice? Would it not be better to face your fears head on? Off course it would. But again it is a matter of what works best for whom, its a matter of perception and personal choice.

It is a very powerful tool...fear. Brainwashing, blackmail, government propaganda, suppression, repression...fear is embedded in different ways in different people at different levels. It results in stagnation and inhibits minds from breaking free.

People are fearful of the unknown. But if scientific temper is encouraged and an analytical and lateral way of thinking is developed, the unknown does not seem so fearful.

New Energy Sources for Space Travel

The advantage of using Protonic Cold Fusion over other forms of fusion is that non-toxic by-products such as Helium gas are produced. The heat generated by cold fusion could be used to ionize gases and therefore generate plasma, which can be accelerated using electromagnetic fields.
The possibility that electromagnetic zero-point energy may be involved in the production of inertial and gravitational forces opens the possibility that both inertia and gravitation might someday be controlled and manipulated. Imagine being accelerated from zero to light speed in a fraction of a second without experiencing any devastating G forces. However, what would be the effect of particles in space such as photons on the structure of a spacecraft travelling at the speed of light?

Can the propulsive forces generated by new energy sources be controlled to follow a pre-determined path? Obtaining energy from very little or no energy input could solve all the power and energy issues the world faces. Such a science fiction-like possibility could someday become real and have a profound impact on propulsion and space travel. The spacecrafts will be able to carry more payload for scientific research and the energy requirements of astronauts can be met for a longer period of time. This new energy technology can be utilised for reverse thrust, to reduce the stresses generated on a spacecraft during entry into a planet’s atmosphere.While the solution to overcome excessive weight lies in generating great amount of energy through minimum mass which is possible through Cold Fusion and ZPE.

However the problems of accelerating that mass to obtain propulsion without violating the law of conservation with the ability to control the flow of propelling particles at very high temperatures pose a challenge, which can be met over the next few decades.

President Bush

President Bush’s speech was nothing but a blank cheque, giving reasons for attacking Iraq but giving no evidence backing his reasons. What angers me the most is the point made by him: Saddam is a threat to America, and therefore we must attack him. There are many countries around the world who’s neighbours are rogue states and who should have been included in Bush’s axis of evil list. America asks these troubled nations to refrain from attacking and to diplomatically resolve bi-lateral problems. What America preaches is the opposite to what it does. It wants to bomb Iraq without any evidence and without any backing from the UN. The thought of going to war with Iraq without the support of the Security Council shows how single minded America is. The UN was set up to resolve issues together and disregarding the UN would bring the world to chaos with no way of keeping tabs on countries that could attack anyone, anytime, anywhere. Sure, attack if you have evidence, but don’t stop at Iraq, make sure terrorism is wiped out from all rogue states, including the one’s that were not publicly declared as rogue states.

Bush thinks he’s a cool dude,
He’s really after all the world’s crude,
He doesn’t really care about people,
He’s after his precious, just like Gollum alias Smeagol.

His band of brothers and sisters, Powell, Rumsfeld, Cheney and Rice
Have made there minds up about what to do.
They think they are just and right
But hey we all know they are all capitalist fools.

And why does Mr. Blair have to join the bandwagon?
Surely he can speak for his own nation.
Iraq was no threat to Britain, until Blair joined in lighting the war beacon
Maybe the wagon was hopped on because around 50% of investment in UK is American.

It’s not like Mr. Blair is bored and there is nothing at home to do,
Loads of things to deal with,
Fire fighters, the underground and student fees,
I hope you make your decisions, Mr Blair, wisely.

- 29th January 2003

Happiness

I'll be happy, sitting in a tree, in a village, watching the world below crawl by.

I'll be happy, sitting on a rooftop, in a city, watching the world below hurry by.

I'll be happy, sitting on the ledge of a mountain, watching the snow drift by.

I'll be happy, sitting on a sand dune, in a desert, watching the sand shift by.

I'll be happy, sitting on the highest deck of a ship, watching the water flow by.

I'll be happy, sitting on top of a train, watching the fields and hills of afar pass by.

I'll be happiest, laying on the ground, looking up at the night sky, watching my thoughts and listening to the stars go by.

- 1st December 2004

Rise Above

Bombings are a sign of anger, hatred and brainwashing. For the bombings in particular and terrorism in general to stop people should listen. Not just the Americans or Middle Easterners but the world should stop and listen to each other. We are Homo sapiens with the highest level of intelligence on this planet. Let us use that intelligence and power of speech to have a conversation.

I am sure many more letters/articles similar to this one will be printed. But they won’t make any difference unless they reach many and the readers should, just for a few minutes, think, put things into perspective and remedy their ways. But I know it has all been said before.

It is animal to bicker, be angry, be selfish and kill. But it is human to rise above it all, count to ten, smile, talk and empathise.

- 24th July 2005

A Double Life

Hello there, my name is Anamika. Well that’s my earth name. Earth name? You ask. Well yes. You see I’m not an earth native. I’m originally from Andromeda. Yup the nearest galaxy to your Milky Way. We are like neighbours, although I must say, it would be difficult for you to pay a visit.

My andromedan name is Guntika. I’ve lived on earth for about 23 years now. I was actually born on Andromeda but was planted on earth. It’s a thing the andromedan’s do to keep track of other planets’ progress. It’s a bit like what countries on earth do. One country plants spies in another country to keep an eye on them. But spy is such a derogatory word. I’m not here to spy on earth or to invade it. I’m merely here to observe the ongoings of life on earth. Yes yes, I hear you say that it is still equivalent to spying.

I live on earth with my earth parents and siblings. On andromeda I have parents and siblings too. My andromeda home has parallelelisms to my earth home. But there are big differences between the two. There is a lot of beauty on earth. Lovely waterfalls in South America, beautiful landscapes in the Middle East, striking mountains in Europe and I could go on and on. Andromeda had everything earth has and more. So I don’t miss home when I’m on earth.

I travel often between my two homes. The earthlings whom I live with don’t know that though. Special worm-hole technology enables me to make long journeys short and comfortable. From door to door it takes me about 5 days. Not bad considering earthians take 3-5 hours to get to the other side of earth. And Concorde was the only mode of transport that could achieve that. Sad that it was made to retire without replacing it with something similar or better. And the sadder thing was not everyone could use it. Only the rich could use it. For andromedans worm-hole transport is like using the London’s underground or tube as it is fondly called. Andromeda is only 2.2 million light years away. I know earthians are experimenting with worm-hole technology, but they are at very primitive stages of design and understanding. I wonder if they even believe that worm-holes can be used or for that matter even exist. Anyway they can make sloth like progress. The sloths on andromeda are much slower than the sloth’s on earth. The earth sloths have had to evolve and increase their metabolic rate because of changes in their habitat. They seem slow but originally they were slow 3 times over. The sloth’s we have run their lives at this very very very slow rate. Earthians can be quite interfering.
You probably are thinking that andromedans are interfering too. I can understand why you might say that, but all of this is a tiny part of an enormous picture.

- 14th June 2005 (When younger I would tease my little brother saying that I was from a different galaxy. That would make him very cross and upset. It doesn't work now....damn.)

Paradise Lost by the Tsunami

What has happened in the south East Asian region is extremely sad. It is hard to imagine all the devastation that has brought about such human loss. It is harder for me to accept the fact that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been completely flattened. I spent 2 years in Carnicobar. At the age of eight, for me that place was heaven. Even now 14 years after my adventure I have very fond and vivid memories of Carnicobar. The island was wild and beautiful. Anything and everything for me was a toy. I played on the beaches for hours. After having my coconut milk every evening, I would release my energy by skating from one end of the runway to the other. I always thought the coconut milk gave me magical energy. I attended MUS School in the north of Carnicobar Island. During lunch breaks I would have my lunch with friends on the beach. During play time we would play in the adjoining jungle making little huts from coconut tree leaves and branches. I and a friend of mine would go and pinch supari (chewable sweet tobacco) that was laid out by the tribal people in the sun to dry. We would be chased back to school by the tribal men who farmed them. One time we sat in our classroom chewing the supari and went berserk laughing. The teacher tried to carry on teaching but then she gave up and laughed with us. Every weekend I with my parents and sister would have picnics on Kakana and Passa beaches. On Kakana beach waves would reach heights of 3 metres.
My toys were the coconut shells, the sand, driftwood and sea shells of various types. I would not have traded them for any other play thing. Those were the happiest days of my life. The only time I was ever upset while on the island was when I had to go for my booster injections. Looking back the island taught me how to be free of any restraints that the world tries to impose.

It is heartbreaking to see such tragedy befall such a wonderful and magical place. It is hard to imagine how anyone could have escaped the onslaught on the tiny islands. The memories of my life on the islands are a treasure to me just as the memories of the people who have lost their lives will be treasured by the ones they left behind.

- 29th December 2004

No religion, no problems

'The Legacy of Abraham' was a very interesting and awakening article. I was unaware of Abraham's great influence on three very different religions. It is disheartening though, to see the people of these faiths who share a common 'father' to fight over nothing but the interpretation's of Abrahams life. I am born a Hindu. I have no religious rituals, no religious stories to believe in and no idols to worship. I have been brought up to be god fearing and to be good, kind and honest. I don't call myself a Hindu but a Humanist. I believe in the welfare of humankind. If only there were no religion's, only empathy, altruism and humanism to lead the way, truly the world would be an enlightend place.

- published in the October 28, 2002, edition of TIME.