Inviting Horizons

I am born for the Sea
Not to stand and stare,
But to go into the deep...

The lilting gleam of the moon
makes me go weak in the knees,
Inflicts me with a swoon...

Limitlessness draws me in...
The constant rise and fall rejuvenates...
Like the waves, Life sweeps you in...

As I rush into the sea
And the waves come and receed...
I try hard to stand firm as the sand give way under my feet...

When the crushing waves challenge me on...
Inviting me to gel on with them
Rise with them and swim towards the horizon...

I feel a glee that of a child...
Coming to the beach the very first time...
And I will always feel this alive and keep on this smile!

© Manashi Pathak

A Moment of Reflection

Butterfly Effect

It follows from the Chaos Theory that the final situation of chaos is dependent on initial conditions and that the fluttering of the wings of a butterfly at some remote part of the world can cause a tornado at another. Most people will agree to the fact that seemingly unconnected trivial events might lead to earth shattering consequences like the domino effect. Relating to our contemporary world I’d like to quote an observation from this book called Freakonomics. It says that there was a sharp decline in crime in the US in the late 80’s after over couple of decades of total Law and Order havoc. “What lead to such a reformed society?” was the question. All the banal explanations weren’t enough to justify such a sudden decline in crime across the country. A Lateral investigation into the socio economic Diaspora and various changes in the laws sheds some light into the matter. In the later 70’s, a law was passed that legalised abortion. This small step did cause the huge rippling effect of total wipe away of a huge bunch of criminals by not letting them to be born. This is not extrapolation as we would see now with the explanation. Looking into the social structure of that country during that period, we would find that most under-age girls who were economically backward, in an absence of any future planning got pregnant and brought children into the world that they could not support. These children grew up in an environment of irresponsibility, economic destitute which paved the way to criminal acts. When the law was passed, the children who would have grown into goons weren't brought to this earth. We can find many instances of such Butterfly effects. Let’s look at the Economic crisis, the Recession that the world just went through and still recuperating from. In the US, monetary credit was given to people without restraint and the consumer centric economy was booming. Problem began when a few started defaulting as there was minimal risk in defaulting. And gradually, the trend took on and the number of defaulters grew to such extremes that the whole credit industry slumped and a lot of money vanished into thin air. And when people had no money, the real estate industry which was running on credit also slumped and that started the domino effect and the ripples grew wider. The waves are still hitting the shore and it would require quite some time and constructive effort to stabilise it. Another contemporary example of the apparently insignificant cause leading to Red alert situations is the case of Global warming. Ever since the fossil fuels and CFCs are being used, it was known that they add to carbon emissions and greenhouse gases that pollute the environment and thin up the ozone layer which is our protective shield against the harmful UV rays from the sun. Extensive use of paper and tree extract based products and clearing up of forests for fast growing populations have lead to mass deforestation and fewer trees on the face of this planet. Again, a fast growing population is the effect of newer medical achievements which has stretched the average span of human life by a good 10-15 years. All these effects and more, individually, are quite insignificant and might appear constructive but in a strangely correlated way it has brought us face-to-face with thickly polluted air, erratic climates, rising sea levels which if not checked will lead to our extinction. From all these examples, we can deduce the simple fact that no act is small or insignificant, every little change of direction has its effects and it is up to us to concentrate on what kind of effects we desire to construct a better life and go ahead with making that “wing flutter”.

©Manashi Pathak

BrownianEmotion_Anxious Anticipating of the Unknown

Doesn't it happen a lot of times in our lives that we anticipate a certain unknown situation, dreaming, practicing in our head what it would be, how we'll react to it, how will it go...etcetra...then it turns into a hysteria and total obsession, you cant think of anything else but that unknown entity...waiting for it...pausing everything else in life... just concentrating on the scheme of events related to that UFO(Unknown Future Object). The pressure mounts so much that rather than actually savouring it, we just want to get over with it... we succumb to the fear of the unknown. And creating ghosts out of nowhere we become so fidgety that we can't focus. This leads to unnecessary tension and a subsequent underperformance. Now, different people might be thinking of different situations here... but the underlying nature of all those situations is common. Now one revelation I had today is that : The UFO is unknown to us but we are equally unknown to the UFO, so that leaves an equal score and thats zero. So why dont we just do away with the crappy anticipation and cooking up of a simmering nervousness and go ahead with the situation with a clear, focussed head and a winning smile(thats just for effects :) ). Worst , things won't go as we planned but if its going good, a confident I is way better than a fidgety I. So let's dump away the futile anticipation thats just jumps on our nerves and take it easy...

Some pearls of (my)wisdom

a mind without a goal
is a body without a soul...

i may not be the best
but i am the best i can be...

To love is to care unbounded
To love is to find self again.

इंतज़ार

इंतज़ार , एक अल्पविराम...

एक ऐसी खामोशी

जो कानों में एक अदम्य शोर भर दे ,

एक ऐसा शोर जो पागलपन की ओर धकेले।

सुबह जागती हूँ , तो थकी हुई...

थकी .... इस इंतज़ार से ...

थकी , यह जानकर कि लोग

दौडे जा रहे हैं मंजिल कि ओर ....

पर मेरे पैर बंधे हुए हैं

और मैं छुडा भी नही सकती

बस करना मुझे उस क्षण का इंतज़ार

जब मुझे दौड़ना है ।

शायद यह दौड़ बहुत लम्बी है ...

और आधे रस्ते लोग थक जाएँगे...

और तब मेरा वक्त होगा ...

वो मेरी दौड़ होगी ...

तब तक...

बस इंतज़ार...

©Manashi Pathak

The Will To Win

The hours tick away...
Day turns to night
and night to day...

Burning in my soul
There is a goal...
inching towards it
one day i'll make it.

At sea, I feel...
So Lost sometimes...
But I have faith
I can brave
The gravest Tempest

I close my eyes
a sweet unrest
Inside,still resides...

The treks,
The averted shipwrecks
are glorious than the Zenith Climbed
Or the Shore arrived...

Drawing strength from every hurdle
Overcoming , overpowering
Limitations without and within
I march ahead
To claim my Win.

© Manashi Pathak

The Moon Never Looked More Beautiful

The Moon Never Looked More Beautiful
I slip into the sandy shore
As the wandering wind ushers me in
The Sun has retired for the day
And the twinkling stars adorn the stage.

I make a groove
And let the beach hug me
Million thoughts crossing my mind
And my gaze lost in the horizon

The twinkling lights of the ships from afar
Tell me that heaven and earth are still two
Which otherwise is a delusion
And endless pitch blue entity

My conscious being takes a back seat
I hear the words being spoken
My subconscious takes control
And I listen to the restless eyes

How I long his presence
The Moon looks creamier
In these moments of wait
How I wish we feel each other, the togetherness
The glistening trail left
On the dancing waves
Celebrates the beauty of darkness & shimmer
Of solitude and union

It’s late and I look around
Just once for the last time
With the hope and fear
And I find him near…yet far

Heart racing, I blush…
But as I near him, I mask…
One look I yearned…
And I see in him the shimmering reflection of my sheen…

© Manashi Pathak