Your Move

In response to Daily Post’s Daily Prompt Retrospective

What are people striving for in life? What is it that they ultimately want to achieve?

People offer various answers when you ask them these questions. Some claim they want fame, others want money, some want to be able to return to their blog after months of not writing in it and expect to get the same level of response that they once used to get (Is it so much to ask?)

Where did everyone go?

But in the end, if you break it down, people are looking for control. To reach a state in life where they have power over what happens to them. Look back to anything being done around you and you will see that in some aspect or the other, it is true:

• Why did Nelson Mandela suffer in jail? He wanted people of his country to have control over themselves
• Why did Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephone? He wanted a degree of control over long distance communication
• Why did Hitler commence a World War? He wanted control…. Er, you get the point

That brings us to the next thing. What if we give people that they want. Give money seekers a winning lottery ticket, give fame seekers Instagram followers, give meditators a quiet place to be. Does that solve the problem that each one of us is facing?

Not exactly!

Because all the things that we are seeking are what we believe are means to give us power and control over what happens to us but that is not entirely true. So, once people achieve these things, they realise that there is more that they can have and start seeking out more control.

From what you have read so far, you probably think I am going to soon start talking about how we should not obsess of the materialistic things and live life in a void with no wants but that is akin to being empty inside.

Welcome to the VOID

In fact, I am here to stress the complete opposite.

People look at things which they believe give them control and follow it blindly. If you do that, Jack the Ripper had a better sense of purpose than you have.

Hey! I have better morals! (Maybe)

The point is that we as human beings get in a comfort zone doing what we are doing and do not think why we are doing it. We abandon things that we really want to do just so that we get – at times – a false sense of control, which we ultimately realise is insufficient. Things change and over a course of time, we realise that there are things that we can’t have back. And ultimately when we look back at all our effort, even though we might have enjoyed what we did, we might come to realise that there were things that we abandoned that need not have been left untouched.

The Pursuit of Happiness is not fulfilled by just rushing ahead and not looking at either side. If it were so, it would be called Horse Derby of Happiness

I will be happy if I reach the end

Yes, it is important to get fame, money, glory, safety, etc. but it is also important to not lose sight of other things that you want to do along the way.

I always thought that whenever I need an idea to write something in my blog, I could always go to the Daily Post‘s Daily Prompt and get some inspiration but, alas, upon my return to WordPress, I found that they have stopped putting up Daily Prompts. Now I will have to dig into their archives and search for random words like Retrospective and think about writing something, all the while not even getting enough people directed to me from their page.

So, that brings me to the final part of this blog.

Was this entire post about me being sad of having not utilised the Daily Prompt to get more internet readers for my anonymous blog posts? Or was it an actual satire for what we fail to do in life?

What can I say? We are who we are!

I will let that be a cliff-hanger as you control what you choose to make of it.

But till next time, from one writer to another, WRITE ON!

Arguments

Before we get to the post, let me just tell you how I got here.
About a fortnight ago, at the end of my post – Let Me Be – I gave you, the readers, a poll to choose what I should write. And majority of you said that I should do a sarcastic take on life.

What? You think sarcasm is easy? – Well, it probably is. I wouldn’t know. Not like I have ever been sarcastic.

And the worst part is, nobody voted for poetry! Art is dying! People are choosing sarcasm over poetry! It’s dying!
(And you don’t think I can write good poetry? You should read about my visit to a strange Ice Cream Shop, then)

And no. Don’t even think about going back and putting your vote in now. The votes are closed. Well, technically, it’s still open since I don’t know how to close it, but I won’t be looking at it again – so yeah, closed.
I mean going and voting now would be like skipping elections and then saying, ‘I didn’t want Donald Trump to win. It just happened.’
(Don’t let it happen people!)

That’s why I don’t let people have the power. Monarchy for the win! Well, in this context, at least.

Ahem!

Coming to the post. As you can guess from the title, it’s about arguments. *dramatic music*

---

Arguments –
A state in which all people involved want to be heard but nobody wants to listen. Basically, it is the thing people resort to, since saying, ‘I am not listening, la la la la…‘ is not an acceptable, adult way to deal with things.

Not Listening

Whenever you see an argument happening, there are a few types of people you might find around.

• The people involved in the argument – These are the people who are in the heat of the action. They have blood shot eyes and will rip out the others’ organs if it becomes acceptable to do so. The true characteristic trait of this being, though, is that they ALWAYS believe that they are right.
  Examples include – People in TV debates and Parents deciding whose turn it is to go change the baby’s diaper.

A Normal Argument

• People who look like they are involved in the argument – There will be a person who will be going head to head with people in the heat. It may LOOK like the matter also concerns them, but more often than not, it doesn’t.
  Examples include –  People during a public protest and Your best friend when you get in an argument

  

  The Middle Man

• People having the time of their life – These people look like they are concerned about the well being of the people involved in the argument but they are actually enjoying the whole thing. They might SEEM to care about the subject but they just want to watch the world burn, starting from the people that are arguing in front of them (not literally, of course).
  Examples include – Your boyfriend when you are fighting with your male best friend and Marriage counsellors.

Oh! The joy!

• People actually trying to stop the whole thing – These are the people who actually, genuinely want to stop the whole thing from taking place. They might be concerned about the well being of the people involved in the argument. But, most of the times, they are just tired of their shit.
  Examples include – Your mother when she was trying to separate you and your sibling from killing each other and Judges in court

  

  Care Bears

• People who don’t care – For all they care, you can go die in a ditch. They don’t care and they don’t give a fuck as long as you don’t involve them. And even then, they would just get up and walk away.
  Examples include – Well, me.

  

  Burn away – I don’t care

That’s about all there is you need to know about arguments.

I hope you are better equipped to handle life now. Or not, I don’t care.

You made me do this. You better think it’s good!

You can tell me which group you belong to in the comments below and I will try my best to reply with a sarcastic comment. There is a large possibility that I wouldn’t be able to come up with a witty comment, so I will just leave a like or the general boring comment which you read day in and day out.

Until next time, from one writer to another, WRITE ON!

No Write, No Wrong

“It was the end of only the first day of a three day weekend and I had already binge watched the first season of BBC’s Sherlock.

A three day weekend? Yeah, well… You see a senior professor from our college had passed away. He had a stroke in the middle of the night. Given that he had served most of his life teaching students in the same college, the management decided that it would only be fair to declare the next day as a holiday to pay homage. The ‘next day’ happened to be a Friday.

Needless to say, a lot of my friends decided to make an impromptu trip to the beach. I decided to stay back. Not because I thought it was wrong to go on a celebration on the day that had been declared off for a person who had died. No, that wasn’t the reason AT ALL. The thing is, I was saving up for a bigger trip during the holidays and I knew that with my appetite, I would need a bigger budget.
Don’t judge us. You would have done the same. It’s not like we were not sad that the professor had died. We were; but he died of natural causes and he was quite old – it had to happen some day. Everyone accepted it and went on to the beach. (You’re still judging us, but it’s okay. I don’t care anymore)

Anyway, so it was the end of Friday and I was tired from the constant staring at my laptop screen. I did what any college student would do when he is tired and ready to sleep. I decided to knock on a few doors along the corridor to ask for food. Once my insatiable hunger was partially curbed, I decided to hit the sack.

I had probably only slept for a few hours, when I woke up. It was the middle of the night and for some reason I could not go back to sleep. And you know what happens when you lie on the bed trying to go to sleep and, for some reason, you can’t. That’s right – My brain entered ‘philosopher mode‘. I started to think about life and things that happen in life. Well, mostly my life, but you get the picture.

It was then that I realized that how meagre life really is but yet, there exists an enormous amount of things that we can learn. How did I reach there? I have no clue. It could have been the thought of being alone while all my friends were out to party; it could have been the death of a professor who we saw day in and day and only the other day had seemed like he would go on for ten more years; or it could have been the fact that my phone was blinking with low battery and I was too lazy to get up and plug it on the other side of the room. (With night thoughts, you never really know what leads where).

Whatever reason it might have been, it led me to an epiphany – learning is infinite in this finite life of ours.”

---

Why did I narrate this story?
If you answered for dark humor – you are right! But not quite there…

The thing is, when I realised that there are so many things to learn, I decided to actively learn more each day. Learn as much as I can before I die. It’s not that I did not do things before. I always tried my hand at everything.
I had always been the person who would tag along with people to play water polo when I could barely keep myself afloat (No, I was not suicidal). But after that night, I decided to actively learn more things. Even if I don’t like them.

So what do I do when I don’t write? I travel. I explore. I observe. I listen. And through all that I learn.
I still binge watch shows. I still travel with friends. I still eat food (I do this a lot, actually). But now, all of that, along with enjoyment, is a learning process as well.

By no means is this a way to inspire anyone to do better. I could care less about that (Grammar tip: This means I do care a little and am trying actively to care less. When you don’t care at all, you say – I couldn’t care less).

I mean, if I had to give a TED talk seminar, even that crowd of sophisticated adults would boo me off stage since instead of inspiring people, I would narcissistically keep talking about myself.

I am just responding to a prompt from Blogging University’s Writing 101, which asked what I do when I don’t write, and I think I have gone on too long with that as well. So, I will stop.

Normally, I end my non fiction posts by my catchphrase asking you to WRITE ON.
But, for today, from one writer to another, take a step back and RELAX.

Break-Up Letter (To Writer’s Block)

Dear Writer’s Block,

It’s not you, it’s me. The thing is, we cannot be together any longer. I mean, I just don’t think we can continue to see each other anymore. Your presence is making me feel restricted; like something is holding me back from doing something I really like.

Again, I would like to stress on the fact that you are not at fault here. You from your side have just been doing exactly what you are supposed to do; but the thing is, with you around I feel miserable. Sure, I enjoy the extra rest that I get with your presence and the fact that when you are here I don’t have to strain my mind thinking up of fantasies and fiction in bed; or on the table; or in the canteen;  in fact, every possible place that I can think of.
But is that what life is all about? Isn’t being together meant to be more than these things?

You tried really hard by making me see the small things in life, like Angry Birds and Candy Crush, but the truth is, as addicting as they are, I never really enjoyed them. I did it because of your presence, and I would like to come out clean and say that if it weren’t for you, I probably would not have been doing those things, EVER. I know this might have shocked you but this is what the truth is. The things I enjoyed due to your presence are not the things I really like.

There are times when people look back at something that went wrong and tell themselves that they are ready to move on, to let go; but then they are somehow afraid to actually do so. Maybe because they are unsure of what the future holds for them. But by being scared of the future, they are holding on to the past, which is not doing them any good at all. I think I have realized that with you, I am just trying to hold on to the past. I think it is about time that we both move on and look at new things life has to offer.

I am sure that there will be another who you will find – you seem to have a knack for that. Someone who is probably more suited to be with you than I am. I really think that you deserve someone better; probably someone who likes your presence and would treat you the way you are supposed to be treated.

In the end I would like to say one last thing. I know this is a small world and people do bump into each other, but with all the time I have spent with you, it would be better if we never see each other again. I say this because I do not want to recreate the feelings that I had when you were around.

I hope you understand that this is the best road for both of us to take.

Farewell.

Steps to Procrastinate

In response to Daily Task of Blogging University’s Writing 101: Let Social Media Inspire You

The following post has a high sarcasm content and is not suitable for people who are easily susceptible to things written on the internet. Reader discretion is advised.

Also, the post is inspired by the following tweet.

I can't decide if procrastination kills creativity or is essential to it.

— Grant Snider (@grantdraws) April 28, 2014

---

I have seen many tips online on how not to procrastinate but I have never found tips which could actually help somebody procrastinate if they are having trouble doing so. I am here to fill that vacant spot by taking the road not taken.

Follow these steps precisely and you will see yourself procrastinate away to glory.

Step 1 – Search for something you should be doing. Make sure it isn’t due for at least a week later. And the more important it is, the better. Do you have to study for an upcoming test? Do you have to make a presentation for work? Do you have to file your returns? Excellent! Just pick any one of them.

Step 2 – Sit at your desk to do it BUT don’t start doing it just yet! Open your laptop to blank power point presentation. Open the book to the page you want to study. After you have done that. Stare at it. Don’t read any of it, just stare it.

Step 3 – Think about how much effort has to be put into this work and then slowly come to a realization that you have a lot of time left for it to be completed. Just gently slide out of your desk.

Just Be Gentle

Step 4 – Think about all the other important things that are left. Like laundry. Or maybe you could clean your room that you haven’t cleaned for a long time. You could even try to catch up on the sleep you have been meaning to. (Note this step is for people who are new to procrastination. For more advanced procrastinators – skip straight to step 5)

Rest is Important

Step 5 – Do none of the important stuff and watch a movie instead – you know you want to, but you never just got the time. Besides, you have a lot of time to complete the work. You will do it tomorrow. Or you could try watching a TV series. Maybe read that book? – Reading is not bad, is it? You could also try searching the internet for work related thing and get caught up looking at cat videos. Or start playing that video game you had been waiting to try.
So many things to do, you can’t start your work just yet.

Listen to Kim

Step 6 – Repeat the steps 1 to 5 till there is only one day left to the deadline.

Step 7 – This is a two part step.

a. Enter panic mode and start calculating time left before deadline. In this step make sure you give less time to each part of the process and believe that you can achieve the task in lesser amount of time than you can actually do it in. “Meh! I have 24 hours left. I need only 5 hours to do it.”

b. Get complacent and convince yourself that you can squeeze in a movie before you start. After all, you should start with a fresh mind, right? Once you have done that look at the time and convince yourself yet again that you can still binge watch the first season of Game of Thrones and have enough time later do your work.

Step 8 – Now you are really close to your deadline. Only a few hours to go. Plus you have to catch sleep as well. Don’t calm yourself. Let adrenaline kick in – you will need that. And when, and only when, you panic enough for adrenaline to kick in do you move to the next step.

Step 9 – Rush through your work like a drug hazed maniac.

Steps Seven Ate Nine

Step 10 – This is the last step. You can choose either of the following things to do in this step.
1. Believe that since you could complete the work in 4 hours you must be some genius.
2. Convince yourself that you can only work in the last minute rush and your mind wouldn’t function other wise.
3. Make yourself convinced that if had not been for adrenaline, your creative power would have been slowed by a huge magnitude.

Simply Brilliant

Note – If you are having difficulty in choosing what you have to instead of your work. Don’t go back to your work. You can stare at the wall and ponder about your life choices. That works as well.

This list has worked for me for years. I can even call myself a professional procrastinator now. In fact, I remember I always did double time every time exams were near or I had to submit an assignment. So, you can pretty much trust this list.

---

“Procrastination doesn’t kill creativity but by no means does it allow it to grow” – Me

The Annoying List

In response to Blogging University’s Writing 101. Task for Day 2: Make a List

With so many things to learn in this huge world of ours, whatever we learn seems less. Every time I learn something new, I realize that there is so much more to explore. And yet, listing down the things I HAVE learnt is so annoying.

Here’s a list to show some of those.

a. Monday is always irritating – I have learnt to accept Monday as it is. It will be annoying and hectic and will always induce those butterflies in the stomach. I thought that it will go away after I move on from school. Little did I know, Mondays will always be the same.

Every Week

b. People WILL honk their horns – How many times have we been stuck in traffic and people have honked their horns when the light is CLEARLY still red? For me it is too many to remember. As much as my road rage builds up, I have realized that there will always be that one smart ass who I will want to say – ‘Fly over my car if you can, asshole!‘

Road Rage

c. There will always be people who abbreviate words – People who read my blog post regularly will know that I hate to see words abbreviated unnecessarily. But there are times when people will do that. There will be that one odd guy who uses ‘u‘ instead of ‘you‘ or maybe ‘lyf‘ for ‘life‘.
I accept it. And from my side, I make sure to delay the response by exactly double the amount of time he/she might have saved while typing lesser letters. Take that!

My Reaction

d. People will walk slow in front of you – This happens especially when you are in a hurry. So, the best thing to do is to start early but if you do find yourself stuck in situation like that, there is a passive aggressive way to go about dealing with things. You could step on the heel of their shoe and act like it was a mistake. Generally, twice should be enough to either make their shoes come off, so you can walk ahead or they let you simply walk ahead.

Warning – Don’t try to do this on people who walk slow because of physical handicaps. That is just crazy and insensitive and would actually get you beaten up.

e. Email Spam will exist – Whether it is a Nigerian Prince on his death bed claiming to be giving you his complete fortune, or a magical pill that can make you thin in a day. There will always be email trying to scam money out of you. Don’t click on the link, don’t send a mail back, just grin and press delete.

Just Press Delete

f. Video Game lag happens – To all the gamers out there, you know what I am talking about. Lag happens and just when you are about to knife your opponent in his back. You can blame the lag once, maybe even twice but do it always and you will be branded a sore loser. Sometimes, it is better to accept that you lost than blame it on lag.

h. Life will feel over – There will be times when you will feel that there is no point of existence anymore. Everyone falls to this pit some time. For most, it happens when you finish a good book or an awesome TV series. But what can we do? Get up and start again, that’s what. Find new things to do. Life is not over. Try watching another series. Go ahead!

Try to Get Over It

i. Mistakes happen – Life is meant to be a learning experience. Even if you decide to stay at home and do nothing, you will make mistakes and you will learn from them. There is no need to worry about it if people notice. Sure, if you are in high school try your best not to make mistakes but as you get older people accept it. Most of the times, it’s just in our head and most people don’t even notice till you point it out by saying that you forgot to add the point ‘g’ in the list.

j. Life Goes On – No matter what you do. No matter what happens around you. No matter what people say. Life goes. You might try to hide in the corner of your basement and try to accept the fact, but it won’t change. You are happy but life will go and make you sad at some point, and then it will continue to go on and make you happy again. Just go on with it and live it to the fullest. That’s the best thing you can do about it.

Just Live and Enjoy

These are just a few things that I have learnt happens. There is so much more that I have learnt in life but one has to stop somewhere. You wouldn’t want to read my complete life story now, would you?

I will be here again tomorrow with another prompt. Till then, from one writer to another, WRITE ON!