My two pence

I’ve learnt that believing in god and leaving everything to him, believing in luck and attributing everything to it, or believing in fate and blaming everything on it are the 3 greatest follies of mankind.

I hate how we relegate to discreetness, real issues like sodomy, pedophilia, kleptomania, homosexuality.

It pisses me off to see mediocre moviemakers raking in so much moolah. I mean, think about it. Just one in 100 movies is really worth your time. But still, the rest of the 99 thrive. Flourish even. And this leads to an endless cycle of mind-numbing mass communication. As a yardstick, guys, if you have a story that you can’t complete in even 12 years, but can pack that into 120 minutes, you may have got yourself a winner. I’m not saying it’s a surefire formula for success. I’m just suggesting not making movies if you don’t have something novel and worthwhile to say at the end of it.

I hate meaningless product placements in movies. I hate exorbitantly priced restaurants where you are forced to act civilized. I hate civilized, hate wearing suits. For some reason, more clothing is suffocating, makes you feel more inhibited. Always prefer the casual jeans and tee. I hate how some restaurants, coffee shops, electronic companies mark up their products by more than 1000% and still survive.

As a race, don’t you think we’re stagnating? That we’re stuck up and arrogant? Wouldn’t life be so much cooler if we just sort of let loose at times?

We make too many simple things too complex. We’ve stopped challenging ourselves, our minds. Just because we make enough to keep our mortgage payments going.

I hate fake smiles, plastic poses, barbiedoll happiness and effervescence. These are not things of the real world.

And oh, I hate people who shove religion down other’s throats. Please people, religion is man-made. When people in olden days had lots of time and nothing to do, their minds automatically created stories. And that, mythology, is just what we’ve created into a cult today, and we vandalise, terrorise, mutilate, commit felony, arson and go all paranoid for what? A piece of fiction? A figment of someone’s imagination? Can we please understand that religion has been and will always be a matter of choice? We all know that it is only a way of filling a metaphysical void that everyone feels. So let’s rest it at that.

I hate parents who bring up their kids by shielding them from real world ‘hazards.’ Keeping your child away from sex and violence may be a good thing, but how long can you sustain it? They’re gonna break out of it someday.

Let’s face it. The worst things in life actually feel the best. Hell, broccoli and bitter gourd may be the best things for my health, but I’d gladly give them up for a pizza and a beer. Anyday. Some day, someone is going to introduce your child to things that you’ve always kept him away from. And once they get a taste of it, it’s like freedom. Completely addictive, they are hooked for life. They can thus be converted into abusers, perverts, alcoholics, anti-social elements.

On the other hand, let’s examine the alternative. Being the first person to introduce these real world hazards to your child, keeping them informed, educating and then giving them a choice might be the right way to go. So that they don’t feel it’s inaccessible. They see it, feel it, know about it. That way, when someone else flashes it in front of their eyes, they know everything there is to know about it. And they’ve already made an informed choice. Makes sense?

A good upbringing is one thing. A paranoid prohibition, creating a shell of comfort that your child won’t be able to stay in all his/her life is a totally different thing altogether.

I’ve learnt that when something is not for sale, you want it more badly.

I’ve learnt that discounts draw people like flowers draw bees.

So then what are the tenets of the good living? Here are some suggestions:

Never be boring. Please, that’s the most difficult to tolerate. Engage. Yourself and others.
Write a book, develop a new interest, learn a language, observe people. Listen to a new type of music, maybe try and appreciate jazz. Read a new writer. Keep yourself involved with the world. Read the newspaper. That doesn’t mean the sports and comic pages alone.

Don’t listen to everybody at all times. Even your parents are not always right. Argue your point of view if you feel you are right. Obey only one thing, your instinct.

Never work in fear. You’ll never be able to perform. Challenge your boss every once in a while. Make him feel threatened.

There are only 4 things we do: Feed our body, feed our mind, exercise our body, exercise our mind. Eat moderately, exercise hard, read a lot, and think.

Chase your passion. Never work only for the money. Have a hobby that absorbs you.

Everyone is eager, waiting and more than willing to break down your principles. Try not to let them do it to you.

Stand for something. Anything. Have an image. And stay true to it. Never fake.

Try to become an expert in your field.

Be thankful for what you have. Happy even. But never be satisfied. That just spells doom. Always aim higher. One milepost at a time, keep achieving.

Be very alert, very aware, very sharp and never let anyone insult you. Except in humour. For humours sake, on occasion, insult yourself.

Always be on top of your game. Play your cards right.

Everybody loves to witness failure. It makes them feel better about themselves. Don’t give those sadists the pleasure. If you’re going down, go down with grace, honour and your head held high. People may dissuade you every step of the way, forgive them and move on.

Please don’t say “life is too short” to everybody. It is actually the longest goddamn thing in the world. Now I don’t want gyaan about posthumous pride et al.

Always be willing to learn more. Listen to everything that comes your way, but don’t let everything affect you. Filter.

Try not agreeing all the time. Presenting a different point of view may be accepted generously.

Keep it simple. Keep it cool. And keep doing your thing.

Indulge. From time to time, break away from the schedule. Take a vacation. But be absolutely guilt free. Or you’ll never be able to enjoy the fun of it all.

Be fresh. Keep exploring. Be inquisitive. Ask many questions. But never be intrusive.

Never pretend to know something you don’t. You’re cheating yourself and depriving yourself of an opportunity to learn.

Be hygienic. But don’t overdo it.

Try not to lie unnecessarily. And do not live frivolously. Do not buy things you don’t need.

Watch and read fiction. It’ll open your mind.

Never hurt the ones you love, and the ones who love you. They are the most precious things in your life. Even more precious than self-respect.

Don’t carry work home. Give time to family. A successful man with an unstable family life is a failure.

Never grip money too tightly. It won’t stay.

And lastly of course, life is a game without rules.