DreamingAway

 “Be the change you want to see in this world” is a famous quote. But what if I want change but choose to do nothing to make the change happen? Well, I simply leave it to others, including God or convince myself that the change is not necessary. This is one of those, a random thought on inequality, imposed indirectly. Return journeys, especially after a 500+ km trip between cities, can be tiring and boring. My last one was no exception. We were returning after attending a teammate’s wedding. Since I don’t drive, I sat in the front seat, just watching the scenery and the road. And only the road, once the sun disappeared below the horizon. That was when I started watching people travelling long distances on motorcycle. The first one, the one that no longer annoys me as much as they did once were the daredevil riders. I know they require great skill and courage. Of course, it is a risk for them, but more importantly, it is a risk for others as well. And then the good guys, the real bi...

 I had a hunch that I had heard of it somewhere - “The Deathbed Experiment”. Confused between Covey’s “Begin with the End in Mind” and Robin Sharma’s “Who Will Cry When You Die,”  I set out searching for the “Deathbed Experiment”.  My search led me through things like “Legacy thinking,”“Mortality Reflection,” and the “Eulogy Exercise”.  And it went a little deeper, the more abstract ones, like “Memento Mori Practice”, “Terror Management Theory Experiments”,  “Thanatotherapy,” and “End-of-Life Journaling Exercise”. No, I wasn’t looking for those. The idea itself was simple: imagining how people would cope with your death. Well, the name didn’t matter to start my own experiment. Here is how I progressed. I’ll skip over friends, as I believe that each one of them would fall into one of the categories that follow. Let me begin with the easiest group - my neighbours. Their response would be straightforward  - they would simply find out that I used to live there....

 My mom has been making a comment that is becoming a regular now-a-days. On Saturdays, she will say, “It feels like the week just started, but the weekend is already here.” At the start of each month, she will say, “The month just started, but the next one is already here.” One of my teammates echoed a similar sentiment recently. I believe this feeling is very common, and we may differ on whether we say this to someone or not. So, is the time really moving that fast? And for everyone? Of course, the actual time measurement is the same for all of us. It is our perception that makes time feel as if it is speeding up or slowing down, and that perception is deeply individual. While we have natural senses for things like sound or smell, we don’t have an innate sense to estimate time. For example, try starting a timer and then stopping it when you think a minute has passed without counting numbers, breaths, or using external cues. Chances are, you’ll stop too early. The point is that whi...

We were recently discussing the decrease in attention spans and decided, somewhat casually, to count the number of people entering the lunch hall while looking at their phones. It felt unnecessary, as almost everyone was glued to their mobile. This wasn’t the case in years past. Is this a generation gap? Mobile phone usage is just another addiction, like anything else, and it has nothing to do with the generational differences. Yet, the reasons people use their phones might signal a generation gap. Or maybe the very dependence on mobile devices in daily life reveals an underlying generational divide. We weren’t entirely conclusive. Generation gaps are inevitable, as change is universal, and it is the adaptation to these changes that creates the gap. Differences in thought, social norms, and behaviour naturally emerge over time, creating a distinct divide between younger and older generations. When things like climate change can play a role in shaping these differences, it is clear som...

  On our way home, one of my teammates was sharing his experience from a recent trip he took with his schoolmates. I mentioned that I used to go on trips with my college friends a lot but have since lost contact with most of my schoolmates. He told me that his college days coincided with the pandemic lockdown, so he made fewer college friends and has more friends at work now. As a result, he either goes on trips with his schoolmates or colleagues. Of course, when it comes to trips, it doesn’t really matter who you go with, as we often travel with groups of strangers nowadays. Last Friday, I was having dinner with a colleague who was visiting from our branch office. During our conversation, I asked him if he meets his friend (whom I also know as colleague) every time he comes to the main office. Although he visits almost every month, he admitted that he misses seeing his friend some months. He also reminded me that his friend was also his college mate and that they we...

 When working in an environment where benchmarks are readily available, whether directly or indirectly, we often have a clear understanding of what is required for our career growth. Since these benchmarks typically align with what an average person can achieve through regular skill upgrades for their experience level, achieving them might seem straightforward. However, in reality, it is not always this simple. For countless reasons, we often fail to continuously upgrade our skills, resulting in us falling behind where we could have been. Firstly, there are no everyday indicators showing that we are slowing down or lagging behind. It is difficult to recognise at first and only becomes apparent later. By the time it is noticeable, it may already pose a threat to our job. But what if there is no immediate job threat? This can easily occur in organisations that can accommodate people based on their current skill levels. In such cases, it's like choosing between just running or running...

They say that the departed souls show up in the form of crows, and we express our love, respect, and gratitude towards our ancestors by feeding these birds. This need not be true, I never believed so, but it feels good, so I do feed the crows. I used to give banana peels to cows, enjoying the feel of their rough tongues snatching the peels from my hand. And if you have pigeons at home, you know the sheer joy of letting them perch on your hand while they eat. So, here’s my thing: I love feeding animals. There's something magical and heartwarming about connecting with these creatures, even if it’s partly for my own amusement. They usually run and hide as soon as they sense our presence, but not this brave one. The internet search says, he is a “brown-banded cockroach.” Let’s call him Browny. I found this little daredevil darting out of a carton of pet food. I was curious. I blocked his path with my finger, expecting him to climb over it like a little hiker. Nope! Browny dashed back i...