Stranger In The Rain

Drops from heaven splash on my soul

Help me hide my tears from the world as a whole

Does it really hurt this much I wonder

As the skies roar in thunder

Smart people have always got the way ahead

On the weaker bunch they have fed

With each heavenly drop that seems to cleanse my mind

My path towards success is still difficult to find

Smiling in the rain the little kids play

Completely ignorant of what ahead in life lays

But soon the kids will come to remember

Those one off rain showers every other November]

A faint hope is all that is the need

The hope is the best sowed seed

But every other time I see my reflection in the rain water

Stranger in the rain is all that matters

 

A Big Guy In A Big World

God has been kind to give me a huge body
But still I feel like a nobody.

The world is big, there isn't a doubt about it
Fitting myself in it is the real big sight.

When I take 2 steps forward, the world takes ten
That's when i feel like picking up my pen.

Not to write about my struggles, but to write about good things
Things that give my mind some wings.

Letting my mind fly off is a real treat
As I get to write a lot of stuff that is pretty neat.

But the fact remains that my mind has to come back to reality
Come back to my life which ain't that shitty.

Although I ain't completely disappointed with the way my life has been
But there are a lot of things I would have wanted my life to mean.

To follow your passion is something that only a few can achieve
A thriving career so easy to leave.

But that's a risk which is really bold
Else you just end up as a big guy in a big world.

A Joker

Growing up days is always a challenge. There is pressure to excel in all areas where you are expected to put your hand in. Socially, it is the defining moment in any kid’s life as it basically labels him/her. It defines the social persona which the individual tends to abide by as the growth sprouts into adulthood and so on.

In our school days, joining a group is always the difficult part. In fact, it is the most challenge part for any child. Some kids tend to get through without any major problems. There are some who need a holding hand, while there are some who aren’t sure of what his/her role is in life. There is another category who, in a bid to seek approval, provide the role which is actually the most interesting aspect of any group – laughter.

Think about any group you have ever seen or been in. There is always the king and queen, the advisor to the king, few minions to the king and queen and there is a joker. The “job” of the joker is very simple – keep the humour levels up and the frustration levels down in the group. The joker is someone who always has to be quick witted, always someone who makes the queen laugh and cry tears of joy and always is the one who suffers the wrath of the king and his minions.

Time passes, people grow up, but the persona (king, queen, minions) remains intact within the mind and mannerisms of the people who once were a part of the group. There are a few who crash and burn but that’s a topic for another day. Similar to others, the joker persona sticks to the individual all the way into his golden years.

The tricky thing about the joker persona is the seriousness. No one really takes a joker seriously. Everything which he says is construed to be a joke even if it is a cry for help or a personal disclosure. People often share jokes cracked by the funny guy. However, when these jokes are actual reality, the joker’s life is put on full delay for the entire world to make fun of!

What I feel is that the joker persona is an extremely unfair one. Just think about it. A person who just tries his/her best at a social acceptance by cracking a lot of jokes will never be the one who would be taken seriously in any group he/she is part of. The persona is just some entertainer who would be enjoyed while it last and then be forgotten once the “show” is over.

Essentially the joker always walks alone. He/she has the most difficult “job” in the world. However, the caring aspect, the “feeling of a part of the group” aspect is never tagged to this character. It is always someone else who just flexes his way through anything that commands some care and love but never the joker. Jokes come and go. The moment you seem to be losing it, the interest in the persona reduces and the person just stops being important. So much so, that he/she is ignored altogether!

In my opinion, if there is a persona who is capable of really putting a smile to your face in times when you need this, this persona needs to be supported, cared for and maintained. I believe the jokers are the bravest people around as they are the ones who put a smile on your face, the ones who can laugh on themselves. It shouldn’t be assumed that being a joker is a complete waste of time. The jokers of the world do make it big. Personally I have seen them make big with the wit and charm which is their soul but they have gone through some terrible social rejection. In fact they still might be going through it. However they always face rejection with a small joke and a great big smile!

Shadows

Lets face one simple fact in today’s world. No one has the time for humanity. In a crowded street, you would have multiple dozens of people walking about minding their own business. Smartphones claim to bring people closer to each other. But do they really bring anyone close by? A few messages on Whatsapp, that elusive call from your love one, that quick status update or that awesome pic which you want the world to see more than you want to enjoy it yourself. There are a lot of things in life we feel we are closer to. But the fact remains that the only thing really closer to us is our own reflection – our own shadows.

Funny thing about an abstract thing like shadows is that they tend to make a lot of sense if you put the right sense of perspective. Its not about being over-critical about something which is natural in life and is an offspring of the most simple of “light magic” that you see. I tend to think of it from another angle.

Put the following thought into focus – In the morning, your shadow starts trailing you the moment you leave your house. It is happily following you wherever you go, it mimics whatever you do. Then as time progresses, it sort of “merges” with you. It becomes up. In other words, it catches up with you. The shadow and you become one. Then you start following your shadow! You start doing thing which it is doing, you start going where it is going. Finally as the day end grows nearer, your leader starts to fade till the time it completely vanishes leaving you to deal with the world and yourself alone for the next 12 hours.

When a person goes home from work/social place, it is a natural aspect to reflect on how the day has gone for him/her. Some people want to distract their reflection by engaging in “small talk” using the most amazing modern technology that money has to offer. However, this is the time when you are truly alone. Ergo the need to talk to someone or socialize with something. Maybe, you share that thought or that pic you took in the morning. Maybe you chat with your friends or love ones. There are few people who actually do self-exploration. When you tend to look into a perspective mirror at the end of the day, you would realize how your daily companion – your shadow – helped you out during the day.

Your day begins with energy. It begins with a realization that today is the day when you go out and achieve. Your friend, the shadow, hears you out and gives you a chance to work out your achievement at a pace suitable for yourself. It follows you, it studies you. It goes where you go, it does what you do. It records you. Then when your day is half done, it syncs/merges up with you. It discusses with you what how your 1^st half of the day went. Most of the times, it loses the argument. Sometimes, you decide that the pointers provided are valid and allow it to take over and “lead” you into the remainder of the day. Then you tend to follow it, do what it does, say what it says and go where it goes.

Satisfied with the day’s work, the shadow fades away living you in darkness to retrospect your day. That is when you tend to realize that you did things which you didn’t mean to but had to do it because of some aspects of the morning which causes you to do it. Its your shadow who made you do it. You didn’t hurt someone in the afternoon, your shadow did it. The innocence of your thought grips you. You try to look for help, but help has deserted you, your companion has completed its 8 hour shift. The only thing left to do now is to think about how you would avoid the situations tomorrow. You plan out a strategy with a clean slate and then finally arrive at something you would do with your companion. Unfortunately, the cycle repeats.

Shadows can be our friends or our enemies. However, instead of blindly following them, we need to visit the darkness, the hole that exists in our lives to truly understand if we can live with the decisions that our shadow makes for us. Do we truly want to be known by the company we keep, do we truly need to be followed or follow others.