Is there more darkness than light?

"..in comparison, there is more darkness than there is light" ...

This comment was made recently by a fellow blogger I admire. It was in reference to positive and negative emotions and their role in our lives. It made me stop and think of the bigger picture. Is this true? Has our world taken a turn for the worse? Is there truly more darkness than there is light?

Since summer has just ended for the northern hemisphere, and winter is about to come, the statement does hold true in the literal sense. Winter days are shorter and there is more darkness. But that was not the intent of that statement.

So, back to the question: is the world experiencing more negativity than positive things? Are there more wars being fought? Are more people dying of natural and man-made causes? Is there more sorrow in the world than happiness?

If one was to read the headlines, the answer to these questions would be yes. Wars and natural calamities seem to be getting more and more common. The crime rate seems to be going up every year. Nations are spending more on military hardware than on social infrastrutures.The threat of terrorism seems to be increasing day by day. We face more tsunamis and worsening floods.

But if we all look into our own lives and experiences, each of us may come up with a different answer. Our answer will depend on how the events that happen around us affect us and our loved ones.

Personally for me, if people I care for are happy, then there is light. Otherwise, I go looking for a torch.

The Scale

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I noticed the weighing scale in the corner of our closet. Since it had been a couple of months since it was last used, I decided to find out how things had changed ..

"161!!" I told my wife, with a smile on my face. My weight is usually in the high 160 range. "Oh great .." came her reply. She was not happy about it. She resented the fact that I always lost weight without any effort when she on the other hand was trying so hard, trying all kinds of methods, and not reaching the desired results.

Anyways, she pushed me out of the room so she could use the scale. A few seconds later, she came out with a sad look on her face. She refused to tell me how much it was. All she said was she had gained 4 lbs in the last 2 months.

She was still sad as I kissed her cheek and left for work. It made me sad.

Fading Memories

We all have memories of the days gone by .. of the bad phases of our life, and of the good times we experienced .. of the ones we regret, and of the ones that bring a smile to our face .. of our childhood days in school and college, and of the time we can never get back .. of the moments that were memorable, and of the moments that we wish never happened.

Some memories become an inseparable part of our identity and mesh themselves into our lives. They stay in the background .. just beneath the surface .. and at times they come out when we least expect them .. and take us back into time to ..

.. a person .. a wound .. a laugh .. a lover .. a face .. a stranger .. an event .. a view .. a friend .. an acquaintance .. a smile .. an arch rival .. a letter .. a ride .. a teacher .. an infatuation .. an insult .. a journey ..

Why is it that some memories are quickly forgotten, and others last a lifetime?

Why is it that some of the memories that we think are going to last a lifetime, start fading away with the changing times?

Is it our mind's way of telling us stop living in the past?

Life ..

A few months ago, I ran into an old acquaintance of mine on the net. We used to live in adjacent buildings during our school years. Back then, I did not know her well .. our interaction was just a hi, hello and bye.

After this chance meeting, we exchanged a couple of emails. I told her about my family, and how everyone was doing. Our dads were colleagues in the same office back then. She replied back to say she was married, and had a son who had recently passed away from a cord blood transplant.

I read her email with a dry throat and wet eyes. Her son was barely 18 months old when this happened. I could only imagine her pain and sorrow .. of the daily struggle to face each day without your lil one .. of all the memories that were once a reality. She had sent me a link to a site that her hubby maintained. It was a chronicle of the events that took place before and after .. and of their journey thru it all.

No words of mine can describe that painful journey ..

Most of us in this world always assume our lives suck .. we hate our jobs .. we wish a better future for ourselves .. it is just human nature.

But for a minute, just reflect for a moment at those who are enduring more pain than us .. and realize how lucky we are .. how much better off we are .. and be thankful for our good life.

Bad habits

Have you ever had a situation where you said or did something in the heat of the moment, only to regret it later? Do you ever wish you could take back the words you said, take back the hurt you caused someone? I am sure we all go through those.

Each time I have such a regret, I make a mental note to myself to think twice before I speak or do something, to try and be a better person. But unfortunately, we are creatures of habit .. and no matter how much I mean to, its hard to change some habits.

Being short-tempered and opinionated are some of my bad habits. I voice my opinions too quickly without giving thought to the other person's views. I also get irritated very easily. This not only causes hurt and bad feelings with people around me, but also causes me pain and regret in hindsight.

If only real-life was like blogging where we could moderate our comments and actions before they get to others ..

Is there a Higher Power?

I have been trying to find an answer for many years now.

Science was a big part of my education. Over my school years, I read about the laws of physics, about biology and genetics, evolution and the galaxies. Science can explain how a flower blooms, how a human life is concieved from an embryo, how the big bang happened billions of years ago, how galaxies and stars are born, how the dinosaurs became extinct, how the human race has evolved .. it has answers to many complex aspects of our universe, nature and life.

Humans have made an amazing journey from the life-style of a cave-man to the modern life-style of today, with our cities, our technology, our gadgets, and our conveniences. I believe the credit for this goes to humans.

With so much knowledge out there, we are still not able to find answers to so many questions.

What is the source of our universe?
What is the purpose of life?
What makes our minds think and our hearts beat?
What makes us good or bad?

For now, I am still on the fence ..

Into the unknown

The other day, as I was surfing the web, I stumbled into the mysterious realm of Blogging. The word blog was not new for me. I had read about it in many news articles. But that day, as I clicked through the various hyperlinks, I realised the true meaning of blogging.

Each new link took me to a new place, to a new person, and to a new viewpoint or opinion. Needless to say, I spent many hours reading about Dee's little words of wisdom, a daily diary for A's kids, books that RB had read lately, VD's chronicles .. the list went on and on. In a nutshell, I was hooked!

Later in the night, as I lay in bed, I toyed with the idea of starting my own blog. Reading somebody else's blog was easy enough. But to actually have the courage to publish my own thoughts scared me. In the end, a compromise was reached. I decided to start my blog, but with an assumed identity.

So here it is, my own blog. It is about how I view the world around me .. through the prism of my life.