Flow Like Water

FLOW LIKE WATER

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." - John F. Kennedy

I, personally, try to opt for things that are in some ways - abstruse. The idea & the title for this post was the incredible cue by James Newton Howard. The track was titled - 'Flow Like Water'. It starts with mild flute-cello-violin orchestra, reaches the dramatic climax with the help of cymbals, drums & ofcourse the orchestra. If the track is heard at the right moment with proper surroundings, it can give the feeling of something or someone closing-in on you. I wasn't the fan of it's title but gradually I could understand it's relevance. The track gives the feeling of flowing of water which, figuratively, is the human emotions flowing through one's mind. It's a way, as I see it, to vent out the feelings & stand on the right foot again. But as I wrote in 'Time', I won't let this post become a music review post.

Change - the reason & solution to every problem. Sometimes, a certain situation requires us to change & sometimes we change the situations. The leaders crave for bringing change in the society, some of them even win their campaigns. Adapting is also a change. Sometimes people change, sometime's we change. Sometimes people also get fed up with change. So is change good or bad? The best example of change & perseverance is flowing water. The water flows no matter how much it's path is changed i.e. inclination, diversion, re-routing etc. We cannot hold water in our bare hands, it simply flows though the fingers. 

Let me elaborate a little more:

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." - Wayne Dyer

When a person voluntarily feels or is convinced that he/she needs to change - the most basic question is what is it that needs to be changed - The behavior or the appearance or a brainwash? Bear in mind that the person is only given a direction, life is still flowing. Our life begin's with water & ends with it. Thus, metaphorically, we all meet in the same ocean. Water of the pond, lake or sea might of any color, any chemistry but it's core - H20 is/was/will always be the tantamount. Similarly, the change that we need to bring in ourselves merely helps us to distinguish ourselves from other 'waters', though we ultimately are the reflection of humanity & not any individual. We first need to dig deep inside ourselves to face our deepest fears, the darkest temptations, the empty voids, the over-filled pores so that we can lead a better life. Facing these 'things' can only help us. Once we face our own evils & gods, then can only we be able to distinguish & compartmentalize the changes that we need to bring in. Time, tide & universe wait for none. But change - it possesses the strongest of all other evils in the world. It has the capability to tame a person's mind, turn good into bad or the vice-versa. Perpetually, change has to be escorted by the recipient -self only when required. Good changes are like the finger's of a maestro dancing on the octaves of a piano. Whereas when a person changes to bad - it's like a violin-percussion duo which can only be decrypted afterwards, often when it's too late. Nothing in the world is bad as it simply depends on the hands that control it. 

We usually bury our ill-thoughts & actions, deep within us. Maybe deliberately, but by running away from our actions or rather 'what-could've-been-an-action', we're letting it to be re-born again in our future. It shall linger us, undoubtedly. What's good or evil is for you to decide. Student's are generally afraid of Math, like I was, but once it is 'understood' - it might not seem as difficult again. Surely it takes time but it's better late than never. 

Coming back to the topic of change & flowing water, most of times it is difficult to see the change we want to bring in. People can only inspire us, ultimately we must put our thoughts to actions & bring the change. Decorously, nothing is as permanent as change. Everything changes. But so does our lives, it also changes - our perspective, our priorities, our prospects, thinking, our character i.e. it changes us & reciprocally, we change our lives. The most basic instinct a person possess - 'What are they going to remember me for?' inspires us to extricate ourselves in the flood of people. Afterall, what began with wide hands, concludes with it. The water takes with it what it must. We're a huge body of water & even though sometimes we feel our life has become inert, the water is still flowing. Water can't be seized but it can surely be directed. Try to flow like water rather than trying to stagnate or rush it..! Water is extremely important for us, humans as it is seen to as a benchmark for how higher we stand.

“Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it.” - Lao Tzu

First Ideas

FIRST IDEAS

"If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it." - Albert Einstein 

As we were growing up, we always read about scientists, researchers & other personalities how they were the first one to accomplish some thing they did. The "World's First" are always historic. 

- The first man ever to live(at least it's believed): Adam

- First man to step on moon - Armstrong

- First American president of African origin - Obama

- First work of fiction - George Elliot who's real name was: Mary Anne Evans

- World's first completely computer generated feature film - Toy Story

and many others..

In the 90's sitcom, Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld takes a gig at being the 'first' at something. He goes, "The only thing about being first was being there before anyone else". Federer becomes the first tennis player to win 16 Grand-Slam titles but what about Pete Sampras who held the record until last year? The fact is people always know and want to know about the first's. For the people the list starts somewhere down the line & ends on the first. 

"Ideas are like wandering sons, they show up when least expected" - Bern Williams

CREATIVE FIRST's

Somehow, in some people - this hunger for being "first" at something leads them to explore & walk on the less travelled roads where, some of them succeed. Ray Dolby created the sound system - Dolby Labs but few years later Jon Kirtchner came up with DTS & Sony with SDDS in the field of Cinema Sound. The key to success is not being the "first" one to be there but to keep up with the changing times. Of course, being first at anything tests the creativity of people but it also nurtures it. Human mind craves for new ideas. Most old ideas in human mind are treated just as the body treats any new protein - it rejects it. Emil von Behring developed an antitoxin to treat diphtheria, that cost many thousand's lives, was rewarded with the First Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine category. Jacobus Van't Hoff was honored in return of his contribution in Chemical Thermodynamics - being the first laureate in the Chemistry. 

"Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one you have. " - Emile Chartier

DESTRUCTIVE FIRST's

There've not always been good firsts in the human world. World War - One took off in 1914 & lasted till 1918. We all know what happened henceforth. Successful assassination's of Ehud, Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy & Benazir Bhutto and the attempted killings of Andrew Jackson, Guy Fawkes & Pope John Paul II have painted the history books in red. Richard Nixon - the president facing impeachment resigned at the right time to avoid the uncomfortable circumstances(later Nixon was pardoned by his successor Gerald Ford). The 9/11 of US, 7/7 of Britain, 26/11 of India etc are few other examples of the destructive first's of the world. Not all people share same interests thus difference's of opinions is valid. Some people believe, or are forced to believe, that they are an important asset in the revolutionary fight for their community. As a group, people have to share the ideology of the group whereas the individual's are in bleak contrast. The list of Destructive First's dwarfed the Creative First's. It's hard to concentrate at the white piece of cloth when the eyes notice a spot! 

AN IDEA FOR AN IDEA

Nevertheless, whether creative or destructive - the First Ideas are always spoken of & hence remembered. They're looked up as milestones which linger's those on the verge of those waiting to add their names in the list or creating a new category..! Ideas come & go, it's the approach towards that idea that make people who they are. A wise knows the destructive consequences of his actions, the fool only knows it after getting listed in the local newspaper. But regardless of being wise/fool - it's always a history in the making because first's always lasts.

"An idea isn't responsible for the people who believe it" - Don Marquis