Look Closer!

“It’s not always black or white. It’s not always yes or no.

Things are more complicated that they seem.

Words can’t always express how you feel, and sometimes a word makes all the difference in the world. Sometimes tears spell happiness, other times smiles hide pain untold.

Some days the stars look beautiful, other days they remind you of someone you’re trying to forget.

The blazing sun may look like fire, but maybe it’s just a melting candle counting it’s last breaths.

Those innocent looking eyes behind the spectacles might have seen adventures you wouldn’t have even imagined.

That pretty boy with abs like Stallone, might’ve been fighting off demons in daylight.

Maybe that quiet old lady smiles at you because you look like her long lost lover.

Maybe your mom says she’s okay, but is not.

Maybe those straight roads lead to hell, and maybe the alleys hidden in the dark end on the stairway to heaven.

People are not just good or bad. Sometimes, there is a glimmer of love in the most broken hearts. Sometimes, the most radiant laughters hold cries for help.

Things are never as they seem you know.

So, look a little harder, feel a little deeper, hold on a little longer and you will see things for what they are.”

Most times, we just take things at face value. Nowadays we neither have the time nor the patience to scrape beneath the surface. We hear, but we don’t listen. We see but we don’t perceive. We comprehend but we don’t understand.  We sympathize but never empathize. In the hustle of everyday lives we just lose track of the smaller things. The details, the little clues that are probably the most important things in life.

Especially with people. Sometimes we fail to notice what’s right in front of us. That sad smile, that unsure text message, they tell a lot about a person, and most times we ignorantly miss out.

So just sometimes, take the time to genuinely lend your ear to someone’s story and get ready to get stunned by the truth that might be hidden within.

Love Again.

It hurts so much that you don’t know what to do. The pain blinds you. You can barely remember you’re alive. Yet you walk around with a smile stitched on to your lips. Telling people you’re okay, when you’re not. Crying into your pillows when no one can see you. Tearing away scribbled letters, that were never posted. Typing messages on your phone that will never be sent. Swallowing in the anger, the disappointment. Staring into the sky and hating the stars because all they did was remind you of that one person.

The sight of others in love begins to repel you. Oh and love songs are a big no-no! Some days you feel anger for yourself. How couldn’t you see it coming? What you did wrong? Somedays it’s pity. You feel sorry for yourself. You look into the mirror and you can’t bear to look at yourself without tears streaking your cheeks. Then you begin pushing away the dreams. Burying every last bit of emotion, just so you don’t feel that crushing pain again.

Building walls because you don’t ever want to feel vulnerable again. You cross your heart & train your mind to look away if it gets remotely attached to someone! You slowly turn into the demon that you dreaded all along. You push everyone away because you can’t bear the thought of them leaving too. At your lowest days you wish you had someone, but then you say you’re better off alone. Then one day you stop mourning your loss. It stops hurting as much as it did. You don’t cry thinking about it now. Your words aren’t as bitter.

Somewhere along the line, you begin to forget what it felt like. The love, the care. The way your heart beat when your lips met. Those days that turned into nights endlessly with them by your side. You try to remember why you held that anger, but you can’t quite remember.

Then when we least expect it, comes someone who is patient enough to tear down your walls. To look into your eyes and see all your bruises. To hold you when you aren’t strong enough to face the world alone. Someone who tells you stories and makes you believe in magic again. Someone who’s voice makes you smile in the middle of the night. Someone who pushes you to be your best. Someone who tells you that you are beautiful on your worst days. Just like that, you know you were meant to be. Just like that, it’s all okay.

And just like that, one day you look at the sky, and the stars look beautiful once again! 🙂

The good v/s The intolerant

Today’s newspaper stirred up so many emotions in me . Both positive and negative .Of anger and appreciation . Of utter disgust and hope .

So it all started when I read the first news ,which really shook me up . There stands a man grimly smiling followed by the headline “politicians should start sadhana “.

At first glance I thought it is some meditative technique ,but I soon discovered it was far from that . This man stands on  democratic soil and says that other religions have no right to exist !

It is ridiculous that people say such things even today !

Apparently some people think that certain ancient ludicrous religious idologies ,that bear no democratic relevance today , should be the basis for a country’s governance .

Here stands a man who denies equality to anyone else other than a selected sect of the society  ,and this he does with so much confidence .

It drove me to a point where I questioned my living in such a country ,coexisting with such narcissistic and extremist groups.

It both drove me mad and rendered me scared and helpless .

And then as every other mumbaikar  does , I handed our country’s fate to the Gods and turned the page for another story that gripped my attention like this one .

And then came a pleasant surprise ,that drew away the bitter aftertaste of the earlier news .

A boy merely 17, Eshan Balbale ,stands on a bridge that he himself built . Now what was so special about a bridge built for some random slumdwellers ?

Well this boy was featured in the “unsung heroes of Mumbai page”

As I read his story a sense of relief and hope rose within me .

What was so starkly different about this boy was that unlike the earlier extremist who was hellbound on erasing all traces of other religions ,this youngster did something for the good of everyone around him ,something pure and unadulterated that benefited all religions the same

He did a simple task of building a bridge over a nullah , so that children could crossover to attend their daily classes without hassle . Compassion and goodwill prevailed over his senses .

This youngster proves that it is possible to be selfless and giving ,in a time where everyone else wants to TAKE and fight for their own “RIGHT”

It made me happy to have realized  that I share my existence with a person like  Eshan .

To know that even though there are elements of hatred and violence in this world , there will always be elements of goodness and kindness , and these elements will ALWAYS , that’s right ,they will always win over the former !