Tag Archives: life

Ludo

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You must have played Ludo. It should be right up there with cricket as our national game (yes I know our national game is hockey but I choose to ignore that meaningless piece of information). Ludo is so much fun. You throw dice and make moves without the slightest control on the dice or the faintest sense behind the moves. Then, if you win, you claim that you are a great player; that you played with strategy; that you know the tricks of the game. And if you lose, you state the facts. That it’s a game solely dependent on luck and there is only an infinitesimal portion of the whole thing that you can even remotely affect. That’s why I love Ludo. It is just like life.

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I’ve Heard

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I don’t really remember it, but I’ve heard there was a time when gold was the standard currency of the world. Now it’s the dollar. The dollar which is just paper that pretends to be of value……and how well does it pretend!

I don’t really remember it, but I’ve heard there was a time when warriors, men of courage, men of dignity were known, revered and admired by the people. Now it’s the actors. The actors who just pretend to be warriors, men of courage, men of dignity……and their respect depends on how well they pretend.

I don’t really remember it, but I’ve heard there was a time when people listened to, believed in and followed the teachings of prophets, sages, walis. Now they listen to, believe in and emulate rock stars. Rock stars who just pretend to be singing lyrics that are prophetic, wise and truthful…..and the admiration they get depends on how well they pretend.

I’m not really sure but I’ve heard that people today complain that they don’t see any purity in the world. I’m not surprised at this. I’m just surprised at anyone expecting any different.

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Expect to be fearless

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I wonder why children who are totally comfortable in the company of complete strangers feel afraid when alone. I have often heard children complaining that they don’t want to go to a place or a room because there’s no one there and they are scared. Isn’t it funny that a child would be afraid of going to a room because there’s no one there? I mean if there’s no one there, who is he afraid of? Yet, he is afraid.

I am also perplexed by the fact that a number of people, mostly women enjoy watching lions and alligators in zoos but begin to scream hysterically at the sight of a lizard or a cockroach in their toilet. Then we have those who suddenly lose all confidence and calm the moment a video camera starts to record their actions and words. It is also strange that we mourn the death of our loved ones and sometimes would be willing to give anything to have them back for one moment. Yet, the thought of having someone come back from dead is terrifying.

Isn’t it confusing? What in the world scares us? Maybe, we are scared of the unexpected. A child is afraid because he is not sure that there’s no one in the room. So, if somebody does suddenly turn up there, it will be unexpected. Lions and alligators in the zoo are predictable; a lizard in the toilet might fall down, unexpectedly. If a video camera records your actions, you don’t know who will watch it, so there is no specific expected audience. And, finally, it needs no elaboration that people coming back from the dead is an unexpected phenomenon.

If this is true, then to hell with those who tell us to reduce our expectations. That would make us afraid of everything. Wouldn’t it be better to expect absolutely anything absolutely anytime? Expect the unexpected and the unexpected would become the expected. Then there would be no unexpected, and hence, nothing to be afraid of.

Confused? What did you expect?

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Prepared surprises

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We are not comfortable with randomness. We like patterns. And what are patterns, except a continuous repetition of the same order of things over long periods of time. We like them because we want to be prepared and patterns are predictable, thus making it easier to stay prepared for. Patterns don’t throw up surprises. That is human nature perhaps….to dislike surprise, since surprises expose our inner weakness and make us aware of how incredibly unsuited we are to tackle life.

But what if! What if there is no randomness. What if there is no infinity. What if what we see as random is actually a huge pattern, an order that is in fact repeating, but the range of variables that repeat themselves is too large for our limited vision to grasp and so we see only one tiny part of that pattern and obviously fail in finding the pattern in that tiny part. If that be true (and I don’t have any reason to prove that it isn’t) our inability to look at the pattern is forgivable but our insistence on the fact that there is no such pattern and that since we can’t find a pattern in the tiny part we do see, then it must be random, such false ego is unforgivable because it is stupid. And stupidity is probably the original (if not the only) sin.

What if! What if we let go of this childish urge to always be prepared? Honestly speaking, our preparation is also an illusion we love to hang on to, since life has this habit of pulling a fast one on us and frequently we feel the image of our so-called preparedness shatter to pieces. So what if we get comfortable with not being prepared? What if we start to understand, like and eventually look forward to surprises? Maybe then we’ll be able to see beyond the tiny portions. Maybe we will be able to see the pieces in the pattern, rather than looking for a pattern in the pieces.

Maybe then, we’ll see.

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