Dread of Life. (Guest Post)

Hello Readers! Happy June! How are we already here? Always amazed at how every day looks small, but when I look back, I've already come all this way.

So, today I am here with a guest post, written by Sameer Joshi. He is a writer, poet, traveler & friend. He is a person like any of you all, with a lot of wonder about how the world works. You’ll know when you read the post & I'm sure you will find a relation somewhere.

Also, the below photo is clicked by his brother, Vishal Joshi, who is an incredible photographer! I'm lucky to have this duo of talented brothers on my blog!

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Being on the edge of extroversion as well as introversion consistently has left me baffled as to which side I belong to. Is it a choice I need to make? It's as if I am just standing on the ledge. It feels like I have spent all my life confused whether to step down the ledge or jump off it.

What kind of life is that?

I have been in many groups. Then it went down to a few groups. Soon it was one group. And, today, here I stand, one person. Few betrayals from friends. Some ignorance from others. A backup for many of the remaining. A frenemy here and a back-stabber there. I have gone through so many faces; real, fake, superficial, pitying, smirky, wicked. And, after hoping for every face to be kind, here I am, finally without any hope left to give.

What kind of life is that?

Even after such sufferings, when I’m left alone, I crave to be a part of a group. But, as soon as I see their true colors, I crave to be apart from that group. Is it always my fault or am I judging myself too much? Would you judge me too much after what I have been through? Or is it that I only like the feeling of being in a group but not actually being in one? Is the feeling enough to continue to live as an extroverted introvert?

What kind of life is that?

Gary Vaynerchuk, who has made entrepreneurship cool, quoted, “You’re not lost in life, you are just early in the process.” If that’s true, why do I constantly feel like I am running away from life? I can’t see the process. I can just see one day and going through it again and again and again until I meet my fate. What’s the point in living if we are going to die one day? Some say that you should live everyday like it is your last day. While some claim that we should be patient and live life in the long term. Whose advice should you take? With whom do you share such thoughts that kill you piece by piece every day? Your peers are busy being someone else’s slave. Your parents won’t understand your entire generation. Your juniors are as clueless as you are. How do you find a mentor? Whom do you trust? What could you precisely do to make your life better? How do you choose when there is loss & hurt in every possible path?

What kind of life is that?

Solitude or Camaraderie?

Alone or Lonely?

Isolation or Community?

Everybody’s Extrovert or Nobody’s Introvert?

Until next time,

Tiny Box.

Hello readers!

This is a guest post shared by someone close to me. Give it a read, I'm sure you'll empathise as I did.

"When he destroyed me, I decided to remember him by all the wicked things he did to me.

No, he didn't abuse me.

No, he didn't blackmail me.
No, he didn't leave me.

He just became someone else to someone, while still being the same to me.

I replayed his betrayal in my head every day. I visualised a hell of a future for him. I made myself understand how he was always a horrible person, and how it was my fault for overlooking it. I imagined a miserable life for him. I wished him nothing but failure.

But, then there always comes a day. Today, I remembered one tiny detail about him. Stupid, really. It was about his feet. How I liked his feet. And at that moment, it was my decision. I could unlock that tiny box where I had stored all the good things about him. I thought that box was lost in the deepest ocean of my soul. But, when I wondered of retrieving it, it came right at the surface. I cautiously opened it, not wanting it to cause any damage, but it all came back to me in nanoseconds.

Thinking about his smile when he blushed. Thinking about the countless times I had seen him cry. Thinking about how he pretended to be badass, but was actually sensitive. Thinking about his irrationality in this already irrational world. Thinking about his instability in this already messed up world. Thinking about why he would've betrayed me after what was supposed to be a wonderful friendship. Thinking about how I remembered tiny details after tiny details, when I hated him with every cell in my body, was shocking.

Soon, I realised it was better to close that box because I'd be drowning in those emotions and not just casually swimming through them. And so, that box is locked yet again and hopefully I won't find the need to open it again. I hope it gets lost in the depth of my soul, as are so many other long lost things; a will to live, the lyrics to what used to be my favourite song and the writings of 2 AM."

Nobody Cares. (Guest Post #4)

          I haven't done guests posts in a while. So here's a wonderful poem by Ravindra Shenolikar, who's my father. He had written a guest post titled Spontaneity earlier. Today he showed me this and I was ecstatic after reading it. Truth flows from every word in the poem. Here it goes...

Deep down it so hurts.

No one knows, nobody cares.

The face only tells lies

Don't look into my eyes

You might see a world

Full of fears

No one knows, nobody cares.

They see your power and pelf

But don't know your self

Somebody laughs

Someone sneers

No one knows, nobody cares.

In parties and in bars

In suits and swanky cars

A high life but

No one shares

No one knows, nobody cares.

You can follow him on:

Twitter. 

Google +

Artist's Canvas. (Guest Post #4)

          Today's post is by Santosh Satpute. He's a friend and an incredibly talented person. He has a keen eye for photography. He sketches amazingly. He also makes sculptures with utmost perfection. The most wonderful thing is that he hasn't taken any professional coaching for any of these. That's how artistic he is. Here are some of his photos, sketches and sculptures.

Sketches:

 Sculptures:

Photography:

You can follow him here: 

Facebook Profile 

Facebook Page 

Google + 

Instagram

Spontaneity. (Guest Post #3)

          I'm thrilled about today's guest post by Ravindra Shenolikar, my father. I get my love for reading and writing from him. So it's a privilege that he decided to write a post on my blog. His interests include reading, writing, photography, music, traveling and so on. You name it and there it is! And he is fantastic in all of those. Here's a post about 'Spontaneity'.

(Source)

          At birth spontaneity is at its peak. Then the graph starts to decline gradually. As we start observing, learning, imitating and emulating, the graph goes down. Spontaneity, which is the beauty of our being, suffers and chokes as we move through life. We try to be like someone else, get socially conditioned, get influenced by the culture and society that we live in and we do not know when artificiality has set in.

          Many a time we meet someone whose innocent laughter touches us. We meet someone spontaneous and instantly like that person. It is an acknowledgement of what we have lost and would have loved to retain. You see teenagers talking so fast, jumping from one topic to other whereas the oldies take ages to move from one topic to the next. This is the difference in spontaneity. We love the energy and chirping of the youngsters while trying to avoid the seniors who keep grinding.

          I remember how we used to go to matinee shows, music concerts, cycle trips and cricket matches. These used to be instant decisions which gave us so much joy and pleasure. Hardly any planning went into it. We used to live in the moment and for the moment. Our spontaneity was our driver.

          Can we shed all our accumulated conditioning of the past and bring back the spontaneity of youth in our lives. I think we can. It will return the moment we realise its true value and beauty. Perhaps then, the sunrise will be more beautiful, mornings full of energy and hope, the days shall acquire a new meaning and life will be full of bliss. 

Embrace the Person You Are. (Guest Post #2)

          This brilliant self-appreciating article is written by my long time friend, Divya Dhage. We've been best friends for over a decade. She's the person who motivates me to write. If it weren't for her, my blog wouldn't exist. She's sweet, caring, kind and intelligent. Here goes the post she has written which I find to be genious.

          You text that person every single day. You call them only to learn that they are too busy every time you call. You think about them before you retire for the day only to realise that person couldn’t care less about you. And you start calculating reasons that make you the unhappiest person on the earth! Does all this sound familiar to what you’ve going through lately?

          First of all, one mustn’t forget that everyone has their own priorities and you must accept anything with grace however hard it may be. Remember it’s just a phase that will fade away as time progresses. And maybe it’s time for you to prioritise, it’s time for you to fix things yourself, to pick up where you’d left the book you were reading long time ago, to rush to the gym and find yourself flushed after a gruelling workout session. Why not walk down the nearby temple you always visited before exams when you were in school? Remind yourself it’s you who matters the most. Recall things that made you happy about yourself once upon a time.

          We spend most of our lives brooding over things that are going to prove inconsequential a few years down the line.  Everything has its own time. All you need to do is believe in yourself. You don’t have the much coveted job at the moment, but who knows you might land up in some place better tomorrow? You haven’t found your significant other yet, but who knows tomorrow you might meet someone who will be the love of your life. Stop chasing after others instead chase the person who’d want to be. You are enough for your happiness and you don’t need any medium to reach out to happiness.

Pamper yourself a little and never let anyone dull your sparkle.

You can follow Divya here:

Facebook.

Twitter.

Instagram.

Guest Post #1

          Today I'm posting the first guest post on my blog. This wonderful poem is written by my college classmate and friend, Avani Gala. Not only is she sweet but so are her words. She is an intelligent person with a pure soul, sweetness and lots of depth. I hope you love this poem as much as I loved it.

World is unhappy as I look at it,

And no wonder it does has its feel,

But nothing could count no matter how sweet,

When I come to my slate, yeah nothing could heal!

I began to sing, appreciating my turn,

And with all that hope I began to learn,

But life is no film, soon as I learnt,

Destination never comes your way, you have to hunt!

My words fumble, things are looking blur,

As I am lost in the world which is no more clear,

My heart shouts, screams to explain that sight,

Yeah, that sight to see myself in the world of flights!

Though my dream has shattered into parts,
somehow I managed myself from feeling apart,

As that's all I desired then and still,

So, someday I will surely fill my slate and all would heal!

You can follow Avani on Facebook here.