Tag: Journey

How about some B(r)agging rights?

On a recent trip overseas, I had some weighting to do upon landing at the airport, so decided( after the usual skirmish with sweat, suede and swear words) to be an inno scent  bystander next to the baggage carousel as it aimlessly(and somewhat harmlessly) went around in circles. Everything, Everywhere is about the circular economy( not the Oscars, by the way!). So, here’s the 360 degree on it, motivated by well, you guessed it- bags of time.
– The absolute nonchalance with each and every piece of baggage gets treated once it finds its (p)ride of place on the carousel has convinced me that the carousel is the only place in the world that is completely agnostic to brands. Tumi, Louis Vuitton, Delsey, Tommy Hilfiger, Samsonite, American Tourister, VIP, BOSS, Open Story, Away, Echolac, Safari…all came (and went) alike. The message was loud and clear. Rest in Piece…till such time your owner( or an imposter) gets a handle on you! Oh there goes my Safari and I am not able to get hold of it. So is it TATA to the Safari? That you can take the rough with the smooth?
-Nowhere will you see a better study in contrast. The bags taking its own sweet time to get to where it ought to, unabashedly relaxed, clinically unrepentant, approaching arrogance ( I am the BOSS here, you better give me the VIP treatment), do not intrude on my hammock style existence. On the other side, the owners: anxious, impatient, irritated, worried, chaos personified.
– The bags I tell you love drama (and some gymnastics as well). Every now and then they bring you to the edge as they salsa, spin and swirl but manage to stay on top of the carousel. That in the process they knock off a few socks from ankles( sorry, that’s the Malayalee in me) and uncles is a different story. Really edge of the seat stuff!
– The area surrounding the baggage belt is actually a medical practitioner’s delight. The ideal place to diagnose the following including but not restricted to : Slip disc, Parkinsons, Blood Pressure, Hypertension, Colour blindness…is it blue or green? (And the real owner sees red in the bargain). If you don’t mind, could you please help me offload the bag(read cargo) – I travelled light this time-it’s just 87 kgs( any more and she would have had to hire a cargo plane).
– Do you think the carousel is an ideal candidate for acute nausea? Imagine going around in circles, hour after hour, day after day- where does it begin? And where does it end? Flight or fight? Methinks its happy to be a spin doctor!
– So the next time you travel, carry XS baggage. Xtra Small. Give the carousel a break. Unless of course you want to see some Delsey, all at sea! BOSS it makes no sense TUMI! Weight- I will ask TOMMY– maybe HILFIGER it out! Or should it be Facebook? They have pretty good offices with the carousel, I dare say.
The journey is inevitable. Baggage..well.. it can be optional.

“Life truly is a journey, and the less baggage we carry the easier the ride.” ~ Wally Amos

 

ENDS

AWEptimism V PAUSEmism

Ideally, conventional phonetics would have called this out as Optimism V Pessimism. That being said, ideal is only wishful thinking. Better get used to shock and awe.

 

A posture. A stance. A position. About what to expect.

 

A response(or reaction) to external events or triggers.

 

Sensing the reality on the ground, an obligation to make a decision based on what to expect.
That does not though explain why different people, similarly informed, adopt an optimistic mood or a pessimistic one.
In fact, that mood is a choice. And it’s one that determines how we will behave.
Optimism is a tool that permits us to solve problems more effectively. If used wisely, it brings enthusiasm, inspiration and hope to projects that benefit from them.
And pessimism(believe it or not) is a tool as well– it can help you with budgeting, scheduling and other projects. If it works for you, that’s great.
Choose your tools wisely. 

That said, either mood will lead to misguided energy and poor decisions.

But if we can be thoughtful about optimism as a tactic, the focus and energy it brings can solve problems that others might simply walk away from. Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

 

Our pessimism might not be an accurate diagnosis of the past. Baggage carried forward. It might simply be a way we’re using to produce a future we’re not happy with.

 

“What people forget is a journey to nowhere starts with a single step, too.”

 

BEGINS

 

 

 

 

 

Time Paws!

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.”

 

Sounds very contrarian but rings true what Leo Tolstoy quoted in War and Peace ”  The Two Most Powerful Warriors are Patience and Time “.

 

Time: it’s free, it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it!

 

You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once lost, you can never get it back.

 

Either you are using time. Or it’s using you. You can watch the clock, but if you do that, it’s watching you.

 

Clocks have an agenda. They were never a part of the natural human condition. They are a recent invention of the Industrial Age. And the very fact that they have an alarm built is a clue. Rings a bell?

 

It’s definitely possible to put time to good use.  But, if we are without a compass and a goal, we can find it using us.

 

Whenever you are stuck searching for the optimal question to ask, remember, ‘ Getting started changes everything ‘- and the time to start is NOW.

 

The invention of the calendar was to keep the outside world at bay and reclaim the agency we lost– to respond instead of to react.

 

There’s reason to be aweptimistic– and nothing better than tomorrow! To embark on the ‘ journey to better ‘.

 

ENDS