The Long & Winding Road - A Tribute To The One Who'd Share The Journey

The long and winding road,

Lonely, I’d always trod.

The colours of the evening sky,

Comforts me in vain as I walk by.

There’s no place I’ll have to reach,

There’s no purpose that I’d preach,

There’s no reason to hurry,

No happiness, nothing to worry.

I felt so cold, I felt so numb,

Waiting for my princess to come.

For one thing, I’d asked of the Lord,

To bring some music, to strike a chord.

The sun went down,

Dark, it had already become.

I closed my eyes,

Beneath the dark greying skies.

From my peaceful slumber,

Woken by a light like thunder,

For a moment, I was distraught;

Will no peace follow me, I thought.

A pleasant sun, did the morning bring,

Like magic, my autumn had turned to spring.

Little birds at their squeaking best,

Filling the air with happiness and zest.

In a day, life was all changed,

Joy like never before, fully experienced.

I looked around, hoping someone be seen,

There in all her beauty, stood my precious queen.

The Heart vs. Brain Battle

Dear Heart,

You have been bestowed with the gift of automaticity. Kindly remember, you have no right of autonomy. Don't decide upon matters without my consent and get into deep trouble.

Take care,

Brain.

Dear Brain,

You may have control over every other dumb things out there but not on me. You keep thinking too much and too long and you keep judging everyone. Life is just too short and I cannot be waiting for your order that keeps delaying as doubts keep flooding you. Life is all about do or die. Life is about being daring. Life is about keeping hopes high. Haven't you heard of "matters of the heart"? So kindly leave them to me.

Beating for you,

Heart.

Dear Heart,

Don't be too stupid. There's no way of staying away from judging people. You do it all the time. You judge people to be too good and get hopelessly hurt every time. Don't ever question of my authority, you bloody fool. When you are sick and can beat no more, people will throw you away and replace you. But if I am gone, you'll start rotting right away! Last time you made a rash decision and you put us all in deep trouble. You kept pounding so hard and left me no time to think. You almost broke the rib cage. And then you get badly hurt and go fluttering like a flag. You've gone too frail to do any more leaps. Everything you do is almost mindless, because you fail to get counsel from me. Stop taking us on roller coaster rides and bring no more devastation upon us.

Get lost,

Brain

Brain,

Go to hell.

- Heart

Respected members of my body,

This is to notify you of a mutiny that has broken out amongst us. Hereby, I command you not to take orders from the heart. He has become too autonomous. He keeps taking rash decisions and hopes too high. Remember the last time he got hurt and left some of you bleeding, crying and groaning and in lots of pain? Remember how we were sleepless and burnt ourselves mourning along with that fool. So, from now on, wait for my order. I may tarry a bit, but I shall weigh the risks and benefits fairly in the light of all the experiences gained. I shall also act in accordance with the advice of those aged brains with more experience & wisdom. I am not saying that I would defer from taking up challenges, that I shall not love or hope etc. No. I shall do them diligently. I shall also plan for rescue measures beforehand if one of our steps had to fail, so that we can bounce back and not be knocked out, cold & hurt. I expect your full cooperation.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

Brain.

P.S. Dear stomach, butterflies can’t enter you. Please stop bothering me with that. It’s just a silly trick that the heart plays on you. And dear eyes, don’t lose control and follow that girl the moment you see her. Last time you did and the forehead hit a lamp post. He’s been complaining all day to me. Behave yourselves.

[This is just a funny take on the heart-brain battle. There is no imitation or mockery of anyone's personal matters. Any references to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental.]

Read more on Synaptic Sparks: The Ethics of Love

Is Life but a race?

Is life nothing more than a race?

I feel that life is nothing but a race on a serene roadway.
Many people have already swished past me at their high speeds.

I, on the other hand, am moving at my own sweet pace. I pull my car to a side-road and I escape into the beautiful green fields which the roadway interrupts.  I losen my tie, pull my camera out of my bag and I let myself loose in the green fields. I see mud pathways leading to distant cloud covered mountain peaks. The sun's about to set and the sky puts a display of various hues of the dusky beauty. Fresh breeze blowing on my face, I sit there on the grass waiting for the perfect moment for a perfect photograph.

I wonder where my peers are rushing so fast. To the finish line? So that they can relax after they finish the race?

Well, the finish line never exists. The roadway never ends. You'll be off the road when you're done.

I know that anyone who sits still is a loser. You need to have a sense of direction in your life. You need to have a purpose in your life. But to rush at maddening speed ! It doesn't make full sense to me. Even if I'm on my top speed, I'd enjoy the wind on my face.

Life is not a race. It's a journey. Every single day is as important and as beautiful as the end !
Enjoy it !

Confessions of a Medico - I

I don't have anything 'interesting' to share on these 'confessions' or 'anonymous proposal' pages that have loomed over several social networking sites recently. But this is what happened to me during my medical undergraduate training.

The day I walked into JIPMER, my medical school, I absolutely had no sense of purpose. I had no great ambitions. I wasn't sure of my choice. I had cleared the eligibility tests for JIPMER, AIEEE and wasn't sure which one to choose. And I hadn't thought of other options ! (I had been selected for the National Biology Olympiad the previous year, which stimulated my interested in Biological sciences. I probably thought learning human physiology and pathology would be great.)

Just few days into my first year and I was sure I had made a wrong decision. I badly wanted to talk with someone. I wanted to throw a tantrum and somehow leave the course. Nothing materialized. I was not performing so well in the exams (Though, I never failed one!). As I was struggling through, something happened to me that changed me a lot ! Friends ! (Not the serial, I mean my real friends).

In the university exams that marked the end of the first year of MBBS, I topped all the three subjects. (Actually top marks in two subjects and 2 marks less than the topper in one). That motivated me to move forward. I moved to second year and loved the para-clinical subjects very well. But little did I realize that I had crossed the point of no return !

Second year went on well. But the third, the fourth and the internship were hell.

There was nothing wrong with the course. I simply did not like it. Further to make things worse, there was always a pain to torment me.

I had this problem of migraine for long. For many, migraine was just another headache. But for me, it was a brainquake that occurred once on a happy week, five to six days on a worse week ! The pain's worse, and the pre & post migraine phases were no better. They made me depressed many a time. They robbed me of every little joy in my heart and strength in my muscles.

I can't describe in full how much I suffered. I wanted to run away in between but was too tired to do so. Somehow, I passed every subject with distinction and got some gold medals too.

I don't say that I would have not suffered if I had chosen some other profession. Every profession has its own troubles. It's the passion for the profession that keeps people going. I found myself having none or too little passion towards this profession. However, in all these, I kept patient care a priority. You can read about some of my patient encounters in this blog.

Till now, I have no clear idea if I have made a wrong choice. But I have no regrets. Because, in the course of my MBBS, I have learnt the following: (and probably much more, I have failed to pen down here!)

1. "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.", Sir  Isaac Newton said. If I have come this far, it's because I have stood on the shoulders of my friends.

2. If there's a God, I never understand why He won't intervene and change things for the better. But now, after crossing MBBS, I strangely feel so strong. I feel I can tackle anything that comes my way. I have seen the worst and have survived. Probably God has a purpose in everything of which we have little knowledge! Or that is how we should console ourselves!

3. I have learnt to live life. One day at a time. Trying my best to live life to the maximum.

4. What matters to me at the end of the day?
It's not the knowledge gained or the awards collected. It's not the Facebook likes or the no. of blogger page visits. Wisdom. Creativity and innovation. The positive impact I create on the life of people around me. The purity of love in my relationships. These are the things that matter most to me.

5. Happiness is what we create for ourselves. Respect & Trust are what we earn for ourselves. These are certain things that can never come by force or power.

That's all for now ! Happy week ahead !

Your spouse's smile is your priority !

I am supposedly in the marriageable age and many of my friends are getting engaged/married. Well, here is a post that address all such married or to-be-married people.

It's perfectly OK to expect many things out of your marriage to your spouse. You get a hand to hold on when you're weak or cold or lonely perhaps, you get a shoulder to lean on, you get laps to lie on and so on...
A relationship is not a gold mine from which you can keep extracting good things out. It would eventually run dry until you keep adding something to it.

So what is that you should give? What is the priority need?

Your partner's smile is your priority. Give anything or everything to keep happiness glowing on your spouse's face.

Let me explain how this would ensure internal stability to this system !

Situation 1:
Ben and Bella are married. (Names are randomly chosen by chance. Any references to real persons are purely unintentional and coincidental !!). Ben gets fired by his boss. He comes home furious. He vents out his frustration at home. Bella gets offended. She screams at the top of her voice. And that's like a match stick thrown on a dry forest. A forest fire ensures!

Situation 2:
Ben and Bella. Ben gets fired by his boss again. (Poor Ben :-p ). He comes home furious. He vents out his frustration at home. Bella gets offended. But her priority is her spouse's smile. She remains cool. She pacifies him. She encourages him. She makes him feel better. Ben feels good. He smiles... And then... :-)

Well, real life situations may be tougher than this. But is never impossible. 
COMMITMENT is all it takes.

Are you too busy??

Don't be too busy all the time. Live life :-)