A request and a wierd coincidence

A couple of months ago, I had written a post saying that I could not get back a poem that I wrote for a competition. Well, it seems Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was right in saying

For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering,
Reck'd or unreck'd, duly with love returns.

(From the poem "The Voice of the Rain")

The poem was published in our school magazine and here I present it before you....

A Request

A gentle tap on the window pane,
A gentle rustle of the leaves,
Gently does thou caress the Earth,
So gently falls thou, oh rain !

Like the love of the mother,
Like the flow of the river,
Little drops of life thou are,
The life of Earth thou'll be !

Happy as a mariner returning,
Falling from thy heavenly abode,
Help me be as happy through,
The woes of life, I pray !

Lend me thy power of resurrection;
As thou bring life to the fields, the rivers,
Let me be the helm to this
Acrid lair of stagnant thought!

Oh rain, thou fill me with ecstasy,
Alight is the fire within me,
Thy visit has blessed me so,
bless me further through life !

-- Diff.Thinkr


And the really funny thing is, the lines I mentioned before were from a poem that talked about rain too! I never imagined that I would get to use a line from a poem in the same context to describe the behavior of my poem!

The Illusion of Control

My human instincts of laziness made me put this topic off for so long. Until, that is, when the "persuasions" became overwhelming.

First, there was the actions of someone very close to me and then there was Kung Fu Panda and then, today, Jurassic Park. Then I decided, its time. So, here goes.

All of us, at least to some extent are under the Illusion of Control. We Think we wield some power over the things that we do or own. We tend to weave a web of complacency that we are the master of those under us , our juniors, our children and wives (though I have neither) and sometimes even our friends and relatives. But Do WE?

Hard Question.Simple answer, NO.

Try making someone do something for you. No matter what you do, if that person decides, no I wont do it, then that's the end of it. One may try a path of coercion or of persuasion but neither may yield results if the latter's will is strong enough. In some cases, you could try physical or mental force, but to what extent and where all? On contemplation, not many places. Neither in the society nor the workplace.

Where else?
School? No, not when you get up to the age when you really want to control people. At college? Better get some insurance before trying something like that! At home? The Biggest (with a capital B) misconception of all! All you can really do is big talk and nothing more!

Over in Kung Fu Panda, a beautiful movie, by the way,

For those who do not wish to load the movie clip (7mb)....

Oogway: My friend, the panda will never fulfill his destiny, nor you yours until you let go of the illusion of control.
Shifu: Illusion?
Oogway: Yes.
[points at peach tree]
Oogway: Look at this tree, Shifu: I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time.
Shifu: But there are things we *can* control: I can control when the fruit will fall, I can control where to plant the seed: that is no illusion, Master!
Oogway: Ah, yes. But no matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.
Shifu: But a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung!
Oogway: Maybe it can, if you are willing to guide, to nurture it, to believe in it.
Shifu: But how? How? I need your help, master.
Oogway: No, you just need to believe. Promise me, Shifu, promise me you will believe.

shows just what the Illusion of control means.

And over in Jurassic Park

Ellie : It's still the flea circus. It's all an illusion.
John : When we have control again –
Ellie : You never had control! That's the illusion! I was overwhelmed by the power of this place. But I made a mistake, too. I didn't have enough respect for that power and it's out now. The only thing that matters now are the people we love. Alan and Lex and Tim … John, they're out there where people are dying. So … [takes a spoonful of ice cream] it's good.
John : Spared no expense.

We never had any control and never will! Neither over ourselves, our friends nor over the nature. Your best bet is to go with it. Which brings me to a personal incident which shows just how useful working with nature can be.

There are a good number of mosquitoes over here and most of them are really dumb! At night, they manage to get themselves killed by coming right under me when I roll about in my sleep! Now, that may be funny but it leaves a lot of dead bodies on my bed and that isn't really a nice thing, is it? Now the really surprising part. There are these tiny little ants that start raiding my bed for these mosquitoes but only after I get up. And by the time I'm ready for the bed again, it would be all nice and clean and not an ant would disturb me in the night! A symbiotic relation ,if you may. I get my bed cleaned and they get their meal.

The same thing goes with some tribal farming practices. They leave the ferocious ants of the area on their own and they help the farmers get rid of all the nasty bugs that feed on their crops. Free extermination services!

So, point is, fighting it on your own or fighting it at all is not going to win the war. Maybe a single battle but not the war. Instead working with them have added advantages, especially if it is with the nature.

Coming to humans, we seem too preoccupied to identify or utilize such symbiotic relations often. So we need to start talking and persuading. This is where the control aspect usually comes into play with its bag of tricks. There is no way of forcing a person into doing something but only convincing. You have to convince the person that what he/she is about to do is in their own good interests or is in some way beneficial or at least is not malevolent. Love and good old talking seems to be the only way.

Remember swim with the flow, its easier but feel free to get out of it as soon as you feel like it.
In fact be sure to get out of the flow and rectify the flaw and if needed get yourself a good set of friends... And... Let Go of The ILLUSION!!!

C'est la vie...

Nature's Intricacies

Here are a couple of shots I took with my new camera. This fly is so small that even after getting as close to it as i can and zooming in to the maximum, I could not get it big enough. So, I had to crop it and zoom it to make it easier to view.

Notice the tiny hairs on the wings. Those are what really interested me.
Sadly, I dont know it's name. I have submitted it to WhatsThatBug.com but in the mean time, if anyone could help me identify it, you are most welcome and all help would be acknowledged.

Who Painted the Black Hole???

What is the color of a Black Hole?

What an absurd question, isn't it? On second thoughts though, it is not so crazy!

Black holes aren't black! They emit gamma and x-ray beams as a result of a very weird phenomena which comes about as a result of a lot of crazy ideas introduced in the twentieth century.

The uncertainty principle doesn't allow us to say something is completely empty, so we say that a couple of "virtual" particles keep on appearing and disappearing. Simple, isn't it?

Now, if one of these fall into a black hole, the other can escape out and we will be able to see this as been emitted from the black hole. So black holes aren't black afterall !! However, it is true that nothing can escape its "event horizon" once within it.

Its a bit like the black box of aeroplane, its orange!! I wonder who gives such names!!

Roar Aloud.... Its Time To ACT

Its Time to Act

Save the Tiger....
This majestic beast, more worthy of the title , King of the Beasts, walking in all its glory and glamor has always captivated me.Its beautiful stripes and the gorgeous golden coat, and a roar befitting the kings.

What else could one ask for...

There are just 1411 Tigers left!!!

Sadly this sight may never be seen by our sons and daughters. They may never lay eyes on one of the most magnificent beasts that ever walked the Earth. They may ever feel the awe that we get to when we listen to its roar.
Unless...

Unless we act now...

Save Our Tigers..

Do not use tiger products..
Report any instance of poaching immediately
Spread Awareness
Pledge your support

http://www.saveourtigers.com/