April 11, 2024

 I can tell that I have put on some weight. I had lost a few kgs owing to my first quarter recurring flu episode, during which I had no appetite and hence did not eat much. I feel better now and all that has changed. But I need to revert to the previous version- but now I am pretty well aware of what I need to do. Essentially, I cannot eat to my heart’s content. As long as I cut carbs completely and eat small meals, the magic will happen. To be honest, it matters not whether I exercise or not.  The latter, I guess, is only useful to keep blood sugar levels under control- which I also need to do. Now that Ramadan is behind us, it is a nice lull period before the onset of summer break where a restrained diet can deliver.

Meanwhile, I booked my travel to the USA in July and I had to spend a ransom for four tickets in Premium Economy.  I thought long and hard about it- it simply does not make any sense to spoil the kids like this. And yet I have gone on and done it. Why?

I think we ought to make our kids used to hardship. On the other hand, if they are used to comfort, they will realise soon that they will need to work harder than otherwise would be the case to realise such comforts when it became their turn. The best way is to find some balance between the two states. I know far wealthier friends who always travel coach and in discount airlines. They are surely preparing their kids better for the battle ahead. I just don’t think this is any way to live life though. Always worried about the future- always fighting for scraps and throwing someone off the bus to get ahead. I think a much more sensible way to live is as follows. Try different things either in real time or in your imagination. Find something that you are somewhat better at than others and that you enjoy doing. Check if you can make a living with it. If so- all boxes ticked, go for it and give it your all. Results may come- and even if they don’t, or lets say they don’t come to the extent of your expectation, you are still thoroughly enjoying the ride. It is not suffering. Or rather it is suffering- but it is a good suffering- on that is of your own choice. If your dream has no monetization potential at all, then do something/anything that can get you a decent living without taking up all your time. The rest of your time, continue an all out pursuit of what you really like. This way there is something for you to feel human and joyous about. At the end of the day, this is what matters. Because, let us face it, we can all eat. None of the other creature comforts are long lasting in terms of providing satisfaction. You enjoy in bits and pieces and soon get used to it- following this , it does not generate any dopamine. But if you keep at doing something you like you are always generating dopamine- 24/7. And this is all you need to do. Figure out how to cover 24 hours of your life. If you do this well enough, you just have to repeat for 80 odd years. I may be naïve, and not fully accounting for the real world, competition and social definitions of success- not to mention the psychological effects of all the above towards formulating one’s worldview. However, I think if one approaches life in this fashion, one can live more authentically but without fear. Without fear of losing out- because losing out to what? This is what you do. The rest does not matter. You just have to be as good as you can be- it is an absolute requirement not a relative one. Some people are triggered to be their best only when in competition with others. I think our parenting and schooling needs to change such that this is advised against. It is only social conditioning and can be – over a period of time,  altered. We do pay some lip service to this even now, but overall because of the way the world is and the way it works, we cannot really internalize this ourselves. Finally, I may have mentioned this before, but every kid is pre-programmed to a very large extent. It is a function of previous ancestry and genes therein, not to mention possible metaphysical influences from a previous life. The psychological orientation is already there- some guiding and prodding is absolutely possible but not completely so. This is why one cannot always explain both geniuses and rogues by way of extrapolating the orientation and legacy of their ancestry. I must explain a bit more  the reference to the metaphysics. Even a few years ago I would dismiss it as mumbo-jumbo. However, I have recently come across a chap ( who has since become a good friend )- who is a bengali man not unlike myself but has never touched an non-vegetarian food. And I mean not since his birth. He tells me when he was 3, he would spit out fish or meat even if it was part of baby food. This is curious in and of itself because culturally our lot certainly are not designed like this. I cannot imagine any of his ancestors to be vegetarian. Add to that the fact that he is deeply religious and/or spiritual and is somewhat obsessed with scriptures and mythological tales of the Hindus. This second fact really stands out as a space oddity, since most Bengalis are exactly the opposite. They are not particularly religious, and they are most definitely ignorant of the books. As we all know, most of this ilk stand for the exact opposite of religion- certainly the hindu religion.

I therefore, taking all of the above into consideration, conclude that the guy must have been a spiritual man in his previous birth- and no amount of cajoling and conditioning in his current life’s environment has altered any of this.  I cant think of any other explanation, and I think it was Sherlock Holmes who said that when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains , however improbable, must be true.