I was recently learning to tune the Veena. My guru Dr. Subramaniam asked me if I could recognize the harmonics of an out of tune Veena. I nodded the all confusing vigorous Indian nod this time it meant a ‘yes’. He smiled and said that it was a good place to start: ‘awareness’.
His next question was what stumped me. He said, “If you know what is not right, would you then say that you can recognize what is right?” It was a simple mathematical corollary, only, this time I realized it did not equate quite well.
If I knew something was ‘not right’ obviously the converse of that was ‘right’ (how hard is that to fathom?)
If I know I don’t like something, is it not logic bound and obvious that I like the exact opposite of that? Does that hold true when we respond to some of life’s most important questions? Is it more easier for us to list down all that we want in life or has it been easier to nip out that which we don’t want and still find it hard to figure out what it is that we actually want?
Do we know what we really want?
Quite often we seem to know what it is that we don’t want…we burn our fingers, hurt ourselves, break our hearts, shed a few tears and over the years we have learnt to adeptly identify that which we don’t want.
I often get asked, “What kind of a life partner do you want?”
(Now…this should probably be the easiest question to answer, factoring in all the years I have invested fantasizing about my Prince Charming and visualizing the perfect love story with all the possible fairy tale endings interloped with all the top of the charts Bollywood duets.)
I always thought I had a well formulated answer and I would rattle off, “I don’t want him to be:
a….
b….
c….
d….
Until recently I had my moment of enlightenment: I had spent all those years figuring out what it is I wouldn’t want my man to be rather than what it is that I truly want.
I also noticed that I was not sailing in this delusion alone...And hence this blog…
Life’s little game is not just about getting what you want; it is about enjoying it after getting it. So be sure of what it is that you want. ‘Awareness’ a good place to begin!
Labels: awareness, know what I want, life, tune
FAITH and MONEY allure mere mortals they say
The carrot and stick a compromised game they play
Deep down the rabbit hole greater treasures there are to take
But the darker it gets there is more than just wisdom to stake
A pacing fear shall trigger the heart searching for GLORY and NAME
Haunting memories of promises made to touch the pinnacles of FORTUNE and FAME
Oh! lame saint you better think wise
For every promise is bundled with a tag and a prize
