The Good Things [Part II]
The experience of absolute freedom and the true sense of self comes only in the state of singularity. People of the world have always been good followers. They follow their peers, their boss, their clients. Constantly adapting to the ways of others. Oftentimes, a self-proclaimed philosopher becomes the go-to solution to problems. Human action and inaction are the real causes for life’s events. But somehow people see it easier to worship, to seek and follow than to think and act. Following your mind, listening to the heart that beats in your chest is what matters; otherwise you are no individual at all.
There’s always been a lot of people around you during the day at wherever you go to work. People are everywhere. Just like how you’re conditioned to act unnaturally when you know you’re being watched, you are hardwired to act in specific ways in front of people. You become a different person. Sometimes consciously, because, sadly, you want to fit in. Go with the flow. All this has molded you into something you did not start out to be. The opportunity to go deep and pull your self out is here now.
You. Have. Time. You may feel like prisoners at home now. Yes, but what is the one thing you get in abundance in prison you don’t get anywhere else? Time. You have time for a break whenever you want. There’s time for a nap in the middle of anything. The hawks from work are not watching!
Now you can save all that time you used to run errands. Indulge in experimental cooking. When you eat what you cooked, it fills your heart. There’s time to help around the house. And you realize you’re learning to be more independent. Doing household chores without outside help is possible, and it feels good. The creative corners in your brain begin to work. You do little things just for you, things that somehow found no place in your life so far. You make it a point to continue this beyond the lockdown. Workaholics will realize the beauty of doing nothing, or doing something more meaningful. Just like time, this list has no end. The bright side is that the risk of disease has given you the gift of time.
Self-awareness. Even though we know the science behind it, something hot or cold returning to room temperature when left alone is amazing. Same with the majority of humans: only when a person is left alone are they absolutely themselves. On the other hand, self-aware people remain themselves in spite of the surrounding temperature. These are the people who think, who retain their natural state no matter what. Now many more have a chance at that.
You are no longer obliged to live in the constraints of a workplace. At home, in the absence of a world that constantly watched and influenced you, you enter a magical portal that lets you be you. Whether alone or among people at home, you become mentally and physically effortless in whatever you do—24/7. You get into the groove of doing things that does not seek someone’s approval. You’re not restricted by anything or anyone. You discover new, efficient ways of working or living, which were always influenced by peers until this point. It is a most welcome out of sight out of mind situation. You get to discover how and why something should be said or done in your terms. You start seeing the unnecessarinesses in the world. There is that much-needed mind space to think for and talk to yourself, to see what makes your life beautiful, what makes you truly happy. Enjoy nature, look at the sky, stare at the stars. You notice that you can see more stars now than you ever could. You might even add “get a telescope” to your to-do list. Within your four walls you have all the space to find, learn, understand, and appreciate yourself.
Reconnection. Work has always been the best excuse to everything household. You spend most of your waking hours at work or doing work. The house runs somehow, and you exist. But the chance to actually live in it is here. You no more have to rush to work or be exhausted when you return. You have power over the start and stop buttons now. There is space to reconnect with and respect those other human beings that live at home with you. They are not just a background to your work life anymore. This is your opportunity to give back to those who have taken care of you.
Neuroplasticity. When life goes on as usual, your mind sort of gets along with the routine, there isn’t anything to make you sit and just think. This changes in the wake of adversity. Bad times have the ability to stimulate your brain to go beyond your everyday thoughts. It’s times like this that can make someone wise or wiser. Enlightenment can come in any form and quantity. When you’re put in situations that demand you to lead a life just to survive, you find yourself highly capable of differentiating needs and wants, the necessary and the unnecessary. You begin to realize what really matters—what you really want to do or be, what actually needs your attention, what you genuinely miss, what you truly love. The more you think about it, the more your brain registers it. Humans are hardwired to do, act, react, and respond, but that is only at a species level. At the individual level, every brain has the capacity to rewire whenever needed. You’re in control of that—to allow yourself to think, filter, and organize your life in a way that gives the most meaning and makes the best sense to you. Thinking through things is a major part of daily life—it’s the place where you can ask and answer all life’s questions.
The Good Things [Part I]
When I want to fill a container to the brim, I make sure to wipe away the surplus on the top, so it can be carried on without a spill. Most of us have done it. That is what is happening now. Nature is wiping away the surplus.
Yes, the pandemic is affecting humans, some suffer and some die. However saddening all this is, better days are coming and it’s better for all of us to look forward to that than get buried under what the media throws at us. Follow the rules, take the precautions, and live your life. This, now is an amazing opportunity to be optimistic. Because there’s a lot of not-so-apparent solutions the virus has brought us. Most of the world hasn’t been able to do what should have been done, or control what should have been controlled—until now. Lack of self-control is an inevitable feature of humans. Imagine, in a perfect world with hundred percent sense, everyone who contracts a deadly virus, has symptoms, or has a great chance of carrying it would, without doubt, isolate themselves, and life for others would go on as usual. But this is not a perfect world. Because in this world, there are those of us that are rational and think and behave with common sense, but there are those precontemplative ones—people that lack the very capacity to think about the consequences of what they do or don’t do, even when they are at the heart of an undesirable situation. Unfortunately, this highly risky behavior is not considered crime. It’s not just first-degree crimes that make people bad. A person’s way of life has the power to tell if they are a criminal. So now, the curfews and laws around the pandemic are finally doing it, controlling things. The amount of damage humans inflict upon the earth every day is so huge that even a month’s stoppage of those activities will have a tremendous effect on its recovery. With people staying at home, many good things are happening.
Population is controlled. Getting straight to the point. World population increases with four babies born each second. Because every day, millions of people meet new people. And out of that, a huge number get close enough to add to the population. But the opportunity for this has drastically reduced. And there’s a very good chance that all the apprehension about physical contact is making potential baby makers at home keep distance too. If this goes on for a while, when all this is over, we may even get to witness a period opposite to the baby boom—there will be more room.
Consumption is controlled. Less resources are utilized when people are forced to live with the basics. Eating healthy is on everyone’s mind. No greed, no gluttony. Immunity is everyone’s goal now.
Pollution is controlled. There are very less vehicles and less people outside. Functioning of comparatively less factories that regularly dump toxic waste. The enormous difference all this makes is quite apparent. The air is lighter, there’s a general peace, and the water is clearing.
Crime is reduced. Same principle here. Keeping people off the road drastically reduces the potential for quarrels, any kind of confrontation that may lead to any kind of assault, killing. Everyone’s home, so no robberies. Gangsters, murderers, and rapists are disabled.
Nature breathes. In reduced pollution and in the absence of human invasion, nature recovers. Untouched trees and flowers, unlittered parks and beaches. It sort of gets to unwind. The earth gets some fresh air.
Part II coming soon…
A dream in my head…
There is always a dream playing in my head. A dream of a world where people think, where common sense is exactly that. A place where the words necessary evil make no sense, and a lot many terms people cling to just because they caught on. Trend itself is one of them. I see a world where everyone speaks, watches, listens to, goes to, eats, drinks, and wears because they like it, not because it’s in. The only thing one must be up to date with is their work cognizance. Everything else is contextual or based on genuine interest.
I dream of a world where there is no religion or pointless belief, rules that dismiss urgency and convenience, destroying natural impulses, and at times life threatening. A world where no nonexistent demands from nonexistent deities are placed over the needs of a real, live person.
A planet where there is no need to pick up garbage. I imagine the existence of a common goal of keeping places and minds clean by not littering in the first place. A world where everything is distributed equally. Where the act of charity is purely passive—fulfilling needs over wants.
I dream of a place where one’s misery comes only with the natural death of a close one. Where no one is murdered by an individual, a group, or a country, no one is bullied, ridiculed, or raped. Although I am disappointed with some aspects of the natural design of humans and cannot let it go even in my imagination, I will go out of my way and add, perhaps I also dream of a world that does not beg misandry.
I dream of a world where every human being is free in mind and body, who is born, lives, and dies with a uniqueness seen never before or never again.
Yes, in my dreamworld too love is the most powerful. But my world has the capability of feeling a love that brings only happiness, no heartbreaks or gut wrenches. A love that’s liberating, not tasking.
Three questions…
Out of the blue, an acquaintance texted me, saying it would be interesting to know my thoughts on some questions she had. They really got me thinking, and the answers I gave refined and made my thoughts, ideals, and values in life ever more strong. I am thankful to that person. Here are the three questions she asked:
Is it worth being humble in today’s world?
To me, being humble is being yourself, your “good” self. Staying away from secrets, lies, ego, jealousy, and obligations is a way of being humble. Whatever you are is for yourself first. Not for others. To realize this is very important. When thinking of someone’s nature or character, people immediately think of how they behave toward others, but that’s not the point. When you are rational and respect yourself enough, you will automatically know how to behave with and treat people around you. Personally, I don’t believe in “living for others” (both for others’ opinions or for their benefit). You came into this world an individual. There’s no one like you. You are your priority. The moment you deviate yourself from your natural thoughts and impulses to do something for someone else, you lose your identity. So treating or accepting yourself as being inferior to something doesn’t really make sense to me. Because one thing no one else in this world is capable of doing is being you.
I feel very strongly about staying yourself. Because I have remained me no matter what, and people keep asking me how I do it. I don’t do anything actually. They deviate from who they are, so they see the difference.
Do toxic people get away with everything, and not face the consequence?
That is the general belief. You know, I hear people always say “bad things happen to good people and the toxic ones get away.” That is total BS. Nothing in the world happens based on the quality of people. It just happens, naturally. People just say it because someone they like died and someone they hate lives. So what I think is this: Toxic people are that way by choice, and the consequence they face is continuing to be so, which is the worst. They will be despised and hated by many for as long as they remain that way. That’s definitely a bitter prospect for life.
Being disliked and disgusted by people is the worst thing that can happen to anybody. They constantly have that. Maybe they don’t see it in front of their eyes, but it’s always there. Not knowing how many people hate your guts is another consequence. So yeah, they are their own punishment.
What do you do when you want something so desperately but don’t get it?
That which you can do nothing about isn’t worth worrying about.
This statement applies to anything that can make us sad, angry, fearful, irritated, or desperate. Desperation is a negative feeling, and it is mostly for things that are not destined for or that do not correspond to the life one is leading. Because if something is on its way to you, as a result of your deeds, then you won’t be desperate for it in the first place. It is like respect is some ways. When you seek respect, you will mostly get the opposite. You have to earn it. And that you do only in an indirect way. Just as you cannot demand someone to respect you but have to act in a way that will get you the respect, being desperate about things will not bring them to you. You need to act, go do the things that will automatically lead the object/subject to you. But with a focus on yourself and what you are doing. Desperation is closely linked to hopeless situations. Do you really want to be stuck in that? No. Start working on yourself and the things you love to do. Because when you put enough love into what you are doing, you will not have time to feel desperate about anything because you are completely satisfied with the company of doing what you love. The world will notice it and happiness you did not go after will find its way to you.
Remember that you cannot be dependent on the opinions, approval, or appreciation of others all the time. If you do that, you have lost who you are. They are all secondary, or should not be on your list at all. Your approval and opinion about yourself is most important. You are the most important thing to you. That’s why people around are called “others.” They are completely unimportant. Next time you feel desperate for something, just think: is it really something you need? can’t live without? Mostly the answer will be “no.” So there you go.
© Nitya Swaruba
My take on medication
through those delicate tunnels
it flows, afraid of everything
cause lately, all it sees
are aliens in disguise
insinuating every cell
lewdly replacing nature;
this temple of a body
is more a biomachine
not everything in here
is what it seems;
outsiders infiltrating
through holes and pipes
descending from the mouth
making the liver a sweatshop;
every other organ
brutally breaks down;
it flows through, terrified,
the blood, of everything around
not feeling quite itself
lately
—
.
.
Think… and therefore… remain healthy ✊
© Nitya Swaruba
🙈🙉🙊
All that a perfect world is is a hypothetical noun. If you assume you’re living in one, you don’t know squat. You can’t tell good from evil. Your dangerous indifference makes you vulnerable. The construal of every individual is conditioned and contorted. The supposed evil constitutes just a few—liars, rapists, murderers—from a cloaked, growing abyss of many. The supposed good does not always constitute goodness—those that allegedly shun evil, those busy stereotyping, judging, silently rooting for what they desire. And then there are powermongers ruling every last bit of land, disguised as do-gooders. A new kind of evil good is created every day. Every person that is ignorant of common sense and morality is evil. Things in this world count only if you have money to count. People don’t help people. Help offered by those who have the power is more superficial and commercial than it is helpful.
Staying away from all that seems easy, but it is not right. On some levels, being unaware is evil in its highest form. Don’t create evil. See, hear, and speak it. It is the best help you can offer yourself and the world around you.
©Nitya Swaruba
They said they had proof, until…
For some, god exists; for some, god does not exist. I heard somewhere that faith is what you have, not what you know.
Even though I consider it an unnecessary venture, I explore the Internet to see how this is dealt with. I saw a video on science finding proof of the existence of god. At least that’s what the caption said. I was sitting there waiting for solid proof. They had it—“the Universe,” they said. Bah! And my enthusiasm deflated with a sigh!
I paraphrase here their so-called proof:
The universe [yep, not just Earth] is able to sustain life! How can that happen without “someone” wanting it to be that way? How is it that there was light, oxygen, water, and all things that enabled us to thrive? This fact is enough to prove that there is god. Scientists say we would not exist if the big bang had occurred a fraction of a second sooner to later. So someone set an alarm! And then, the universe was landscaped by that creator so that they could later choose Earth, which had all the goodies, to create life to live there and play with it. [So god had a purpose—us. And now millions run around seeking their purpose!]
Let me think… hmm. If they say all this was done so we can breathe oxygen and get suntanned, doesn’t that completely ruin the beauty of possibility. [Oh yes, they also talk about this proof defeating probability, and give some lottery statistics to “explain” that life has no chance unless someone intended it. Which does not help in any way.] Anyway, life happens where it is possible. Not where everything has been prepared in anticipation of life. There are barren lands, then there are tropical forests. That is possibility. Possibility in nature. Not all plants in the world grow on lands that were “made” fertile. Plants grow from concrete, for crying out loud!
First of all, I don’t know why people need a god to exist. Why go to such lengths trying to prove there’s one. Just to give credit when good happens and place blame when bad happens? I am rational enough to know there isn’t one… in the pure sense of the word.
So, ultimately, I was left frustrated with their limited capacity to think even after what we’ve all been through: the religious ones, the atheists, the agnostics, the ones worshipping a higher power, and me.
I only dislike videos that are thumbnail bait, but for this one I clicked thumbs down quite involuntarily.
creature of abstention
mind’s not hollow, but sound
it’s my wish
to run around
or stand my ground
thank you, conscience
for choosing what not to do
that’s what makes me
what I was, what I am
no peers can pierce
fierce fire inside burns
doesn’t turn me
I yearn nothing
I never do what the world does
senseless doings
all that fuss
such disgust
I won’t, no, I can’t follow
I’m quite busy doing my thing
I’m busy
bent on being me
Eternal Realm 
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