Coffee Life

This is a forwarded mail I got, which actually hit the nail right on the centre of its head.

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university lecturer. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned.With a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain,plastic, Glass, some plain looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said:"If You noticed, all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up,leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups."

"Now, if Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

So please, don't let the cups drive you. Enjoy the coffee instead.

A Chat

This is the full transcript of a discussion between a friend of mine and me over ipmsg . "J" stands for my lines and "X" stands for my friend's lines.

J: -so, both have gone to shanghai? then, shud be possible to get some earphones.

X: both have gone to the same place ;-)

J: okie dokie

X:-so u can very well get good Chinese EarPhones :-)

J: noooooooooooooooooooooooooo.. not chinese...

X:-ahhh.. now u ve turned sensible

J: what.. so, u wont get any good quality earphones from there? i mean branded ones?

X -can get.. i never siad u wont get.
but its highly probable that u end up buying fakes ;-)

J: okok. better not even try then

X -"I can only show u the way.
-The choice is yours Mr Anderson"
;-)

J: U know what I will choose. Why ask me. The answer is there.

X: -Im lost..
in the MAtrix ;-)

J: ITs very easy to get lost. You need to choose between the past and the present. The future leads automatically.

X: -No.. I disagree..
-Past is Past..it leaves u not a chance for a choice..
-the choice is when u move from preset to future.

J: The past is what you were. Present is What you are, as a result of what you were.
The choice you made because of the past is what makes the present.
Based on the choice of the past or the present determines your future.
If the past choice and the present are the same, your future is already decided.

X: -No...No.. No..
- In the past u have done something , the result of whic is ur present.Agreed Fully..
-this is because u did stick on to a choice u made..
-this lead u to what ur today.
-Now life gives u new choices.. not entangled with the chices u made in the past..
-here is where u can change ur present..
-get out of the conventions.. clear your on paths..
-but let me tell u this path is not Rosy..
-traps are there all around that make u fell Booby...

J: Agreed.
-Now life gives u new choices.. not entangled with the choices u made in the past..
I have a disparity here. Life gives you new choices based on the choices you made in the past.
Its these choices which bring about new choices.
If you are going to choose the same old choices you made in the past, that is NOT going to lead you to newer avenues.

X: -What ur telling me is how it has happend to the majority on this present world..
-and its that majority's decison that ur trying to support.
-i think i need some time to put what i want to put down the way i want it to be put.
-.. " Ill be back" ;-)

J: Astala vista baby... ;-)

RSI

Repetitive Stress Injury.

An Article

Yoga Excercises to release the stress.

Compliflying Life

I recently read a blog from one of my friends on their experience with Air Deccan. It brought back those wonderful memories of the day I travelled in Air Deccan.

I (un)fortunately once had the honour of using Air Deccan from Bangalore to Chennai. The flight was scheduled to take off at 1815 hours from bangalore and reach chennai by 1920 hours. I had planned to go to a book shop that evening to get some books.

Time: 1715 hours IST
we (the passengers) were asked to check-in the baggages. I was happy at the thought of flying first time by a propeller plane. With no check-in baggage, we (my relative and me) directly went to the boarding counter and got our boarding cards. Then had our personal check-up, got my hand-carry stamped and went into the last lounge. Now, it so happened that there were about 4 more flights at that time to Chennai. 2 air sahara and 2 jet airways.

Time:1800 hours IST.
We got an announcement over the public speaker that our flight is delayed by one hour because of technical difficulties. Not a surprise. It was acceptable. After all, we are Indians and they are providing the cheapest service (nope.. this is just an after-effect acceptance of travelling in air deccan).

A little probing revealed that the flight was not in a situation to take-off and so, they had asked a flight from Goa to come to bangalore as an alternative. We went out as there was no point in sitting there.

Time: 1930 hours IST, aka 1800 Abu Dhabi
The goa flight had come. So, we rushed in to check-in (again) and do all the security checks (again). Then, we got the next dosage of air-deccan special. The goa flight has come and has started developing technical difficulties. So, the flight was delayed by another 2 hours. Now, at this juncture, one air sahara(or jet, i dont remember) had left for chennai.

Some shrewd people cancelled their air-deccan ticket and booked in either air sahara or jet due to take off at 2200 hours approx. But, I decided to stick with the "poor man's" Emirates. So, we came out again to wait for the actual(???) arrival of the flight.

Time:2030 hours IST, aka 1800 baghdad
Some gentleman started arguing with the staff there and ended up getting us all a buffet dinner at the airport itself, courtesy Hotel Asoka.

Time: 2200 hours IST, aka 1830 cairo
Some more people booked in the 2200 jet airways and air sahara flights and left.
We are waiting.

Time:2300 hours IST, aka 1830 GMT
We are waiting. A flight between hyderabad and bangalore had just come in. If God wills, this flight will/may not generate technical problem and allow us to reach madras within a day. So, for the third time we checked-in and passed security. By this time, the security personnel and us started developing a rapport and were discussing about life (wow.. isnt that something for someone who had been (pissed-off )squared ).

Time: 2330 hours IST, aka 1800 Mid-Atlantic (man, we are nowhere now)
All other flights to chennai for the day have left. We were contemplating a cab drive from Bangalore to chennai. It cost around the same amount as air-deccan.

Time 2345 hours IST, aka 1800 Still Mid-Atlantic (man, we are still nowhere now)
Suddenly we were asked to move to the flight. It came as a rude shock to us. But, still not believing, we moved to the flight. A Total strength of 10 took the flight. At approximately 2350 hours, the propeller pushed us into the air.

Time 0100 hours IST, aka 1800 Greenland
We landed in Chennai. We were happy that the flight actually flied without any problem. On reaching chennai, we came to know that there were people actually waiting to travel to bangalore by our actual 1815 hours return flight. We were not the worst affected, after all. Wishing them atleast a "journey" home, we reached home.

Motivate, Inspire

Remember those times when you feel down and out. When that feeling of a heavy iron rod sitting in your heart tugging to break it apart. When you wish that it just breaks away. When hope goes jaywalking.

What pulls you up at that time?

What pours the fuel to light up the fire when calamity washes you up.

Sometimes, loneliness feeds the sadness; but its a trickle compared to the power sadness evokes.

Sometimes, a Soothing word is all we need.

A pleasing scenery always makes you forget the source of worry for atleast sometime.

Sometimes, a motivating speech powers up the inner soul like a rocket fuel that we are ready to take on the world that very instant.

The President's speech in the movie "Independence Day" is one such speech. I had goosebumps all over me when I was seeing the movie in theatre. If they had given a gun to kill anyone in sight at that time, my friends and myself would have gladly killed everyone else in that theatre.

Here is the transcript.

---------------------------

Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in this history of mankind.

Mankind -- words should have new meaning for all of us today.

We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore.

We will be united in our common interests.

Perhaps its fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution -- but from annihilation.

We're fighting for our right to live, to exist.

And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice:

"We will not go quietly into the night!

We will not vanish without a fight!

We're going to live on!

We're going to survive!"

Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!

---

MP3 Audio of the speech

My Life...

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	6.4
Mind:	5.2
Body:	4.5
Spirit:	7.2
Friends/Family:	6.5
Love:	9.1
Finance:	7.8
Take the Rate My Life Quiz