Waiting is all you have to do sometimes!

When I first read Ayn Rand's Fountainhead, I was horrified when I realized that people like Ellsword Toohey might actually exist in real world.. you know, bad people that seem very nice outside. But, in my experience, I encountered more of the opposite kind.

Many times, the very people I wanted to distance myself from, helped me and showed their real nature. Remember the character Johann from the movie Das Boot.. he seems utterly hopeless at one point, but proves himself in the crucial moment. Sometimes, you just have to wait to get the best out of other people.

Let me put this in Randy Pausch's words:

Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you. It might even take years, but people will show you their good side. Just keep waiting.

The illuminated crowd

Stratified Polyester Resin with Polyurethane Paint, 314x860x320cm.

A crowd has gathered, facing a light, an illumination brought about by a fire, an event, an ideology - or an ideal. The strong light casts shadows, and as the light moves towards the back and diminishes, the mood degenerates; rowdiness, disorder and violence occur, showing fragile nature of man. Illumination, hope, involvement, hilarity, irritation, fear, illness, violence, murder and depth - the flow of man's emotion through space.

Sculpture and words by Raymond Mason (1985). I took this picture in sept'09 in Montreal, Canada.

Love or Trust?

In the Babemba tribe of South Africa, when a person acts irresponsibly or unjustly, he or she is placed in the center of the village, alone and unfettered. All work ceases, and every man, woman and child in the village gathers in a large circle around the accused individual. Then each person in the tribe speaks to the accused, one at a time, about all the good things the person in the center has done in his lifetime. Every incident, every experience that can be recalled with any detail and accuracy is recounted. All his positive attributes, good deeds, strengths and kindnesses are recited carefully and at length. The tribal ceremony often lasts several days. At the end, the tribal circle is broken, a joyous celebration takes place, and the person is symbolically and literally welcomed back into the tribe." - The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace By Jack Kornfield

Path vs Goal

I think some of us care so much about goals that we don't pay enough attention to the path we are on. Setting goals helps us keep track of our direction. We will know if we are going on the right path when we meet these goals. But, I think it is more important to enjoy the journey that we embarked upon.

Power & Responsibility

I like the Tagline of the movie Spider-Man: "with great power comes great responsibility". I like its vice-versa even more: with great responsibility comes great power or as I would like to say,

with more responsibility comes more power

In my experience, I realized that the more responsibility I take, the more power I wield.

Chandamama - The Moon

Planets are named after Roman gods. Earth is the only exception. Their moons were named after a Greek character in the life of Greek counterpart of the Roman gods. Uranus is the only exception.

We always see the same side of Moon from Earth. I took this picture in August'09.

Lowest Bidder

There is a dialogue in the movie Armageddon I like very much. The statement amuses me for the cynicism of Rockhound's tone in such a tense moment and for its reference to 'lowest bidder'. Rockhound, a crew member of Freedom shuttle says this to Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis):

You know we are sitting on 4 million pounds of fuel, 1 nuclear weapon, on a thing that has 270,000 moving parts, built by the lowest bidder.. makes you feel good.. doesn't it?

Of course, Bruce Willis replies 'Yes'.