The question

I’ve always wondered why train journeys bring out all the reflective qualities in people. Is there just something in watching the countryside whiz by, that sets the thought process rolling? Or is it the concept of a journey in itself that is unsettling?
It was one of any number of innumerable journeys from Calcutta to KGP, in as much as it wasn’t special in any way, other than that I wasn’t alone. I was listening to some music, trying to get some shut eye, and not be a nuisance to anyone in general, when this gentleman, ( an acquaintance of mine that we will refer to as B ) pointedly pulled out one of my earphones and embarked upon a tirade, the point of which was trying to convince me that being unusual should be the norm.

I didn’t exactly want to be drawn into the debate, mostly because I had been through this with him before. But something about the trains rhythmic motion made me join in.

B talked about the importance of being unconventional in life. Apparently he was unhappy with the fact that everyone else was normal. (!) And he also couldn’t figure out how I could be happy with the life I had. His version – “Your life is on autopilot, you don’t make any decisions”. (Well, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t but I certainly didn’t want to be told about it by him)

A discussion followed about pushing your limits, if only to find out where you stand. About not only being in the drivers seat, but using the gears as well. About taking control. About being in the minority. “It’s good if you have enemies, it just goes to prove that you have stood up for something somewhere sometime in your life”

I’m someone who has never questioned how my life has gone so far. Is it a good thing? Have I been losing out on knowing myself just because I haven’t pushed myself hard enough? Again, I’d like to think that there are variations to the ways a person pushes himself. The question is choice. Individuals are “individual” because they have the awesome power of choice, and none of us can claim to know enough about another to judge him completely.

Disturb Yourself – B

Introduce a little anarchy – The Joker

Similarity? 😛

Not one of my best posts, but I’d appreciate comments on B’s concept.

The Caveman

“Look at the filth and dust in your room!! Ugh! Can’t you clean up this mess???”. My mother was definitely in one of her more combative moods.

I turned a lazy eye around the room. Books lay haphazardly strewn over the lone table, a chocolate wrapper poked itself from beneath a debris of clothes lying in a corner, and the crowning glory of the room, yours truly, was lazily reclining on a bed on which lay an assortment of items, none of which you would find on an average bed. Indeed they were more likely to be found in your average trash can.

“All this is a consequence of man going farther and farther away from nature”, I said to my mother. “We men were meant to be one with nature. Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust. Isn’t that what the bible says? This obsession with cleanliness is just another path leading away from the real truth. Nature is God.” (The chap who said cleanliness is godliness must have had a heart attack if he had been anywhere near.)

Mom listened, gave a defeated shrug of her shoulders and walked off.

I returned to my lethargy.