When You Meet God

You were on your way home when you died.


It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.


And that's when you met me.


"What... what happened?" You asked. "Where am I?"


"You died," I said, matter-of-factly. No point mincing words.


"There was a... a truck and it was skidding..."


"Yup." I said.


"I... I died?"


"Yup. But don't feel bad about it. Everyone dies." I said.


You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. "What is this place?" You asked. "Is this the afterlife?"


"More or less," I said.


"Are you god?" You asked.


"Yup." I replied. "I'm God."


"My kids... my wife," you said.


"What about them?"


"Will they be alright?"


"That's what I like to see," I said. "You just died and your main concern is your family. That's good stuff right there."


You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn't look like God. I just looked like some man. Some vague authority figure. More of a a grammar school teacher than the almighty.


"Don't worry," I said. "They'll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn't have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved." "To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it's any consolation, she'll feel very guilty for feeling relieved."


"Oh," you said. "So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?"


"Neither," I said. "You'll be reincarnated."


"Ah," you said. "So the Hindus were right."


"All the religions are right in their own way," I said. "Walk with me."


You followed along as we strolled in the void. "Where are we going?"


"Nowhere in particular," I said. "It's just nice to walk while we talk."


"So what's the point, then?" You asked. "When I get reborn, I'll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won't matter?"


"Not so!" I said. "You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don't remember them right now."


I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. "Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It's like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it's hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you've gained all the experiences it had."


"You've been a human for the last 34 years, so you haven't stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for longer, you'd start remembering everything. But there's no point doing that between each life."


"How many times have I been reincarnated then?"


"Oh, lots. Lots and lots. And into lots of different lives." I said. "This time around you'll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 A.D."


"Wait, what?" You stammered. "You're sending me back in time?"


"Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from."


"Where you come from?" You pondered.


"Oh, sure!" I explained. "I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there's others like me. I know you'll want to know what it's like there but you honestly won't understand."


"Oh." You said, a little let down. "But wait, if I get reincarnated to other places in time, could I have interacted with myself at some point?"


"Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own timespan, you don't even know its happening."


"So what's the point of it all?"


"Seriously?" I asked. "Seriously? You're asking me for the meaning of life? Isn't that a little stereotypical?"


"Well, it's a reasonable question." You persisted.


I looked in your eye. "The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature."


"You mean mankind? You want us to mature?"


"No. Just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature, and become a larger and greater intellect."


"Just me? What about everyone else?"


"There is no one else," I said. "In this universe, there's just you, and me."


You stared blankly at me. "But all the people on Earth..."


"All you. Different incarnations of you."


"Wait. I'm everyone!?"


"Now you're getting it." I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.


"I'm every human who ever lived?"


"Or who will ever live, yes."


"I'm Abraham Lincoln?"


"And you're John Wilkes Booth." I added.


"I'm Hitler?" You said, appalled.


"And you're the millions he killed."


"I'm Jesus?"


"And you're everyone who followed him."


You fell silent.


"Every time you victimized someone," I said, "You were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you've done, you've done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you."


"Why?" You asked me. "Why do all this?"


"Because someday, you will become like me. Because that's what you are. You're one of my kind. You're my child."


"Whoa." You said, incredulous. "You mean I'm a god?"


"No. Not yet. You're a fetus You're still growing. Once you've lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born." 


"So the whole universe," you said. "It's just..."


"An egg of sorts." I answered. "Now it's time for you to move on to your next life."


And I sent you on your way.

Flying in the Face of Fear

Have you ever had a brilliant idea that made you feel really excited? Were you were so ready to run with it and it could have changed or enhance your life greatly. It could have been anything from an invention, a house move, starting your own business, a change in career or you may have wanted to go back into education, to learn about something you enjoy – as oppose to have to do. Then, as quick as a flash, all those great ideas came to a grinding halt!

The inspirational glow you felt, as you dipped your toe into the exciting world of “I want to do this! This is amazing!” quickly turned into self-doubt, as you climb back in to your warm, cosy cocoon in retreat.

All those enthused feelings of happiness, excitement and motivation simply disappeared into the big black hole marked “I should have done that!”

The niggles in the back of your mind, full of; “what if”, “I can’t”, “I’m not ready”, “I’m not qualified”, “I don’t have the funds”, and so on, go racing round your mind, telling you that you cannot do it because, because, because……

We can all, very quickly, talk ourselves out of absolutely anything and everything. When those feel good moments have passed, we end up listening to our negative thoughts, which drag us down and hold us back. We then beat ourselves up for not taking that leap of inspirational faith and, in the end; we cease all action and go back to our regular day-to-day routine.

This is what can be described as the reverse butterfly effect.

Just to explain, the butterfly effect theories that even the smallest change can have a chaotic effect on something else. This theory has been at the centre of many physics debates, along with the closely related chaos theory, and string theory – where a single atom can affect another, seemingly unrelated, atom.

If we take this idea and translate it into our own lives, the reverse butterfly effect is doing nothing to affect nothing. Yet, if we had just made that big push and continued on the path of inspired action, we could have created a chain reaction. Simply put, if we had just stretched our wings that little bit further we could have created a multitude of positive outcomes.

However, sometimes our seemingly inspired actions are born from a lack of knowledge or confidence. There is a misconceived perception in our minds that we need to put ourselves through a series of education and learning. It makes us feel ready, credible and qualified to tackle our personal, ideal world of creativity, work and/or business. The belief that we need to collect certificates, diplomas, degrees etc. acts as a security blanket, making us feel ready to fulfill our life goals. Nevertheless, this is just another delay tactic.

Cynics, no doubt, would question this notion, given that many people become very successful after their studies. However, by putting off doing what we really want to do right now, delaying our hearts desires, as we don’t feel ready, equipped or qualified, and never realizing our goals, through lack of confidence and fear, all leads to disappointment and, in turn, resentment.

The fact is we can never stop learning. We learn through articles and books, through TV programmes and movies. It shapes our thoughts, beliefs, values and we learn invaluable skills and knowledge through every life experience. That is a qualification in itself.

Research, conducted by the University College of London, shows that when we have high level of feel good chemicals in our bodies, we are able to make decisions much faster, by going with gut instincts, relating to how it makes us feel emotionally. Moreover, in order to create those chemicals you need to do something that motivates and excites you. Furthermore, by combining other “happy chemical” triggers into the equation, such as certain feel good foods and activities; we can create cataclysmic and inspired choices to change your life. Therefore, you can quite literally perpetuate yourself into a happy, successful state through inspired action.

Let me throw another, potentially freedom-inducing, theory into the equation.

Let us say we are living a virtual life, much like a video game. We have infinite power and control over the “game of life” and we have the ability to choose several different scenarios, settings and experiences. If we are living the parallel life then perhaps I am not actually writing this, as my true self is in fact on a warm sandy beach in the tropics, and I am controlling this occurrence from under a palm tree. However, as you are also in the tropics on a 50 ft yacht your other self is relaying this article back to you. So, as you are not here, I am elsewhere, and this may not actually be happening, I could in fact choose to write (and this is debatable) all kinds of wackiness!

If, at this specific moment in time, we are living our lives in several parallel universes, we could be running alongside our “other lives”, experiencing different things, all at the same time. Moreover, our multiple, simultaneous lives could be our trusty back-up parachute, so if we do go off course we could, in theory, leap-frog to another.

If it were true, would that “reality” give you more abandon, freedom and flexibility?

In any case, it is better to look back on life and say “I can’t believe I did that” than to look back and say “I wish I did that!” So, perhaps it’s best to give in to our inspired thoughts and feelings and just go for it – as they occur to give us the right, individual and unique life experiences. And, just like a video game, we are all equipped, ready to do anything and can achieve our life goals – If only we had the courage and whole-hearted belief in ourselves.

If the delicate little butterfly can break free, fly into the big wide world and cause a spot of chaos then why can’t you?

Starbucks - Mass Hysteria of India

When Anna Hazare thought of staging a fast at Mumbai aka Bombay's Azad Maidan, the turnout was laughable. The old reformist didn't realize, all he had to do to attract people was to Partner in a franchise of a coffee chain "Starbucks".

The phenomenon of a foreign brand has still not failed to tantalise Indian sensibilities. And this time, the product is not a designer wear or bathroom fittings, but a refreshing beverage called Coffee.

We oppose FDI in retail and queue ourselves in serpentine lines to indulge in a brand which is totally Foreign.

 People who find it tacky and a waste of time to stand in a queue to seek blessings at temples, pilgrimages, and, instead, take passes for VIP, VVIP and Special Darshan were ready to wait for almost 3 hours for a Starbucks Coffee.

Facebook and Twitter were buzzing with the ones at Starbucks putting pictures and tweets about the Somras served, also with the laments of those yet to visit.

People known personally to me traveled almost 25 kilometers to try this so Special Concoction. These are people who are very well traveled and must have had a Starbucks Coffee almost on every visit abroad.

Yet, the response was thunderous, and since its outlet is in the most hip and happening locality, it were the most happening people who made that happen.

I feel this is the most Landmark occurrence that has happened to be witnessed by me in my existence.

Is it Coffee or the Experience to be counted on all the social media and circles as the few handful to have Somras at Starbucks ?

After a week of the first outlet in Town, a second outlet was launched 15 minutes away from my residence in the suburbs. Today, I thought let's check out this revolutionary phenomenon.

With no queues, (suburbans have priority ) and an Impoverished Menu compared to the origins in the 1st world. I was so lucky to get a place to sit with my 24 karat diamond studded coffee. I made a point to sit for two hours in wait for some special performance or some coffee babes but none turned up.

In the meanwhile, the coffee was strictly average. The crowd I thought would be very interesting to fodder my interest and thoughts. But again like the coffee, I was disappointed. You can bring Starbucks to India but cannot remove the Inherent traits from Indians. Litter is our national activity, we do it subconsciously. Photography contests were being held across the store, I even participated to give some families, their most proud moment. Any Restaurant experience is incomplete in India without witnessing or participating in a verbal duel of colorful language and obnoxious people. I witnessed it. And no guesses the Protagonist was a Gym Export Dude in company of two Fake Accented Make up Boxes.

Now the next Hysteria is expected when Wal Mart, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, Chipotle decide to adopt a method to tap this madness.

Coffee Cheers,

KS   

PS : I am all in for FDI !!

      

Life in a Spotlight

Hello Folks,

I have been feeling that I should write more often than I actually end up doing. But, well lot of things take up my time and I never want to perform writing as a stress busting or a sundry activity. I am making a conscious effort to keep writing without "The Writer's Block" and believe me its difficult.

I have always wondered how is it when you are under a Spotlight ? The feeling when a million pair of eyes are glued upon you with great expectation. The rush of blood, the adrenaline pumping, the heart thumping and palms sweating. A moment of many people's life getting converged into your moment.And yes it can go two ways, either Glory or Gory.

The feeling shudders me with nervousness even thinking about the spectacle. No matter how much accolades you have or you are a novice, every appearance in the spotlight is a new game. Its much like travelling in an air plane, a matter of luck and risk every single time no matter how frequent flier you are. The sad part is there are no half measures, either you win or its curtains.

With the increasing advancements in all the technologies of cameras, communications and media management, the spotlight doesn't remain the moment it used to be. The whole life of a person on a certain pedestal becomes a spotlight and masses know the performer as a "Celeb". Even the growth of a goatee of Amitabh Bachchan made way to the Editorial of a leading newspaper in India.

Life isn't it seems very easy in the rosy frames which can make or break not only a performer's public image but can shatter his life beyond repair. Its treading on a razor's edge as Life in Spotlight can be like Miranda's warning. You will get responses of all sorts of emotions, love, gratitude, praise, stalkers, vengeance, jealousy, critical, etc. The challenge in to respond to right ones and hold your ground otherwise.

The functioning under constant public scrutiny, I feel, is the most difficult part and the biggest challenge one faces. Moral and Ethos have a huge role to play in shaping up what is often known as "BRAND" or "IMAGE" by the pundits of this Spotlight Business. Performers get so carried away by this phenomena and forget the Basic Skill or Activity which got them a chance to be there and eventually get sidelined. Some just break down in the pressure and crumble into hiatus or hibernation. Some fall victim to their own undoing which gets exposed and very few handle it with elan and are remembered for decades to come for of course the right reasons.

There are many examples of such Individuals who have walked the razor's edge with perfect balance and even the few stumbles they had were gracious. Also, there are even more number of examples of people failing and failing miserably just because they couldn't handle the responsibility of being in spotlight. History being cruel it is, only remembers and throws up the successful examples. We as learners, readers and connoisseurs also, only like Happy Endings.

Cheers,
KS