Hello, you stranger!

You ever look at a picture of yourself and see a stranger in the background? It makes you wonder how many strangers have pictures of you. How many moments of other people's lives have we been in? Were we a part of someone's life when their dream came true? Or were we there when their dreams died? Did we keep trying to get it, as if we were somehow destined to be there? Or did the shock take us by surprise? Just think, You'd be a big part of someone else's life and not even know it.

I am the kind of person who grabs the window seat while travelling and loves to spend time on my terrace or my balcony just observing people. I love looking at lovers walking hand in hand because they make me believe in love. Watching a father hold his daughter's hand while crossing a road, filling me with feeling of security. Watching a young girl touching an elderly person's feet at a restaurant, reminding me of the ways of Indian life.

Then there are those people who you just speak to for just a minute or even lesser. Be it the person you asked for directions , or someone who helped you lift your books , or someone who let you go first in the auto because you told them you were in a hurry. Who are they? No one knows. Will we ever run into them again? Maybe. Do we remember them or how they looked? Maybe not. Do we know their name? Maybe not. And does it really bother us not being able to recall the person's name? Somehow, they are just one of the million 'random' people we talk to , thank and label them as "somebody".

Do we ever think that we might be the reason for someone not being able to make it in a good college? That some stupid remark we  made would set someone back? That our child might be the reason another child couldn't get a candy? That smiling at someone can make them happy for that moment?
 The ways of the world are funny and we, luckily,  have "fate" to blame it on.

It's funny how there are SO many people in the universe and we still feel lonely. It's also funny how we meet exactly the ones we are supposed to meet. Somehow, somewhere we meet them. And more often than not, we are glad to have met them. Things change, so do situations, but all we can wish for is that , that these people don't.

One of our biggest fears is to be forgotten by the ones we never will forget. Irrespective of the number of promises they have made or of the memories we have shared with them, there is always this fear of losing them.They might leave, but make sure that for the time that they are in your life, you make it worthwhile. Make a million memories and hope to make many more. Smile. Make sure you make them smile too. Don't be afraid to step out of your world and go out of your way to talk to someone. For all we know, they might be the ones we've been looking for.

Meeting a stranger can be totally fleeting and meaningless, for example, unless you enter the individual's world by finding out at least one thing that is meaningful to his or her life and exchange at least one genuine feeling. Turning in to others is a circular flow; you send yourself out toward people; you receive them as they respond to you.

Yours Apologetically!

"In life, only one thing is certain, apart from death and taxes.No matter how hard you try, no matter how good your intentions, you are going to make mistakes. You are going to hurt people. You are going to get hurt. And if you're ever going to recover, There's only one thing to say. Forgive and forget. That's what they say. It's good advice, but it's not very practical. When someone hurts us, we want to hurt them back. When someone wrongs us we want to be right. Without forgiveness, nothing is ever settles. Hurts never heal. And the most we can hope for .... is to forget."  Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy.

We are all mistaken sometimes; sometimes we do wrong things , things that have bad consequences. But it does not mean we are evil, or that we cannot be trusted ever afterward. The same goes for the others.
We can all pretend to be as high up there as we wish to. But we're all aware that on the inside we're all afraid. At the end of the day we are all restless and worried. Scared and lonely. Lost and tired. And sometimes we're SO lost and confused and hurt that we just go to sleep. Luckily for us humans, this works more often than not. No matter how hard you try to give your best, remember you will screw up. No matter how much you trust a person,remember you will be betrayed. And no matter how hard you try to stay happy, you'll always find something to feel ungrateful about. It's in our system to find faults and to become the one at fault. We're human beings and that is our only saving grace.

How many of us are our own favorites? While there are some who cannot get over themselves, there are some who keep trying harder and are never satisfied with they have achieved. Most of the times, this attitude helps us to do better in life, but sometimes it can have negative effects on us. So, when we mess things up, or when we don't perform well on stage because of lack of practice, we are to be blamed. Yes . All I am saying is, get over it. It's OKAY to not do well. At the same time, make sure that the next time you put in all your hardwork and do the best. Just don't beat yourself up. It's okay. Mistakes happen and things do go wrong.

Someone once said , never go to sleep angry because you don't know if the person you're mad at will wake up the next morning. We never really pay any heed to such thoughts. We live in a world were life is taken for granted and the thought of kicking the bucket barely crosses our minds. It's ironic, though, to know that the ONLY thing that is certain in life is death. So the question is, if today was your last day, would you still hold a grudge against that person? Is it really worth that? I agree, you were hurt and let down, but again, they are human too. If you were in their place, you'd want to be given a second chance too. So, forgive them. It's okay. So, let go of the ego and mend things as soon as possible. And, although sometimes we forgive someone just because we need them in our lives, it's okay. At least we still have them as a part of our lives. Believe me, it is a lot to be grateful about .

So forgive yourself and the others. We really cant afford to lose time holding on to grudges against people.
The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize the situation is over, you cannot move forward.

Let Go, Because When You Do...

.... a star falls from the sky and into your hands. Then it seeps through your veins and swims inside    your blood and becomes every part of you. And then you have to put it back into the sky. And it's the  most painful thing you'll ever have to do and that you've ever done.

Have you ever had to let go of that one person you thought you’d always be around? Of that one thing that meant the world to you? I am assuming you have. We all have, at some point of our lives, we all have. What determines our happiness and our strength is how we respond to letting it or them go.

We human beings never really give much thought to what would happen if that one person decides to just stand up and walk away. Do we have the courage to move on with our lives? Are we strong enough to finish this journey of life alone? Can we really make it without friends to laugh with or without being loved and cared for?

The very thoughts of letting go of a special person or of letting out our emotions, scare many of us. We are scared of not being able to make it through. Of rejection. Of being hurt. Of hurting. Of not being good enough.

We’ve all said things like, “Just ten minutes more. I promise I’ll leave after that.”

Let me ask you this, does the pain reduce? No. Whether you leave at that moment, or ten minutes later , or half an hour later, or a month later, it’s going to hurt all the same. The pain does not subside and we don’t heal. So the point is that no matter how much time we get to spend with that person, the time we leave, it’s going to hurt. Whether we like it or not.

There is happiness and there is sadness. There’s hate and there’s love. There’s success and there’s failure. I don't think we ever heal. We just get used to the pain and learn to live, forget and 
move on.

While most of us avoid getting attached to someone for the fear of being hurt, some of us get attached to them anyway. There is something about letting go of your pent up emotions and feeling the love and the happiness despite knowing the fact that there is a possibility that it may not last forever. But wouldn't you rather get hurt after those beautiful moments and memories than never be a part of them at all? I definitely would. At the end of the day, all good things do come to an end, right?

I staunchly believe that when something is meant to be, it will happen. Whether we make the effort or not. The people who are meant to be in our lives will be there. Always. And those, who are not, wont. No matter how much we want them to be. We've all had to let go of those special people , at some point of our lives, let go of those whom we thought we couldn't live without. I had to too. It was at that time that a friend of mine told me that the very fact that I was still around, proved that I was ready for more. That I could leave them behind and accept life as it unfolds.

So I say, go ahead. Trust someone. Treasure someone. Get hurt. Know what it feels like to lose someone special. Life really wouldn't be fun if everything went right. We have a lot to be thankful about.

Also, as we all know, we don't really have any reason to be upset about something isn't a part of our lives anymore. But, we do have a reason to be happy that it once was a part of our lives.
And again, what's meant to be, WILL come back to you.

  .... a star falls from the sky and into your hands. Then it seeps through your veins and swims inside your blood and becomes every part of you. And then you have to put it back into the sky. And it's the most painful thing you'll ever have to do and that you've ever done. But what's yours is yours. Whether it’s up in the sky or here in your hands. And one day, it'll fall from the sky and hit you in the head real hard and that time, you won't have to put it back in the sky again.” 

So, let go. Because when you actually do, you learn how to live life!

Cheers!