Monotonous

How many times do i get over
How many times do I begin,
It's  crazy test this life,
How many times do I dream?

They say don't be afraid to dream
when the dream's 'round the corner
But I'm flying the opposite direction
Have crossed all the borders

The borders of certainty,
the one that was secure
That one that lead to nothing,
But where I knew where I was

What strange journey is this?
This one I can't comprehend.
The one where I am to work,
The one where I am to pretend

Maybe I should have stuck to the road
The one at corners which bends
There's anticipation of happiness
Opportunities to swoop it tends

But here I am, Crumbling
dying under the weight on my shoulder
But still I stand, for the Atlas must
Bear with the burden and moulder

I breathe, stay low, to the stomach I'm sick
How much longer before I can sit
tick tock tick tock tick tock tick
about time I'll exit!!

Silly me

From the dark recesses of my mind,
Crept a flicker of light,
How could I be so naive to think this would end the blight
Perhaps it's a lighted match,
That'll be blown off soon
Perhaps it's just a spark
Ray of hope? A boon?

Silly me, I thought these were changing times
Silly me, I thought the fallen me would rise,
Silly me, I let myself think beyond hope
Silly me, I almost smiled, too much here to cope.

Things going wrong, doesn't let me catch my breath
On a song, the beat's on filled with regret
I've been through the wringer,
Matters little, the pain's the same
The grind excruciating, the efforts, vain.

Silly me, I thought this was to end
Silly me, too many broken pieces to mend
Silly me, claustrophobic once, dreams of coffin
Silly me, Every couple of breath needs morphine

Blood sweat tears, time, health, not enough
There's probably more need, this road too rough
Through the tourniquet I bleed,
Threatening to bite the dust,
But on I go, 'cause for more I lust

Silly me, this road seemed glistening
Of gold, silly me, I wasn't listening, back then when I was told,
Silly me, the blood drained, tears dried up now what
They still seem to think more to offer I've got

Pointless, no direction, waiting for a cue,
The silly me, wants out, silliness posing the truth,
The blame's gone, no pointing fingers alone,
Silly me wants this king dethroned,

It doesn't matter What I say, really, do you believe me?
Or will you wave me off
Cos it's just me, the silly me?

Lost...

Lost in never ending abyss
Leaves me groping for hope
Cost of wishing the end,
May leave me battling more.

Being able to want and wanting to be able,
The things never heard of, but lost in the label,
Misreadings and vagueness pave way for more disguise,
Unfathomable clues, arduous fake paradise.

Better off on earth, than the strenuous path to pointlessness,
Questioning the worth, to leave the dreams I once had, but then
Lost is the time and the spirit divine,
Fading away to black, who knows what's destined

But toil we must, bear the mild yoke they say,
The atlas can't lend the earth to anyone any day,
But what if the blood spilt is gone to waste,
What if the pain doesn't subside when they take,

My life, now that's all I have to do,
and undo to make it in time left for doom

Wading through the muck, grinding in the grief,
The day itself so long
But the years they call it brief

The fog covers my path,
My eyes blinded by fear
The numbness a quiet relief
Left are no more tears

So where do we go from here?
Is the fog even meant to clear?
What was it that was supposed to be, and the things that were dear?

Questions unanswered hope nowhere near,
Somehow there's still courage left to tread deeper from here

This too shall pass they always say,
Pass when I ask, arise.
Perhaps, burning is the only way out, I surmise.

Inspiration

Maybe there's something you understand that I don't,
Maybe you'll get what I shouldn't and I won't,
But I look up to you, Inspired, I dream,
Someday I'll try to reach the heights extreme,

I will not rest for the journey's too long,
So many curves along the way to make me strong,
The fire within refuses to cease,
Burnt up lungs refuses to breathe,

I know the risks for I run them well,
The terror unsaid, the pain unfelt,
The todays lost to the beads of sweat,
This ain't nearly enough, to learn so much left,

The subtle grace and speed I desire,
With blood I hope one day I'll acquire
The unquenched thirst parched throat even drier
Just one look at you again I'm inspired,


I'll start over if you think I'm wrong,
Willing to do tear the heart that's torn,
People misinterpret but then they always do,
My inspiration pure, I look up to you,

One day I'll fight by your side
One day with you I'll stand with pride,
One day I'll learn, how much more that's left
But happy even so, having my place being left.

The underachievers' club

Hardwork we fear not, for we toil night and day,
Subordination of interests, forgoing all the play,
None for breakfast, for dinners sometimes a Sub,
Little do we achieve, we're The Underachiever's club

Sometimes we miss a point, perhaps a whole page,
Sitting in the dark work fuming with rage,
Perhaps what we do is not how it's done,
Hours put in relentlessly churning the sun.

Peace of mind, we say, is what we live for,
Exhaustion sinks in, on the psyche takes a toll,
The work still remains let alone appreciation,
The world shrinks in, remains only villainous trepidation.

We lose sleep over things left undone,
Dissatisfied, incompetent, eyes better unopened,
But the dawn must break, so must we,
Brave that we are, we start, resilience the key.

And then there's a tomorrow

The eyes have grown tired
Though the fire's still awake
Inquisitive I aspire
Today may not be the day

The todays are busy
Living in the moment we say
The exercises far too many
For bread we must pay

The muscles are flexed and raw
They ache a little too
Where's the fun without a challenge
Say bring it on, will do

We'll struggle again today
For battles we must fight
The trials and tribulations
Will throw the right light

The mistakes must be made
The lessons to be learnt
The fire must be played with
And fingers must be burnt

Experience we must all
The present day's fruits
The deep hidden disappointments
What's false and what's the truth?

And then there's a tomorrow
This was just today
The things I thought were done for good, will be done again

Tomorrow a new day
A day none have seen
a day I would never miss
Ain't a night I wouldn't dream.

Don’t LABEL me, for it might be true!

What is a label? So common, it seems pointless to ponder over a small and seemingly insignificant word. It is how you identify. It is the way you organize the huge stock of files in your brain. The brain automatically labels something as good, bad, healthy, ugly, satisfying, repelling or as a must to have. It almost comes naturally to us. Without labels we can’t really work the way we work today. It helps us not get into the frenzy of analyzing each and every minute detail and underwrite the basis of classification. So why the big fuss about labels? Let’s just ponder for a minute. Is the means with which you label, accurate? Is it really how you have to organize? Are you sure of the category that you put “A” in?

Labeling creates a rule in our mind. A thumb rule, if you will. A rule that says John cannot draw. So what do you think John feels when he gets to know of this label? It steals from him the idea of even considering that he can ever draw. It is imposed as a rule on him. Now if John is a 25-ish who is a well read, mature person he’d know better than to believe the label he’s been stamped upon. If John is an 8 year old kid who just likes to go nuts with his crayons he might not care and go on scribbling like there’s no tomorrow. But what if the only way John can understand of his capabilities or potential capabilities is by the way people close to him respond? It brings a tremendous block in his brain that says “Road blocked in case you are thinking of drawing, and PS: you are terrible at it” Now here’s a problem. Also, isn’t other people’s feedback a very essential form of recognition and evaluation for us. John may have the potential but the people judging him may lack the skill to understand John’s abilities. John may be not great at drawing but it might give him the freedom of expression, the breathing space that he needs. The solitary time where he needs to think, needs to get his creative side juiced up.

So, it’s easy for Mrs. Thomson to say “oh, well, John is no good in drawing, he just keeps scribbling his crayons, let’s try to get him to dance, maybe he’ll get that”. So what do you think Mrs. Thomson’s words mean? It’s probably true for all adults who have to either raise or manage or work with kids. They might not say it out loud but these thoughts do at some level affect the decision making process. And this is true not only for kids. Any organization you go and ask any employee to give an informal intro about another, you’ll get a different story from everybody. In the end it’ll be like nobody knows anybody here and that just might be true. We tend to be more discerning, less caring and on our guards, when it comes to work place. Our opinion about somebody is more often than not based upon situations where the other person might have either kept his cool (due to altogether different reason) or lost his temper (due to reason not at all relevant in the context) and based on that you judge him/her.

It’s hard but not impossible really, to think about all the things that the other person might have done in the past and then judge him. He might have helped you out numerous times, at times, without even letting you know but you might still be basing your judgment on the argument you had last night about a particular plan or presentation that you failed to execute. So what happens next? This person once so helpful & co-operative suddenly gives you the cold shoulder.

If John is labeled as bad at, say, Math, whether it may or may not be the truth, it might become the truth. John, labeled bad at Math will start believing in it and he might end up doing worse than what he could have possibly done. So isn’t label a form of appreciation or the other way round, really?

That means just by appreciating someone you have the power to help him perform better. Isn’t it probably the simplest way to enhance performance? Just imagine what great power each of us has. Great leaders possibly understand this. The same is true for criticism and complain t too. To quote the secret “Thos who speak of abundance -  have it. Those who complain a lot about the bad things in their lives – have it.”

                With such great power in such a simple thing as appreciation, I really wonder what else is in store. Inquisitiveness is the key.