Critique

There was once a very simple young man. He was unusually quiet, and he was kind. He would agree to almost anything said to him. He didn't always believe things people told him, but he never brooked an argument. He would aquiscence at the time, and move on, not letting what he considered false notions bother him.

Now this young had a very lovely young lady as a friend. They weren't in love, but they were pals, they were chums. They had shared heart-makes, heart-breaks, troubles, money problems, acne, toothache, foot-corns, broken nails, paper cuts, car breakdowns, muggings, dissapointments with the way the world worked, professional problems, problems with other friends, with their bosses, politics at work, problems of crowded buses and trains, and a bunch of other problems with each other as well, including flat tires and running out of shampoo.

This young lady was of a flightly mind, having wild notions every now and then. She would turn into a pacifist and thence to a pro-war demagogue in a matter of seconds. She was possessed of an iron will, but her attention wasn't fixed on any set of ideas or issues in particular.

The young man and the young lady were the best of friends, had been so for years. The young man never raised an objection to any of her proclamations, never argued on any topic, even if it went against his natural beliefs. He was of the bent of mind that says, live and let live for Opinions never change facts.

The matter of interest in this story is when the young lady once proclaimed herself to be a hater of all men. Men were egoistic pigs, she declared. She had suffered a bad breakup, and was venting nearest him who listened the best - the young man of our little story.

"They do and say anything and everything to keep their little egos and pegos satisfied, " declared the young lady.

"Yes indeed, I agree that we are", chimed in the young man. He knew that she needed support, not a discussion on the statistical distribution of such qualities among the male half of the species.

"Women, now are much more stable, they are able to feel better. We are much more sensitive", the young lady added onto her tirade.

"Ah, woman, thou are a saint", echoed the young man.

"You know what, I'm heartily sick of listening to you agree to everything I say. You never have an opinion of your own. Or even when you do, you simply agree with me, and try to let the matter drop. Why do we even talk?", asked the young lady all of a sudden.

"No, no, I have opinions. I believe in things via my own persuasion as well." rebutted the young man, taken aback and concerned.

"You're spineless, that's what you are, just like all men. And to think that I once thought I loved you." the young lady prepared to leave.

"What? No, listen! Please wait...!" the young man put in desperately.

"What for? You're a sissy. I can't love a man who has no willpower at all. I'm leaving. Don't try showing up at my place ever again." the young lady picked up her things and departed, leaving behind a sad young man.

There wasn't much to say, the young man thought. There never is. People never truly understand. Willpower isn't about believing in your own convictions enough to back them up in public for no real reason. That isn't what it is about, really.

What is willpower then? - A question raised itself in his mind. And though the man was sad that he had lost his friend, he wasn't sad that he was weak. For he had will-power, lots of it. And what could be a greater feat of will-power than to let the woman of his affections for a good number of years hate him for a while, before she cooled down?

Willpower is about bearing things for people you love, even when those people do something you dislike. Fortitude is nothing but keeping things that hurt you, inside, not disturbing the quietitude of others engaged in important tasks.

Strength is when you can afford to bear not using it when you know you can make things go away just with a little effort. That much-cliched virtue, stoicism, is nothing but a paragon of solid and iron-bellied will, that allows you control over that most flighty of human traits - emotion.

So he said nothing, as he never did. Love is letting live, after all, even if noone ever understood.


***

Was he stupid? Was he heroic? What do we know. And who are we to critique? Things, people, hearts, passions, all are inconstant. Love is the only thing that is constant. And that is why true love is based on communication, understanding, and respect. Oh, and space, and accomodation of the occaasional bout of quirkiness or ego. :)

But then again, who am I to know? or to critique? I'm just a guy.

Atlas Shuddered!

All the men who have vanished, the men you hated, yet dreaded to lose, it is I who have taken them away from you. Do not attempt to find us. We do not choose to be found. Do not cry that it is our duty to serve you. We do not recognize such duty. Do not cry that you need us. We do not consider need a claim. Do not cry that you own us. You don't. Do not beg us to return. We are on strike, we, the men of the mind.

John Galt, Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand.



Just HAD to put it up here. I love this book, and this quote.


So, who is John Galt?

random thoughts

Relationships are like laptop batteries. They

need recharging every so often. Sometimes,

when you draw on the relationship on times

of need, the relationship needs to be

recharged a lot, for a long time.

The best part is, again like a laptop battery,

is that if you look for the best deal, you will

probably end up never finding the ideal one

for you. And eventually, if you forget about

the battery for a while, and concentrate on

the other aspects of a laptop (meaning here

the other aspects of life, sans relationships),

you will end up with a laptop that has a

great battery too!




***


Seek, and you will find, says the Bible. I

sought not, and found what I could never

have searched for.




***


What is luck? Good fortune is often called as

a perhaps coincidental accumulation of

favourable odds on one side of an equation.

So how can a guy sometimes get so lucky?

Life was hell before, and is better than

heaven, as it seems now - What made the

difference? How did this chap get so luck?

I'll never know, but I look not a gift horse in

the mouth.




***


Speaking of horses, I was thinking about the

Roman legions. They have been called one of

the best organized fighting forces in recorded

history. But what of Sparta? I did see 300,

but I'd read of their feat a long time before

anyone ever thought of putting it to film.

What is that epitaph?


Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
that here obedient to their laws we lie.



***



To bite or not to bite is the question. What?

Bite the bullet. A lot of people talking about

marriage in the last few days. Great!

Wonderful! More parties for me!



***



I wonder, does Carlsberg need a poster-boy

for de-alcoholism? Hmmm, I've been told

today that I'm not bad at looks, even

potentially handsome. Heh. Heh.

Muahhaahaahaaahaa.




***

Women's Lib we say. Pro-depressed caste Reservation we clamour.

Pro-social-so-called-reform they demand. Assorted Bollocks, I declare.


Its the single Indian male in the middle class that needs the most

support from society. We alienate the very

segment that will form the basis of the

collectivised social empathic reservoir of the

future.



Put down unemployment! There are an

increasing number of very deserving jobless

who can not even get to the interview stage,

because they cannot fulfil the increasingly

ridiculous requirements imposed by the

growing population and pressure on

selections.



Earlier, heck, even till a few years ago, there

was usually a CHOICE in terms of careers. But

today your career is more or less decided on

what marks you get through high school, as

that determines the subjects, section,

teachers, etc that you are assigned in school,

which in turn affects how you get through

college, and how you get into professional

life. Which in turn affects how high you can

reach to, never once looking at what you might be good at, what you might be happy doing.


I want to play the guitar and read novels for a living.





***



Ah... my back is sore, and that tailbone is acting up. going to sleep....xzzzzz