SOULTales - Character Strengths, Stories & Vocabulary

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Love is in the Air

time flies on wings of responsibility
as love cocoons us, in its warm folds of unconditional acceptance.

For sure, Love is in the air.

Valentine's Day: February 14th, and much hoo haa.

Moral Police play politics and beat the Indian public for aping Western culture.

Sure are we not aping in every way?

We wear clothes that is by far more western than eastern, we eat food, play games, have hobbies, entertain in a very Western way. many, many ways that the Western world has entered our existence.

Is any thing wrong?

Moralistic attitude here is so redundant. As we expose ourselves to other cultures, especially American way of life, we will be influenced and we will necessarily infuse many of those ways into our lives.

Yet, if you have read Freakonomics, you will realise, that common place notions about changes in society is all a they state:
It was expected that crime rates in the US will increase dramatically in the year 2000, but...they found a drastic fall...

So also I believe, just because people are adopting and celebrating various events/days like Valentines, does not mean we will lose our own Indian culture.

When you look at it in one way...yes...there have been many such festivals/ events in India that have lost its value/ significance over the centuries... yet they have been replaced by other, more contemporary rituals/ celebrations.

Sati and Child Marriage were the norm...but now they are punishable offences...

That's why I can't understand what these moral polices' are harping about...
If the message behind such rituals/ celebrations is love and happiness, and in no way does it cause physical harm to another human. Then what's your problem?? may say obscenity, PDA, misuse.

Educate, inform, be open.

Do you know the story behind Valentine's day?

The story goes that the King banned marriages as he felt married men refused to enrol in the army. So St. Valentine, a priest, clandestinely married youngsters who so desired. He was caught and thrown into jail. Yet through out his time in jail, young men and women brought him flowers and chocolates to acknowledge the service he had done for them and he even wrote to the Jailer's daughter, letters that upheld the love that is felt by married people. He was killed/ hanged on Feb 14th.

Though we accept this love is meant for couples, love is intrinsic to any relationship, and let us acknowledge that on this day.

Don't be afraid to say you love, don't be afraid to feel love, don't be afraid to express love!!

Friday, February 11, 2011

everything and nothing

fire and freeze
calm and chaos
still and turbid
all in one
one in all
together it blends into
a solution of emotions
an amalgam of nature
a being of immense dichotomy
a human.

The fire within me belies the freeze without.
The chaos within me contradicts the calm without.
The turbidity and murkiness inside me is deeper than the stillness outside.

I am real and unreal at the same time.
all and none
up and down
inside out
Every thing and nothing.