The sculpture- Construction apace!

I would like to dedicate this blog to Shweta. During the course of a conversation with her, I thought of some of the thoughts here. Thoughts on these lines or profundity have been scarce of late and I thank her for giving me an opportunity to think such in answer to confusions or in proposing further confusions in the confunded mind on another.

Q: What does a relation mean to you?
A: Honestly, I dont know. I feel a certain way about people I meet. There is no form or shape to the feeling. It is there- how, why or what is a pointless question. I feel all the quantifications and qualifications of how you think of a person or a thing is over rated. In the end, it is always about oneself regardless of what you consider of the other person.

Q: There is absolutely no reason for a 'no' to a relation. Is there a reason for a 'yes'?
A: Everytime you search for a reason for something, you are letting go of instinct and searching for logic. Instincts are powerful and indicate the way you want to act momentarily. It may be right or wrong. Regardless, searching for logic is stepping back and viewing the situation from an observation platform. So, when a person asks you to reason out emotions, stepping back on an emotional scale is impossible. You are intricately interwoven in the situation. Removing yourself from an emotional situation is what the yogis try to do and achieving it takes more than the momentary loss of consciousness and conscience. So if there is no reason for a 'no' there need not be a reason for a 'yes'- they are mutually exclusive when it comes to interpersonal relations. 'No' or 'Yes' are a matter of instinct!. Do what you feel.

Q: Can this work if two people do not meet on a common ground and find meaning between the two of them?
A: When you have a block of wood in front of you, and you want to create a meaningful sculpture out of it, there are two things you can do.
1) Decide on what the sculpture should mean to you and design a shape according to your idea. Chisel away at the block of wood to acheive the shape. In short, decide what the relation means to you before you get into it.
2) Start chiselling away at the piece of wood with a shape in mind. Midway, realise that there is more you would like to portray in the wood and change your idea around it. In short, there are always curve balls that you dont read in life, bend to them, glance them away, and confer/ realise a meaning in the shape in front of you.

If there is anything I have done properly in life, it is the second option- Finding a meaning or purpose in the shapes and forms of life at every turn and corner.

It is a sculpture that I am going to start. I do not have a defined idea in mind. But, at the end I am sure I will find a meaning in it, as I have always done so far. Here is where I raise a cup of coffee at the shop and toast to life ahead and the sculpture, whose construction is apace!

Truth

I dedicate this blog to Krithika Venkatraman, with whom during the course of a particularly long conversation, it dawned on me that truth is the convergence of reality, narration and perception.

The only person who can ever know the complete truth and nothing but the truth has to be the person(s) who experienced an event. When he narrates it, he tells his version of the event or what he wants to talk about the event. Perception of the listener relies on the accuracy of the narration, willingness of the narrator to tell everything, the neutrality of narration and finally the idea that he wants to leave the listener with.

Why is it necessary to make this distinction? I feel we go through multiple incidents and listen to multiple incidents, taking sides based on what we hear or what we want to believe. There is something to be said for " Don't judge until you put yourself in the other person's shoes". True, everyone is entitled to judgements and opinions and their own thoughts, but let it not be the be- all, end- all decision in classifying a personality. After all, what you heard was what he told you about what happened.

Every coin has two sides and when you want to know the coin in its entirety, you flip it back and forth and also look at its sides. Likewise, every situation has multiple views and even further views that are blurred by narration and perception and repeat- narrations. It is extremely intriguing, that we could complicate the simple concept of truth into multiple dimensions. How do we ensure that truth is passed in its entirety? Is it possible at all?.

Since the reason for communication is to inform others of our views, perceptions and experiences, it turns out that the absolute truth is not passed to the receptive ears. It is colored by what we believe, how we reacted, and what part of our reaction/ experience that we want to portray. Sadly, truth is not what you believe it is. It is one dimension or a view of the absolute truth that we hear. What you see, you can believe and what you hear, take it with a tad bit of salt.