Monday, October 19, 2009

Acceptance? Yeah right.

Look at her arrogance. She talks as though she has mastered the art of acceptance. She seems to portray through her writing that whatever is thrown at her – any new development that she doesn't want, any change that she has been dreading – whatever it is, she’ll get through it without too many bruises or scars. She says that it is okay- she smiles and consoles the people who feel bad for her, telling them that her life is going to be okay after all. Looks like she’s got a heart of steel or rock or whatever that never breaks. She’s got to be that strong, how can she be okay with her life otherwise? Going on as though nothing is ever wrong, as though nothing is ever too big to not shrug away casually like a feather resting on her shoulder. She takes whatever the world gives her, smiling - with a clenched fist and through gritted teeth, but she takes it nevertheless.
For once, though, she finds that she is lost. During all those years of constant endurance – of pain, misery, disappointments, betrayal – not once did she feel that she would falter from what she thought was her way of living. Not once did she imagine that she would come to a stage where everything does seem as gloomy as many people paint it. She always looked at life as something that needed constant improvement, something that was worth fighting for, and something that did not have the time to give to heartbreaks and anguish. Now she finds herself questioning her ability to get over a minor setback. Her life couldn’t be better, one would say. She’s got everything that few people can only dream of at this stage. Supportive parents, academic life going places -what more does she want? She must be arrogant to assume that her life is miserable. What if she’s at a stage where she’s not able to cherish what she has? She feels empty and saturated at the same time. She feels like she doesn’t have anything or anybody to fall back on, and yet she’s saturated with all the attention that is being showered on her for various reasons. Saturated with all the premature experiences she has gathered, not regretting any of them, but saturated.
She wants to go back in time. She almost repents having spoken about acceptance being the only way to get over change. She doesn’t know what she wants to go back to, though. There are many memories she would like to relive just for a moment, knowing that she had to give it up someday. Isn’t that much better than suddenly finding yourself in a situation where you can’t go back anymore? She knows what she wants. She doesn’t want anything to last indefinitely. She knows that’s asking for too much and she doesn’t believe in that anyway. But right now, in this moment of weakness that doesn’t come to her very often, she wants to go back in time and treasure the moment that she wants, understanding the true meaning of what it is to live that moment like it will never be hers again. She wants to consciously interpret the meaning of existence, though just for a moment. She knows this won’t last. She knows that when she reads this again she might consider herself stupid and shrug it away like she does so many other emotionally disturbing things. But for now, she knows what it is to lose something and feel for it. To feel the loss, to appreciate its beauty when it was there, to appreciate the pain it causes when it is gone.

Acceptance

How does one cope with change? When something changes to make things better, everybody is happy. It takes time to get used to it, but nobody complains. However, when things change for the worse - when you lose somebody or you give up something you don't want to, it hurts. To say it hurts is a very crude form of trying to put into words the oscillations in emotions one goes through when adapting to sudden change.
I started reading a book titled "When everything changes, change everything". The title clearly indicates the kind of method suggested to get past a sudden change - move away from what happened and change everything around you. I do not believe in that, and I couldn't continue reading the book, but it triggered off a stream of thoughts on how one does actually deal with change. Does one read such "motivational books"? Or does one go on a holiday and look for better things? Quit one's job and move to a different place?
To change everything when everything changes. Is it worth it? If you lose somebody and you can't stop feeling miserable when something reminds you of it, does it mean you move away? Or destroy those memories, just to move on? Aren't the memories worth more than the treatment you give it? It's worth all that and more, and the worst part is - you know it. Moving to a different place or making youself busier than usual might offer temporary help, might help you forget things till you cross the stage of utter shock and disbelief, but trust me, from personal experience I say that it doesn't work that way all the time. Not if you actually do want to move on and be happy again.
The only way to truly get over something depressing is to accept the situation for what it is. Only when you let go of the restraints that hold you on to a life that no longer belongs to you will you be happy again. Change is necessary, change is the only thing that remains constant, like a lot of famous people claim. But what is most important is how you deal with change. There may be times when you feel lonely though you're surrounded by swarms of people, times when you cling on to somebody you barely know because you're scared to be alone. In the end, what matters is that you get there, not how you do. And when you do, you'll be a stronger person and won't regret the change. You'll embrace it and in a way thank it for making you a stronger person.

Something that was.

Nothing stays forever
hold on to what you have while it lasts
for tomorrow it might be gone

Hold it close
wish for another day
but let it go when it should go away

Memories left behind
a trace of what was the past
a past that will never happen again

A happy time
brings tears when it's gone
a sad recollection of what is no more yours

Time changes everything
what if you don't want it to?
sometimes some time is all you need to move on

All you need
but what about all you want?
when what you want is not what you need to get better

Want for worse?
want for promises to remain unbroken
things to fall in place, not into pieces

Just another day
searching for what you missed
knowing it's not yours to look for anymore.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

It must have been..

Lay a whisper on my pillow
Leave the winter on the ground
I wake up lonely, is there a silence
In the bedroom and all around

Touch me now, I close my eyes
And dream away...

It must have been love, but it's over now
It must have been good, but I lost it somehow
It must have been love, but it's over now
From the moment we touched till the time had run out

Make believing we're together
That I'm sheltered by your heart
But in and outside I turn to water
Like a teardrop in your palm

And it's a hard winter's day
I dream away...

It must have been love, but it's over now
It was all that I wanted, now I'm living without
It must have been love, but it's over now
It's where the water flows, it's where the wind blows

It must have been love, but it's over now
It must have been good, but I lost it somehow
It must have been love, but it's over now
From the moment we touched till the time had run out

P.S - This song reminds me of the perfect setting in which I heard it the last time. Rooftop facing the river, a slight drizzle and a sizzler in the rain, the wind blowing on my face, dim candles, not too crowded a place. There was romance in the air but none in my heart. It was one of the most perfect moments of my life, and I have no wish to recreate it or relive it.