Restless Randomness

Ages of wisdom have been passed through books and to be very frank, if you are like me, you'll rush to find solace and peace in them, every time your mind and heart conspire to incite some unwanted or wanted feelings within you. That, in very turbulent times, especially related to very intense emotions (and you know them, don't you?), even the best of Shakespeare's or the surrealism of Haru Murakami can't even rescue me, is another story altogether. That is where the influence of books cease to exist.

The modus operandi of our brain and heart is technologically advanced to such a level that they can, for sure, make us laugh and cry, in some of the weirdest and even serious moments. Often, I think, handling the toughest emotions (if at all, you encounter them) is most respectfully done by - a) calling your dearest friend; b) calling your dearest friend again. I mean, even if you hit the gym, read a book or jump from a cliff, there is something divine-ly psycho-therapeutic about talking to a very close friend, especially a childhood friend that makes things simpler.

Nevertheless, books still stand apart when it comes to escaping this cruel world (melodrama works sometimes, at least to make people laugh). So, any mortal place with shelves of books, heaps of magazines (old or new doesn't matter) can work for me, as long as I have access to food, oxygen and a permission to attend the nature's call. Do I sound like the young lawyer of Anton Chekhov's story, 'The Bet', in which the zealous young lawyer agreed to stay in solitary confinement for fifteen years, on a bet of two million dollars to an enthusiastic banker? Well, I don't. I'm not that crazy, you know. If books don't rescue me, I try to get engaged in some other pursuits. That is a safe option at least.

On a few occasions, I tried to befriend alcohol, in what is generally accepted to be a social norm that it cures some mental worries. Thankfully, alcohol hasn't given me any answers till date, and so my ephemeral friendship with her ended quite romantically, just after a few dates. No sleepovers. No hangovers. Books are also sources of some of the finest quotes. I tried to collect some of them to see what I can learn from them. Have a look. Hope you also find them useful or confusing.

So, here I begin with a quote from Gilda Radner, an American comedian and actress,

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
Delicious Ambiguity."

This is the final nail in any coffin of emotional upheaval. Don't you agree? A direct 100 ton hammer grills the nail and the coffin is sealed. Emotions stabilize. Trance. Peace. She is just so succinct in these lines. Everything can be answered by this quote, to say the least.

"The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive." ~ John Green, Looking for Alaska

The recent 'Unhate campaign' should have used this line to spread the message of love and peace. No wonder the world needs this lesson more than ever.

"Live to the point of tears." ~ Albert Camus

We run from pain. But most of the beautiful things in our life are going to be painful, at some point of time. We live with them nevertheless because, living to the point of tears has something deeply liberating. It makes us real human beings. Sensitive. Living truly.

"Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could." ~ Louise Erdrich, The Painted Drum

Man, she seems to be quite right. Don't you think? Does anything need to be elaborated about the above iconic statements. So true.

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." ~ George Bernard Shaw

Now that's an important reminder on making mistakes and not fretting too much about them. Solace for me, who happens to make many of them in life, now and then.

"These woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep." ~ Robert Frost

The most famous quote ever, that sums up our lives. A perfect philosophy to bank upon, meditate and live.

"If you can't change your fate, change your attitude." ~ Amy Tan

Shortest best line ever said, as far as I can interpret it. It takes some real inner drive though to really act on that one lesson. But it is worth living. Or maybe, we don't have a choice but to change our attitude, if we don't want to be lost.

"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love." ~ Neil Gaiman

Well, you can't say "it's not so", after reading the above quote. Neil Gaiman, I think has said what possibly is exceptionally true for that thing called love. I totally agree with Neil. Love does take hostages.

Here are some other quotes to ponder...

"It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." ~ George S. Patton

And here's a really good one,

"Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, 'Where have I gone wrong'. Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night." ~ Charles M. Schulz

So these are just a few quotes that really make me think, wow, these guys have something really concrete to say. I know the list of awesome quotes is countless but I just chose few of them that are my personal favorites. As I conclude, I want to share a line that I wrote a few days ago, in some moments of poetic high (without any alcohol intake, though),

Pain experienced totally leads to tranquility and forgiveness. Pain unlived is a chaos...

What do you think about it?...

Wishing all the readers a very happy new year....2012 we are ready to face you!