CREPUSCULAR UPLIFTMENT

I Stand At The Foot Of The Hills,

Sapped, Drenched, Hungry, Full Of Despair, 

Gazing Dis-spiritedly At The Summit,

And The Vast Rocky Expanse Leading Up To It.

But Soon As The Orange Sun Emerges,

From Behind The Imposing Peaks Of Green,

And Begins To Bathe The Azure Sky,

In Hues of Orange, Purple and Gold.

   

And As The Sun's Shiny Gilded Rays,

Begin To Seep In Through Slits And Crevices,

Created By The Lazy Lifting,

Of The Woollen Blanket From The Luscious Lofty Hills.

I Wait For 'God's Fingers'

To Gently Cast An Even Sheet Over Me,

And I Wait For The Warmth Of Those Heavenly Rays,

To Dry Out, Renew And Rekindle My Sappy Spirit.

Crepuscular Rays: Rays of sunlight that appear to radiate from the point in the sky where the sun is located, especially those that stream through gaps in clouds or between other objects.

Please feel free to leave comments, whether or not you liked what you read. It's a great way to start a conversation or a dialogue. I might be pretty boring in real life, but I promise I'm a lot more fun in this avatar.

A big thank you to Vidya Nidhi from Bangalore for allowing me to use this wonderful image clicked by her. The photo of Crepuscular Rays was clicked in Munnar, Kerala. Vidya Nidhi is pursuing a Masters' Degree in Psychology at Montfort college, Bangalore. She loves traveling, cooking, and reading. She attributes her interest in psychology to her curious nature. Her Instagram URL is www.instagram.com/vidya.nidhi

I would also like to take this opportunity to share something with you. I have nominated my blog for IndiBlogger's Indian Blogger Awards 2017. I have nominated my blog for 5 award categories, namely Humour, Memoirs, Short Stories, Poetry and Self Improvement. Although the determination of award winners of blogs will largely depend on evaluation by an esteemed jury, about 20% of the scoring will be based on testimonials sent by readers/fans. So if you've ever liked what you've read from my blog, now's the time to show it some love by clicking the link https://www.indiblogger.in/iba/2017/entry/7965 and leaving a testimonial/comment.

You will be able to leave your comment while being logged into FB. Your comments are important to help me pull off a win, or maybe come close. Most importantly, it would let me know where I stand.

Cheers!

WHY RULES ARE IMPORTANT

Imagine a scenario - You are a young strapping 18 year old youngster, lively and bubbling with energy, and you are standing in a queue to buy tickets for a movie. The movie is extremely popular, and all of your friends have watched it. But you haven't watched it yet, and because of a hectic schedule, today's the only day you can think of watching the movie. But there's a problem - tickets are getting sold super fast, the queue is long, and you're almost at the tail of this queue. But hey, heroes find solutions, don't they? The rules say that you need to be in queue, but winners "bend the rules". So you decide to break the queue, manipulate your way ahead, and get hold of your ticket. You save the day.

Let's change your circumstances a wee bit now. Imagine yourself now as a young man who's physically handicapped, or a man who has brought along his 4-year old kid, or a pregnant lady, or a senior citizen. For all practical purposes, you now prefer to follow the rules and get into the queue. Now imagine a youngster who's standing right behind you trying to break the queue and get ahead of you. How would you react to that?

Chances are you're not going to like it a wee bit. In fact, you might even consider giving the young brat a piece of your mind.

Here's the funny thing about rules - as much as you'd want to be able to do whatever you wanted to do and whenever you wanted to do it, without being bound by rules, you wouldn't want the same absence of rules to apply to everyone else. The reason is simple - it's because of the human need for self-preservation and security.

Here are some interesting things about rules:-

Rules ensure a great deal of consistency. Consistency helps in setting expectations for ourselves and for those around us. In civil society, for instance, we know that if we want to be treated with respect and dignity, we will need to behave ourselves and maintain good conduct, We know that we can not invade others' private spaces and properties - we can not barge into someone's house and grab stuff from their refrigerators, no matter how hungry we might be. We could, however, request for help and assistance; that would be acceptable behaviour. This is what differentiates us from other species. Without any sense of consistency in terms of behaviours and responses to behaviours, we'd all be savages.

Rules foster a sense of trust and security. In the absence of rules, everything in the world would be grabbed and controlled by those who were strong, whether physically or economically; the weak would end up with absolutely nothing. Rules ensure protection for the weak. This is why the Human Race has witnessed the emergence and spread of so many great religions and dogmas over the ages. Religions and their laws were introduced to lay down a set of rules and instil a fear of a higher superior power, who would be the supreme authority. As time progressed, religions would eventually come to be replaced by constitutions, rules, and statutes. Without these in place, society would be rife with injustice and exploitation of the weak.

Rules reduce chaos. Imagine not having traffic rules. Imagine not having queues. Or maybe absence of rules pertaining to celebrations in public spaces. The results would be chaotic, and maybe even dangerous, right? Rules help keep chaotic situations and potential dangers at bay.

SIX-STRING INSPIRATIONS

I've always been a lover of music. Wide exposure (especially through the Internet) has made me an avid fan of music cutting across genres, ranging from 'Bollywood' music, Ghazals, Sufiana, Hindustani Classical music to Classic Rock and Heavy Metal. Although listening to music topped my personal list of stress-busters, learning the guitar was a thought that always fascinated me since my teenage days. I would sometimes borrow my sister's old guitar to try my hand. and slowly and patiently managed to work my way through the basics. So imagine my delight when my sister and brother-in-law gifted me a brand new acoustic guitar on my birthday early this year.

Learning to play the guitar was an attempt to go beyond merely listening to music to overcome stress. Almost a year into the journey, I can proudly say that I have come a long way. Apart from the musical bliss, however, learning to play the guitar has taught me a few 'Lessons of Life'.

Lessons learnt from learning to play the Guitar:-

1. No Pain, No Gain: Bruised and blistered finger-tips can deter many beginners early on. But it is important to carry on. Eventually, the calluses formed on the fingertips through repeated friction help desensitise guitarists from the pain, and the guitar-playing only gets better. In life as well, perseverance pays off in the long run.


2. Fear Hinders Progress: Early on, I purchased a Capo thinking it would help me avoid barre chords. I even came up with a phrase of my own 'When Life Gives You Barre Chords, Put A Capo On It'. However, I eventually realised that avoiding barre chords led to heavy restrictions on my learning. After mastering the basic open chords, I realised I couldn't play beyond a few simple songs only because I did not know have to play barre chords. When I realised how much of an obstacle it had become, I finally decided to let go of my fear and ditch the Capo. Although it was painful and extremely frustrating in the beginning, it opened up a whole new world for me in my journey as a guitarist. In life as well, one must learn to let go of fear and take a leap of faith. You might end up failing, but at least you moved.


3. It's okay to ask for help: Although I did not take help from a personal guitar coach, I did not hesitate to look up tutorial videos on YouTube or even consult friends for help with strumming patterns and chord progressions. Seeking help does not amount to self-doubt and does not mean admitting that you are weak; it simply means you want to improve.


4. It is never too late to learn: Most of the world-renowned guitarists started off pretty early, with an average age of 15 being the latest (Judas Priest's Glenn Tipton apparently started out at age 21). Although I'm nowhere in the A-league of guitarists, I'm not the only one to have decided to learn to play the guitar after crossing the age of 30. It is never too late to start learning; learning can start at any time and can go on till a person's final breath.


5. Understanding 'why' can make life easier: There is logic and science behind the sounds a guitar makes - string combinations, string tension, muting effect, et al. Likewise, people and things behave in a certain manner for a plethora of underlying reasons. Understand this helps us gain wonderful perspectives and insights about people and about life at large.


6. Innate talent can be an advantage: Like many others, I was fortunate to have an innate ear for music. I realised I had the advantage of identifying right notes from flawed ones, and this held me in good stead. There is nothing to be guilty about using your innate talent to your advantage. In fact, not putting your talents to good use is foolish.


7. Talent without hard work does not guarantee success: You might be a naturally gifted musician at heart, endowed with all the flair and brilliance that the best guitarists possess. But if you do not work hard at sharpening your skills, you will not progress beyond a certain level.


8. Passion can be a form of escapism: Often, the love for playing guitar can transcend the passion for music; it could reflect escapism or a filler to a void in a person's life, or perhaps something to boost a person's sagging self-image. It is okay to pursue something passionately to fill a void, but one must be careful to be able to draw the limits so as to not let his/her alternate life take control of conventional life.


9. Perfect string + Bad Tuning = Noise: A perfect guitar string that is tuned badly can ruin a musical performance, even though the string is not inherently flawed. Likewise, most people are inherently nice, but could come across as repulsive simply because of behaviour spawned by bad experiences.


10. It is hard to hold onto a habit that you don't enjoy: It is not unusual to hear about people who initially take to the guitar with full enthusiasm, but eventually the interest fizzes out. The same can be said about gymming, and about hobbies. If you decide to pursue something that you do not enjoy, and that you are not really passionate about, you are bound to end it sooner or later.