"There seemed to him to be something tragic in a friendship so coloured by romance."

- Oscar Wilde, The Picture Of Dorian Gray

The Biology Of Love?

Very interesting video by Helen Fischer...

http://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_tells_us_why_we_love_cheat.html

The seasons of my life

Winter greeted me as soon as I breathed my first
I cried my lungs out coz I missed being warm
In my ma's belly where I had stayed long
I was pushed out in the cold to say hello to the world.

Years went by and I met sweet spring
She was lovely, fresh, colorful and pleasing
I was besotted by her beauty and the promise of tomorrow
But she left me as quickly as she had found me.

Then I found love in summer
She was hot like the sun and mysterious like the sea
I learnt from her to love and to live
Amongst the sand-n-sun, I had found my summer to remember.

I am now one with the fall
Calm and quiet and introspective
Soon the winter will engulf me again
I will go to where I came from
But I  will carry with me memories of my seasons.

What are WE thinking? (About 'What Animals Think')

The TIME magazine (Aug 16, 2010 issue) recently published an article ('What Animals Think'), which talked about how 'studies' have 'now' shown that animals do have a conscience after all. All these studies (after all this time) are still not sure if smaller brained animals have a conscience (example, a spider they claim may just be breathing, reproducing, eating and surviving, without being much conscientious about its surrounding, as it has a small brain). But bigger animals might be smarter than we think.   

The article was no doubt in good taste. But it did not state anything we don't already know. Are there still people ignorant enough to believe that humans are the only ones with a conscience? (If you ask me, I'll say everything but humans have a conscience. Didn't we sell ours to the devil ages back?)

Spend ten minutes with a dog and you'll know he not only feels, he also understands you, much before you can fathom how he could possibly trust you so easily and completely. It really shouldn't take us 'studies' to prove animals think and feel too. That only goes to show our inefficiency in understanding the world around us. 

I am training to be a volunteer at an animal shelter near my town. I recently attended a 'cat orientation' where they taught us basic cat handling techniques. I have never interacted with a cat before and was a little skeptical if I will be able to do this. They introduced us to about 8-10 cats who were waiting to be adopted out of the shelter. Even though I'm a cat novice, it took me minutes to realize that each cat had a personality of its own. While one preferred being petted, another liked to be left alone. If some cats preferred being fed by you, others found a way to convey they were quite content with their morning feed; thank you. Some loved being stroked on their back, while others loved to play scratch. The only common trait was that they were all eager to accept you, and be accepted by you. Without intelligence and the ability to choose, how would each cat be so unique? 

I believe each living thing has intelligence. Perhaps the bigger-brained ones find a way to convey their personalities to us. How can survival instinct exist without a basic level of brain work? I have seen animals being capable of love, forgiveness, companionship, fear, grief, joy, anger, heck- even jealousy. 

To all those needing a study to prove animals can think, you're wasting time trying to prove the obvious.    

Music To The Ears

The one thing that impresses me the most is an artist/group of artists that consistently come up with excellent work. The world of music is especially interspersed with one-hit-wonders. But Coldplay has never disappointed me. Their melodies are simple, yet soulful. Do take a listen to this favorite of mine (amongst many others by them). I especially like this video too, just for its simplicity. Four men making good music in an empty hall. 
"How long must you wait for it? Please come back and sing to me"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEoHFzEmld0
 

Longing

When was I free of your love?
That can never be...
You have bound me for life and beyond
I am forever a captive of your sweet memory.

You think I look to distance myself from you
But only just see, my love
It is this distance that will bring us closer
For when I long for you and you for me,
We will spend each moment in desire
And will live in the other's memory
Our union will thus be complete, for all eternity.

About a dream

Last night I dreamt a bizarre dream yet again. Most of my dreams (I’m sure like all others’) make no sense in structure. A lot of my dreams are linked to fear. Fear of falling, fear of not being prepared for an important exam, sometimes even fear of a tiger attacking me (sounds hilarious right now, but scares the **** out of me!)

Last night’s dream was similar and yet novel. I will narrate from the hazy details that I still remember. I was frantically searching for something, some place…I was kind of lost. I was by myself and though there were people around me (strangers), I did not ask anyone for help. I somehow managed to climb a long, mysterious and very inviting staircase, only to find myself standing on the final stair, and looking at an empty space before me. There were no walls on the sides to provide security and balance, only emptiness and me standing on a final stair. Before me was the deepest chasm the mind can imagine. I was at a dizzying height, just a step away from falling off into never-never-land.

I remember the feeling of vertigo very clearly. I remember feeling scared to death and immobilized. I felt that if I moved even an inch, I would lose balance and fall off. I closed my eyes in helplessness. It is usually at such moments that I wake up suddenly from sleep. But this time it was not to be. As I closed my eyes, a stranger (one of those people from the world back down) comes to my rescue. He picks me up in his arms and carries me to safety. (This may sound romantic and all, but that’s not how it really was in the dream). It was really about me being in trouble and someone saving me. This savior was unknown to me, and yet his presence was familiar. I remember feeling his presence even as I started taking the first step of that frightful staircase. He was standing there noticing me. I had paid him no heed. As eerily as it began, the dream ended as I was being brought down to safety.

Maybe this stranger knew what trouble was lurking ahead and was watching over me? Maybe he was trying to warn me and I did not understand him? Maybe he intentionally meant for me to take that staircase as he wanted me to learn a lesson? Maybe he was the inventor of this staircase?

I’d love to attach an interpretation to this dream. It would be very exciting and intriguing to do that. But it will not lead me anywhere. I will be left with a senseless dream and lots of open questions. I’d rather just treat this as what it is: a dream.