Idea!!!

X: Dude listen, I have this great business idea
Y: What is it?
X: Let us open this huge furniture store, that displays fully built furniture
Y: And if the customers like something, we sell them the furniture?
X: No, we are going to sell them boxes, that contain un assembled parts of furniture
Y: Okay, so if they like something we bring them the boxes that contain parts and sell them?
X: No they get to look up the location of those boxes and find them in the warehouse
Y: Oh, So we will ship those boxes for free once they buy?
X: No, No customers are responsible for taking their boxes home or we charge heavy fee for shipping
Y: So, we help them take those boxes from billing and load them up in their vehicles
X: No way! The customers do it themselves
Y: And we send professionals to their homes, to assemble the furniture?
X: No, No, No!! They will assemble their own furniture
y: Okay, so we charge the customers very less for this furniture?
X: Hahahah, God No!!
Y: SO you say that in this store, the customers will see built furniture
X: yes!
Y: They find the boxes containing un assembled parts of furniture in the warehouse
X: yes!!
Y: They take those boxes,load them in their vehicles
X: Yes yes!!
Y: They take it home and spend hours assembling it themselves
X: You got it, and we don't even give them spare screws or bolts or nuts!!
Y: and we will charge them the same price as fully built furniture
X: Ta Daa!!!
Y: Why would anyone come to a store like that?
X: Ummm, well.. the store will have a restaurant inside that serves meatballs
Y: Furniture Store? Serves meatballs?
X: Yes!!
Y: Dude this the worst business idea ever, this doesn't even classify as an idea, this is an ikea at best.
X: Yes!! Yes!! Dude you are a genius,that will be the name of the store... "IKEA"

Repeat after me

1. Not everybody is like me or thinks like me
2. This world is full of selfish, shallow and mean people who fail to think beyond their means
3. Often they think their perspective is right
4. No matter how much I argue they will stick to their perspective
5. Anything else I offer will be met with bitterness and hostility
6. People care more about how someone's behavior affects them and their lives, rather than trying to understand that someone, or put themselves in that someone's shoes, slippers or sandals
7. People are often narrow minded and fail to see a broader view of the world around them
8. People will bring someone down to their level when they fail to understand, rather than rising up
9. No matter how deep I dig, shit is shit
10. When I ask a grumpy, cynical, middle aged sociopath for his opinion, I will get a list like this

Deconstructing "Tale of Two Wolves"

There is an old Cherokee tale about two wolves. 

One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, “my son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, apathy and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.” The grandson though about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “the one that you feed.”

When I first read that quote, I was amazed by the truth and simplicity of it. I am sure almost everybody would agree to the fact that there is a constant battle going on between good and evil and it is also logical that the wolf you feed is the wolf that wins. My train of thought doesn't stop there though.

Superficially this makes sense, but let us dig a little deep. 

We are talking about two metaphorical wolves representing traits in a human being battling each other constantly. Consider a scenario where a person is constantly feeding the good wolf. As time passes, the good wolf  is well nourished and healthy while the bad wolf is starving and slowly deteriorating. This kind of situation will in turn make the bad wolf more savage, more aggressive and desperate to lash out and strike more lethally than before, for its own survival. There is every chance during this period of time, the bad wolf might gain a temporary advantage and mortally wound the good wolf if not kill it entirely. 

If the situation continues, the bad wolf will get weaker, losing the battle all the time and eventually starve to death, and the good wolf triumphs forever, in an ideal world. I guess the question here would be "Will the good wolf let the bad wolf starve and die?". If you think about it, the good wolf represents love, compassion, empathy, kindness, hope etc., and these will not allow the other wolf to die, no matter how bad. I would think that the purpose of battle for the good wolf is to uphold the virtues it represents rather than defeating the bad wolf or even letting it die. If the Good wolf lets the Bad wolf starve, suffer and die, it would have failed to uphold the virtues of compassion, empathy, and love. If that happens, will the Good wolf still be considered Good? 

Another train of thought is, how do you know which wolf you are feeding? In a world where everything is black and white, and there is a clear distinction between good and bad, it is easier to realize which wolf is being fed. In the world we live in, there are an infinite shades of grey between black and white, an no clear distinction between good and bad. There are very fundamental deeds that can be easily classified as good and bad. At the same time there are choices you make on a daily basis where good and bad are not easily distinguishable. In situations like these, the battles are intense and unknowingly you have fed the Bad wolf and helped it defeat the Good wolf.

A Promise To A Friend

During some aimless conversations (They are the best) with my friend, she mentioned that we should start posting in our blogs. She kept her end of the deal, but I slacked off. So, this is me keeping my end of the deal. This post is for her and it is going to be... about her. Where do I start, I think I will take inspiration from Lewis Carroll's, Alice in the Wonderland and "Begin at the Beginning..".

Well.. that picture says almost everything about her. A complete nut job, but then, I wouldn't want to be friends with any other, than this nut job. Why, you might ask, and I will answer. To understand that you should understand what she is to me. She is a reminder, of a friendship that spanned across generations. She is also a nag and an expert at it, and on multiple occasions, she nagged me until I came  out of my cave that I like to go into and brood. If I ever go to the remotest location on earth, away from everybody, and hide in a deep dark cave, I am pretty sure I will hear a  voice "Oye moddu, kya ho raha hai!!". She is stubborn, she refuses to give up on me even though, I gave up on everything in life.  She will stand by me no matter what, not because I asked, but because of the kind of friend she is.

Don't be fooled, she is not all sunshine and rainbows. She has her imperfections, annoyances, idiosyncrasies and those are what make her "Her", and not anybody else. If there is someone I would like to watch a sunset with, read a book, grow old, spend quality time, that will be her and nobody else. I can keep writing about her and this post will never end. So let me just say that, through everything in life, she has always been and will be my friend and I wouldn't have it any other way.