The Dude can be spotted in a few places. The Dude never falls ill, and neither is The Dude ever in a bad mood. The Dude’s room is in a mess, but The Dude can find everything he needs to. The Dude always looks spiffy, even if he does not wash his clothes; and when The Dude does wash his clothes, he never has a sock missing. The Dude never wakes up early, but The Dude is never late. The Dude never has to rely on public transport, and even if has to, he can catch the train just as it is leaving. The Dude rarely got caught in college; and even if he did, he always managed to avoid major trouble. Nobody dislikes The Dude; and even if they do, they forget about it pretty soon. Everyone laughs at the The Dude’s jokes. The Dude is always noticed at parties, and everyone thinks The Dude can dance well. When The Dude speaks, nobody is bored. The Dude always wins at poker and tennis. The Dude has a way with the ladies. The Dude is so cool that he the laws of thermodynamics do not hold wherever he goes. The Dude always has a retort/answer/witty remark. In fact, The Dude always has the last word or last laugh, or both.
Please report any sighting of The Dude in your neighborhood immediately to the nearest CCC (Coolness Control Center). We need to monitor The Dude and his activities, or else The Dude will strike without warning, leaving you dazed and confused with an infeariority complex (the condition where one feels that he or she is afraid of more things than The Dude is). If spotted, please do not attempt to reason or conduct conversation with The Dude, because he might just disappear after talking you into believing in WMDs (the Ways & Means of Dudeness). Leave the rest to DDD (Director of Dude Disposal). There is no reward for supplying information about The Dude and his movements—it is your responsibility as a citizen of this world to stop The Dude and ensure that things always appear impossibly difficult and complicated.
Save the environment: defeat The Dude.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Happiness versus Euphoria
Happiness or euphoria? It can be a tricky choice to make. I suspect that the role of this choice in shaping the complex contours of our lives is grossly underestimated. Rarely do Sunday columns or self-help books discuss this choice in detail.
To begin with, how do we define happiness or euphoria? They are states of being. Happiness and euphoria are so hopelessly subjective that it would make no sense to try and describe them here. But I’m sure that in our own way, in our own combination of people, places, objects, and emotions, we can define these things for ourselves.
What is required to make a choice is knowledge of the difference between the two—perhaps subjective as well, but here is my version of it.
Euphoria is more elusive. Happiness is easier to get. Euphoria is a result of something special, something rare and above average. Euphoria has its roots in special talent or sparkling intelligence; like when you listen to a brilliant piece of music or read a few words full of subtle wit. Euphoria is a buzz that goes through your head and tells you that life is worth living after all. Happiness is poor man’s euphoria. It may not be everywhere, but it is relatively cheap. I feel I have made a compromise when I am happy but not euphoric. In a world that seems to be going to pieces, happiness seems to be getting increasingly uncommon. In the end though, happiness feels rather mediocre.
But there is the dark side of the force. Euphoria is dangerous—its addictive—and the lack of euphoria can rightly be held responsible for the sharp sense of depression and futility that I am sure has stabbed each one of us at least once. This is perhaps the reason why more people seem to prefer being happy than chase after euphoria. The pursuit of happiness is a safe goal; the quest for euphoria is a risky proposition.
The choice that people make reflects in everything around us—in music, art, literature, cinema, and in people and their sense of humor. The lack of creativity or intelligence in so many things that we see is a result of people being lured by the low price tag and push-button effort that are characteristic of happiness.
What would happen if more people began to demand euphoria? What would happen if we raised the bar? My guess is we would have more suicides, more people on antidepressant drugs, art with more substance and creativity, and more intelligent humor as opposed to commercial wonders, prime-time television, and social networking.
Ultimately, it’s a choice.
To begin with, how do we define happiness or euphoria? They are states of being. Happiness and euphoria are so hopelessly subjective that it would make no sense to try and describe them here. But I’m sure that in our own way, in our own combination of people, places, objects, and emotions, we can define these things for ourselves.
What is required to make a choice is knowledge of the difference between the two—perhaps subjective as well, but here is my version of it.
Euphoria is more elusive. Happiness is easier to get. Euphoria is a result of something special, something rare and above average. Euphoria has its roots in special talent or sparkling intelligence; like when you listen to a brilliant piece of music or read a few words full of subtle wit. Euphoria is a buzz that goes through your head and tells you that life is worth living after all. Happiness is poor man’s euphoria. It may not be everywhere, but it is relatively cheap. I feel I have made a compromise when I am happy but not euphoric. In a world that seems to be going to pieces, happiness seems to be getting increasingly uncommon. In the end though, happiness feels rather mediocre.
But there is the dark side of the force. Euphoria is dangerous—its addictive—and the lack of euphoria can rightly be held responsible for the sharp sense of depression and futility that I am sure has stabbed each one of us at least once. This is perhaps the reason why more people seem to prefer being happy than chase after euphoria. The pursuit of happiness is a safe goal; the quest for euphoria is a risky proposition.
The choice that people make reflects in everything around us—in music, art, literature, cinema, and in people and their sense of humor. The lack of creativity or intelligence in so many things that we see is a result of people being lured by the low price tag and push-button effort that are characteristic of happiness.
What would happen if more people began to demand euphoria? What would happen if we raised the bar? My guess is we would have more suicides, more people on antidepressant drugs, art with more substance and creativity, and more intelligent humor as opposed to commercial wonders, prime-time television, and social networking.
Ultimately, it’s a choice.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The love of appreciation
People express themselves in many forms—some write poetry, some make music, some paint pictures; the list is endless. In fact, in daily life, people are always expressing their innermost desires and ambitions in some form or another even without their knowing it.
I have always wondered how much of the motivation for expression or creativity comes from the true love of expression itself and how much from the thirst for appreciation. Many of us would like to believe that the need for appreciation or fame is not the reason why we do what we do. We do what we do because we love doing those things. But there is always that little void, however small, inside us waiting, almost begging, to be filled with a little praise, approval, and perhaps even love. That little void is why musicians perform in front of audiences, why there are art galleries and not art warehouses, why I am writing this article on a blog instead of simply saving a copy of it for myself. It is unfortunate that there is this complex interplay between chemicals and electric impulses in our brain that is responsible for the dreadful currency called emotion; and sometimes, we are held hostage by the uncontrollable greed to make a profit in this currency.
Would we play music if we knew nobody is ever going to listen to us play? Would we paint if we knew nobody is going to look? Would we write if we knew nobody is going to read? Does there have to be an external reward associated with every pursuit?
My suspicion is that we are always on the lookout for some form of positive feedback. I have tried to kick the habit. But I always want to see eyes shine when I look into them, and I want to hear the thrill in the voice that speaks about me. And I am sure I am not the only one. This thirst for appreciation is self-destructive. Self-destructive because what is at the core of appreciation is an opinion, and opinions are quite often biased, skewed, or just plain blind. It seems too risky a proposition to surrender personal happiness to such a fair-weather-friend.
Eventually, we have the right to do what makes us happy and feel like there is a point in staying alive. But perhaps we are better off steering clear of the desire for external rewards.
Now, the hypocrite that I am, I post this on what is perhaps the most widely accessed medium in the world. It seems like there are still mountains to climb.
I have always wondered how much of the motivation for expression or creativity comes from the true love of expression itself and how much from the thirst for appreciation. Many of us would like to believe that the need for appreciation or fame is not the reason why we do what we do. We do what we do because we love doing those things. But there is always that little void, however small, inside us waiting, almost begging, to be filled with a little praise, approval, and perhaps even love. That little void is why musicians perform in front of audiences, why there are art galleries and not art warehouses, why I am writing this article on a blog instead of simply saving a copy of it for myself. It is unfortunate that there is this complex interplay between chemicals and electric impulses in our brain that is responsible for the dreadful currency called emotion; and sometimes, we are held hostage by the uncontrollable greed to make a profit in this currency.
Would we play music if we knew nobody is ever going to listen to us play? Would we paint if we knew nobody is going to look? Would we write if we knew nobody is going to read? Does there have to be an external reward associated with every pursuit?
My suspicion is that we are always on the lookout for some form of positive feedback. I have tried to kick the habit. But I always want to see eyes shine when I look into them, and I want to hear the thrill in the voice that speaks about me. And I am sure I am not the only one. This thirst for appreciation is self-destructive. Self-destructive because what is at the core of appreciation is an opinion, and opinions are quite often biased, skewed, or just plain blind. It seems too risky a proposition to surrender personal happiness to such a fair-weather-friend.
Eventually, we have the right to do what makes us happy and feel like there is a point in staying alive. But perhaps we are better off steering clear of the desire for external rewards.
Now, the hypocrite that I am, I post this on what is perhaps the most widely accessed medium in the world. It seems like there are still mountains to climb.
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