Sometimes... it all looks so alien.....
I love Life. I think it's a gift, something precious, to be treasured every moment.
The ups and downs of this roller-coaster ride called "Life" does not change my feelings.
But of late, I am getting this feeling ..... that the world around me is looking a bit alien, a lot different to the world I grew up and lived in.....
Yes, I know... the first thought is ...it's called "Age" :)
May be it's true. May be that's the way its supposed to be.... and those who know me, will appreciate that I am pretty open in my thoughts, not judgmental, really.
Yet, at times, I look around and see a world that increasingly is moving away from the value systems I have been brought up on. It's almost like I have landed on a new planet - buzzing with Life but its manifestations are so different from what I am used to.
The "right", the "good" that I have been taught so hard by my parents, throughout my convent school don't seem to be as "right" and as "good" as they used to be. The "wrongs", the "not-so-good" stuff seem to be not only more prevalent, but also accepted.. And I am left wondering ....
Don't get me wrong, I am all for change - change in times, in the way we do things. For me, change usually heralds better things.
But, do basic human values also change with times? Should they?
At one point of time, the opinionated me would respond with a resounding "No". Today, I am not so sure..... I would like to think they don't, they haven't....but what I am seeing around, more and more, tells me a different story.
I sometimes feel I am the alien one... I have landed on another planet; I am a bit taken aback by the ways of this new world, not because I think it's better or worse, in comparison to the world I knew.... but simply because it's so different, something I don't immediately relate to.... maybe I never will.
And I feel a bit alone.
Typical to human nature, I seek comfort in continuity. I rush back to Nature - to the sea, to the sands, to the sunsets and the sunrises, to the mountains, the breeze. Phew! Thankfully they haven't changed. All of them talk to me just as they always have - inspiring, cajoling, embracing.
Unlike relationships that have turned sour, distances that have developed between people, societies that today run only after materialistic pleasures - all symptoms of a value system that is remote from the one deeply embedded within me.
Yet, I do not sit in judgement - who am I to do that anyways? who cares, too?
So, I watch this new world rushing past me, picking up even people who I once held close to my chest, growing in momentum like strong winds that signal an ensuing storm..... I see all this motion around me, and I know I should possibly hurry as well, jump in, run for shelter or get blown away.... but somehow, I can't seem to. I still walk at my own pace, almost in a daze ....and expectedly get hit by the hail, drenched by the rain; the strong winds almost knock the wind out of my lungs.
Yet, I cannot take the plunge .... I cannot completely associate with this new order or with its way of doing things.
I know that may make me sound very old and archaic. But I still believe in what I was taught as a kid. I still believe in what I was told was "good" and "right".
I understand that the new world has a different set of rules, a different perspective of what I call "values" and I am sure this new order has all the right reasons to uphold their ideals, their philosophy. I am open to watching them, even accepting to live with them, to an extent. But I cannot make them totally mine.....
I salute the new world for its innovation, its evolution of the human journey - I agree that it's only because man has changed that we have moved from the caves to the cities we now inhabit. I am all for progress. And if change is the only constant we have today, why should values also not change?
Yet, to this new order, I guess, I am always going to remain alien. And happy to be so.
Yes, I guess it's true .... I must be really getting old :)
The ups and downs of this roller-coaster ride called "Life" does not change my feelings.
But of late, I am getting this feeling ..... that the world around me is looking a bit alien, a lot different to the world I grew up and lived in.....
Yes, I know... the first thought is ...it's called "Age" :)
May be it's true. May be that's the way its supposed to be.... and those who know me, will appreciate that I am pretty open in my thoughts, not judgmental, really.
Yet, at times, I look around and see a world that increasingly is moving away from the value systems I have been brought up on. It's almost like I have landed on a new planet - buzzing with Life but its manifestations are so different from what I am used to.
The "right", the "good" that I have been taught so hard by my parents, throughout my convent school don't seem to be as "right" and as "good" as they used to be. The "wrongs", the "not-so-good" stuff seem to be not only more prevalent, but also accepted.. And I am left wondering ....
Don't get me wrong, I am all for change - change in times, in the way we do things. For me, change usually heralds better things.
But, do basic human values also change with times? Should they?
At one point of time, the opinionated me would respond with a resounding "No". Today, I am not so sure..... I would like to think they don't, they haven't....but what I am seeing around, more and more, tells me a different story.
I sometimes feel I am the alien one... I have landed on another planet; I am a bit taken aback by the ways of this new world, not because I think it's better or worse, in comparison to the world I knew.... but simply because it's so different, something I don't immediately relate to.... maybe I never will.
And I feel a bit alone.
Typical to human nature, I seek comfort in continuity. I rush back to Nature - to the sea, to the sands, to the sunsets and the sunrises, to the mountains, the breeze. Phew! Thankfully they haven't changed. All of them talk to me just as they always have - inspiring, cajoling, embracing.
Unlike relationships that have turned sour, distances that have developed between people, societies that today run only after materialistic pleasures - all symptoms of a value system that is remote from the one deeply embedded within me.
Yet, I do not sit in judgement - who am I to do that anyways? who cares, too?
So, I watch this new world rushing past me, picking up even people who I once held close to my chest, growing in momentum like strong winds that signal an ensuing storm..... I see all this motion around me, and I know I should possibly hurry as well, jump in, run for shelter or get blown away.... but somehow, I can't seem to. I still walk at my own pace, almost in a daze ....and expectedly get hit by the hail, drenched by the rain; the strong winds almost knock the wind out of my lungs.
Yet, I cannot take the plunge .... I cannot completely associate with this new order or with its way of doing things.
I know that may make me sound very old and archaic. But I still believe in what I was taught as a kid. I still believe in what I was told was "good" and "right".
I understand that the new world has a different set of rules, a different perspective of what I call "values" and I am sure this new order has all the right reasons to uphold their ideals, their philosophy. I am open to watching them, even accepting to live with them, to an extent. But I cannot make them totally mine.....
I salute the new world for its innovation, its evolution of the human journey - I agree that it's only because man has changed that we have moved from the caves to the cities we now inhabit. I am all for progress. And if change is the only constant we have today, why should values also not change?
Yet, to this new order, I guess, I am always going to remain alien. And happy to be so.
Yes, I guess it's true .... I must be really getting old :)
Today's value system is really changing and that too at a fast pace....I am, as u said, is happy to be old school. Bubli di keep writing more...love to read ur pieces :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, and have been feeling similarly alienated. There seems to be a greater generation gap between us and our kids vs. us and our parents. But maybe it feels that way as they are teenagers. As for the rest of the world, they are moving so fast and at a speed that I cannot comprehend. Like you, i feel old school, and embrace nature. For me comfort lies in the seeds and plants I put into the earth with my bare hands. They will hopefully grow to be my fruit and flowers of tomorrow.
ReplyDelete