Loving Chaos: The logical conclusion out of confusion

Man’s favourite deployment of time- chaos management. Perhaps the most common usage of time is to try and manage confusion. Even in the absence of confusion, we employ our rationale and create chaos and then get on to solving it. Hats off to man’s ingenuity in creating nonsense. Where there is pure logic, this awe-inspiring species called man, in the name of hidden complexities, unearths a lot of unwanted, unfathomable insight. But then, isn’t that the way we were brought up? Ever since our childhood we are taught to think complex. Where it is possible to do things easily, we are afraid that after all, the problems cannot be so simple and thus we complicate things. Well, what we really need is perhaps exactly what we lack the most- the love of simplicity.

A knowledgeable person once rightly remarked, “Common sense is the most uncommon thing in the world.” Sounds absurd but surprisingly, it is very much true.The problem is that we are unable to apply common sense. After all our education, we feel that it is an insult to our intelligence if someone asks us something ordinary. Our over-fed yet malnutritioned brains feel humiliated to employ simplicity in their thinking process.

The other day as I was walking along the streets of Bangalore, I confronted a person sporting a T-shirt that read, “I was born intelligent, education ruined me.” It really gave me a sense of relief to know that there was at least someone with such deep insight into life. What is it that makes children so endearing to all of us? The truth of the matter is that they are so innocent and straight forward, that twists and turns just do not feature in their lives at all.

If only the world would begin to work straight, it would definitely be a much better place to live in. But whether we like it or not, whether we accept it or not, the truth remains that man has fallen into a trap of love for complexity and it is difficult for you or me to change it. So even as we complain and fret about it, the best we can do to avoid falling prey to this folly is to think simple, for at the heart of chaos lies simplicity. That’s the sole reason why I love chaos as it gives me the opportunity to think simple and more importantly think common sense. Simple living, high thinking.

The harsh beauty of reality

My watch indicated to me that it was about 7:00 am. I was in a hospital accompanied by my mother, for my brother’s medical check-up. A whiff of cold air from the air conditioner caught my breath for a brief moment as I opened the door in the Radiology department. Huddled together in a corner of the room were a father and his daughter. They acknowledged our presence and went back into their deep reverie. It was an odd sight finding a girl aged less than seven in that room. She seemed every bit normal; moreover, her cherubic face radiated a joy that somehow did not gel with the gloomy walls around. This cheeky toddler was gleefully looking all around the room and she was clearly enjoying herself.
The joyful stillness in that room was shattered with the vomiting by this child. Her father led her by the hand to the washroom. Surprisingly on her way back, the same old cheerful smile adorned her face, whereas her father had creases all over his forehead. She seemed to be taking in every bit of her surroundings and her happiness was contagious.
After a while, the girl was asked to get ready for a MRI scan. They were having a difficult time removing her nose ring when my mother volunteered to help. It was then that the girl’s father revealed to our utter dismay that the girl was blind! He went on to say that she had been a very brilliant girl, invariably standing first in her class every single time. Everything had been precisely positive till she was diagnosed with brain tumor. Sometime before her surgery was to take place, she lost her sight and the world turned into an abyss. Yet her face revealed nothing that she was going through. The vibrant smile that she carried on her face revealed to me her inner strength. That detached attitude will forever remain etched in my memory. That day the little girl in the hospital taught me a few lessons in life that no textbook or experience of mine has taught me till date. I may forget the name or the age of that girl, but the memory of her undying spirit will linger on…