I have now moved to www.vinayakgarg.com
Hope to see you there.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Forgive and Forget .... or maybe not !!
Forgive. And then forget.
Or, maybe it would be better to forget, and then no question of forgiving.
My question still remains, if we are able to forgive then why is there a need to forget, and infact would it be desirable to forget?
Is it really possible to forget something completely? And if not, then is it really possible to forgive someone? Is forgiveness still complete even though you remember the wrongs that the person did to you?
Is it really possible to forgive without forgetting?
According to definition, forgive means to grant pardon to a person and to cease to feel resentment against (a person). I would infer it as that one is well aware of the deeds and the effects but in full consciousness he chooses to let things pass by. But question arises, why would anyone forgive?
It is necessary to know and understand the story of the other side, or as they say to slip into other person’s shoes (though not literally, otherwise you might be the one requiring forgiveness!). It is necessary to understand other persons thinking, and circumstances and what led to his actions. What would you have done if you would have been in his position, and more importantly what kind of action would you have expected from the person in your position, had you been on the other side ?
Another thing that I have found very useful in this whole business of forgiving is to attach a learning outcome to the incident/ event. Don’t forget, but learn. Change yourself, improve yourself. I had a friend and I really felt hurt through his acts and behaviour, until one day we engaged in a big fight and decided to go away in separate independent paths. But soon I realized how I had failed to acknowledge his side, and seen only my interpretations of the events. I realized that perhaps even I had hurt him as much, if not more.
No.
Can I forgive him?
Yes.
Have I learnt or improved?
Yes, a lot.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Airtel Delhi Half Marathon
With this first post I welcome you all to my blog.
For me it was long due to start writing a blog, but it was my observations at the recently held Airtel Delhi Half Marathon that compelled me to finally start it.
This was not the first time that I was going to run a half marathon, but certainly the first time that I was running without any preparation at all. I was worried whether I would be able to better my last year’s timing or not. Amidst the cheers of crowd and sounds of bursting balloons we started our journey for 21 kms, a small step at time.
It’s a 21 km race, probably would take me more than 25,000 steps to complete, but still each step is as important as any other. I realized what people mean when they say each small step brings you closer to the finish line. And that’s exactly what I tried to do, jog and enjoy the atmosphere around. I had driven on these roads numerous times, but never before had I observed the things that seemed to have suddenly sprouted up that day. I actually realized the small slopes and took no distance for granted. No longer was I measuring distances in terms of red lights I would have to pass, but in the terms of number of water stations I would encounter.
As I began, I started on a wrong foot, literally, and resulted in an acute abdomen pain after 3 km. It was then, I had to stop jogging and start walking, and question now was not about the timing but focus shifted to completing the race itself. I decided to walk one kms and then start afresh. People passed by me as I walked, but I had no choice but to cheer for them. I saw some people just zipping past, making it seem like a 100 meter race rather than a marathon, getting the fame while they can, perhaps long commitments not being their cup of tea. What were disturbing were not the people who zipped past, but seeing fellow runner disturbing their own rhythm to just to compete.
Marathon for a common runner was not about relative ranking. Everyone was challenging himself, trying to get past his own limits and that was different for each one. It was a great place to be, where despite being in the same race, it was still all about you, a thing very desirable in real life but is still so elusive. As I continued to jog, concentrating on each small step and on my body, I passed many people who had earlier left me behind. It was then that I really realized the message of the story of the tortoise and the hare. It is not about who can get ahead first, neither is it about the one who remains unhurt. But it is about the person who continues to perform, about the person who learns from mistakes and gets up even after the pain.
Life doesn’t have the ultimate moments. No success or failure can be greater than self-confidence and the ability to continue to perform under all kinds of circumstances. It is easy to ride high on a particular success or to get overawed seeing others perform well.
As I finished the race, I was not happy because I had finished before many of the people, and neither was I sad because many finished before me. I was happy because I finished. As the tagline says: The joy of running !
This was not the first time that I was going to run a half marathon, but certainly the first time that I was running without any preparation at all. I was worried whether I would be able to better my last year’s timing or not. Amidst the cheers of crowd and sounds of bursting balloons we started our journey for 21 kms, a small step at time.
It’s a 21 km race, probably would take me more than 25,000 steps to complete, but still each step is as important as any other. I realized what people mean when they say each small step brings you closer to the finish line. And that’s exactly what I tried to do, jog and enjoy the atmosphere around. I had driven on these roads numerous times, but never before had I observed the things that seemed to have suddenly sprouted up that day. I actually realized the small slopes and took no distance for granted. No longer was I measuring distances in terms of red lights I would have to pass, but in the terms of number of water stations I would encounter.
As I began, I started on a wrong foot, literally, and resulted in an acute abdomen pain after 3 km. It was then, I had to stop jogging and start walking, and question now was not about the timing but focus shifted to completing the race itself. I decided to walk one kms and then start afresh. People passed by me as I walked, but I had no choice but to cheer for them. I saw some people just zipping past, making it seem like a 100 meter race rather than a marathon, getting the fame while they can, perhaps long commitments not being their cup of tea. What were disturbing were not the people who zipped past, but seeing fellow runner disturbing their own rhythm to just to compete.
Marathon for a common runner was not about relative ranking. Everyone was challenging himself, trying to get past his own limits and that was different for each one. It was a great place to be, where despite being in the same race, it was still all about you, a thing very desirable in real life but is still so elusive. As I continued to jog, concentrating on each small step and on my body, I passed many people who had earlier left me behind. It was then that I really realized the message of the story of the tortoise and the hare. It is not about who can get ahead first, neither is it about the one who remains unhurt. But it is about the person who continues to perform, about the person who learns from mistakes and gets up even after the pain.
Life doesn’t have the ultimate moments. No success or failure can be greater than self-confidence and the ability to continue to perform under all kinds of circumstances. It is easy to ride high on a particular success or to get overawed seeing others perform well.
As I finished the race, I was not happy because I had finished before many of the people, and neither was I sad because many finished before me. I was happy because I finished. As the tagline says: The joy of running !
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