Smiling at midlife doldrums

We need a muted mind to enjoy the whispers of nature.

n a world that rarely pauses, a calm mind feels like a rare blessing—one we all crave but seldom attain. Recently, an early morning walk along the beach offered me a rare moment of quiet, helping me turn off the noise both within and outside. As I wandered along the shore, occasionally letting the waves lap at my feet, a realization struck me: I am now 35 years old. Statistically, I have crossed half of my expected lifetime. Should this make me smile, worry, or beam with pride? I wasn’t sure.
My twenties were shaped by a philosophical outlook. I was filled with ideals, optimism, and a burning ambition to change the world. As a bibliophile, I believed that we shouldn’t wait for life to teach us everything through experience; instead, we should gather wisdom from the teachings of others. Yet, as the years passed and life presented its challenges, I found myself adapting to the endless cycle of responsibilities and routines—the doldrums of midlife.
But I’ve come to see that the fragility of a crystal is not a weakness, but a mark of its fineness. Likewise, the sea’s gifts are not just its gentle waves, but also its harsh blows, which free us from our burdens and routines. As I walked barefoot, I noticed how the camouflage of civilization faded under the morning sun. Life at the beach unfolded in vignettes: a pregnant couple posing for photos, perhaps preparing to introduce their child to a world brimming with ego and expectation; a child building a sandcastle, his innocence a quiet hope for humanity in an age racing toward artificial intelligence; a woman practicing yoga, seeking mindfulness amid modern chaos; a couple seeking privacy in the open daylight, reminding me of the many roles I’ve played in my own journey.
Each encounter was a reflection—a flipbook of my own life, turned by the waves. Near the end of my walk, I saw a fisherman teaching his son on a dancing catamaran. The scene brought back memories of my childhood, my family, and my own young daughter. I realized that, though I know little about the sea or fishing, I do know this: every person must pass through these phases of life, willingly or not. This is the way here.
Midlife, I’ve learned, is not just a time of reckoning but also of acceptance. It’s a stage where we realize that feeling strong is often more important than being strong. Perhaps our troubles stem from thinking too much—trying to make sense of everything, searching for answers, and forcing life into neat patterns of cause and effect. But life is not a puzzle to be solved; it is a journey to be felt.
As I finished my walk, the gentle hush of the waves reminded me that sometimes, the best thing we can do is simply listen—to nature, to others, and to ourselves. We must explore the inner country of our own souls, wade through life as it comes, and, above all, learn to smile at the doldrums of midlife. For in these quiet moments, we find not just peace, but a deeper understanding of what it means to be alive.

What are we when we are not what we are meant to be?

 “There’s so much to look forward to when the worries of your youth are behind you.”

I read that line a long time ago.

It has been 28 months since I last wrote something on my blog. What did I do during this time? Nothing remarkable—just passing through life as it presents itself. But today, I felt an urge to confront my writer’s block by letting my thoughts wander freely. I decided to be at loggerheads with every AI tool out there and write something proper—from my own mind. Neat and short- out and fresh.

To truly step away from the noise and observe a stranger, you need a lightly occupied mind and a childlike curiosity. Fortunately, I had both this morning as I woke up early. Everything felt supremely calm and pristine. I watched my 19-month-old daughter turn her face toward me and smile with her eyes still closed. It made me wonder—what could she be dreaming about?

A non-chaotic mind observes and asks the right questions. And the question that found me was this: What are we when we are not what we are meant to be?
It’s a question that demands a pause. At 4:30 in the morning, I paused. I reflected. I decided to keep it as a message to myself—and now, to you.

A New Year Instagram post recently caught my attention. It spoke about the Voyager 1 spacecraft, now roughly 16 billion miles away from Earth. Even so, it would still take about 2.5 million light years to reach the Andromeda galaxy. Whoever is reading that post—or this piece—will never witness that moment. And somehow, that neatly summarizes the space we occupy on this planet.

It is incredible that such a vast, spectacular process has resulted in life on Earth. Debatable or not, it’s hard to deny that a power beyond our senses exists, and perhaps all we can do is accept that. As technology sprints ahead with the human mind, we should remember that humanity itself is running a long marathon.

What survives beyond debate is our curiosity—tempered with kindness and love.
This is what we are.
And this is what we are meant to be.And that's the message I keep to myself in 2026 and the years to come.

Happy New year 2026!!

The Learned Men of Efficient Idiocracy

 I am not an independent thinker or say a 'liberal thinker' ,atleast to put my thoughts in an open blog.My constitution guarantees my "Right to liberty" under Article 21.However, my internal system(!) doesn't allow me to be a liberal thinker and hence out of cowardice I am at fault not to spill the beans out from the bag of democratic lie.At this juncture, I take the liability of pride to wish on this remarkable day of Independence.

As I write this blog sitting conveniently in an airconditioned space, I feel as a "Glocalized" citizen-a  typical human having desi attitude wearing a western camouflage.Sometimes I wonder what likely would have been a desi conversation among the stalwarts who were integral to the constitutional architecture.Maybe Mr.Gandhi would have gone for a fast trying to establish peace in Manipur.Mr.Bose would have planned on enforcing military might to establish peace!!.Give or take, there are so many "may be" answers,subjected to the limit of imagination of the readers and the writer of this post.But the convenient way is to stay inactive as we are celebrating the day of independence today.Henceforth I take the liability of pride in celebrating it shamefully!!

I remember the days of my childhood, when the idea of freedom was equated to a nerve wracking feeling of bravery and valor.But those are gone days and I happen to be a Glocalized citizen now watching Netflix documentaries on Exotic species.All I can remember about Haryana today is the, 'once popular' Sardar ji jokes.So, when I hear about Monu Maneswar and the accusation of religious intolerance,my stimuli is on a snail pace to this disoriented news agenda.As a glocaliszed citizen I humbly take the liability of pride in smudging my face with tri colours ignoring the status of the state which a decade back had the worst sex ratio.

I remember Abraham Lincoln's quote ,"Democracy is by the people, of the people and for the people".When I re-read it now, I can pointedly tell that the 3 prepositions and the collective noun are wrongly attributed to the proper noun.To put in precise,the quote establishes the idiosyncrasy of Mr.Lincoln.Not just Mr.Gandhi but also Mr.Lincoln was a man of unsynchronized reality.As a knowledgeable Glocalized citizen, I take the liability of pride in exposing this fact of quoted flaws that are not in tune to the right democratic spirit.

As a concluding note arising out of my cowardice, I cannot ignore the recently raised "No confidence"motion and its implications it had upon me.Shutting my sixth sense of savoring truth, I came to the enlightenment of conscious lie, when briefed ,that we are living in a blissful- blessed nation,our progress gallops just like the "Vandhe Bharat"!! It was a moment of gullible pride despite the barbaric act of making the vulnerable gender do a naked parade on the land of tribes under the name of falsified credulous identity.In this land of learned men of efficient idiocracy, I take the liability of pride to celebrate the much arduous day of Independence.Period!!

Settling to dust with a flight..

We all turn to ashes when dead..All I needed is to be the fly ash before grounded.

Within the 800 crore population lay 800 Universes of different boundaries.Every human has his/her own 'thought' Universe.And all such thoughts interact on one or multiple layered pattern to what we call as ',Reality'.My understanding of the Universe is that this world -the real world lies a step above i.e in the consciousness of humans.As we peek through the narrow window,life is understood to be that lies within the boundaries.It is the fact of having a binding thought or rather a thought bounded by the social paradigms of the evolved civilization.You can't be a rebel in a civilized society for you're pushing the herd towards progress.Such progress appears suicidal for the herd due to the strong resistance of comfort zone.So what's easier,play to the herd.Become a celebrity,mock the taboo and take a light pill on ethics.Thereby you wake the sleeping rebel within each human.The end result will be an epicurean stock conditioned within the comfort zone.'Wants' getting converted to 'Needs' and the society progress towards a materialistic pinnacle.Such society breaks on its first hurled stone since the foundation is based on brittle rusted glass.To be free from all chains of will is to be free from the limited boundaries of brain.Seek to learn first and learn to seek first.

GENDER RESPONSIVITY~Women's day

 On a much fuzzed manner as I try to rewire my thoughts on Gender neutrality, it struck me with a stark realism. What has sparkled within to give up this Utopia and face the reality??? Marriage.Yes,now I am a married man who has faced 35 days post the courtship phase. Wisely put, my thoughts on Gender neutrality have been rounded off to the nearest possible state which is "Gender responsivity". Saluting the women whom I have had the opportunity to interact and the woman who is my fellow companion of life, I wish all a "Happy Women's day".

The process of Sex doesn't excite me but the underlying current of sexuality does.(read again to get it right!!).

Yet the concept of sexuality is least discussed in the highly selling ‘hormone ‘market.Just like the Grand Unified theory acts as an intermediate to the Theory of everything,sexuality acts as the bridge to the unawakened human consciousness of the whole Universe.Now,What does this got to do with the happily celebrated Women's day?? Read ahead.

The statement "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus" can be considered authenticated as no man in the world will be able to understand the myriad emotions and the biological cycles that happens within a woman. I am married man now and I am trying on a daily basis to understand this gifted creation of God i.e Woman.Easily can I empathise the hardships of my best half, but to stand on her shoes and view the world is a chaotic challenge.When deeply analysed I found myself to be a hypocrite as every man in his truest self has been.The moral codes and the ethical standards combined with the socio economic factors have conditioned ‘Man’ to be a dominant species among the two genders.And now, when the barriers get broken by the techno cultural upskilling paradigms, men become really pathetic giving their futile consent to this change of norms. The simple result-A hypocrite man. Henceforth as we celebrate Women's day every year, it becomes increasingly important to become Gender responsive.

Gender responsivity,by the term, I mean here is the understanding of self and the flaws within.Understanding a gender and his/her responses to the changes in the society requires a deep analysis of self.It requires a calm and unperturbed mind to ponder  over a simple question, "What if" ? and "Why this?".When these questions are addressed by every man in this world,will he able to understand him,the society and his companion in a humane manner.The task of such thought is not build on a day and requires a constant trial from both genders.As always, human civilisation has progressed tackling the imbalances in the gender sensitivity and so will do so in the coming decades.So an end note on this women's day, Understand to respect, reciprocate to rejoice and stay humane to survive. Like the saying goes, "A nation is born stoic and dies epicurean",live to learn and learn to live.

P:S: Dedicated to and Wishing the three women who are now my pillars in life. My mothers Vasantha and Lakshmi and my best half Manisha. You make me grounded and on toes. Happy Women's day!!!