Why do I care what other people think!

Learning??? Who cares??? I do....

I was reading this boring book on AI when this quote appeared to make the reading a little more interesting. The quote is by Aristotle and it goes like " In order to learn to do X we have to DO X." Try to substitute X by things you want in life and this sentence makes lot of sense. For example in order to learn to swim you have to swim. Or better still In order to learn how to live you have to do only one thing LIVE.

A month in Sweden has made me realize that Indians some where in their history forgot how to live in the present. We have a habit of living in the future. If I do this now , I can do something 5 years down the line and then I will live the life of my dreams. Life is not what you desire, life is what you have. Live it. Its like feynman's explanation of where the energy in the electron comes from when it moves from excieted state to lower state. It is not there in the past or anything, It comes from the process. Its like the bag of letters for words never ends. The same is with life. Learn to live first and then you get more life back. Smile at a person you do not know. He will smile back ( if he is not a devil like me). No time in life comes twice. If it is gone, say Bye Bye to it forever.

Some people say a lot of crap but they somehow unknowlingly or knowlingly say some awesome lines. I wish I could do that. The line that make me think about this is that "To learn something new first unlearn". I don't know why we live in the future. If somebody knows i am all ears. Study hard to get into IIT, then come and study so you can get a good job, MBA or GRE.. the wants and desires are useless. And I see some people who chose to follow their desires and then i see people giving up on things they really want to do in life and working to get a life to pays well. The choice , the doubt of whether the things you really want in life are REALLY the things you want is like a spider web at the age when the person is in the incubation period of thinking about these things. The Greeks did two things for themselves - they played a sport for the physical fitness and played a musical instrument for the fitness of the soul. When did we decide to leave out the things that really mattered in life? Friends, Family and more importantly the self. So to live in a new way we have to unlearn the old way. I donot know it. But i am trying.

Swedes do not give a damn about others. They care as much about their family but for no one else. ""Me first. You never. I don't care what you think. I live the way i want to. "" Indians go this way "You first. You right. I may be wrong. I care what you think. I live the way people want me to ". One of the things i have learned that you do not have be sorry. Swedes seldom use the word please or sorry. I am my master nothing to be sorry about. But the swedes say a lot of thank you. But then they carry no debts or something. Done and said for , move on. Also if you live by yourself you need more than one chance to find the truth. And here where swedish excel. They believe in giving second chances. How many times can a swede sit for an exam . 10 times and no need to do the lectures and assignments again. Just the exam. Exams and numbers do not determine learning. There is no social stigma on failing. Fail, try again... until you succeed. But we have so many people which makes the attitude ..." You failed once, What are you good for".
You got a chance and you failed. Live with it for the rest of your life. I DO NOT HAVE TO and I DO NOT WANT TO. I want to live and experience life to the full not start living it when I am too old to live it.

thats all for today. Life calls. I venture out in the dark in the direction of the light. Wish to find you somewhere in the dark.

posted by inhas @ 9:50 PM