Zeal – Keeping up with it

20140430-084455.jpg

Zeal is an important characteristic in life. I think it’s very strongly linked to things or activities we are passionate about.

While I have several things I’m passionate about, travel is an important one of them. It’s enthralling to open up to new experiences, culture and people. Plus explore new places and cuisines as you go along. So as I sit and watch the planes take off, it feels great to keep up with the zeal in life as we go along πŸ™‚

Youth – A double take

Time-minutelyinfinite

“I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity” – Albert Einstein

Youth. Its that extraordinary time in one’s life time. Best described as the time to try out different things or experiment to see what life has in store. Personally i think its the phase where one is finding their true self. Separating the chaff from the grain, dissecting what we know as real.

However all said and done, if i were given an option i wouldn’t go back and change anything. In fact i avoid looking back in to the past as there is so much more to do in the future so why waste time. But, i have met a lot of people who keep thinking or wishing that if they had chance they would go back and change certain aspects of their life. To me, we just need to savor each day as it comes and the decisions we make will play out for the good πŸ™‚

Image copyrighted.

Waterfront – A view to enjoy

20140426-222004.jpg
I love watching water bodies. So lakes, rivers or the sea – you name it and it works for me. I mentioned only watching because I’m dead scared to venture in to any of these. Not really sure what drives my fear of these, but I wouldn’t try my luck at least for now.

Sometime in life I hope to do some scuba diving to explore the reefs and sea life. While that’s one of my long shot items to do in this lifetime, I will only start with extensive training to move on to that. For now, I enjoy the views as much as I get.

The photo above is a view of the harbour near the gateway of India in Mumbai. The sea was fairly quiet and a good number of ferries were doing the rounds on this sunny day!

Image copyrighted.

Virtues – Sharing is caring?

20140425-211420.jpg

We’re prone to sharing. I think it’s one of the unique virtues that’s based on the most important human elements. We are keen to go out to the world and say, ” Here I am. This is me. I’m alive, breathing and can make a difference. I want to share the experience with you”.

But I wonder how many people are actually good at sharing. While someone maybe good at sharing things that matter such as knowledge, goodwill or donate a significant portion, there are others who take up the opposite approach. They may share gossip, detrimental news or cultivate bad habits. I don’t think there is a fine line of demarcation where one understands the difference when in a grey area. However when it comes to culture and the arts and even religion, sharing is the key to keeping the same alive.

Maybe on a economic level sharing as a virtue resonates closest to socialism. I don’t know how effective it could have been for some countries but it’s clearly not played out well for some. As Winston Churchill said:

“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”

Personally I feel it’s a virtue most of us could do a lot of good with sharing. So here’s to another cup of tea!

Unwind – Tuning back

20140425-002619.jpg

Like the tree blowing in the wind. I’m taking the easy way out for today. There are varied approaches people take to de-stress. Popular methods include listening / playing music, travelling, watching movies, hitting the gym, cooking or creating some work of art.

For me, there are three approaches that work the best:

1. Music – My eternal love. In a retrospective mood, I listen to some of the older tracks. No matter what mood I’m in music is an instant lift-me-up. A playlist is in order for now.

2. Reading – Being a voracious reader I can devour any magazine / book / website. My kindle serves me well πŸ™‚

3. Photography – Random clicks, candid shots and capturing nature are some of my interests. I think there is no dearth of interesting images one can capture if they have the eye for it.

So those are some of the top ways I unwind. It’s time to stretch those limbs now πŸ™‚

Travel – More is less

Travel-minutelyinfinite

Travelling has to be one of my top favorite things to do. I think travelling is such an enriching experience. Not only are you thrown out of your comfort zone, you’re also pushed beyond your boundaries. We’re more acceptable to change when subjected to sudden plan upsets. More agile, if i may use the word.

I read somewhere that if one has the money to spend and needs to choose between an expensive gift / holiday, then they must choose the latter. We pick up so much more in terms of culture, experiences and memories to relish. Plus for a photo freak like me – more chances to click pictures! I don’t think there is a line i would draw to the extent i wish to travel. In my case, more is less!

So here is a photo i clicked to capture the western ghats near mumbai πŸ™‚

Image copyrighted.

Sunsets & Sunrises – Moving On

sunrise-minutelyinfinite

Sunrises and sunsets. The normal day begins and ends with those. At the end of it, i wonder do we long more for what’s gone by or wait for what’s coming. When the lonely owl makes noises at night, is it because it doesn’t want the darkness to fade away. Or rather when birds sing in the morning, are they welcoming the day or happy that the night is over?

From the little bit of all that i know, i’m looking forward to the next day. As they say, it all gets better with time.

 

Image Copyrighted.

Reminisce – Choose to remember

The digital camera is a great invention because it allows us to reminisce. Instantly. –Β Demetri Martin

I’ve been travelling and we’ve been going to different places to show my parents-in-law around the city. No trip is complete without photos and especially when it comes to a photo junkie like me, photos will be clicked. All of this makes for good reminiscing.

What’s remarkable from the quote above is the power that phones have put in our hands. Using an iPhone 5S, i simply take out my phone to snip, snap and shoot. At times, i let the dual flash do its trick. Few years back, i would have to roam with a point and shoot in hand worrying about rechargeable batteries. But today, technology has simplified all of it to the extent that we have several devices bundled in a single phone. Me and my father-in-law (we call him Babi) are photography enthusiasts. Babi had cultivated the hobby for several years and many of his photos have won awards over the years. In fact one of them was bought by a major automobile company. Babi owned several SLR cameras and lenses but uses a digital camera these days. Our techniques vary. Babi is patient, calculative and persistent when it comes to clicking photographs. On the contrary, I’m impulsive to the extent that i’d roll down the window and stick my phone out to capture an image.

Both the approaches bring out different strokes in the way our images turn out. The end results are always good. I once read that good photography is not what you see externally but its more of what is internal to the photographer. That brings me to the point where many of us are out clicking selfies, photobombing our friends snaps or posing awkwardly. Somehow what we yearn for most is to recollect and live the experience. It’s not always about the place we were at. Rather its what we choose to reminisce.

Gateway-minutelyinfinitePhoto credits: Pranab . K. Mookerjee (Image Copyright)