Santhosh's ramblings

Travelling these days has become a bit of a mental workout, mostly due to my overthinking. I’m still in the middle of a trip, but let me share some reflections from my ongoing journey.   It started with an airport announcement: “Flight delayed due to technical issues.” Two keywords – ‘delay’ and ‘technical issues’ - set my mind on a whirlwind of overthinking.  Delay meant potential FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) from the conference’s first day. Maybe even a MOMO - Mystery Of Missing Out. What if I missed the 1st day, and no one noticed that I was not even there? That is more intense than FOMO. (I don’t think I had MOMO at that time   ). But then I realized: why not embrace JOMO (Joy of Missing Out)? The conference would continue without me just fine—I’m not that indispensable!   Technical issues raised bigger concerns. My mind spun tales of in-air catastrophes and set off a FOA (Fear of Accidents) and FOD (Fear of Death). These aren’t fears I like to think about, b...

This year, over 60 nations held elections, including the so-called “mother of democracies” and “mother of liberty.” The recent election that concluded yesterday was closely watched worldwide. The spectacle was, in many ways, bewildering. Each context brought unique peculiarities, but common themes seemed to surface globally.    The pre-election period was saturated with rhetoric, often illogical. In our "post-scientific" era, even well-established scientific truths—whether about COVID-19, fluoride in water, or climate change—were branded as fabrications or propaganda orchestrated by “deep states” or opposition groups. Historical facts, too, were dismissed as myths or manipulations from hidden agendas.    This rhetoric stems from our “post-truth” culture, echoing the age-old question, “What is truth?” Whoever can speak with confidence, irrespective of evidence, is deemed truthful. Truth is whatever one can convincingly sell.   Linked to this is the emergence of “...

Yesterday, we attended a sacred classical music concert—or can I even call it a concert? It felt ethereal and heavenly and brought tears to my eyes. I asked myself, why these tears? Three reasons came to mind. Nostalgia played a part, having grown up with choir music, stirring memories of the past—a feeling of loss mingled with joy. But beyond that, there was a lifting of my soul in the present, something that defies easy explanation. And then, a sense of hope—a reassurance, despite the confusion in my heart and around me, that someone is indeed in control. The words of the music amplified this feeling.   "Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents." Beethoven.  Is it that my ears long for such higher, soul-lifting music?   We headed to a bustling restaurant where loud rap music filled the air. I enjoy rap, but amid the young crowd, I felt a bit out of place. The rhythm was enjoya...

Four journeys over the last two to three weeks and some ramblings on life!   Journey One – Journey with a Bird   About three weeks back, we found a pigeon laying an egg and sitting on it in a nest built in an empty pot on our balcony. Both of us, along with our helper, have always had a hate-hate relationship with pigeons. The reason was simple: they dirtied the veranda, the clothes hanging out to dry, and the whole place. I would constantly wave my hands and shout every time I went out, and our helper would always curse and complain!   But suddenly, our posture changed from hate-hate to hate-tolerance, and maybe even a hint of tolerance-love deep in our hearts. The helper still complained but kept a safe distance to avoid disturbing the pigeon and the egg. I would walk in and out, intentionally ignoring the nest and the pigeon. Children of family friends would come and go, gushing over the nest and the egg.   If I could talk to the pigeon and understand her heart, I...

 In the evolutionary cycle, there was supposedly a point when humans became Homo Erectus — the moment when we began standing tall, observing the world around us, and addressing challenges with newfound confidence. (Some readers might be wondering if he believes in evolution. We never knew! Don’t worry, this isn’t about debating evolution  😊 ).   Looking back and ahead, we’ve come a long way, evolving from Homo Sapiens to now being on the journey toward becoming Homo-Technologicus .   Let me digress for a moment. I developed my first back pain in my mid-forties and my first neck pain in my mid-fifties. I chalked it up to ageing, perhaps a bit premature due to my lifestyle. Today, every other young person I meet complains, “I have a cervical problem.” Some even know the diagnosis—Cervical Spondylosis—thanks to the modern-day medical bible: Google! The picture here is from our home! The question I want to consider is: Have we moved three steps forward in technology bu...

This October 10th was different.   October 10th has always been a special day because it’s my wife’s birthday. However, this year was unique. From the morning onward, reminders started pouring in from friends, colleagues, and others about World Mental Health Day 2024, which also falls on October 10th—specifically focused on mental health in the workplace. I began to wonder, “Is there a problem with my leadership style? Am I making life difficult for the people around me?” (I do have my own mental health challenge, which I’ve learned to live with, but I never thought I was making others miserable!)   Last night, I had a conversation with a young man working on a school project. His project was about developing a tool to address study-related stress among adolescents—a handheld device that provides visual reminders and is soft enough to use for stress relief. Meanwhile, my phone keeps reminding me, “Time for mindfulness.”  We also have someone in our workplace who rece...

This blog is for those who have seen Inside Out 2. If you haven’t watched it yet, you should—then come back and read this! I’m not an official agent of Pixar promoting their movies, but some films are worth talking about.  😊   After 10 years, four (plus one) new emotions suddenly emerge. I wonder, where were they all these years? Were they suppressed by the overwhelming Joy, Fear, and Sadness? Who knows? It took Pixar 10 years to let them out.  😊  These emotions are Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment. The one emotion that keeps trying to surface but gets pushed back by these new kids on the block is the one I identify with most these days—Nostalgia. I’ve been reflecting on this a lot lately. As you grow older, there’s a tendency to live in the past—the good old days!  Recently, two statements challenged me: "Burn your bridges every season of life" and a quote from Thomas Merton: "We do not want to be beginners. But let us be convinced of the fact that we ...