An Extreme Tale

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens quotes: 

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

There were several instances in our lives too when the above quotation best described our life. The extreme tale between emotion and logic, the tale between appreciation and criticism, the tale between having everything and having nothing which exist even today and has been told and retold since ages.

Here are few of the instances that we tried to recollect from memories of our life span to create this post.

1. Emotion and Logic:

There was this period in our life when we had to take that difficult decision and choose between emotion and logic. While emotions gifted us with the utmost strength to face the harsh realities of a self-realized and self-designed life of blissfulness; logic on the other hand tried to guide us to a known world where everything seemed to be absolutely perfect or at least were destined to be perfect. On the contrary, if logic helped us choose the partner of our choice, emotion reminded us of our responsibilities. That was the best of times for us as we were extremely excited to dream our future together. But again that was the worst of times for us because we had to choose between ‘people we love’ and the ‘person we love’.

2. Appreciation and Criticism: 

Yet another period in our life when we were caught between appreciation and criticism that resulted into yet another extreme of acceptance and rejection. While our hard work and efforts were recognized and appreciated, every minute detail of our success landed us into criticism. It was like being sent to the top to be pushed down to the bottom. While trying to scramble between appreciation and criticism, we were introduced to a new world of stress that left us juggling between acceptance and rejection. Accepting life as it comes or rejecting the situation and fight back. Everything seemed to be in a network, leaving us bewildered. While stress left us with sour memories, it also opened the door to new opportunities. That was the time when we realized our new love for writing and discovered WordPress. That was the worst of times but it has also been the best of times.

3. Having everything and Having nothing:

For whatever reason; knowingly or unknowingly, we found ourselves lost in life’s philosophy. It was like a turning point. It was like going back after travelling half way in the cycle of life; going back to where we came from. It is the period of realizing new dreams and aspirations, where we are all set to face an entirely different world where dreams could turn into reality and where we develop the craze to create our own path. The tussle between having everything and realizing that we actually do not possess anything further enunciates the pleasure of contentment and at the same time leaving us with a heart filled with unfulfilled desires. This is the period when we tend to question our existence and at the same time desire to live life to the hearts’ content. This is the period when heaven and hell coexist. This has shown us the best of times and also the worst of times.

Though difficult, life moves on and so did we. Life is not a competition. It is all about living, not winning. Find the good in the bad while accepting the bad in the good. Faith and hope finally helped us make the two extremes meet and it is the combination of both the extremes that actually completes the life-cycle. 

 © 2014 Ahmad and Ahmad

The Winning Streak !!

When we started blogging in WordPress, it was a new experience for us. The excitement pushed us to meet this site daily and we were sort of attached to this new experience that supported us to ‘play’ with our daily thoughts and expressions. We state here “play” because we enjoyed every moment we spent scribbling our thoughts! Sooner or later, for whatever reason, we lost the magic wand.

We are back again and we are here with renewed zest and vigor. We are back with a  winning streak !! We are back with the magic wand to live our life more fruitfully. Here is what we have to offer to our readers.

We come across many quotations on anything and everything we want to learn. Quotations are mere experiences of people great and small and what ‘they have learnt’ from what ‘they have observed’ in the situation and environment ‘they have lived’. We tend to accept those that better suits our thoughts.

It is  never too late  to learn. We can learn everyday and every moment if we want to. We learn from others and we learn from our own experiences. 

Here are few quotations we tried to figure out from our own experiences. 

 “Never blame anyone for the life you are living. The life you are living is your choice. Believe in your choice.”

“Give me the opportunity to love and care for people i have never met. Those i love and care for, are already safe in my heart.” 

“Don’t go by words. They are mere ways of expression. Follow what you feel because your feelings are all that you own and they speak the truth.”

“Never say: I’m busy. Instead say: I’m never busy but i’m never idle either.”

“The heart never breaks. It opens the door to new beginnings. Good or bad, learn to treasure the past, accept the present and continue living. This is how you welcome your bright future.”

“Dare to take risks, dream and expect. It is better than doing nothing.”

“I love to think because it gives me the opportunity to go on a date with ME.” 

“We all can be a genius. All that we need is to think different.”

“I’m not unstable. Life provides me the ups and downs. I simply adjust myself.”

“That education is not worth it that cannot teach us how to live when we are emotionally dead.”

“Enjoy the time you waste. This way you will not regret wasting your time. Life is all about living and not winning.”

“The best Research is that which is done when we do not know what to do.”

“Be flexible, you will bend. Be rigid, you will break.”

“Be thankful to people you don’t like. What we don’t like in others is what we don’t want for us. Think simple, think wise.”

© 2014 Ahmad and Ahmad

Back to Life

After an especially long and exhausting drive or flight, a grueling week at work, or a mind-numbing exam period — what’s the one thing you do to feel human again?

Human- a word generally used to distinguish man from animals. Is this distinction really required? As kids we used to feel at ease with any animal or bird or insect least bothered about the consequences. Children are kept away from many things, many experiences, yet they do not stop learning. But as adults we hold back and put off our mind. It seems adults need to be taken care of more than children and kept away from many things; to allow every life to take its own stride! The reader is probably wondering: what has humanity got to do with this daily post? Well, this is a point to ponder!

Back to the point. Indeed, long and exhausting drive or flight, a grueling week at work, or a mind-numbing exam period make one feel mechanical. What is that which make us feel ‘back to life’? For me, it is splashing cool water on my face, hands and legs, feel every drop taking away the exhaustion as water flows down. It is a magnificent feeling. Yes, back to life again! As for my better half; I guess the immediate thing he would do is relax in bed stretched out completely or stretch himself in the cozy sofa, (I wonder if it is so cozy) scanning the channels of the television, just like a small kid curiously watching the wagons of a passing train.

Every human will have their own crazy ways of taking them back to life. But whatever we do, in order to feel human, someone with flesh and blood; we need to do the things we love to do. And it would make life more adventurous, enjoyable and worth living if we try to discover ways to feel human whether we are taking our journey through the road (or air or water), through work or studies. Feeling human would cleanse away the exhaustion not only from the body but as well as the mind and soul. Lending a small helping hand to the needy can also make us feel human. We can find ways, innumerable ways. We just have to stop and look around.

“It is better to die once than to have hundred deaths.” We can feel human every moment. It is just a matter of choice! But again, we are ‘humans’ (still pondering over the use of this word) and however hard we try we are over burdened with emotions and taking us back to life is in itself a challenge! So, let us accept this challenge and move ahead and feel human.

© 2014 Ahmad and Ahmad

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