Just close your eyes and feel the magic inside
The pure fresh feeling you never get when you are awake.
How easy it is just to close your eyes
And wander through the magical sweet dreams
Unaware of all the heartbreaks.
The tears pushed aside,
A smile will appear on your lips,
You’ll never want to wake up
And go through daily chores again.
Remain in the wonderful dreamland,
Wrapped in a silk sheet of happiness
Take a dip in the pool of joy,
Be kissed by the feeling of pure love
And when you wake up in the morning,The feeling will still echo in your heart.

Possesion Vs. Love

From Maria's Diary extracted from Paulo Coelho's Elevan Minutes

Once upon a time, there was a bird. he was adorned with two perfect wings and with glossy, colourful, marvellous feathers. In short, he was a creature made to fly about freely in the sky, bringing joy to everyone who saw him.One day, a woman saw this bird and fell in love with him.

She watched his flight, her mouth wide in amazement, her heart punding, her eyes shining with excitement. She invited the bird to fly with her and the two travelled across the sky in perfect harmony. She admired and venerated and celebrated that bird.But then she thought: He might want to visit far-off mountains! And she was afraid, afraid that she would never feel the same way about any other bird. And she felt envy for the bird's ability to fly. And she felt alone. And she thought "I'm going to set a trap. The next time the bird appears he will never leave again"

The bird who was also in love returned the following morning, fell into the trap and was put in a cage. She looked at the bird every day. There he was, the object of her passion, and she showed him to her friends, who said "Now you have everything you could possibily want." However a strange transformation began to take place: now that she had the bird and no longer needed to woo him, she began to lose interest. The bird unable to fly and express the true meaning of life, began to waste away and his feathers to lose their gloss; he grew ugly; and the woman no longer paid him any attention, except by feeding him and cleaning out the cage.

One day the bird died. The woman felt horribly sad and spent all her time thinking about him. But she did not remember tha cage, she thought only of the day when she had seen him for the first time flying contentedly amongst the clouds.If she had looked more deeply into herself, she would have realized that what had thrilled her about the bird was his freedom, the energy of his wings in motion, not his physical body.

Without the bird her life too lost all meaning and Death came to her door. "Why have you come?" she asked Death. "So that you can fly once more with him across the sky" Death replied. "If you had allowed him to come and go, you would have loved and admired him even more; alas you now need me to find him again."

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An afterthought:How many of us have died over and over just like the bird? How many of us like the woman had not come to realization until the bird is no longer alive? Some times the bird may not end up dead but it doesn't necessarily mean that he is alive.

POSSESSION CAN NEVER BE JUSTIFIED BY LOVE but by the time most of us realize it it's too late........

A Moment of "Nothingness"

There are days I would like to stand in my balcony gazing at the rising Sun with my mind, heart and soul feeling completely empty and breath in the first fresh air of the day. There are days I would like to sit in the beach watching the sunset with the salty wind embracing me and once again the total emptiness taking over my mind and body. To me this is taking a break from the long hectic life that most of the time comprises of PAIN.

Constantly we are on the run. Let it be work, family life, daily chores etc. etc. Since the Sun rise to the night fall, we struggle to pass hundred hurdles, argue with thousand people, fight ten thousand problems, battle the army of hundred thousand unexpected circumstances and wrestle with one million feelings. How many of us would just stop, as in really STOP and take a long breath at least once just to refresh our energy and strength? Been caught up in the rat race, we ignore the simple things that can free us from the pain we suffer; may be not eternally but at least for one blissful moment. Normally we take a break in the form of going out with friends, night out at the cinema, dancing till we drop etc. However even then millions of feelings roam our mind and soul. There are even simpler things that can free us completely and transform our complex selves to a blank sheet. Now THAT is truly a break.

Take a moment from your busy, painful and complicated life and devote it merely to watch the sunset or see a butterfly scatter. Stand near a waterfall and listen to its rhythmic flow not only from your ears but from your heart and soul. Hear the innocent laughter of a child or see the trees dance to the breeze. Let go of all thoughts, deeds, responsibilities and feelings that cause pain and pressure. Experience the emptiness. Live the freedom. Clear the mind. Purify the soul. Feel the unexplainable sensation which I prefer to call “Nothingness”.

It won’t last for ever. It won’t solve all problems. It won’t grant you eternal peace. It is only momentary. Alas nothing last forever. However that single precious moment can be an enormous pressure releaser than one may anticipate. It’s a split second of simplicity; a getaway from the material world for sometimes it's just the time to rest and leave all your pain behind.

Ever thought of THQM?

The much anticipated 21st century arrived with great technological breakthroughs tagging along the way. We boast about unbelievable innovations (which were definitely not on our ancestors’ minds when they discovered fire) that have become real with modern science and technology.

The human being is such a mysterious creature. He or she (mind the gender equality) possesses the one thing that no other living being does: the power of thought. This is the reason behind all the transformations. Today we are capable of doing millions of things that were not possible to do if we were born hundred years ago (or even ten years ago). Today we talk about information technology, genetic engineering, robotic mechanism and artificial intelligence, aeronautics, biological transplants (and the list goes on and on). It is our strong belief that all these fascinating technological advances intend to make human life better. But is it the real case or is it otherwise? May be it was the original intention at first, but along the way it seems like the creators/experimenters/users of such technologies have deviated from it (it is a common belief that great scientists and professors are quite absent minded).

With the novel concept of ‘humans-going-techno’, it is hard to predict how the future would be. The world is undergoing rapid changes with new components being added and old ones being removed, replaced or upgraded. Or rather is it the whole world that is changing or is it only a part of it? It is a known fact that (though some may not want to admit it) the ones who utilize almost all of high technologies are the ones known as ‘developed countries’. They skim off all the benefits and blow their trumpet while the poor African children (or rather child skeletons) suffer and die out of starvation. This is only one instance. (Even during their short period of suffering life, I wonder if they have ever heard of a computer.) If the intention of introducing technology was to make human life better, why are most of them still suffering?

Even today millions die from starvation, curable (mind you) diseases, lack of clean drinking water (and this list too goes on and on). Countries owning advanced technologies and great amounts of resources express their sympathy over these issues making tons of vows, but take no action. (Actions do speak louder than words.) Where is technology outsourcing? Where is resource sharing? And most of all where is human empathy?

Children are not naturally moral beings. But as they gradually develop and enter adulthood they acquire the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. The unequal distribution of technological advances is definitely wrong. Here the issue is not that this problem is not identified. The issue is that no one wants to take any action. All are bounded with policies they themselves have created, in order to be the winner of the planet Earth defeating the fellow human beings (perhaps the motive being the lure of lucre). Along with the advancing of technologies, human values have diluted. Greater the innovations were, colder the human heart became.

With the emergence of artificial intelligence, today’s attempt is to create robotics able to think, feel and love like human beings. But the real challenge is to stop the human kind from transforming into mechanical beings that have no feelings, emotions, empathy or values (one can learn a lot from the movie ‘AI’ – Steven Spielberg’s depiction of future artificial intelligence).
Japanese practice “Total Quality Management (TQM)” spread over the world with the arrival of emphasis on improving product and process quality. It served the purpose and was a success. It is high time a similar methodology was introduced to improve human quality (in order to make the world a caring and humane society once again). May be it could be called, “Total Human Quality Management (THQM)”?

A point to ponder……………. (especially for the ‘techno people’).

Life, Love, Loss, Loneliness, Loyalty

Life, Love, Loss, Loneliness, Loyalty…what does these words have in common….other than they all starting with ‘L’ of course? I would say complexity.

They say life is to live not to suffer. But how many of us live life without suffering? The desperate attempts we make to live life sometimes in return make us suffer brutally. Most of the time we are either in confusion or desperation that we do not see things clearly or think clearly. Our high expectations, ambitious goals and overconfidence trigger pain and suffering when things start falling apart. Some of us always believe everything will be the way we want and do not realize that every thing has two possible outcomes; favourable and unfavourable. We only anticipate the favourable outcome and when it is the unfavourable outcome that arrives we take a blow since we had not been ready for it. Then there is the type that lack confidence. When things continuously go wrong, we conclude that life is going to be in misery forever. The thought itself leads us to misery and we live each day suffering.

Love is a word connected with many other words; trust, understanding, friendship and happiness. How many of us gone through love without trust? Without understanding? Without friendship? Without happiness? Love is a wonderful thing that is unfortunately taken for granted by most of us. Love may not be able to move mountains but still it can generate certain changes in people. At most it can change a person’s entire life. My personal opinion is that love is not just about getting into a relationship, living with the person, having kids etc. Instead it’s about wanting the best for the other person. Sometimes we love those who don’t love us back. Sometimes we love those who we cannot have. Sometimes we find it hard to feel the same way about those who actually love us. One cannot force himself or herself to love someone. On the other hand it is said that love needs conscious commitment in order to sustain. But if it’s only commitment and no love, then is there anything to be sustained at all? What more explanation is needed to illustrate love’s complexity?

Along the path of life we gain things and we lose things. It’s easily said but not widely accepted. Many of us find it impossible to let go of the things we love; people we love. We try so hard to hold on even when we know for sure that we have lost it/them; let it be a break up, death of a loved one, loss of a lifeless property that meant so much to us.
We do not realize that even the most beautiful days eventually have their sunsets. Letting go is not easy but it’s not impossible. Most of us just don’t even give it a try. Sometimes we have to lose someone to get that someone. Sometimes we have to lose something to get that something. When we lose things only we realize how much they have meant to us. While they are there, we merely take them for granted and don’t realize how precious they are until we have let them slip through our fingers. Then at the last moment we struggle to hold on alas only to lose it even more. The more we try to stretch a rubber band the ultimate result will be that at one point it will break. You might tie up the two pieces but it will never be the same old strong band anymore. How many of us realize this before the band is broken?

Each of us is born alone and dies alone, but loneliness is something that we cannot come to terms with. Being alone doesn’t necessarily mean that one is lonely. At times even when we are all alone we may not feel lonely. However there are times we feel lonely even when we are with a large crowd. The fear of loneliness could even become a mental illness if abnormal and persistent. Some of us have trouble distinguishing between independence and solitude. Loss and loneliness go hand in hand. Most of us who experience loss of something/someone experience loneliness afterwards. How many times have we thought everybody else has this or that but I don’t, everybody else does this or that but I can’t? All of us have experienced it not once or twice but many a times during our short life span.

Loyalty goes a long way with trust and commitment; faithfulness and devotion; honesty and truthfulness. However loyalty should not be there merely for the sake of existence. When one falls out of love while in a relationship, some may define loyalty as still hanging on due to commitment and devotion. However is it being truthful or honest? Isn’t expressing the true feelings being loyal too? A obedient daughter not accepting the hand of her love in order to be loyal to her parents who oppose their matrimony; a sacrifice made out of loyalty. We the humans are experts in waiting till the last moment to make things right; wait until everything has gone wrong to realize the mistakes we have made.

All these things have become so complicated since we never realize that even the most beautiful days will eventually have its sunsets. In life we hesitate to make certain decisions but it’s always better late than never. Even the best things may not last forever. Things happen when we least expect them to be. How many of us are actually ready to accept these facts and be ready for what ever comes our way? How many of us stand strong and firm what ever garbage life throws at us and move on? Having a firm and strong mental status that stands even the severest test of fate is the key in making life, love, loss, loneliness and loyalty simple to deal with. The key is not lost. It’s there out in the open. We are just too blind to see it and too lazy to pick it up. Make the extra effort, pick it up and open the door to simplicity, contentment and happiness.

A Wake-up Call!

The thirty year old brutal war has come to an end. A victory that stimulated grand celebrations across our small island. The prolonged fear of war is finally thrown out the window and is replaced with a feeling of hope and relief. But is it all over? Now that the war is over, should we just get on with our daily deeds as if nothing happened?

The aftermath of a war is complicated. Dealing with it may be even more difficult than facing the war. And it is our duty that we see to it that no more such wars are created. It is our duty that no more ‘Prabhakarans’ will ever walk on this island. At present fabricated news is been spread around the world regarding the war and its aftermath. The ultimate consequence of these shameless acts motivated by certain self-interested individuals and groups with greed of power and lucre, could be the recreation of hatred, grudge and misunderstanding. It was the same hatred, grudge and misunderstanding that decades ago created the vicious plague of war that ruined our country.

The painful memories of the Black July still haunt the minds of Tamils. They cannot be blamed, for how much we try, we still fear the past. Even in our personal lives when we have encountered painful experiences in the past, however hopeful we are about the future, the fear of history repeating itself will always linger at the back of our minds. This is human nature. But this time history will NOT repeat itself. This message should be voiced. As much as we ensure eachother’s safety, we should do our best to push aside the fears and embrace new hope.

But should we let a few self-interested parties from both races ruin our unity? Should we let them benefit from our misunderstanding? Should we just sit and watch till all these lead up to another war that can devastate all of us?I say NO. We the next generation of Mother Lanka must set the records right. We the young blood must voice our opinion. We the educated, intelligent youth must let the world know the truth. Most of the generation that divided our nation due to race, became racists and gave in to political agendas is dead and gone. The rest will be gone with time. We are smarter, wiser and cleverer. And THIS is a new era.Therefore let us take a stand against the misinterpretations and fictions spreading throughout the world. How can people living outside the country know what exactly happens within the country? They have the right to know the truth but NOT the fictional truth spread by turncoats. Hence it is our duty to see to it that it is the truth that is been told. This does NOT mean whitewashing the government or the bureaucracy.

Make an effort..whether you are here or abroad. Even the slightest will count. I know each and every one of you have something that can be used in this mission….let it be PR skills, IT skills, writing ability, contacts, etc. you all have the potential. Make use of the free education you received. Make use of the international media, blogs and what ever you can think of. Support it with facts, evidence, references and testemonies.

Therefore please let your voice be heard. Tell the world that we don’t want another war. Tell the world we will stand up for our rights as Sri Lankans NOT as individual races. Go against the norm. Find and use means to get your voice across the globe especially to those who are targeted by these self-interested traitors. Enlighten them about who we are, what really went on, our stand against violence and that we will NOT tolerate another war.Can we make a difference? YES WE CAN!

United, we can…..United, we shall……