When the passion goes missing

Work becomes depression,
holidays feel listless,
relationships are thrown asunder.
People evoke frustration.
When the passion goes missing,
Life becomes an endless blur.
But all is yet not lost,
only when you taste dispassion,
can you savour the thrills of passion.
So rise and shine..
It's yet another day..
So do your best and
at the end of it all, close your eyes and pray.
Someone's listening up there.

The 150th..
So, I've reached my 150th blog post...must thank Winnie Leong..a former classmate in SG who inspired me to start a blog coz' she thought I was a decent writer and also because it would help me get a bit more comfortable with technology..so, if you're reading this Winnie..tks :) Also, to all the other people in my life from friends, family to colleagues and editors who've read my work and appreciated it..Tks to you too..
It's been a while since I entered the job fray...In India, it's been a little more than a month..but if I include my stint in SG..it's coming close to 1.5 years already..been alright. I've dabbled in all sorts of writing..from writing for my school magazine, to writing for newspapers, to writing for a lifestyle magazine to writing for kids..I've nearly done everything. Everything's been a learning experience for which I'm most glad. The other thing I've recently started, by the grace of Mr Kanti Patel, is teaching. I LOVE it...I mean..most of my students initially thought me to be a fellow student..but the rapport I've managed to develop with many of them feels really nice...
Finally, I think I'm atleast inching closer to things that I do for their own sake, rather than for any ulterior motive. I think, self actualisation may not be as hard to come by in the remaining decades of my life.

Don't take it on your heart (dil pe mat le yaar, in hindi)
That's the one line I've heard almost regularly in the two decades of my life (atleast ever since I could understand it)...You see, I'm a rather EMO sorta person..painfully sensitive about small things at times. Most of this centres around my sensitivity about people. WHY? I sometimes question myself..it's never or rather almost never rewarding to count too much on people. To think too much about their words and actions...is pointless. Most people are rather insensitive about these pithy little things.
Detachment..is key. I'm learning to be a more or less solitary crusader. I've just stepped in to the cold, crude, selfish world of offices, co-workers and office-politics. (Touchwood) I've not had it that bad till now. But this one piece of advice rings in my ears everytime I feel let down by somebody. The boss (I shall not name anyone) said: "Hang out, be social, exchange talk and laughter..but NEVER get too close to anyone. It ends up hurting you when you start counting on people..even if they are really nice to you." It was sound advice..not very good relation advice though. But I feel, in the larger scheme of things, it matters. "You don't join places to make friends alone..you join them to make yourself. If good people come across, it's just a bonus!" The only glitch - Who then, are friends? In an increasingly competitive, time-strapped world, the definition is becoming increasingly narrow. Unfortunately. Reality bites. But one HAS to learn how to survive it and survive with flying colours. Happiness maybe elusive, but it's still there. One just has to search harder and be thick-skinned in the pursuit.