Credit goes to Suraj Viswanath, and his friend :).
The "alien" in me
"Ships are safe when docked. But that's not what ships are built for! This is the story (rather broken memories) of a friend, who dared to dream and whose visions determined the course as I sailed out of my cocoon into the unchartered waters around. His colorful ideas emblazoned my hitherto dark and dull skies! His ship is not around today, “returning to my elements” as he would often refer to, but his memories live in me forever.
I knew him from the time he started looking out into the dark starry skies from our pigeonhole and kept wondering why those brilliant stars couldn't just wipe out the darkness in between! The craziest form of wonder ever posed to my analytical brain! I started listening to him when he explained why the beautiful things in the world just can't keep you happy at all times! We shared a common room in our eventful years of engineering but it was not artificial intelligence but natural imagination that we were up to in our night out talks. He was not keen on studies, he was never a member of our study group and no one really noticed this lonely soul until he ran into me with his crazy (I won't say that now though!) visions! And luckily for my friend I was a good listener and sharp arguer. There was a strange tinge of beauty and mystery in his eyes as he reflected on his experiments with space, time and the life that existed in their coordinates. To him darkness and disorder were the default entities in space, birth the default in time, and sorrow the default emotion in life! I would argue citing the beautiful sunrises, perfect pictures and happy minds around.
Then he would ask me, “Dear friend are you happy today?”
My frank answer would be “No! Something or the other definitely went wrong, just the depth of wound varies day to day!”
To which he would say, “Huh buddy you just can't swallow the beauty around, you just can't truly replace sorrow, you just can't align the stars… because disorder is meant to be there for evolution! Like the darkness carved out hard on the skies, sorrow is imprinted in you from birth; from mom you imbibe more than anything, pain!”
"Happiness, and order are illusions the human race invented out of evolution chains and the day the cover is blown no magnificent sunrise will protect you but your elements will: your elements which originated amidst those chaotic times… times when no order, no light not even 'time' existed!”
“So buddy be among the stars and nothing can touch you from this world! At the end of every dazzling night all candles are but flames.”
I am dumb. I couldn't just take those heavy doze of philosophy wrapped in his crazy words. But frankly I started liking the way he viewed the world around and I believed he never 'belonged' here and gave him the nickname 'alien'.
The mysterious connection between darkness and sadness was revealed before me as my friendly philosophical mind carried me to the boundaries of imagination. Both are deep and vast, I couldn't help correlating! But I never gave way. I am not crazy! I held firm to my line of thoughts…
With the wisdom of a scholar, I would say, “These days, engineering days… are meant to be so! Later on, we will find our own careers and have a family. Everything will be in order and happiness will fall out from the dark skies… the sun will rise again!” For a moment I thought I had convinced him about my own theory of happiness ahead but then he would smile back at me as if there was no tomorrow! Well, for him the only truth was birth. He was never afraid of death as “death is nothing but our final birth”, in his crazy, crazy world! “You came to this world in pain and in a birth and when you leave for the 'balanced' world you have to leave in pain and through a birth.” His law of conservation was way out of reach for my encephalon!
My head used to explode as I revolved, like the earth, around his mysterious world, keeping the pace and distance so as to avoid being sucked into the sunny flames of his ideas! But then, these thoughtful nights' lasting hangover equipped me with an expanding mind ready to face the next dawn's surprises. For me the intoxication in his visions was just the beverage for my mind!
Years passed by, the sparkling rainbow in the vanilla sky threw back its colors on my life. I got the job I thought I wanted, the girl I truly loved and had the “order in life” I always predicted. Seasons rolled by, drenched in summer showers and in autumn I gazed with dismay at the leaves, fallen from life, indistinguishable.
I didn't see 'alien' again… rather never did I dare to find him, but his ideas remained with me. Every sunrise gave me a new birth; happiness never ever was retained in the delicate sieve of time.
And today, as time waits to place the final spring of life in the form of lifeless roses on my chest, I suddenly find my friend 'alien'. He wasn't crazy but 'he' was 'I' fast-forwarded into the future! The fresh air, fragrance of red wine and promising roses still clung to my frozen black suit in tact, but I will be carrying back just the pain for my 'last birth'. Church bells ringing around my deaf ears had the whisper of my love's words as I succumbed to time. Oh my dear friend can you be more right? This coffin is as good as a cradle… birth indeed is the default in time! And as I look out to the fading stars from my glassy cage I ask 'alien', “Dear friend, tell me why this engulfing darkness in spite of the brilliant stars out there?” I almost kissed the stars when I saw him smiling as he whispered, “Soul mate, be among the stars and nothing can touch you from this world!” The final realization of life came inches before my black hole but still it made the transition smooth!
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A Reason A Season and A Lifetime"© by Brain A. "Drew" Chalker.
People always come into you life for a reason, a season and a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, or to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or even spiritually. They may seem like a Godsend to you, and they are. They are there for a reason, you need them to be.
Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die, Sometimes they just walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.
When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season. And like Spring turns to Summer and Summer to Fall, the season eventually ends.
Lifetime, relationships teach you a lifetime of lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a slid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas in your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. Thank you for being part of my life...."
