In modern times, behind our smiles, is great trepidation. I wonder if our ancestors, who had to confront wild animals, disease, and famine, lived in as much fear as we do. There is a lot less in modern times to dread, but we have much greater trepidation in our lives. Even politics has become aContinue reading “Trepidation”
Author Archives: Neil
Hiraeth
There is a certain wistfulness when I think of my childhood home. It was much less of a home with not even a fraction of the conveniences of our present home. It was a tiny house but lives very large in my memory. There has always been a hiraeth in me to return there. ThereContinue reading “Hiraeth”
Emollient
We can buy so many emollients which soothe the skin. The ingredients range from Glycerol, Hyaluronic acid to Coconut oil and Argan oil. They come in all sorts of packages and everyone has their own favorite emollient. The skin suffers if an emollient is not applied and can even crack. It is a multi-billion dollarContinue reading “Emollient”
Self-Esteem
There is a new mantra that has percolated into our society. It is about self-love, self-esteem, self-regard, self-worth. They say that if you don’t love yourself, nobody else will. Not only that, you won’t be good at loving anyone else. Loving starts with the self. How misguided this advice is. It is responsible for soContinue reading “Self-Esteem”
Reputation
All of us have a public persona that we strive to maintain at any cost. We have a reputation to maintain. It matters to us what opinion or image, people have of us. Those who say that they don’t care about their reputation are liars. Such liars probably care about their repute, more than others.Continue reading “Reputation”
Vulnerability
You are unhappy, but you are expected to laugh. You are scared, but you are expected to not act scared. You are angry but supposed to act calm. There are aggressive, unreasonable people out there whose behavior is tolerated by the rest of us because we are expected to act reasonably. We have armor thatContinue reading “Vulnerability”
Cherish
There is so much that we have in life to cherish. Although I lost my father decades ago, I revere the memories of the big breakfasts he would cook for us, Sunday mornings and tight hugs he would hold me in, and my attempts to get out of his hugs although I had no intentionContinue reading “Cherish”
Armaments
Since the dawn of humans, they have been making weapons. The early weapons may have been sharp stones. The weapons continued to evolve from knives and spears to guns and missiles. That did not prove to be enough and there are now nuclear weapons and chemical warfare. The variety and the number of weapons areContinue reading “Armaments”
Epheremal
Our life is made up of a string of ephemeral moments, thoughts, emotions, events and relationships. The present moment is now gone and the coming moment will be in the shadow of the following moment as soon as it dawns. That is the cursory nature of time itself. The past is the past. The presentContinue reading “Epheremal”
Languor
There was a time when I was enthused by Politics. I was naive enough to think that being involved in politics was a noble, selfless expression of love for the people and the society we live in and a chance to uplift us all. There is an indefinable languor that has consumed me in thisContinue reading “Languor”