This is Me!

My posts have always been about issues that I feel strongly about.  When I first started blogging, I really did not have a coherent thought process, neither did I really know what I stood for.  However, when I started reviewing my posts, I discovered a pattern that made me recognize this.
So, this blog post is an attempt to define me! Readers can be aware that henceforth when you read my posts, you will identify them with who I am.

1. Lots of patience: As a person, I take a lot of abuse, mostly with a smile. Where does this quality come from?  I do not know, perhaps from my Dharma, perhaps from my father who taught me the virtue of patience, perhaps from my belief that no matter what we do, we are governed by forces greater than us, and we should learn to respect and accept them. Many of the people close to me have been amazed at how equivocal I remain in the face of adversity, and am even able to absorb pressures where others could have crumbled.  I somehow, have not been able to appreciate other's views of me as much as I should, and realize this point only through other's perspectives of me.
2. Observe a lot, talk a little: I am an introvert; this is not a confession, it is the reality.  Where others would prefer to say a thousand words, I would probably say a few, and stop at that.  That makes me intransigent at times, difficult to understand or grasp, but then, that is me.  If people around me are not perceptive, they are likely to miss the point.  More often than not, it is what I do not say, which has to be read, then what I say. So, how do you get to know me? By carefully observing exactly what I say, even if it is rarely that I speak. Also, because of my need for brevity, listeners will need to fill in appropriately for what I do not say, and if that does not happen, I lose interest in the conversation fairly quickly.
3. Take note, move on: I have rarely looked back.  There are ups and downs, good and bad in my life too, as in everyone's lives.  I find instances of people cursing their past, or living in past glory.  Neither of these interest me, or affect me.  For me, life is about moving on, so long as the path you believe in is right.  If I do look back, it is only with a quiet sense of satisfaction, and gratitude towards what the world has provided for me, in spite of all my failings and shortcomings.
4. Keep making mistakes: There is this general tendency in this world that everything must be 'perfect'.  What a boring world it would be, if that wish became a fact.  Being human is realising that we are bound to make mistakes. Sometimes, the mistakes are because of commission, other times, due to omission.  Once you realise that they are bound to occur, you start accepting them and then moving on to your next mistake.  Each mistake that I make gives me some learning, but that does not prevent me from making my next mistake. The main thing for me is to accept mistakes when I make them, ignore them when I am accused of them, and move on, 
5. The fall guy...implicit trust in relations: I have always placed implicit trust in relationships, sometimes, blindly and foolishly. When such implicit trust is broken it does not hurt me as much as it saddens me. Faith and trust are earned with great difficulty, and breaking such trust is a difficult task. If at all, I have always left it to the other person to demonstrate a lack of trust before I give up.  On many occassions, I find my trust is misplaced, but then I count it as one more mistake on my part, and move on.
6. Brook no nonsense: Now this could be contradicting what I said earlier, but then which human being is not a bundle of contradicting thoughts? I am fairly clear in my mind as to what is correct and what is not. I may decide not to be vocal about it, but that does not alter my thoughts.  When I find people who are continuously against my grain, I ignore them altogether.  People either need to respect me for what I am, or learn to live without me in their frame.
7. Respect for law, even when I believe it is flawed: I find a lot of things wrong with the law, the way it is conceived, the way it is implemented, and the way people around me decide to follow or flout it. At many times, I am at loggerheads with it, unwilling to accept it as correct, and yet unwilling to break it.  For every such dilemma that I face daily in my life, I prefer to follow the law even if I do not understand or agree with it. For, if we were not to follow the law, any law, for that matter, we would add to the chaos of a lawless world, and that is something I would hate to do.
8. Change should begin with self, not with others around you: I keep hearing so many sermons from so many people who preach the world what they should do.  I am sometimes surprised when some of these preachers fail to practice what they preach. I find it difficult to ask people to change, especially when I know I myself resist change.  So, what do I do? Stand up for what I am, the way I am.  Neither proud, nor defiant; just the way I am.  if people see a role model in me, so be it. Follow my examples, good or bad. if on the other hand, you disagree with me, follow the path that you think is correct, even if I or others may not agree with it.

This is me as I am today.  They say that in a person's lifetime, he lives seven times, and recalls his 'previous' life only as a distant memory, disconnected with the present life.  The me of tomorrow could be very different from the me of today, and that is a law of nature.  What I am today is because of my past; as I keep growing, new experiences will make a new me, and that will gradually change the old me.