When you're feeling pulled in every direction
And none seem like the right one to walk
When any step you take would have you break
Hang in there - don't jump off that rock!

It isn't a swift and short solution
But positivity and clarity you seek -
Think of the land upon which you stand
Not as a cliff but a mountain peak.

You climbed with single-minded dedication,
Don't ruin it all in a moment of haste.
You didn't stop till you got to the top,
Why let all the effort you put in go to waste?

Lives of few can reach such elevation
But fewer still, those ones rarely found
Who can walk with pride down the other side
And reach with their feet firmly on the ground.

So descend with an equal determination,
Taking small sure steps lest you plummet.
Hold your head high, look to the sky
And start another journey to the summit.

Would you hold me if I was going to fall?
Would you come running if you heard me call?
Would you judge me, or simply let me be?
Do my hopes and fears seem petty, small?
Or do you open your heart to me?
And make my heart feel warm?
Will you take my hand and hold it tight?
Make me feel like I'm protected from harm?
Allow my mind and my thoughts to be free?
Or try to tell me what's wrong and what's right?
Will you be there to wipe my tears when I cry?
And share my laughter when I'm happy?
Would you sing with me without a care?
And join me when I dance in the rain?
Help make my heavy heart feel light?
Would you let me pour my heart out without asking why?
Listen, just listen, and not say a word?
Would you soften the truth, but never lie?
Will you pick up the pieces when I'm shattered?
Will you hold me close when I'm in pain?
Will you love me, unconditionally?
Can I count on you to be there?

I've heard tons of people say 'you only hurt the ones you love'. I've begun to realise the truth of this statement of late.
I've always had the tendency to put my foot in my mouth. (As my cousin was nice enough to put it, he always imagines me pulling feet out of my mouth!) Nevertheless, around people I'm not very close to, I tend to have my guard on. So most of the time, I manage to not get myself into situations so sticky that I can't wheedle out of them.
With my closest friends, though, it's a different story. I let my guard down, and I am totally me. It's just that 'totally me' sometimes is simply a euphemism for in-your-face. Worse still, a lot of the bluntness is after total thoughtlessness. Killer combination.
I've begun to scale new heights in the business of speaking without thinking in the past few days. Heck, I've run out of fingers (and toes) on which to count my numerous mess-ups in the past three days. And the most horrible thing is, as soon as I say it, I regret having said it. I apologise profusely to the injured party, by sorry doesn't bring a dead man back to life et al.
I've made tons of resolutions to the effect of keeping my tongue in check and all, but to no avail. I guess the only solace my friends have is that my intentions are always good, and I would never, EVER hurt them knowingly.

I think I must be one of the last few dreamers in this world of cynics who still believes in happenstance. A lot of people laugh at my naivete but the fact of the matter is, no matter what, I believe. Ever so often, I have hoped and prayed for a miracle, and on numerous occasions, I've actually got one. How could I not believe?
It could be anything. A chance meeting between two people who soon turn into lovers. Stumbling upon a little restaurant in a little side lane which ends up serving the best dosas ever. Just about hearing songs from the earphones of the passenger next to you on the bus ride home and rediscovering a song long forgotten. It's moments like these that are most memorable in our mundane lives.
Over the last few years, I've seen more and more people around me lose faith in lucky chances. Perhaps they're just unwilling to see these events as I do. Or perhaps I'm too lost in my own world to see real life. That may be true, but it's totally worth the trade off to feel the glow when I see providence at work!
In keeping with my view on fortune (or is it plain childishness?), one of my favourite songs of all time is 'Fortuosity' from 'The Happiest Millionaire' (no relation to Slumdog). I honestly feel, from personal experience, that every bit of life is lit by fortuosity. The lyrics may seem very simple, and frankly, they are. But in spite of that (or perhaps because of it), they have made a deep impression on me.

No, I'm not reviewing a Naveen Andrews-Aishwarya Rai movie. I'm simply referring to the fact that I read a very thought provoking e-mail a little while back, and I think it makes sense for all of us to get 'provoked' into thinking about it.
Here's the deal... There is a group of five children playing on an operational railway track, and a single child playing on a parallel unused track. A train approaches unexpectedly on the track in use, and you have the lever to switch tracks to divert the train onto the closed track. Do you do it?
On the surface, I guess it's pretty simple. It's human nature to want to save the five children - a single life lost instead of five. But did you stop to think that the child whose life you would be sacrificing is the one who is completely entitled to be there? And that the five children whose lives were being saved were actually at fault? That the single life lost was an innocent one?
The sad thing is, in the heat of the moment, most people would probably pull the lever. Including those who normally come down hard on rule breakers. And the nice guy would, once again, finish last in a manner of speaking.
Safety in numbers, they say. To them, I say why? As a very wise script writer once put it, just because is is doesn't mean it should be. We've all begun to get so caught up in being street smart that we've tuned ourselves into accepting rule breaking as the norm rather than the exception. it's come to a stage when those who do what they're supposed to are sneered at. Disheartening, right?
A dirty little secret - it struck me with start that I too, would have saved the group of five rather than the loner. And then lived the rest of my life in regret. It takes a great deal of will power to be the only kid on the correct tracks when all the others are playing on the 'more fun' side. People in positions of power should have the sensitivity to admire the strong few and the courage not  to pull that lever.