New Year Resolution 2009

Better late than never… Every one makes their New Year resolutions by New Year eve and by the 2nd week of the New Year they have already broken the resolutions. Two months have gone by and it just dawned on me that I have not updated my New Year resolutions.

As my mom says, all I do is copy paste the previous year resolutions and change the wordings a bit.. that’s all.. So in protest I am not going to do that.

I have only one resolution this year and that is not to swear. I have discovered that I have a very “Mumbaiya” slang of talking which includes a lot of the word “saala”. Also due to the esteemed company that I’m in now a days professionally, every second word I hear is “fuck”. So I have also developed a tendency to keep punctuating my sentences with these choice epithets.

My new year resolution is to take one day at a time and try to avoid using “saala”, “fuck”, “damn”, “bloody”, “asshole” and “bastard” in the normal course of life. These, now that I think back are my favourite swear words and though I’m conscious every time I use them of their unbecomingness I haven’t made any real attempts to stop.

I have also surprisingly (it came as a shock, albeit a pleasant one, to me too!) written one of my Oracle papers. So am tempted to put down on my resolution list that I will finish off the remaining 2 papers in the next 6 months, but I don’t want to jinx anything. So it stays off the list.

Pulling down on my weight is not something that I need to work on this year as it has started with a 3 week trip to Poland at the end of which I’m sure I would have lost at least 2-3 Kgs. That’s good enough for a year.

Regarding my talking a lot and trying to cut down on it, I’ve realized that I talk on and on when I have an audience that I know enjoys my blabbering. Given that I spend most of my time at office or onsite at the client location where there is too much work and the audience is not very receptive, my talking has gone down considerably. Needs working on thought, but am getting there. I’m sure by the time I’m sixty I would be mute!

So here goes my New Year resolution list:

I will not swear!

Postivie Action

Ever imagined what a criminal waste of your time it is to lie in bed or snuggle on your couch and watch movies that preach positive action. No, it’s not the inspiration in the movie that is disgusting. It’s not that there are so many of them for your viewing pleasure that is appalling. What is however unacceptable is your unchanged view towards things even after these movies. I saw a wide variety of movies today – a cartoon, a Hindi movie and an English one. All three in their own way spoke of just one thing – believe in yourself and you can change the world, or at least the part of it that most affects you.

How many of us watch movies like these are shed a tear or two at the director’s cue? How many of us have our hearts soaring high when we see the underdog triumph. How many of us wish for a moment that we were that underdog?

How many of us have the guts and the will to become that underdog?

Let me answer my last question - not many. We conveniently forget that it took positive action from someone at some point of time in history for us to be enjoying our privileges today. Agreed that in today’s day and age, it is very difficult to gather the time, energy and motivation to take time of our “busy” lives to do something which actually contributes to the world that we are living in.

So let’s take baby steps. It’s not a question of doing big things, great things and monumental things. It’s a question of doing atleast something – something positive. Paying the fine rather than bribing the hawaldar, trying not to break the traffic rules in the first place, respecting another individual’s time by not making him / her wait for hours (how often have we said “he is just a driver, he can wait”), closing a dripping tap, helping a blind person cross the road, giving atleast an inconsequential fraction of our salary towards charity, doing something with your life other than eating, sleeping and going to office…. Anything…..
I’m so tired even trying to write up this list as I’m sure that most people trying to read it would be. We can’t even conjure up enough energy for introspection, forget it, we are no underdogs! Infact, I don’t even know what kind of existence we lead?
The sum total of an average life = 0.

Shit, why do they make inspirational movies? To mock our existence!! I’m sure there is some conspiracy. The universe is unhappy at my inertia and is conniving to stir my soul…but hey, its not going to work. No Siree, I live in oblivion and no amount of cajoling, pushing or scaring is going to get me out of my safe cocoon. I know I have the potential to be a beautiful butterfly. I know I have the capacity to make the world a better place with my colour. But I also know that the butterfly has a very short life indeed. So I would rather shrivel in my shell than venturing out to fulfill my potential, lest I meet resistance on my way. Nothing and no one is going to change that! I won’t allow it.
Never. NEVER!!!!