Tennis has always been an exclusive sport, without easy access to equipment and courts. For me, in many ways, it still is because I dont find people to play with, even though I have rackets and access to a court.
While I was playing on the half court today, a few kids gathered just outside watching me play. Reminded me of the time when I was small and used to be fascinated by people playing tennis, wondering when will I ever get the chance. Once, my brother and I bought a pair of wooden rackets for 5 Dirhams and played on the road, but the rackets lasted only that one day. I could sense the fascination in those kids, and so I handed my extra racket to a kid. And there he was, all excited to try out his hand at tennis, and they took turns to play. Who knows, if one of them make it big, they might remember the start I gave them.
In our selfish world, nobody pays any attention to people on the sidelines. Those dreamy eyes, longing for a chance, go unnoticed. I am happy about my good deed and I will continue drooling over those Porsches, hoping for some karma.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Food for thought
Spending hours at work doing nothing ( because there is actually nothing to do ) invariably leads to philosophical questions like 'How can I find work that is truly satisfying?', 'How will I do this for the rest of my life?'. Reading articles and blogs leads to a desire to do something meaningful to serve people who could use some help. Listening to music gets me dreaming about leaving everything and just playing music. But then what follows is a realization that these wont pay my bills, and I will have to suck it up for much longer. When some good work comes along, these thoughts get thrown out the window, and I am more or less satisfied.
On yet another boring workday, I stumbled upon a brilliant article called 'Solitude and Leadership'. It pointed out how the leadership of most organisations just keeps the routine going. People at the top are there not because they are particularly competent, innovative, but just made it there to the top by means of a process. I am not trying to throw light at incompetent management ( I have worked with some useless ones, but also some brilliant people). The point is that most of us end up doing tasks that have very little significance on the overall scheme of the organisation, but just keeps the routine going. Every stage of the organisational hierarchy sucks up to the stage above. But companies make profit, so some people must be doing stuff that count or maybe the sum of our singular contributions works in favour of the company.
The article points out how distractions like Facebook, TV, Youtube, even newspapers prevent us from really concentrating and bombards us with a stream of other peoples thoughts, therefore not allowing your own thoughts to flourish. Solitude is needed to find yourself, for introspection to answer difficult questions about your life. Solitude is needed for concentration of focussed work. Your first thought is always someone else's and sticking to the question, letting all parts of your mind come into play breeds an original idea, and for a leader, a much-needed change in policy or strategy.
What I love about the article, is that it includes deep friendship as a part of solitude. Intimate conversation with people you trust, opening up to them and asking questions or expressing feelings, becomes a part of introspection, and enhances your solitude.
The article provides ample food for thought, which I may not have justified here. This rather preachy and philosophical post is to remind me to make better use of the abundance of solitude I seem to find and enjoy, to work on concentration and to celebrate the amazing friends I have.
On yet another boring workday, I stumbled upon a brilliant article called 'Solitude and Leadership'. It pointed out how the leadership of most organisations just keeps the routine going. People at the top are there not because they are particularly competent, innovative, but just made it there to the top by means of a process. I am not trying to throw light at incompetent management ( I have worked with some useless ones, but also some brilliant people). The point is that most of us end up doing tasks that have very little significance on the overall scheme of the organisation, but just keeps the routine going. Every stage of the organisational hierarchy sucks up to the stage above. But companies make profit, so some people must be doing stuff that count or maybe the sum of our singular contributions works in favour of the company.
The article points out how distractions like Facebook, TV, Youtube, even newspapers prevent us from really concentrating and bombards us with a stream of other peoples thoughts, therefore not allowing your own thoughts to flourish. Solitude is needed to find yourself, for introspection to answer difficult questions about your life. Solitude is needed for concentration of focussed work. Your first thought is always someone else's and sticking to the question, letting all parts of your mind come into play breeds an original idea, and for a leader, a much-needed change in policy or strategy.
What I love about the article, is that it includes deep friendship as a part of solitude. Intimate conversation with people you trust, opening up to them and asking questions or expressing feelings, becomes a part of introspection, and enhances your solitude.
The article provides ample food for thought, which I may not have justified here. This rather preachy and philosophical post is to remind me to make better use of the abundance of solitude I seem to find and enjoy, to work on concentration and to celebrate the amazing friends I have.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
A Parisian Affair
I dont remember why I always put visiting Paris for later. I think it had something to do with the aura that I associated with the city, that I wanted it to be extra special when I first went there. With my easter weekend plans going down the drain, making that Paris trip was suddenly the most convenient option. So in a flurry I booked my tickets deciding to bask in all the aura by myself.
Easter weekend meant that Paris was really crowded. But it also meant that the city was bustling with life. I guess that is the case throughout the year. I loved the street musicians and artists, especially at eh Sacre couer, whipping the crowd to a song-and-dance frenzy.
The Eiffel tower the symbol of Paris, was magnificent, even more at night with the lights on. I spent a good 8 hours around it, revelling in the moment, and taking pictures. Sheer beauty.
I went to Versailles Chateau but skipped it after seeing the queue there, and instead, went to Rolland Garros, which for me was far more significant than another cathedral or castle. The tour was very enlightening, and I can now watch the French Open with a fresh perspective.
Walking down one of the most gorgeous stretches of land, from the grand Arc de Triomphe down the awesome Champ de Elsyees to the Louvre, I realized why this was billed as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The charm, which for me makes a place memorable, was there to see.
The Louvre was a disappointment. Descriptions in French and sold out audio guides ruined it for me. And I failed to see how the Mona Lisa, which was clearly a tourist attraction, was a better painting than many of the others on display. Anyway, it was the last part of my trip, and after downing a sumptuous beaf steak with cheese sauce, I went to catch my mitfahr.
No trip ends without adventure, and it turns out that the guy had committed to more people than the places he had in his car. We decided to dump the guy and look for alternate transport. Looked like I was in for a long night, possibly lying around in the station. But they dont call me bookie for nothing. While the others bought train tickets at double the price, I went to Eurolines station and waited hours till the time of departure of the bus to Germany. Persistence always pays, and I got a last minute ticket thanks to a no-show.
I was unsure how travelling alone would work out. But there was enough life on the streets to keep me occupied. And I could go where I wanted when I wanted. The map in my hand took me everywhere, and I didnt have to listen to any 'My feet are hurting. Lets get back', a regular thing with many of my travel mates here. And I dont know how many would have been game for 8 hours doing nothing around the Eiffel.
Paris, the City of love, the City of Lights was beautiful. The Champs de Elysees deserves more than a 20 minute walk, and I will be there again, next time with company.
Easter weekend meant that Paris was really crowded. But it also meant that the city was bustling with life. I guess that is the case throughout the year. I loved the street musicians and artists, especially at eh Sacre couer, whipping the crowd to a song-and-dance frenzy.
 |  |  |
The Eiffel tower the symbol of Paris, was magnificent, even more at night with the lights on. I spent a good 8 hours around it, revelling in the moment, and taking pictures. Sheer beauty.
 |  |  |
I went to Versailles Chateau but skipped it after seeing the queue there, and instead, went to Rolland Garros, which for me was far more significant than another cathedral or castle. The tour was very enlightening, and I can now watch the French Open with a fresh perspective.
 |  |  |
Walking down one of the most gorgeous stretches of land, from the grand Arc de Triomphe down the awesome Champ de Elsyees to the Louvre, I realized why this was billed as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The charm, which for me makes a place memorable, was there to see.
 |  |  |
The Louvre was a disappointment. Descriptions in French and sold out audio guides ruined it for me. And I failed to see how the Mona Lisa, which was clearly a tourist attraction, was a better painting than many of the others on display. Anyway, it was the last part of my trip, and after downing a sumptuous beaf steak with cheese sauce, I went to catch my mitfahr.
No trip ends without adventure, and it turns out that the guy had committed to more people than the places he had in his car. We decided to dump the guy and look for alternate transport. Looked like I was in for a long night, possibly lying around in the station. But they dont call me bookie for nothing. While the others bought train tickets at double the price, I went to Eurolines station and waited hours till the time of departure of the bus to Germany. Persistence always pays, and I got a last minute ticket thanks to a no-show.
I was unsure how travelling alone would work out. But there was enough life on the streets to keep me occupied. And I could go where I wanted when I wanted. The map in my hand took me everywhere, and I didnt have to listen to any 'My feet are hurting. Lets get back', a regular thing with many of my travel mates here. And I dont know how many would have been game for 8 hours doing nothing around the Eiffel.
Paris, the City of love, the City of Lights was beautiful. The Champs de Elysees deserves more than a 20 minute walk, and I will be there again, next time with company.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)