One Last Dance

Excuse will always be there for you, opportunity won't.

Some of the best stories of success are from people who never gave up trying. In truth, one who fails but does not give up, is either as stubborn as a mule or learns from past mistakes and failures to make the dream come true.
Stories is what we have, when we look back on our achievements. Some tell the tale of dignity, some of passion, some wins and some failures but in the end the one's who believe in creating that Magik once again.... go for that One last Dance.
The best example of this was truly shown on Australian open Men final. Federer Vs Nadal. It was a spectacular match, Federer has never played better than what he did. Its also true both players have been off games last year due to surgeries and they were not even sure if they would make it to finals. But then, thats when the Magik happened in 5th set. Federer played the most outstanding game. Upon winning he has upped the level of play which is now expected from others.
Fact is since 2008, Federer has not been able to defeat Nadal and yet we saw how he claimed his 18th Grand slam title defeating Nadal.
In corporate circle, i do know one story of Mr. B.M.Munjal, after his success story of making cycles, as the age of 60 years he started with his joint venture of Hero Motors with Honda. People usually retire by this age, not start a new venture.
Steve Jobs , when he had moved out of his own company. His successors were a pale shade to his vision. On his return, made Apple the most aspiration brand.
We see so many top actresses after marriage, retire from bollywood to make a comeback sometime in their life. Many become one film wonder or fade away. But then, actress like Kajol is a breed apart. She is beautiful, versatile and talented actress who left stardom when she was the top actress in Bollywood. Her comeback film with none other than with Amir Khan in lead role was amazing. Her acting is still mesmerising. Or our above 40 brigade of actors, who are giving a run for money to all new comers in bollywood.
What makes these people so different? They all come from different backgrounds, highly skilled and when we thought they has receded in the background , they make their stories more memorable.
I believe, when a person is skilled and gifted, its very difficult to retire. They always make their comebacks more spectacular than when we think now they will or have retired.
All i can say it that there is Magik..all around us. We choose the course of our life, its the opportunity with lady luck smiling , what makes some people spectacular than the rest. We retire from one innings to make a comeback in next. To me retirement is more like a sabbatical, where the mind needs to be rejuvenated. Its all about giving back to society. No one can retire, we all in our own way keep on working,we keep upping our skills,  and we keep the Magik alive. This circle continues till our last breath.

I bow to all the spectacular people on this planet. People who believe in themselves, who are positive even when the going is tough. People who are not scared of admitting their mistakes and learning from them to be spectacular. People who help others, are humane and above all who have passion for what they believe in.

One Last dance before i put my shoes away to walk barefoot on beach.

We become what we think... look in the mirror !

"The biggest challenge of life is to be yourself, in a world that is trying to make you like everyone else"
Does this ever happen to anyone? i mean does this happen that there is a thought which passes through and if you don't immediately capture it, it finishes into the recess of our labyrinth brain? I have been experiencing this for many years and first i thought probably its age catching up, then i thought probably my memory was depleting but then i realised that its just how our thoughts interweave when we see something.
That deja' vu feeling which is ever present with many of us and yet we cannot understand where this is coming from. Our thoughts also come from deep down from our memory banks, and most of the time i have seen when i am not trying to remember anything automatically they flow. How strange can our brain be , when we try to remember nothing comes but then when we are relaxed or their is a trigger reaction to some memories by an act, or a place or a situation , thoughts flow seamlessly.

I was once told, that the inherent nature of a person never changes. Really!!! if the only constant in life is change then somewhere i fail to understand this perception about our inherent nature. By Inherent, what are we refereeing to? Is it the upbringing? education? mindset? what is our inherent nature? We evolved from apes, Man is a social animal. I have heard this consistently all my life. So is it, that our animal instincts never change? But off course how can our animal instincts change. We will hunt, we will fight, we will make boundaries and we are territorial animals only difference is that we can write our language.
Imagine if any other animal could write or have a vivid imagination like ours. Well then the real competition would have started on this planet. Right now we think we own the planet, with millions of flora and fauna having the same right.
But then we also want everyone looking and thinking alike. Imagine we can be argumentative , we can have debates, we can also be rude or fight yet we choose to mingle with like minded people. Boring if you ask me. Like minded cautious, risk taking, aggressive , sporty ..... what we are is what we look for. We also find like minded teams at work, i always thought if a person had the right attitude , skills can be taught. But i never thought that my co worker needs to have similar thinking as mine.
We have trainers for everything let it be power dressing, soft skills, giving an interview, even email writing. Now make me understand why are we creating layers over layers of ineffective people to do what? Why will any one be trained to behave in a given manner. Are we the AI which people want in future ? If we are programmed to dress, think , eat and behave what is left of us which is us?
Beauty pageants put down the rules for beauty of woman. Is size zero beauty? Every woman is beautiful in this world.
Sports have their own criteria for winning. Being a sports person has got nothing to do with winning. Its the spirit and passion which makes a sport fun.
Powerful means, few people having more money than the whole country can have and hence the gap starts. Has anyone been able to take their money with them after death?
Philanthropy is a topic in high circles, yet the one's who donate never talk about it. We are hungry for power, status , money, lifestyle.... but when it comes to helping a stranger i don't think many will even think about it. Whats in for me? Prominent question, yet so naive an individual asking this. Giving back to society is not what i will say, but making this world a better place for future generations should be the goal.
I am not sure where spiritualism comes in all this. But then, past few years i am hearing more people talk about being spiritual and are meditating.
I was once asked if i meditate, and my answer was not really, I live in a meditative state. The person thought i was being cheeky, but the truth is meditation is only a way of life. Where one finds , who one is and tries to live life as per their own rules. In a meditative state of living, there is no hierarchy or power. The only constant being us who evolve with situation and time.
Maybe the moulding of our mind over years creates these Deja'vu moments. In the end our inherent thoughts cannot be tamed and neither will we stop looking for answers which we cannot find in this plastic world.

This makes me realise what Buddha had said many centuries ago "We are shaped by our thoughts, we become what we think"