Fire and Ice

“Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice “

As the little known volcano in Iceland spewed ash, lava, dust amidst swathes of ice sheets; the above lines by legendary writer Robert Frost sprung back into my memory. News presenters struggled to pronounce its name – Eyjafjallajökull and aviation business became as restless as the volcano with each passing day. My sister and her family were traveling from India during that time. As I anxiously checked their flight status, I couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty of the image of the volcano flashing on the news websites. It seemed like an angry painter picked up his brush and used the boldest, brightest and darkest colors of his palette. The images were just surreal. Strangely, the images of disaster have a mystic beauty associated to them. From the giant waves of tsunami to blinding lightning, every pixel of such pictures command awe and brilliant color schemes. These days when our busy minds always keep on thinking about the “could-haves”, “should-haves” and “would-haves”, this random occurrence surged the following thoughts in me.

A quaint named thing on the globe could connect so many random lives together for a few days. In this overly connected world of disconnected individuals, there are hardly few events which can perturb many. Front line news headlines swiftly go back to page 5 on the next day. Kudos to Mother Nature for holding the attention span of so many people for a few days! As I prayed for my family’s safe travel, I thought how many people like me would have been directly and indirectly affected by this natural drama. What if, something happens and air travel service gets stalled completely? I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if one fine day three volcanoes at the major navigation points of the world (Iceland, Japan and North-west America) simultaneously decide to burst and airlines stop for good. How would we see our near and dear ones living thousands of miles apart? It was a humbling realization what could nature wreak on our lives.

The incoming train of thought was a little philosophical. The elemental forces of nature- Fire and Ice resides in all of us. Passion, desires symbolizes fire and hate symbolizes ice. The norm is to brand these forces negative and destructive. So we always try to harmonize our deepest desires and feelings to pursue perfection. But these aspects of human temperament make us more aligned to the nature. After all, Nature too displays her bad moods in her own ways. So just like the volcano in a glacier; only when we let play these forces for a while in us, we can be truly spectacular and real.

A few more words

Just a few minutes before, a quirky thought passed my mind. I was wondering how many lines or words do we speak these days on an average. If one plots on a graph (having date/day on x axis and words spoken each date/day on y axis), I think today being the first working day of the year would find its place way above than the rest. Thanks to the customary “Happy New Year” salutations. In a world where oral communication is considered neither serious nor reliable, it's not surprising that people prefer to believe only when they get mails or see a facebook/twitter update. For example, back in office no task is considered worth starting till we receive a mail about it. Or, when you are speculating about a friend's relationship status, nothing confirms more than an update on his/her profile :-)

Till the above is done, it's all a matter of conjectures and assumptions. So a typical day of a person belonging to this generation would start with the exercise of checking mails and responding and then continue by working on a computer (which obviously requires no verbal commands). A few meetings and a couple of lines exchanged between colleagues make you realize that the installed system of hearing is still up and running in your body.

It's a matter of thought that if the so called social communication and networking tools are a boon or a bane to social life. I think it was John Locke who said “Man is a social animal”. If he was alive today, he would rephrase it to “Man is a social animal ONLY in internet” ;-).

I am no exception to the rule and I coyly abide by the new age social protocols. Sometimes, I realize it saves me from awkward exchanges with friends whom I hardly want to talk but I don't want to sever ties either. But I just wish to hear a few more words; words of happiness, despair, humor, adventure, love, care. I believe the entire ambiance around us can be animated and made more meaningful by just a few more words. So next time when you are coming up with any thought, don't be stingy in using words and let the human voice be given a chance.