Culture Shauk!!!

Funny how infectious certain things are.Take the culture bug for instance. (But ofcourse, I am using the term "Culture" to denote any pursuit in the direction of fine arts such as writing, music, dance etc).
Last I remember witnessing this kind of infection spread was during Halcyon. Coming back..work is fun these days and also the source of this infection. Quite a few of my colleagues are making time to write, learn dancing, learning to play the guitar etc.
Have a feeling that this environment of pursuing one's hobby or interest or "shauk" (in Urdu) has contributed to my becoming regular with my blog and also made me realise the value of what I touched in one of my earlier posts (Follow Your Dreams).
So this is an ode to all my colleagues. Thank you guys!!

Olympic Spirit

This is after a really long time that I'm writing 2 pieces at one go! So here's the other part of the double-bill!
They say the Olympic spirit is all about participating and not about winning. Yet others say winning is not everything it is the only thing.
Sports in my mind is all about performing better and or overcoming an opponent,a competitor or sometimes obstacles or hurdles and emerging a victor.
Was in China recently and made time to see the Great Wall. The realisation of the meaning of the Olympic Spirit is a resultant of my tryst with this man-made wonder.
I went to the Great Wall at Badaling,located more than 70 kilometers northwest from the center of Beijing City. I started of at the Base and took the trail to the left supposedly the shorter one (also the steeper one as I learnt)
As I climbed steps, I'd look up and what would be visible would be the security posts. On reaching the first one, I could see the next. I egged myself on saying it's not everyday that you visit the Great Wall. After crossing 3 posts/landings I thought I'd be at the summit, but there was more.It's then that I realised this would go on for over 1,500 miles (or whatever the length is) that this adventure was not about conquering something but about experiencing it. Here's to the Olympic spirit!!!

The Middle of the Road Theory

We've all heard about the middle of the road donkey that could not make up its mind. Flip the axis and we are now talking about traffic lanes.
This theory proposes that driving in the middle of road or the middle lane is beneficial.
Let me explain why. Most people drive in the middle for one or some of the following reasons:

a) Basically opportunists who want to keep options open and slip into the fast lane or the slow lane whenever there's a free run possible (large majority)

b) People who genuinely believe in the concept of lanes (Extinct) and

c) Generally or no particular reason (second majority)
Albeit, neither of the afore-mentioned tribe are committed to the middle lane, also the basis of the theory:
"Persistance with a cause in the light of others lack of commitment to it is a foundation for success"
Funny yes; silly, not really. The corporate world is replete with examples that support my theory be it the makers of the compact disc player not seeing it through or the inventors of the laser engine not pursuing the idea further.
So as the wise men say "Persistance Pays" only thing.. others not persisting pays even better!!!