“What’s up?”
“Nothing Much. Going on as usual. Usual work, usual life, no changes.”

Sometimes we want change desperately and sometimes we protect ourselves from changes. If it was like tasting different dishes, we could have determined which dish we want to have after some tries. But no, here if something tastes bitter, it lingers on and spoils the next too. So it is like somebody shouted “Statue” and walked away. You can move but you don’t even think about it. It is total inertia. There is an exciting world out there with thousands of possibilities, but why are people stuck in mundane jobs as if in a trance? It is like that movie, “Pleasantville”. Life is like a clock-work, nothing should disturb it, and it will go on in its set pace and course. When it is idle, a thick cloak will settle on the top and seal it from any intruder. I sometimes think that the problem with our country is also this inertia. Its cities maybe developing, but travel 20 km out of it, you will find same old life with its blank stare. Somebody should shake us once in a while and ask us to sit up and take notice.

- This started with one statement: “Let’s buy a new car. Atleast we will have something exciting in life for sometime”. At least a pebble dropped into pool of still water.

Which is better? Having no competition at all or having competent antagonists? Hard, unforgiving, ruthless competition raises the level of the game. There is not much pleasure in winning hands down. Winning a hard fought battle gives much better satisfaction than playing a game knowing that whatever mistake you make, you cannot loose. A lion who reigns alone, who doesn’t have anything to fear, will become lazy and which may even lead to his downfall. The hand which works the most becomes stronger compared to the limp one which assists. Everything which is idle will catch rust – be it brain or body.

Raising the level of the game – it truly is a unique feeling. You will be surprised at your own skill – surprised at the fact that all this time, you were able to play this well, but realizes it only on the face of competition. At the end of it, you would be grateful to the opponent for offering such resistance which made you realize your potential. But at the end one should win. I think winner takes all – they are fooling themselves when they say “taking part in the game is the biggest feat, not winning it”. It is just to make sure you participate and give a morale boost when there is nothing to be proud of.

He is not able to comprehend the nature of their hate. He does not hear the poisonous venom they spit out behind his back. They are afraid to look in his eye, lest he will figure out the lack of intelligence in them. They say he is a heartless, ruthless materialist who knows nothing but how to make money, but not capable of spiritual enjoyment, while he is the one who is most capable of enjoying life. Competence is the only currency with which he deals with men. Spark of intelligence can light him up. He turns his face away when they start with “I think..”, “It seems to me that..”, “According to so and so..” etc.

It is a zombie world with expressionless faces - afraid to look in the eye, bored, unseeing, blank eyes. A man who stands firm on his feet, not scurrying to collect the bread crumbs dropped by somebody else, a man who lives by his own standards, his own moral code, not looking for his reflection in the eyes and words of others, is a rarity.

Reason, clarity, logic, courage – hard to find commodities in today's world. Nobody cares for anything which happens around them. A quote for the day – politics thrives on the fact that majority doesn’t care. Reality is lost in the razzle-dazzle of pretenses. Men who practice the art of deceiving others efficiently can go straight to the top – that is the highest quality. Talk without conveying any meaning, order without assuming responsibility and shift blame to next person you see when anything goes wrong. Successful man can always find somebody to blame for everything that goes wrong.

For years we have been taught that going after anything is futile because nothing lasts forever. We have been injected with antidotes for reason, hope and ambition. We have been told that pleasure experienced by body is sin, being materialistic is trivial and wanting anything is an illusion which we should guard against. We have been taught not to expect returns from any venture. We are trained to be the zombies of today's world.

Among all this, he stands tall, proud of his achievements and ability, with the weight of whole world on his shoulders.

--- An impressionable mind fed with a strong dose of “Atlas Shrugged”.