The Reset

About It

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 01:23:00 +0000

Have you ever come across a point in your life where you hit a ceiling? Or flip it sideways, and you've hit a wall. One more turn and you could call it rock bottom. So is this about life? Or death?

No, this is about what's in between, about what you live for. About what you receive, and what you've given back. Have you given back? How much have you taken? How much have you really taken? Have you given back to the world around you? Have you helped those in need, made a difference in any lives? Have you changed a future, have you lit up someone's dark? Think hard because this is what will define you, what will drive you. It will be the fundamental difference between you and the rest of the world, the sole purpose of the "humanity" in us. It will always be the driving force, forever pushing us forward, to the light. You can and will ALWAYS be able to bleed, it's just about who or what you will bleed for.

Look around. Stop reading, look around.

Is what you see around you what you want? Is what you see around you what you deserve, what you always dreamed of? Is what you see around you; is this... it? "IT". What is it? The end or the beginning... the reason for your existence. The reason you were put on this earth, the reason you were made to breathe. It is what you are here for, what you were meant to do. It's your destiny, your kismet...the greatness in you. The royal blood running through your veins, the natural urge to be someone to be remembered. That innate strength, that dormant enormity...the infinite immensity in you...that is what you were born for. Is what you see around you, it? Is it real?

Or is what you do, what you start with in the morning, what you do everyday..is it what makes you happy, what makes you get up all over again the next day? Do you get up every morning, look in the mirror, and say to yourself "This is what I'll be doing today, and the rest of my life"? The career you've chosen, the path you've taken, the routine you follow everyday..is this the end of it? Do you always follow orders, do you always do what you're told? Is it what makes you tick, what makes you believe that really, just really, THIS is what you are good at? This is how you could spend your time, everyday, for as long as you can...this is it. This is what makes me proud of me, what my passion is and always was and will ALWAYS be. This is what I always wanted to be, what makes me feel like I am earning my money the way I want, from the way I want to earn it. THIS, is what I will be proud to have on my business card of life...?

If the answer is no, something is wrong. Something is terribly wrong, and you need to fix it. You need to fix it now, today better than tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, if you feel great you probably are. But if the answer to my question was no; RUN. Run away, as far as you can, as fast as you can. Run for your life...because you need to save it. You need to salvage what you can, and get out. Precious moments are slipping away from you...save them. Save what you can...leave the rest and RUN. Go to where you can be free..where you can be great. Go somewhere you can make a difference...go somewhere you can start fresh. A new beginning to a new life, a new tablet, clean slate. Start over and find yourself. Find it. Discover that part of your soul that has been clawing at its cage, screaming to get out. Free that part of your spirit that's been buried so deep, so deep that it's roars have been muffled, almost forever. Let it out, let it fly and let it carry you...over the hills over the mountains, up through the clouds till you can see just the sun... till you look down and see the world below you...

This place is where you will be free. Where you will love yourself, and then be able to love those around you. You will be able to see above all the clouds, above all the mist and fog..You will be able to see through all the confusion; you will see clarity. You may find that you can no longer remember the life behind you, but will have the ability to see all the life yet to pass in front of you. You may find, that you have been found.

If you ever get it, hold on to it. Grab it and never let it go, hold on for your life's sake. Because you will find that it will come down to your life's sake, for that beam of greatness; people have given themselves, lost themselves. Some have found themselves, many have died trying. Dramatic? Not with the right perspective. This can't be what life has in store for you, can't be what you were destined for... can't be how it ends. This can't be the dream, can't be the future. There HAS to be something else...there has to be MORE. It all starts with one look around you, and the question...is this it? This CAN'T be it.
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ray

All heart

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 00:52:00 +0000

Please read it slowly, so you can understand.

It's worse when you can't feel a thing
Than when you can and won't
It's worse when you can't help yourself
Than when you can and don't
It's worse when you know that you'll lose
Than when you don't and do
It's worse when you were born to fail
Than when you weren't and do
It's worse when you can't cry the tears
That you should for your fears

It hurts when you convince yourself
That you can and It's lies
It's worse when you know that you can't
Despite all of the tries
It's hard when you just can't succeed
No matter where you go
It's hard when you want to be heard
And they don't even know

It hurts when you are struggling
And it will never work
Despite all of your friendly talk
They still think you're a jerk
It scares you that you have so much
And you know you should not
You give up and you throw away
Whatever else you've got
It hurts when you know you let down
Those of whom you love
It's worse when you know you might not
End up in up above

You start accepting failure
As an everyday dissent
You start to lose your confidence
In every step you spent
It hurts when you know that there is
no deeper left to dig
You've reached the bottom of the pit
And this is what you are
It hurts when you look up and think
You could have gone so far

You're in a place you deserve to be
From a place you loved so much
It's something you did knowingly
But was it ever fair
It was setup for you to fall
And so you'll always blame
Weren't sharp enough to play at all
So pretend to hate the game
And that is how it always was
A lifetime full of shame

It hurts when they believed in you
And you just gave them grief
It hurt when you saw that they mourned
And you felt disbelief
It hurts when you knew it was real
And now you're on the shelf
The pain's not cuz you failed them all
It's cuz you failed yourself

All heart so low
Can't feel a thing
it's empty I can't
Feel a thing

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ray

P.S - this piece is not about me, just written for those people who feel low sometimes. No matter how bad it gets, it's not worth your life.

About You

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 22:59:00 +0000

Who are you?

Say hello to yourself. You know yourself better than anyone else knows you. You know your strengths, you know your bittersweet weaknesses. You know your ups and you know your downs. You know what brings you joy and only you know what brings you deep sorrow. The only problem is that people have been shielding themselves from reality so long that they have begun to believe in someone they're not; they believe in who they portray themselves to be. Many have lost themselves to life and for chance of loss or rejection or disapproval have put on a costume, forever stuck in a life that other people want them to live in. Forever someone else, always lying to themselves. What has happened?

What have we become? What has all this boiled down to? Is it that we are so deeply entwined in the tangles of the system that we no longer see clearly? Is it that we are so pre-occupied with our superficial problems that we have forgotten ourselves? The answer to that is still not apparent. Really hope its not one of those things you find out near the end of your natural life. It has gotten so out of hand that humanity has become de-sensitized to the fact that most of them are now living like sheep. They will call each other when they need something. They will never trust. They will steal, cheat, hurt..worse yet; they are becoming further distant from one another. As our earth is moving towards digitization and globalization, more and more of us are becoming distant from humanity. Becoming more clam shelled, more introversive. Are you not afraid?

What is happening...its getting darker out there. Pick up a newspaper: what the hell is going on? Everyone except a few are oblivious to the fact that they are doing what they are doing in their daily lives for nothing. Part of a company, part of a business, part of a community; and where is this headed? Stack money because it's a cruel world. Watch your back because its not safe. Stay out of these areas and those cities. Too many problems around you of your own, no time to worry about war victims unless you are one, or until you just turn on the tv for a few minutes. Believe what the media feeds you and live in frenzy. Spend what you make or save all you make. What difference do all those warnings make? Desensitization. They tell you the cigarette WILL kill you, ON the pack of smokes. What the hell is happening?

The average child of today sees more than 8000 murders on television by the time he/she is 14. Death is not left to be contemplated any longer; it's now an everyday part of the media, video games, etc. There is no respect for life today, and this "degeneration of our generation" is taking it's toll. Its taking it's toll on religion/belief, ethics, moral standing, and on us - the people. The same people from "Power to the People!", the same human race only the power is imbalanced. Today it has become an army of masked people. Masked & in costume, waiting for the next big theatrical event to show off their outer selves and squeeze their insides away. An army working for work. An army working for the system, the upper-class down to the poorest poor are working for the rich, who really don't know what it's like down there; or they do and they don't give a damn.

And here we are, humanity. Here we are scared and afraid, here we are terrified; we are paralysed. We can not move under the weight, we can not breathe under the pressure. We can not scream out lest we be heard and punished. When did we lose our strength? Where did our convictions go? How are these invisible walls so thick that we can no longer break through them?

Do you remember who you are?

Fear fear. Break boundaries. You will find that you are stronger than they expected. You will find you are tougher than their tanks, faster than their bullets and sharper than their barbed wire. You will find that you were born, for greatness.

Break free, and you will find yourself.

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ray

About Paranoia

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 23:20:00 +0000

Don't ever forget that we are watching. Can you feel it?

We know where you eat, we know where you sleep. We know where you are and we see where you go. We note incidences and make inferences. We follow your blogs and we monitor your social media, in fact we write the news you read. We are your government, we are your control. We are that blur you almost see, making sure things are as per instruction. We are the mechanics of all your wars, we are the engineers of destruction. We are the largest arms dealers and we are the largest purchasers of them. We are the best business, because we always pay; and we ALWAYS collect. We keep you poor, and others of you rich. We tell you what to wear and when to wear it. We tell you what to buy, and we tell you what you want next. ONLY WE KNOW WHY. We are a machine; and we make sure that you remain the fuel that powers us.

This is a message to those who fail to congrue with our concurrence - resistance is futile.

There will be those among you we are hunting. It is those of you that we fear, and we seek to wipe you out. You are the quirks in our physics, you are the energy in the spark. You are the few who do not fear us, you do not fear to dream. You liberate the people and lead them. You make them roar. You are those that fight back, those of you who will never retreat; never surrender. You are the wrench in our gears. It is because of you that we continue our struggle, and we hate you for it. We want to find you before you find yourself and become a threat. You are those who influence the people and guide them with your light. You instigate riots, you stir millions toward your fight against us. You are their spirit, and you are the cause. You are the only ones who can stop us, because you ask why.

We are waiting.
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ray

About Help

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:41:00 +0000

Always remember, it's the little things we do for each other.

At times one gets an urge to help someone. You know..stop on the way to somewhere to give someone a lift. Help someone with the groceries if they're too heavy to carry..hold a door..hand out a 5 or a 10 to someone who looks like they need it.

Help someone, anyone, everyone. You are helping humanity..and helping the world, one person at a time. It's never too late to start, and never too early to help. Look around and you will see three types of people. Billions of people who need help, millions of people who give it..and you will see the millions who don't. You will see the first set smile big, the second set smile bigger..but you will not see the third kind in the same state of mind. It's because they have forgotten how to extend a helping hand, but it's not because they didn't help another, it's because they have forgotten how to help themselves. There's an unexplainable feeling to be felt when helping someone out in their time of need, big or small. There is no other way to describe how good it can make you feel inside you when you get a smile from someone or a thank you, even when sometimes it's all that person can give you.

There are a lot of good people in this world, but there are also plenty bad. Those bad people will wish hatred on you, hatred on others and manipulate everyone including themselves to gain personally. This is called a negative force. They are strong, and growing stronger by the minute. They cause havoc on good faith and destroy everyone's belief in humanity...but only after they have lost faith in themselves. These are the people that will bring you down, bring everyone down to as low as they are. There are a lot of bad people in the world, but there are still many, many good. These are the people who these bad people are really fighting. Their strength and their courage strikes fear into the corrupt hearts of the bad, the evil. Because they know that no matter how powerful they become, the good will always, ALWAYS be just one step ahead, one step quicker. They will eventually be safer, cleaner, purer; HAPPIER than those who seek to destroy, and this will never change. And this is the positive force..one to counter the negative. These people will sleep easy at night, wake up and smile..spread this smile to a few people each day..and will never have to look behind them. They will have the strength of truth, the power of purity, the voraciousness of a lion in times of trial and tribulation. They are you, and you can be them. You can be power, you can be strength. You can be whatever you want to be, as long as you are good.

We know that the gain that the negative force achieves has it's "attractions"... quick money, quick infamy, quick gain. But we also know that what comes quick, goes even quicker. And for those who gain quick and get to keep it..don't doubt for a single second that they have not traded something deeper for it. They have traded their goodness, they have darkened their hearts..the have traded love for it, they have traded compassion for it..they have sold their souls for it. They have become surrounded by money, influence, power..but they have been left hollow...with nothing but a hard shell to protect themselves from the world knowing there is nothing inside. When they sleep they do not really sleep...they rest from the strain their life is putting on them. When they eat, they don't enjoy it...they eat just to give them strength for the next day. They will always look over their shoulder, they will trust no one, they will run and they will hide. They will never really love, they will never have a friend they can trust.

So help. Help those you see around you, help someone old by giving your seat. Help someone young by teaching them. Help someone poor by giving, and help someone rich by showing them how to give. Help someone who looks upset by talking to them, even if you don't know them. You have a sense in you that will let you feel it when someone needs it; and it will get stronger by the day. You will always come across someone who won't thank you for it..but don't worry. You will come across many bad people in your life in all forms; from rude to selfish to hurtful and harmful. They will try to knock you down, tire you out. They will try to hurt you and take everything you have. If they ever manage to bring you down, if you ever need a push or a shred of hope that you are winning, turn around and you will see just how far behind you they are.

Help out, whenever and wherever you can. Gather karma. YOU are the positive force, and every smile of gratitude you receive will only make you stronger. Share happiness, and don't forget to keep smiling. Because your smile is the one thing they can never take from you.

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ray

About Faith in Belief

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:41:00 +0000

Disclaimer: One never knows what the next one is really about till it's the end. By then it's WAY too late to go back. Like a lot of other things, or maybe like a very few. Depends on what makes one smile.

What is life? Maybe it's a collection of choices one makes. Or maybe it's a collection of events that happens to us? You can see how there are two completely different outlooks there depending on what kind of strategy we take. Does it mean the same thing though? One is passive, one is aggressive. But what is the difference if one believes in fate?

I don't know if that's meant to be scary or if it's meant to be enlightening. A third personality could take it as both. See..that's the thing. Maybe in searching for the right answer one may discover there is NO right answer; or they are all right. Rather a mad rush of all the ideas or maybe a misconception of the belief in none...the same thought process that would let you answer a question too too long after it's been answered or not being able to answer it at all. Sometimes they could be for the same reason, or two reasons so far apart that even a mother of both could not connect them.

This one may be about the answer, or about the question. I once spent HOURS figuring out that the perfect answer was the perfect question; then again my friend discovered that the right answer to the centre of the universe was my shoe: I guess it's all about perception.

What is perception? The idea that something is the way it is, based on what you BELIEVE? Is perception belief? Is it what is induced we are in a certain state of mind? Or is it something we are induced to believe when we imagine that something we believe IS our current state of mind?

It's a bit confusing, I know. There are very few people actually reading this: to those whom I will never know of; is this what YOU believe? Is this what you imagine? Again, the both of us (you or I) will never know. It's a topic that we will never discuss, never repeat and never dwell on; yet it may or may not be the driving force of our uncertainty..our belief or disbelief. It's all a bit too much for the mind that one might have, for the mind that you may or may not have. It may or may not be the focus on which we drive our uncertainty, or that which is the reason we base our surety on.

A question arises; "So if we are so uncertain in our beliefs, what DO we believe in?". Try to follow here - I think it's the FAITH in our belief. What we think that we know so well that we will believe it against all odds, even if almost proven wrong. Maybe it's a superstition, maybe it's tradition. But we know that we know what we know SO well, that it HAS to be right.

You are entitled to it. Believe it. What you actually KNOW is right, and you may seem to know what you know SO well that even fact itself could be doubted. Isn't that what runs the world? Strength in your ideas and ideologies? For some it has been strong enough to control armies, to conquer countless nations...for some it has been to conquer themselves; which very well be a nation in itself. Conviction my dear friends, is the backbone of every conviction. Fight for what you believe in..whether it is politically correct or not, whether is is communally appealing or not, whether it is RIGHT OR NOT. Because if you believe it hard enough, the world will believe. And who else do we have but the world itself?

I guess the conclusion of this one lies in what one believes - that one must fight for what they imagine to be right, fight for what he or she believes is the truth...because even if you are slightly wrong; the world needs something to put their faith in...and you just might be what the world is looking for.

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ray

About Auras

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:00:00 +0000

I've been thinking, and I have some kind of a theory formulated. Consider this a disclaimer when I say that in no way is there any fact to this theory. It's just something I was thinking, "philanthropizing" if that's a word.

The thing is, I've been thinking. I've come to a conclusion, about the way we see people. Now, this isn't at all a physical thing. When I mean see, I mean perceive. I mean how we feel people (there's no room for pervert jokes here, please keep your mind out of the gutter). There's a certain..feeling you get. Something like a vibe; lets you know the person you're sitting with is a certain way. It may not be too accurate a judgement when we first start depending on this tool to feel vibes, but I believe later on after experience and perceptional use one is able to get very close to what is the truth. Yes boys and girls; I am speaking of a person's "aura". Haven't heard that word in a while have you? Well if it's any consolation neither have I for some time now. It seems we have forgotten that it may exist in our fast paced world with our fast paced thoughts and and our fast paced lives. I believe that it exists and not only that but that sensing it can be crucial to our daily lives, our decisions and our thoughts.

I see it as something that is projected around the outer body, something that is almost felt if another gets very close. If dangerous; it's threat can be felt as if one was actually touching it. If warm..friendly, one would feel enveloped by its security..it's protection. If strong, anyone in its range would be influenced by its power. Now - I don't believe that if an aura is weak that it can be overpowered..every aura that surrounds its owner is strong. It may be that some auras are stronger than others at different points in time: based on current states/points of mentality at the time. The strength of an aura could be the manifestation of the thoughts and emotions at play in the owners mind; if disturbed then it would be unstable...if angry it would be seething...and one could almost feel it.

But the rabbit-hole goes deeper.

Picture if you will, a person. Around that person two..layers. Each layer is an aura. Consider the one we spoke of above as the outer layer - the first aura. It is the one where the intentions and thoughts which change periodically manifest..or the one which will give you the feel of a person's current state of mind. It's what gives you that apprehensive feeling when someone is approaching you or the indication that someone might be upset, or happy. It's the shell...and it can be changed. It can be shed, it can be manipulated, and it will keep changing over the months and years. Now consider if you will a second, inner aura. This is the true self, the representation of the real you.

This is the one that we are born with; the pure aura of who and what we really are. Now read carefully: not what we think or feel...this is who we ARE. Our character..our innate habitual behavior. This aura will always remain constant, always remain to be the truth. If you ever learn to see the outer aura, you will soon learn to see through..to reach through the first one and touch the second. This is what will help you decide. It's funny that I strongly believe animals can most accurately judge based on this aura. Even as I write this, sitting on a bench on a busy street bustling with busy auras scrambling around - a street cat has come and randomly hopped into my lap. I believe it can feel that I mean it no harm, and this is why it has done so (ps- this happens to me everywhere, all around the world). It's this ability to kind if read inner aura which tells me wether someone can be trusted or not. Remember..the inner aura isn't about personality..it's about character. It's about the true behavioral pattern that a certain individual has in him/her, and those can never be changed. The outer aura will tell you that this person cheats or doesn't cheat, but the inner will tell you if this person has an honest heart or not. The outer might tell you wether a person is a show-off or humble, but the inner aura will tell you if he's truly grateful or not.

It's not easy to tell the differences between the two..in-fact its fairly difficult - but once you learn how to reach in and see the truth inside...it will change the way you perceive people, change the way you react with them. Of course...it isn't a perfect science, but then again..sometimes when you feel that the person sitting across the table from you isn't real: try to feel through and check again. You might find someone new, or someone you never knew at all.
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ray

About freedom

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:30:00 +0000

Everyone wants to be free. I want to be free.

I want to live in a place where I don't have to worry about anything, a place where I can just live. A place where I can sleep when I want, eat when I want, do what ever I feel like. Go for walks, chill and watch people go by. Have just enough for a satisfied life, really don't need too many fancy things...just my iPhone and some clothes. Want to live a life of giving, live a life filled with charity work. You know..give back to the community..give back to the people who really need it.

I want to live in a place where I am free; a place where I am disconnected. It would be so liberating a feeling...just being able to make either of the two choices in front of you without consequences or repercussions; the path could take you anywhere but hey- it's ok. To have the luxury of going where ever the wind may take you is one luxury that very very few people can afford. It's not something people want to achieve on a regular basis...goals these days are all about big money, nice cars with nice girls to put in them and about getting the best job, stacking the most cash.

It fails me to understand how it's possible that people now live to work instead of the age-old work to live policy. What is happening to us and when did we become this way? There is a disgusting feeling that compels us to give up our lives and fight every desire to live our lives in peace, instead to struggle and stack the money so high that even we ourselves can't climb it anymore.

Keep in mind that I am not talking about money here.. That's another long, long, long post. I'm just talking about the sacrifices we make of our freedom for gain; financial or otherwise. It takes a very strong person to be able to just leave, move away. Someone so unattached that they could just up/and/GO. At a moments notice, at the drop of a hat, in the blink of an eye. In fact I recall us discussing a bag, a very special "run-away" bag...even I have mine ready and waiting. But the leave has become from a once hopeful reality to now a distant dream. Leave you say? Leave? Keep dreaming. Stop me if I'm wrong, but think about your situation for a second...can you up and leave? Just grab that bag and go away forever? What about 2 years? Ok what about 6 months...can you just leave for even for that long?

I doubt it. It's all because of those mental anchors we have you know. What the hell does that even mean? "I can't leave now, look at how much I've invested!" or "No it's not possible now because I have these obligations and these classes I'm taking" and "Of course I can leave! Soon as this comes in and that's finished and he returns this at the end of the contract.." There will always be a reason, and the one after that better than the first. It has become impossible due to our mental anchors, may it be business or family & friends, or even something like school or money or xyz etc. We have so many mental anchors and obligations and assets holding us back that there is no more room to breathe! No more room to be able to take a week off and just chill without either guilt or permission..it's really a shame if you look at it from my point of view. All I can see are people chained to themselves, if that makes any sense.

I always wondered what was so gratifying about doing charity work. Figured it was all about the goodness in you and the reward would be something like self pride or self worth or etc. I never thought about it like this before; to work for charity isn't the hard part. It's the taking time away, days away from your regular life to just GO. Go and see what can be done for the poor, needy and misfortunate. The reward comes in when you are able to successfully rip away from everything around you, fight the quicksand and get out. The feeling must be absolutely peaceful, and so...free. This is why they have smiles on their faces; they have made a conscious choice in the fast paced world around them to be able to fly.

I wish for a such kind of freedom. Remember you can never run towards freedom, and you can never outrun it either. Freedom is not taught, it is not given, it is not sold or bought. It is not replaceable or collectible. Freedom is taken, freedom is earned. It is a mentality that one has to assume; and it has to be freedom or death...because life is too short to waste away in days we can no longer breathe in between.

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Ray

About Luck, a little about Asia

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:08:00 +0000

Sometimes your head is in a jumble, like a tangled ball of string. You want to untangle it, but theres too much to know where to start. That's how it feels in my head right now. Sorry for this jumbled post, but this is how it's coming out right now.

So much has happened over the last couple months. I've been lucky enough to travel once again, this time around i went to Thailand. Detailed post coming up on that one soon, plan to go through the 700 pictures one by one and write along side it, so that those of you that have never been can feel what it's like to go and those of you that have can remember what it was like.

I've also been lucky enough to come across a very special girl, and been luckier still that she has decided to stay. It feels like there was a missing piece to a puzzle that you've been working on, a very important piece; something I've written about in the past. Of course the puzzles not done yet, but this piece was a very important one..and it fit just right. The piece that would help you figure out a large part of the rest of the jigsaw, and the piece that would give you enough encouragement to finish the rest of the puzzle; which might have been a seemingly impossible task before.

I've been lucky enough to once again realize the value of everything that we have; through the poverty and hardships I've witnessed in my frequent travels. I always say Asia has a way of grabbing you by the feet and planting them firmly on the ground: no matter where or when in life you may be.

Asia. By my estimates were looking at least 3 billion people. When you see how their world works, you can't help but feel lucky. You realize that all those little grievances really don't matter; all those little things we complain about are but a speck in the large scale of things. Now don't get me wrong..Asia is probably the richest demographic in the world. With two of the worlds strongest superpowers also currently holding the only booming economies apart from Africa , it's a wonder

you will never understand until you visit. But nonetheless; there is poverty. Extreme poverty. Some of the things I've seen I'm still in shock about. Some of the situations I don't think I'll ever come to terms with. Again, more on that later.

So we are lucky. Luck: " Success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions". So what exactly is it? Chance or co-incidence? Lady luck, that gorgeous babe who could just knock on your door at any second, any time? A payback of karma; it's way of showing you that it cares? Everyone has their own definition of luck. Luck - when the dice always come up in doubles, when you find that extra $20 that someone forgot in the ATM machine when you REALLY needed it (true personal story). Some people seem to have truck-loads of it. Some seem to be lacking it in every possible way. My definition of luck is still blurry even to myself..but I do know that there is more to life than luck, and whenever a strand of luck gets caught in your hair..you should be very, very thankful. Not because you were lucky to win that free movie ticket on the scratch-and-win card, but because there is a LOT more in life that you have been lucky for.

For those of you reading this who are religious, thank who ever you thank. For those of you who aren't; consider thanking your stars. You are already ahead of 90% of the world because you are reading; which also means you can write. You are reading this on a computer or better yet a smartphone. You have clothes. You have food, you have drinkable water when you are thirsty. You have "leisure time" which you have so generously given to me for which I am grateful. You

have so much; that so many don't and so many more will never have.

When one thinks of luck, they imagine going to a casino and winning some cash. They think about a close call, or finding money on the ground or something. They think that they were "lucky" in winning a prize, lucky in being able to grab the last donut on the rack before they were all gobbled up. One never realizes, how "lucky" they are just to be alive, and be able to breathe.

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About Time, Age..

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:43:00 +0000

It's been 2 months since I last wrote. 3 months since my head went into a spin. 4 months ago, I can't remember that far. I've missed writing, I'm glad I'm back on here although I am worried about the quality of the first post or two, until I'm back on track. Please excuse the raw-ness, it will fade.

I wanted to talk. Just talk, today; nothing in particular like usual. This one isn't "About" anything..it's just something to say. Something to do. There's a lot on my mind right now, and ever since I promised myself I would never publicize my personal problems on this blog, I've stuck to my promise.

I was wondering how we change as we grow older. It's funny how a lot of things don't matter anymore, isn't it? Remember those days when the smallest things mattered, how every strand of your hair had to be a certain way or how it really mattered about how clean your room was? How you really used to care about what people thought about you, or even the little things like how respectful you were toward people and their traditions, habits and cultures. With a little bit time, with a little bit of age; things REALLY change. It's not that all those things aren't valuable anymore, or that we have stopped doing them. It's more like..they just don't matter anymore. As we travel and see more of the world, as we meet with more and more people everyday, as we experience new things and learn new lessons - the "importance" of all those little things phases out. Imagine it like this: you were a cube when you first started, and had rough edges. Didn't really always just "fit". Every experience, every thought, every brush with life was like a piece of sandpaper rubbing against that cube just once. Eventually, it's been rubbed out from a rough-edged raw cube into something of a ball; a sphere.

Being a round, smoothed object grants a lot more leverage than being a rigid cube, don't you think? You can roll faster, easier...you're smoother so you can easier fit through spaces and things, you have less of a chance of one of your corners being caught in something. You have less of a chance of pricking or jabbing people, you have a more fluid way of maneuvering around problems or obstacles..it's so much more of a flow. The most important part is, once you start rolling; it's very hard to get you to stop since gravity and friction play a very weak role in influencing you. Consider it a sense of....freedom if you will.

Sometimes you catch yourself doing something that you promised you would never do, sometimes you find yourself in a state that you swore you will never attain. Sometimes you just wake up and things are different. Age is an amazing elixer; it will give you the strength and confidence to deal with almost anything that comes your way. The more you drink, the faster/smarter/wiser/sharper/stronger you get. Alas, as with all things in excess, there comes a point where you have drunk too much. Something like a gradual overdose, that leaves you in a fatal state. Past that point, you start moving in the opposite direction; something like a gulp from the fountain of youth itself. You find yourself becoming a bit crankier, how you once were as a child. You move slower, more uncertain of your steps; you lose the edge that kept your guard up and start trusting people more. You seem to not be able to find things as easily as you used to, maybe start becoming a bit careless with your things. It's almost as if you are going backward into childhood; mentally. You become more and more dependent on people, and find that as you did as a child, gazing out the window has become more interesting than a lot of other things.

It's a beautiful thing, this thing called age. We all feel to age, we all dream to age with someone special. Age has an uncanny way of being sweeter when enjoyed with company; and more bitter when sipped alone. All we can hope for is that age will leave us with better memories than worse, sweeter tastes than sour - more experiences than most. Because even if age will limit our time , age will always be timeless.
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Happy Birthday Imad

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 22:06:00 +0000

Happy Birthday brother. Nothing I can say can thank you enough.

Hope you understand.
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About The Edge

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:22:00 +0000

Sometimes you want to push limits, reach out and touch the edge just to see if you'll get cut. Sometimes, everything becomes too much and you just need to see how far you can go to be able to look back for a moment and think about what's happening. I guess we have to reach the edge.

Things sometimes start to lose realism, don't you think? Ever get that feeling where everything around you ISN'T REAL? As if it's all a big…video game or something. Walking down the street sometimes, looking at the cars and the people moving around dealing with each other..I feel like it's some kind of a movie that I am watching. I feel like sometimes I am just an observer; watching how everything works and wondering about how it all sticks together. There are a lot of things happening on a daily basis that aren't considered normal..but then again in our time what defines normal? What defines regularity or conformity? How are we to judge ourselves?

It's all very puzzling if you ask me. Sometimes I dream about leaving to a remote place where there is no technology, no electricity and no contact. I dream about building a hut there, and living in it. Planting my own food and growing it or else go out and forage for what I need to keep me alive that day. Bare minimum is what I'm talking about here people. It seems to me that the "need" for a lot of things will soon emerge to be just "wants"; we will realize that everything we ever needed we were born with. We might learn how to hunt, fish, etc. Work with our hands to build things, our own way. Sit and think, and think, and think; until we don't need to think anymore. Just be, and see where that takes us. Is that reality? I'll have to analyze that and work it out. Maybe in the rawness of it all, we might be able to step back and meet with ourselves, and eventually get to know ourselves better. Sit back and listen to the sound of silence once in a while. I can imagine how reading the newspaper just wouldn't affect me anymore, I just wouldn't need it. Wouldn't need anything. Just food for that day, something to do. Explore, build, play. Maybe domesticate some animals; try to start where they started about 100,000 years ago.

Would you become lonely though, eventually? Like that crazy guy in that movie who made best friends with a volleyball. Would we go crazy? We are social animals after all, what would we do without all that?

There's another thought that comes to mind here. Our thought processes are constantly altered by inputs of new information, and all this information comes from other people in the form of media, communication, news, interaction, etc., right? So without any more contact from anyone else; what will happen to our thought process? Logically it would just form as many new thoughts and revelations as it could from all the existing interactions and information already encountered and stored. But for how long? 3-4 years at max would be my guess. The scary part is what would happen after that; I don't know why I feel like our thought process would start going in circles. Very large circles. What would happen to our dreams?

Sometimes I ask questions that I wish I had the answers to, but it's coming to my realization that some of those questions can never be answered. Where are we now, in this spectrum of reality? My guess would be that we are forever lost in it.

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About Night

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 01:29:00 +0000

It seems that there is another world after the sunlight. Another world after midnight. I am and always have been addicted to the night.

Silent peace. Luxurious privacy. Unrushed thoughts wrapped in explicit freedom. Such is the draw in its influence, so tempting its pleasures. You have the time to do what you want, a time to organize your thoughts and research your questions. You have the most secluded state of privacy; to be left to your devices and the ability to succumb to your guilty pleasures.

There are those who will never see night: preferring to see the sun come up fresh and early with their morning coffee..but then there are those of us who welcome the sun in the early hours of the morning, as we lay down to sleep. There are those of us who fear the night, but then there are some of us who anticipate its arrival, unable to maintain the patience till it once again takes us. We can be ourselves once again, as night falls upon the world..as the judgments disappear and we are free to wander; free to exercise free will. Free to take off our masks and free to roam the corners of the earth, free to explore every questionable corner of the internet, free to pick up our pens and write.

This 4th dimension is often surfed on our beds, thinking the night away, dreading the arrival of the sun. The dawn creeps ever so slowly upon us..taking from us our dark, and casting light on our souls. The question that often comes to mind is; is the sun shedding light on reality, or is it casting a shadow on it?

Its a paradoxical illusion. The solution is murky..the question too deep. For now we can safely venture that we are hidden in ourselves, and that only the dark can draw us out of our shells. For the night has this ability to hide what we don't want to see, so that our glow-in-the-dark fantasies can run free.
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About Being Simple

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 21:20:00 +0000

Sometimes, there is no topic. Just one of those days where there is no point, no direction. Sometimes, there simply is no flavor.

Simply. Not much of a word if you look at it. Rather simple actually. What does it even mean? Simple: uncomplicated? Simple: devoid of need? Simple: Lacking flair. Or maybe Simple: perfection. I like that last one. I would want to be considered a simple natured person. A simple man, with simple likes and dislikes. I feel like I am, in a way, simple. I don't watch much tv or movies, I'd rather sit with a few close friends for a sheesha than be at some club with 30 people. I'd rather go for a walk with a camera than sit talking on the phone creating politics among my friends and family.

Simple is easier..it's lighter, more fluid. It's stress relieving...it's having to worry much less about a lot more. Sometimes a plain and simple unbranded tshirt with a comfy pair of blue jeans can not only get you through the day but also the night..and you don't have to worry about if your brand is better than his, or if it was noticed by her; it's just too simple. Sometimes, putting on a hat instead of trying to tame your bad hair day and then worrying about it when your out in public is much, much simpler. Sometimes, we don't NEED shoes. Just wear flipflops. Sometimes, we don't NEED pants...just throw on a pair of shorts. If I could live my life in flipflops and a pair of shorts..I'd be one of the happiest men alive.

Admire the simplicity of simplicity. Often associated with other sleek sexy sounding words like minimalistic, or angel sounding words like innocent. it can be associated with words like raw, because being simple can mean being raw..untouched, untampered with..original. Simple can mean classic, and who doesn't love a pair of classic anythings...something retro, something gold. It minimizes entire sentences, questions, solutions, even schools of thought. "The answer was so simple it was astounding." So simple is astounding, mystifying, awe-inspiring..simple can be quite shocking.

Who would have thought there was so much depth in something so...simple.
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About Getting Married

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:48:00 +0000

There's a decision that we have to make, at least once in our lives. It's the one decision that some of us will regret for the rest of our lives and some of us will appreciate the rest of their lives. One of the most important debates that we have to come to terms with, and try to win. The decision to get married.

It all looks so easy in the movies, or when we hear about our friends who are married. "So, how did you know she was right for you..that she was the one?" always gets the same reply; "Dude, you just feel it. When you meet her, you'll know." This unfortunately is the absolute most bullshit answer anyone will ever give you. It's all a lie, your friend just trying to be cool about it, trying to pretend that it was something that just came naturally. It is impossibly hard, especially in our time, to be able to "feel" if someone is right for you. Well at least for a lot of us. It's not as easy as it was for our parents; in their time men and women were less complicated, less competition, less globalization. Less media influence, less social diversity, less creative diversity: less headache. In today's time (according to me) women are hard to deal with man...they are demanding. It's scary thinking about marriage and the process, the result being that you end up with the same person for years to come. Divorce is an option, but out of all the options it's the ugliest one. It destroys a family, destroys the children and destroys our hearts no matter how tough we act. The only solution is to be careful who you pick.

Well, okay. I can't really lie...there IS a bit of feeling involved. Sometimes, you DO feel a good vibe..that this girl is the right girl for you, that she is smart, cute, good natured, blah blah blah. At the same time, you have to look at a lot of other things as well. Can you see yourself in a picture frame with her, holding her hand? Can you imagine getting on a plane with her, travelling to the Maldives islands for a week? Can you imagine your arm around her on the couch, watching a movie together? This is one of the key things to consider my friends; to see if you will fit. The both of you are like a puzzle that starts with just the two of you...and these two pieces HAVE to fit.

Now in the puzzle of life, sometimes two pieces DO fit perfectly...but there will always be other pieces involved. Pieces who don't want you two to fit. THEY want to fit there. Sometimes there will be pieces who try to force another piece to fit in place, through pressure or manipulation..and they will do anything for that piece to fit in that place. Sometimes, a piece fits fine but later on decides the space isn't big enough, decides that they aren't even that shape anyways..so you will have problems. But you have to wait it out. Let everything cool down. Talk, decide if you want to fit or not. Consider some other pieces that are similar...but always remember that to complete the puzzle..there is only one exact fit. If you rush now to just squeeze in just any piece, it may work now but when looking at the big picture..you will have a major problem. Remember that in this puzzle, we don't often get a chance to just remove the piece and try to find another one...we don't get to quickly just unbend the shape we forced in. Your completed puzzle will never look as good as the one in the picture on the box.

Sitting here as I type, as I think about everything that's going on. This very well could be the toughest desicion someone could make. Try to make a choice where you will always be happy, at least 90% of the time. Because nothing comes above your happiness; and that can't be bought in a puzzle box.

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About Birthdays

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:44:00 +0000

So my birthday passed recently. Woohoo. One would be more excited, but it seems that the excitement is gone somehow, the huge ritual attached to becoming older is wearing thin. After 21, and in some cases 25..the excitement fades I guess.

It used to be about the cake and all the candles on it, the wish you would make when you blew them out and the hope that the wish comes true. About the presents that you are going to get, and the excitement of ripping off all the wrapping to finally get that remote controlled car your friend was showing off with..always crinkling your nose at the lame sweater or the then useless novels or stationary sets. I remember jumping highest at the envelopes because I always knew there was cold hard cash inside; at that time even getting $20 was a lot, 4 -5 envelopes and I felt like I was rich.

It used to be about the whole day that my family would spend getting everything prepared, decorating the house with streamers and confetti, all the ballons they would blow up and put in a pile for us to play with until they had to be put up. The running around to get all the cakes, chocolate, gift bags, food catering...I remember my family always doing a lot for me. It used to be about the rushing around getting everything prepared, waiting for all my friends to come over. We used to always hook up the N64 (when it was new) and have competitions to see who was the best.

Growing up in Canada, the month of February was always the dead of winter, and the snow was always up past the waistline. Many birthdays, to my disappointment a few of my friends couldn't show, especially the ones that lived far away. I always got the phone call though, "aww man..I wish I was there!". I remember having to get up from my party VERY annoyed to answer phonecalls from my relatives in other countries, the ones who were too far away to travel wishing me a happy birthday. I now realize how precious those calls actually were, and am very glad that I answered them at the time.

Finally, it all came together with me sitting not with my own family but with my second family in another country, in a place I never expected to be in, doing something I could never imagine. It's funny but after it struck 12, no one had wished me. Infact I had forgotten myself! I was having so much fun doing what I was doing with people close to me that I had forgotten. Brought me think that...Its not about the day. It's not about the month, or the year. It's about the memories that you create, not just on that day but almost any. If you are surrounded by positive people, doing fun things; you will be happy. You will have memories to share, and even on a rainy day you will have memories to remember. I don't remember the birthday itself; rather the people I was with and where I was, and what I was doing. And let me tell you...I had the time of my life.

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About Time

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:37:00 +0000

Long post, despite the suggestions to keep them short like they have been recently. International regulars, don't hesitate to say hello.

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It's about time someone talked about time. The only thing we really have that's ours, something that we trade every day, It's our currency; our gold ingot. It's how we can get what we want, depending on how good we are at trading it. We trade away time for anything and everything we receive; knowledge, skill, gain, business, wisdom, power; almost anything we desire and everything we have. It's the currency used to barter for the fabric of life, the essence of living.

It follows the law of economics; the more we spend, the less we have. The less we have, the harder it gets to spend more. The harder it gets to spend more, the more we appreciate what little we have left and regret on having spent so much on nothing. It's the only currency that we are born rich with. In a previous post we remembered how we used to spend hours thinking on how to burn the next few hours. Thinking about that led me to this post. It's a funny thing: TIME.

There are a few other rules to this game. You can never stop spending it unless you run out, which means that it only matters where you spend it because one way or another it is being lost. The more you spend the greater the toll it takes on you. Wrinkles, gray hair, slower reflexes and rickety bones are inevitable unless you spend some time at the gym. You can save time, but never to keep...just to be able to do a little extra with it. You can waste time if you're feeling a little rich, but always remember that the clock is ticking. Once given, it can never, ever be taken back. Time is not always traded for financial gain...remember this rule carefully. If you try to trade time for capital gain all the time - you have a very big chance of being penalized for it. These rules are strict my friends, try to play smart. The consequences can be grave: you can lose a large chunk of time, or even fatal - you become bankrupt.

It doesn't always have to be spent alone, after all there's only so much you can do by yourself. It can be spent with loved ones, family or good friends; which is always a fair deal because they'll spend just as much as you do. Spend it meditating, write a bit...create, think, innovate. Spend it more in a good mood than bad, you have much less than you think you do. That's another funny thing about time; the rate of trade speeds up as you get older..as you gain more experience in the game - it's almost like your days are getting shorter and you feel pressured by some unknown, intangible force.

Spent time isn't called time anymore, it becomes the past. There is a good and bad thing about the past, the ability to look back on it - the unfortunate ability to regret. Poorly spent time carries a heavy burden of regret..and it will always be there. No matter how far behind you leave your past, your past will never leave you. It has this funny way of re-appearing at anytime, anywhere, anyplace. Time squandered at the wrong places will always get you nothing but regret, and regret is among the darkest things you could purchase. However, time spent at the right places will bring you laughter, joy, good health, smiles, love and care. The same ability to look back will always be a joyful experience, and will leave you with something from the other side of the scale; a lasting memory.

Time is slipping out of our hands; sand through an hourglass, water through the soil. Absolutely unstoppable, immensely unmeasureable, impossibly irreversible, and will always be sadly missed. Be sure to start keeping track of where your time is being spent, because when you start running low at the end of your run...not many people will be out there sharing their's with you. This is the one last thing we need to know about time - there will be plenty of people out there to take it from you, but very few to give it.

I appreciate the time you have given me to read this, and I have spent just as much time writing it. I hope what you spent was worth what you received, and what you will spend in the future will be spent with the knowledge that you have traded your time for. Another funny thing about time; you never realize the value of how much someone else has spent on you, until they have no more left to spend.

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About Fear

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 21:44:00 +0000

When you feel trapped, it's necessary to be able to let go. Most of the time, it's a cage we build around ourselves, something in our mental psyche that holds us back, brings us down or keeps us tied up.

I like to think of it as a kind of glue; a viscous concoction of our deepest fears, kind of manifested into this intangible but effective grasp..on our conscious. On a subconscious level, our minds are reeling and calculating making sure that everything goes ok or not ok: depending on the situation. But on a conscious level..we tend to put a lot of weight on the fear of something happening, or the effect of pressure from our societies, friends and family. If you think about it, that "tension" or that pressure to conform doesn't really exist, except for in our minds.

Now that you think about it, don't you think that the same goes for fear? Basically, it's a retreat from a speculated outcome based on our notions and exaggerated assumptions of the result of an action. Simply put: we are scared of the unknown. We rationalize and irrationalize, we come to the conclusion that there is something out there in the dark before we even venture a step into it. It's a fall back mechanism, our survival instinct running free, telling us that it's safer to fear something that's unknown rather than face the risk or possibility of having to instantly cope with or improvise a solution we are not ready for.

Run, run free. Fear nothing but fear itself. Push harder, and stretch your limits. Throw yourself into a situation that you know will not kill you or hurt you, but will test your courage and set off all the alarms that your instincts have learned to set off when something new happens. In the end, we have to know that we have become used to our comfort zones and it will not be easy to break out of them.You will never get hurt; you will never be broken, never regret it. Instead, take that step into the dark..you will find that you will either find solid ground to step on, or learn how to fly.
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About a Letter to God

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:02:00 +0000

Dear God,

I know it's been years and years since I wrote you last. I'm sorry about that, as you may already know things have become hectic in these recent years. I won't bother you with the details of what has happened as I'm sure you are already aware.

Things are changing down here though, and I had a few things I had to speak to you about. People have become selfish God..everyone's just out to get something these days. I was listening to the BBC world service today, and they were going on about how even in Haiti until today all the "NGO's" are making profits from the operations where they are supposed to be helping. There have been literally millions of dollars in donations but children there are still dying of dehydration and hunger, they don't even have staple foods. Speaking of staple foods..this last december was the highest priced month for staple foods on the index, EVER. Like since the index was even created. Do you know why this is happening? Because financial intermediaries are driving hundreds of thousands of people into hunger daily, by speculating on the commodities futures markets. So basically people are going hungry because someone is betting that they will make more tomorrow than they will today.

People have become hard to deal with, God. It's really hard to trust people, and even with your 7 billion+ population, it's getting harder to find and keep good friends. Families have become distant, and these days everyone is crying about money. Everyone says they don't have enough, and it's not even clear anymore who has what. All I know is that 2011 model cars are already out in the streets, and they are shinier than last years'. I watched someone spend 6500 dhs a couple weeks ago on a meal...and I was thinking that that could feed literally 650 children in Pakistan where they are still devastated from the floods, in Rio de Janeiro where hundreds of families have been buried by landslides while they slept..in Australia where they are having the worst floods in their history.

God, please help these people. And please help all of us. The world is going into a downward spiral, and I don't see any relief in sight. If we are left to our own devices...well, I guess you already know what the result of that could be. I don't; and it still scares the crap out of me. Please send some relief to the countries at war today, to the countries under natural disaster. Please help the old people, the blind & deaf. Please help the homeless and the single mothers, the orphans and the widows. Please help all the muslims, all the christians, all the hindus and the jews and any other religion I may have missed: they are all from you anyway. Please help all the regular people treat each other better, and please help me treat myself and the people around me better. We need some light, God...it's really dark down here right now.
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About A Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 19:09:00 +0000

We have all had those days, where we think too much. We end by summing up all of our faults, foolish choices, bad habits and poor judgements to come to the conclusion that we are losing: losing in life's race. The mind is a funny thing, and it can really convince you of anything it wants to be convinced of.

I have been in a bad streak these last few months, contrary to what you might think from my blog posts. I try not to rant and complain about my life at all on this blog, but after all this is the one place where I can think out loud to myself, for myself.

I feel like I am losing my drive, my will to work hard. I am always tired now, not bothered anymore about a lot of things. Feel like a part of me has given up and surrendered to a mysterious force; as if I've lost the race already and am not even able to finish it. It feels like some kind of bittersweet resignation, like swimming against the current was bad for me and I never should have done it. I have started to let culture and routine take over my life. I don't know what is happening. Things are losing their color man, my imagination is running low on battery.

This isn't depression; but it worries me. Its affecting my work ethic and work ability, in a way that a vacation won't help. It's affecting my personal life, I am becoming anti-social now. I am unable to pull myself together to go out anymore, only to quiet places for sheesha sometimes. The scariest part about all this is that I am becoming someone who is diverting themselves away from fun. I don't go to concerts anymore, I don't go out in groups or even with close friends as much, preferring to stay home or be by myself.

In my work I have become more cautious, I find myself scared to take risks now. I am doing business defensively now, and not aggressively anymore: which was my strong point at one time. My father even noticed and commented how I have become risk-averse..defensive in my strategy.

Something is wrong, I don't know what it is or how to fix it. All I know is that it is really worrying me, and I need to fix this. I am losing myself.

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This post will not be publicized on the internet, just posted to my blog.

About Back In The Day

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:53:00 +0000

I remember when things were easier. I remember when people were easier; less complicated. With all these people with all their personalities, women and men fighting for rights, politicians fighting the power struggle and just everyday people fighting life it's becoming more and more difficult to just chill.

Maybe it has to do with age? I remember when we used to get together and spend hours thinking about how to burn hours away..so much free time, so much of nothing to do. So much of walking around, driving around, sitting around - anything to while away the day so that we could do the same thing the next day. I don't know if I want those days back but I do know that I miss them. It was just a few close friends, a little bit of money and not a care in the world except where we were eating our next meal or how we would get there.

It's become harder now don't you think? Even for the youth of today..they have become busier in general. I guess the whole world has become busier; the workload has gone up. Expenses have gone up. I remember broke days as a kid having not more than $10 in my pocket, and we used to be able to literally spend the whole day and go through with it..food, sheesha and some money left for "Counter-Strike". What does $10 get you today? Not too much.

Once again this becomes relative, doesn't it? Back in the day (oh, I say that a lot now) it was enough to spend 4 hours in some smoky coffee shop watching movies. In today's go-go world where coffee shops calculate revenue per table per hour, it's not possible to do that. Tea was always free..people were easier. I regret that the youth of today don't know about the youth of yesterday. Weren't we something?
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About Karma

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:59:00 +0000

Sorry for the lapse, I needed to think.

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Someone asked me a couple weeks ago when last I did a good deed. I thought about it for a bit, and realized..it had been a while.

In todays stress filled world, where things are moving faster than lightning, it's hard to stop and think about someone else. In fact, many of us would say we don't have time anymore, right? Pause for a second though; try to think of the last time you did a good, selfless, genuinely wholesome good deed for someone. When faced with this question myself, I was slightly embarrassed and a bit disappointed in myself. There was a time where I would always look out for people to help, even on the street. I used to be the type of person who would always lend a helping hand. But recently, especially in the last few months..things have become a bit hectic. Work has become an overload, there are a lot of things to do. There are a lot of pressures to be handled, and a lot of money involved. The stakes are high..and I had let that get to my character.

There are no excuses for a lapse in characteristic goodness. I realized that and over the last 2 weeks, have been doing my best to get back to my original self. I stopped for someone on the highway, and offered some help for their stalled car. I gave some money and food to some less fortunate. I helped out a couple of friends of mine with some problems they were facing, and I even worked very hard at a friends' sisters wedding, helping to seat everyone and see to it that they had no problems. It felt good. It felt, great. There's something you get from helping people out, and it's not something material. It's not even the recognition and praise from the person you helped. It's more about a kind of moral fibre. You feel good about yourself, you feel more confident..you feel like a better person. You feel important, not in the sense that they needed you, but in the sense that you were needed. You were a positive force, you were the unexpected helping hand. You came through in a situation where otherwise there could have been no hope..it's a lifting experience. But there's one other very important thing that you amass in all this, something else that you get to collect: karma.

Karma; a very powerful force. It transcends race, religion, color, background, age, sex or orientation. A force that will either come back and hit you hard, or come back and work magic in your favor in the most mysterious ways. Don't you ever forget karma, because it will never forget you. I always say that karma is something you gather, something you "line up". Do good things, collect good karma. Do bad things, and collect bad karma. There is no evening out in this medium, no tit for tat or eye for an eye. Karma is collected: queued. Every good bit and every bad, every time you think twice. The good and bad karma are lined up, waiting to be dished out at random times and random sequences..you could have a good streak and then have a bad one for months.

So how do we deal with this? We amass good karma. If there is more good then bad, then logically your life will be more positive than negative and vice versa. The good thing is that there's no "size" to each shred of karma: you gain the same amount for a small good or a large one. So start doing little goods, everyday. Always keep your eye out for someone you can help, a grocery bag you can carry, a pedestrian you can give the right of way to. It all starts with the thought of a more positive life. Stay positive where ever you go and always look over your shoulder for the bad karma because it's coming if you deserve it. And even if it hits you hard, don't forget that there is always good coming your way.
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ray

About Saving Life

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 20:15:00 +0000

I've been thinking...and I think that...some things should be saved. Not for everyone..but some things should be saved for..for our close ones. You dont have to give everything of you to everyone..but you always do; I always do. And because you...because you give so much, people take it. Sometimes in the wrong way I guess...they take too much. I feel like...you lose a little bit of respect too. If you look at the world..and lets be honest, if you look at the world and if you look at the people that are "doing well" in your terms - in my terms: you find them to be very...you find them to know how to be quiet.

I guess they save a little bit of something for everybody...they always know when to share, when to give the knowledge they have and when to keep it to themselves. I think for a man...and a woman too actually, now that I think about it, it's important. Some of us; the best of us...are good with not partaking everything they are, from themselves. I want to save a lot of things that I share with my close ones for my close ones. I like giving things...like little bits of technology or something new that i wrote maybe, and I guess that even if you look at this blog that im writing I'm just speaking to somebody there; out there among who ever is reading. I guess my close ones are reading. My close friends...maybe some family, and all the kinds of people who agree with my movement that think on a similar wave length. On this wave that we think on, right? So I guess these are the people that I can find to hear out my thoughts, to read them.

Even if you can meet ten new people a day literally - which is a lot by the way: my workplace is so dynamic, and it allows me to meet ten people a day; which is not easy my friends. And even if you meet ten new people a day...that's only 300 a month. That's 3600 people a year, out of 7 billion people. That's NOTHING. For an average guy, moving at an average speed in life, is that enough? It's nothing..absolutely nothing because "the average human" (by today's standards) will only meet and get to know 100,000 people in his/her lifetime. That's just average...how many new people do YOU meet per day? Some of you reading might even meet thousands...fuck, who knows. But some of us aren't..I mean think about that figure "100,000". So you're telling me that I'll only meet 36,000 people in 10 years? It will take us 30 years to meet around 100,000 people? Think about this figure...and when you're young you don't even know what's going on..so what does that tell you?

To my few readers: It's hard to...to FIND YOU PEOPLE (haha). It's unfortunate that this has to be done in writing...because writing can be so emotionally filled but at the same time can be so dry of... character; so dry of charisma. Never thought about it like that...hmm. Anyway getting back to the point: some people just..when you find them, if you find them, if you are lucky enough to find them - hold on to them and save treasures for them. As we sit and think about this together, I guess we can now realize how it's so hard to meet people anymore can't we? No WONDER we'll only get to meet 100,000 people in 30 years, damn. So If you find those people, that person..who ever they may be, save some things to share with them. If you can see what I see in my mind sometimes, you would see that saving things to give already is and will become more of a valuable commodity in the future. If you look around and see how things are moving now and you know what I mean by things: the way everything is moving now in social media.. Facebook, mySpace..let me tell you guys something about mySpace: if it would be a country, it would be the worlds 5th largest country by means of population. IMAGINE. Facebook: over 500 million members..and we have PRIVACY issues people...we have PRIVACY ISSUES. Imagine that. If Facebook had no security..we would live in a different world..but even security exists for some reason doesn't it?

Uh..I don't even know how we came this far. I apologize for the thoughts of a wandering mind..I can't even think about how you are even following along right now. In coming back to the point..save your thoughts, for the ones you love. Save them and give them throughout their life with you..and they will have some things saved to share with you as well. Because giving everything you are to everybody, leaves you with nothing. Either that or you amass enough things to share, so many things to give that giving would never affect you. Give, give and give.

I hope to go through a way in life where I can give everyone around me so much..SO much that I would never need to save: because everybody else would give back SO much, that I would never worry about spending it.
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ray

About QATAR

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:19:00 +0000

So, Qatar has won the FIFA World Cup 2022 bid. Congratulations.

DAY 1: Have just landed, for the first time in Doha. Airport is tiny. That's going to change though...the people coming out of the planes and airport don't seem to be the same as everywhere else...they seem to be...a bit different. More working class than middle. In fact, mostly all I see around me is working class people, which would be out of place anywhere else, but I quickly realized that this is a very quickly developing country. Hence, there will be a lot of labour supply, a lot of manpower for construction. Also, looking out into the streets, I can see that Doha is still backward; still very young, depending on how you look at it. Some would say this place was in fact very old. There isn't much greenery either, but then again this place was built in a desert.

On the way to the hotel room, in a shiny black hummer (don't ask), I saw that Doha mostly consisted of small buildings most of them not more than 2-4 floors high. Old buildings, many of them coming apart at the seams and beams. Dust in the air, small streets and many alleys gave me the impression of something out of an old Ali Baba cartoon. Hustle bustle, stalls on the streets selling many kinds of things. Even a little shoe-repair hut of which I took a picture. Many little sheds with corrugated metal sheets for walls, and the same for the ceiling as well. It was warm, at least a bit more than Dubai where I flew from. Then I noticed something else. The driving here was insane. Like any small, under-developed city the rules weren't followed as well as they are supposed to (I later found out that the traffic violation fines are among some of the heaviest in the world, it's surprising that people are not terrified!).

It all seemed so...drab. Stopping at a convenience store, I compared prices of small things with home where it is a bit expensive, and found the same price range. Some things were even more expensive. Doha seemed to have not spent as much in their infrastructure development as they should have, and with the gargantuous proportion of the world's natural gas under the earth here it's a shame that they haven't leaped and bounded. But I could see that some of the people struggle, with things costing so much and assuming salaries were quite low. On reaching the hotel, we instantly cringed. It was another 4 floor building that looked like it was going to almost crumble, and a very shabby restaurant that temporarily food-poisoned me (more on that later). We took one look at the room and walked out, the carpets emitted among some of the most pungent aromas I have come across this side of the gulf. We quickly scrambled out of there, looking frantically for another hotel. The "Millenium" where the group I was with had stayed on their last trip was booked full, so we had to do with another place called the "Royal Qatar". I won't mention the name of the first place since it's not my right to ruin any of their future business..."THE QATAR PALACE HOTEL DON'T EVER STAY THERE".

So we got to the next hotel, and it was decent. Good rooms, gym and what-not..we checked in, got changed and walked over to the first hotel with the restaurant in it. 20 minutes later I was poisoned, and maintained a heavy fever through the rest of the day. Right after we ate, we were off to the industrial area "Sana'iya". As we drove towards it, the driving was getting worse and worse...I even saw a truck try to do a cartwheel, and another one tried to do a back-flip or something...unbelievable. Finished off there when it got dark: in Doha it gets dark by 5:30 - 6pm. As we headed back to the hotel, I was struggling to keep awake..with the fever and the lack of sleep...it was difficult. Woke up about 20 minutes later outside the hotel, and went straight to the bed for an hour's nap. We were attending dinner with another family who lived in Doha, and I was nervous. Took a shower..tried to fix my hair to no avail and met with the family in our hotel lobby. At the dinner, it was a nice restaurant. The food was great and we were surrounded by good people. My fever was going nuts though, and I had to get up twice to wash my face with cold water so I wouldn't pass out at the table. Went home and crashed. So DAY 1 was kinda boring most the way through, and I felt that Doha was....lame.

DAY 2

As I woke up, got dressed and went to breakfast..I felt I had to go out to the street one more time, and take a look around. I did so, and once on the street took a full 360 degree turn. About half-way through, something hit me like a fist to the head..."New Doha". I was instantly mesmerized..I couldn't believe that I had missed this. It was like some kind of technologically advanced oasis in the middle of the desert...like something I had never seen before. In the distance I could see towers..skyscrapers like I have never seen almost anywhere else in the world. I could not understand the vast divide..the sheer development gap between where I was standing and what I was looking at in the distance...a place called "West Bay" (or "East Bay", I forget). I could seriously not believe my eyes.

I went to a couple of meetings, all in old Doha. There is more activity here I guess, in the circle that I'm involved with for now. The whole time, I could not get my mind off of what I had seen, and I asked my partner's son to take me for a drive over to that side. He was waiting for it, as he could tell that I wanted to go. As we drove over, I almost went into shock. The amount of technology...the class of architecture..the imagination of some of these designers and the open-mindedness of the contractors to bend all the laws of physics...it was staggering. I took over 50 pictures of just that little bay, and they were not enough. They were building at the speed of lightning, and the potential here was absolutely unbelievable. The amount of business development and expansion I could do here; I couldn't even calculate it. I mean I was literally speechless..I could finally see what Doha was doing all this time, and what they plan to do. For the 2022 Fifa World Cup, they plan to raise 275 new skyscrapers and pump close to US $75 Billion into the city by way of infrastructure, development, landscaping and real-estate. For any of those of you reading this who are in the construction field, I hope your mind is reeling from this information...because you understand. Driving around this dream-place, this marvel of modern technological capability was mind-numbing. I was in love - I decided I would take millions from this place, this city.

Went to a great lunch, then to another meeting. Tried to fix my hair-do AGAIN with no luck, and then went to Villagio Mall out near where the previous "Asian Games" were held, which Doha also won a bid for. Great mall, with a little river thingy running through it where you could ride in a gondola around the mall. Imagine. Met with someone there, sat together for a while. We spoke of many things, about Doha, about the world. About dreams and ambitions, family and friends. Of roller-coasters and roses, good food and shopping..had a lot of fun. Took a picture with an empty coffee-cup (don't ASK), then left towards the airport. I will post all the good pictures of the city and the bay along with the construction on my "Facebook" profile, if you just click the picture above it will take you to my page. Check back in a couple days for the Qatar album, which will be made public.

This was eye-opening. World, as you read this...go to Doha, QATAR. There is potential, and there are millions here. For the ones who think that a million is too much, wake up. People spend that on a phone these days. Come here to Doha, set-up and work hard. There is still a boom coming, a wave: and you will see me there with my surfboard riding it all the way to shore.
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ray

About A Runaway Bag

noreply@blogger.com (Rameez Kachalia) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 01:57:00 +0000

We all need a run-away bag. A small duffelbag or backpack or a little suitcase, filled with clothes and some money...and a few of your prized possessions. You never really know when you'll have to up and go do you?

Not saying that we NEED one per say, but it's always wise to have one. A good planner always keeps one of these around keeping in mind that you really can't tell when things get rough, and you have to go. There's a lot that something like that can do for you, and from all the benefits there are very few that are materialistic. Think about it; what would you pack? Two weeks worth of clothes: rugged clothes, some of your favorite most comfortable pairs of shorts. A few pairs of denims that you know would last you the next 5 years and a few t-shirts along with a couple of nice polo shirts: you never know what you'd have to dress up for. A nice pair of sneakers for the long long walks you may have to endure along with a pair of flip-flops/sandals for the hot days...a towel, boxers and socks. Oh, don't forget a solar re-chargeable flashlight - you never know when you'll run out of batteries and you really need some light. A pocket-knife, preferably "Swiss Army" or a nice "Leather-Man": you might have to cut something down, screw something, fix something. A "Zippo", a couple notebooks with a few pens..you can always pick up more on the way, right? And, money. One thing that you won't even get off the street corner without...a valuable commodity that a lack of in todays time means grave trouble. It's not as easy to come by as it used to be, but that's a story for another post.

With a little bit of space left for your one or two other personal sentiments, a few cherished memories or items that you've collected and saved....what more could you really take with you? What more could you really want? This thought is one that has always bounced around in the back of my mind...wouldn't that be enough? It tells us a lot about the things we own and the things that we hoard, and the things we don't need. We realize that all we ever really needed was just that little bag, and it would really be enough. Give up your standards, give up your "wants" and desires, and just stick to the needs. Get rid of your reservations and throw your pretentiousness away, destroy your ostentations and you will find that everything you will ever need will be in that bag. Everything you will ever need to just GO..will be neatly tucked away, waiting for you to walk out the door.

This would do something else for you that you would really appreciate. It would almost entirely cut you off from technology. These days we have become so entwined into the digital aura that almost envelops us that we forget what it's like to live without it. When's the last time you looked up at the sky to look at the stars as compared to the last time you checked your phone for yet another notification or flipped the TV to yet another channel full of endless blabber and spatter? One of the greatest advantages of the go-bag philosophy is the absolute isolation from technology. Why lug around wires when you have no where to plug them in? Why carry so much technology with you when the point of all this is to be able to re-locate at will without consequence? It makes no sense, and points out no point. After a week without blips, boops, clicks and pings - you will never miss it. All of a sudden you have so much attention to channel; and what better investment of it than getting to know yourself and your surroundings...to sit down and write about what you see on your travels. About good people you meet on your way; about the hard times that you might go through on your journey.

We can learn a lot from something like this. We would always have in mind that there is always an option. We realize that at the end of the day, it gives you a certain release that no other kind of school of thought will ever give you; a feeling of absolute freedom. You will always know that worse come to worse, you can become a nomad. A wanderer of sorts, with everything you need right beside you and no one or nothing to slow you down. A person of few worldly belongings but a knowledge of a certain kind; that you are a person with almost no strings attached. A person who has almost nothing to lose, hence almost everything to gain. You will have a certain edge to you; you'll always push a little harder, hope a bit more, think a bit more dangerously and live a little bit wilder. Why? Because you know in the back of your mind, about a little bag in the back of your closet...with everything you need to go underground..or maybe to another country for a few years. Now don't get me wrong...this will not always mean that you have done something bad and have to run. This could mean that you could come home one day, get your bag...and just go to Amsterdam. Just pick up and fly to the Maldives. Just decide on a last minute month-long vacation to Belize: the possibilites would be endless.

The only other thing you would need, is the courage to let go.
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ray