Discovering Meaning

/ November 1, 2011 / 7 Comments / Uncategorised

“It is two and a half years since you retired.” Lulu, my parrot, observed.
“So? What are you trying to say?” I asked.
“Oh, how time flies!” Lulu said eating guava.
“Yes indeed. Time flies. Perhaps faster than light. I had thought that the pace of my life will slow down after retirement, but not a bit.”
“Life does not slow down, people do.” Lulu handed down a gem of wisdom.
“You are right.”
“So how did the last 30 months go?” Lulu asked.
“Well, there are some good lessons learned.”
“Like?”
“Like doors start opening when you engage in a good activity. When we started, rather rejuvenated, the Thane HR Group I did not know that I will have so many new friends. They are not the people who make friends for any business reason; they are really good friends.” I said as I reflected on the recent past.
“That is true. You are seen often at Costa Coffee with some of them.”
“Oh yes.”
“And any more lessons?” Lulu asked.
“Like the real energy comes from having your own ‘always wanted to do – but could not do it so far – so now I am going to do it’ agenda.” I responded as I looked back.
“Ha ha. That is interesting. What’s your agenda?”
“I am learning painting!”
“I know I have heard you tell that to so many people.”Lulu said hopping on my shoulder.
“Painting directly with a brush is one of the crazy things I have experienced.”
“Really? What do you mean? What’s crazy about it?”
“When you begin you only know that you are going to draw some flowers. But you have very broad idea, and sometimes no idea, of how the final picture will look like. For people who have spent more than half of their life in the corporate world, it is a crazy thing. Creative experiences are strange experiences to us.” I said.
“Or you are a stranger to creative experiences! Ray Bradbury said “Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.” Lulu handed down one more gem.
“You are a well informed parrot! Ray Bradbury was a science fiction writer who was touched on the nose by an entertainer with an electrified sword, which made his hair stand on end, and the entertainer shouted, “Live forever!” It was from then that Bradbury wanted to live forever and decided on his career as an author in order to do what he was told: live forever.” I mentioned the little I knew of Ray Bradbury.
“Very interesting…..very interesting, indeed! This experience of creativity seems to have touched you. And so has the Ray Bradbury story of ‘Live forever.’”
“You are right, Lulu, it has.”
“We wonder why there seems to be no meaning in life. Meaning does not exist a priori. It needs to be created.”Lulu said.
“I see your point.”
“So only if you create it, you will discover it, right?” Lulu jumped on my head, rubbed his against mine, and flew away.  
Vivek
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