A World of Peaceful Chaos

“The soft sounds of the stream seem submerged beneath the shouts that covered the place. With no source to come from and no destination to reach the cries merged with the air, disturbing the peace of mind. I can hear it distinctly now- it’s getting on my nerves, it’s deafening my auditory canal, it’s damaging the tranquility that I was longing for. There is no escape from this roar, there is no mechanism to reduce its intensity. The atmosphere turns dark. There is turmoil everywhere but no place to find shelter. I run, but where do my feet take me. I run and run and run. There is a cliff that I near- I can’t stop, my muscles have strained. The cliff nears and I jump……”

I sprang up from my bed. There was sweat on my forehead, my hands were shivering and the heart had increased its rate of beating. There was a relief that all that I envisaged a few moments ago was a dream, but there was also a worry as to what did the vision want to convey. It was vague, much faded, but I was sure that there was a deep-seated message that the superficial fright wishes to put forward. Calming my nerves, I stood up and went near the window. My house overlooks the street which was flocked by travelers, pedestrians and commuters. As the sudden cool breeze of the untimely summer rain touched the weary skin of my counterfeit, I slowly started decoding the weird daydream. That very moment the silence of the area was broken the voice of a man complaining of the struggles in the life of a common person. That’s it. EUPHORIA! The answer to the quiz, the last missing piece of the puzzle. The noises that were triggered to hamper the serenity of my mind, the roars that I heard engulfing the atmosphere, the horrendous cries that made me run towards the cliff seemed invisible for the very reason that they are not expressed often. These are the cries that originate in the dissatisfied human heart and keep on increasing in due course of time, these are the cries that reflect our disappointment, our complaints and our rebellious spirits. They are hidden from view but their intensity can equal the force of a natural calamity. These sounds that I heard were the innermost conscience, the inner voice of all humans saying aloud all that seems incorrect and mendable to it. They bear an unidentifiable, an unrecognizable identity but their existence can’t be omitted and the various incidents happening around the world have time and again bore the evidence of their existence. As the sun peered out of the clouds, I decided to delve deep into these disturbing sounds, these complaining cries. The hidden chaos that lies submerged beneath the seemingly placid world has its own story to allude and me being a non-judgmental listener am all ears to it.

Satisfaction is a very relative term. The weirdest part of the human heart is that the list of things that can bring satisfaction to it is very precise. It chooses to remain dissatisfied for a greater number of things, always wearing a sullen appearance to voice the discomfort and disdain. The ever-increasing hunger for success is no less than a treasure hunt where all jump, pull, push, snuggle to get the best item on display. The deliberate efforts, the oblivious views forget to acknowledge that the items are limited and to receive all that you desire in a single aimless trial is but an impossibility. Speaking about success brings me to the saying of the famous scientists of the pasts, who held that the only plausible way to attain success is to face failure. Failure does not weaken you; it enhances and empowers the strengths hidden underneath your bones. Failure does not show you that you are wrong; it shows you the right path to travel on. Failure is not the hurdle that throws you over; it is the trampoline that teaches you to jump higher every time you put more effort. These arguments seem absolutely vain and worthless whenever I lay my glance on the rat race where in their struggle to reach the top, we have forgotten to make mistakes; wherein our desire to be the best has deprived us of the understanding that flaws are not a stain on our character but a necessary element that tells us the better way to proceed in. Chaos arises in the heart whenever things do not progress the way we want them to. These chaos increase to the level of drudgery when the success which seems a step away goes further away from our reach. The human race has lost its ability to accept failure. Even the faintest hint of flaws and mistakes takes us into a delusional state of mind, trying its level best to make us realise that our life is a wasted endeavour. Such notions have very efficiently been able to develop an irritational characteristic in humans which refuses to appreciate the success of others. The facial smile with which we congratulate others on their achievements is normally a façade that hides beneath is sweetness the bitter taste of greed, jealousy and hatred. The masks that we wear whenever we suppress the actual emotions of the heart is a proud product of the chaotic heart. And when the heart succeeds in sending this chaos to the mind, we lose interest in the world that surrounds us and the loud cries that yell at our unworthiness whispers in a softly loud manner. It is this cry of disappointment that hangs like a cloud above our soul. The peace that it evades is difficult to regain. We are hardly aware of this chaos that operates 24*7 in our mind and heart. The false sense of calm that we feel is nothing but a trap of the chaos to make us feel normal and at the same time kidnap the serenity for good.

If there is something that connects people of all races, religion, beliefs, caste and creed in this world, it is this chaos and dissatisfaction. Regardless of the profession that we deal in, the regulations we abide by, the norms and principles that we lay down for ourselves, we are not pleased by our lives. Be it an office staff, a player, a millionaire businessman or an ordinary wage earner, all have creases on the forehead, anger purring down the throat and chaos bursting in the heart indicating the slow but sure evasion of peace for the simple reason that expectation from life was on cloud nine. I always remain amazed by the way how a person can bring out several complains from a perfectly organised life, how a simple man can provide you with a thousand of economic, scientific, political theories all aiming at how unbearable his life has turned out to be. Be it disagreement on a political concept, hatred for the ruling party to implement a law, irritation voiced in a traffic congestion, everyday quarrels on an over-crowded bus or train, domestic problems back at home or financial instability- the list goes on and on with a new bulletin added each day. The more I hear these noises, the more my heart sinks with the thought that we are hardly aware of the necessity of such ideas. Without bothering to look at everything that is happening around us, without laying a glance on the beauties of nature that surround us we are getting bound day in and day out on futile topics which are far way from our reach. Though we are perfectly aware of the fact that being a common man with limited resources at our doorstep, there are very few things that we can change, we prefer to keep speaking on such subjects and waste our time voicing complaints and objections regarding every topic under the sun. We dream about the lives of big men, men who have a reputation in the society and think that their lives are devoid of any problem and hurdle unlike ours. We envisage ourselves in their shoes and imagine a life of luxury. Though not completely sure of how such personalities lead their lives, I can say with a certain amount of surety that even they have their shares of discomforts and problems which are submerged under the limelight of fame and the glamour of popularity. It is then that I slowly realised why it is that we keep reiterating the statement, “If only we could get back the carefree childhood days?”. Is it only because we wish to be back to the loving care of our grandparents? Is it only because we feel the urge to live those adventures and ecstatic activities all over again? is it only because we realise that we are caught in a world of tension and tough decisions? The answer comes without much deliberations. NO! Our desire to go back to those good ole days, the strong impulse deep down that urges us to catch a time machine and go back in time is because it is an escapist tendency that has gradually evolved inside us without much attention. The impulses make us impatient at times to leave the world that we dwell in and escape to one that we used to be comfortable in because we of late have grown tired of all the worldly considerations. Though itself responsible for the birth of the chaos and disdain, the human body is not manufactured to deal with such things for a long time. It gives up its interest in those factors as fast as they are created but at the same time it fails to completely erase them from the mind leading to an awkward escapism tendency. After certain length of time when we realise that escape is not feasible, we are left with no option but to house these thoughts in the deepest core of our heart and mind wherein they try to burst out from accentuating the chaos. Dwelling amidst the turbulent cries and chaotic emotions makes us vulnerable to further irrational behaviour, hatred and disappointment. The cries thus remain, slowly moving forward along with the flood of humans, allowing only brief moments of comfort before it exercises it oppressional acts to take us further away from serenity. We slowly learn to bear the torments, to face the blows, to adjust to the claustrophobia and to blend with the toughness. But the desire of a comfortable life slowly gets drowned in the gushing waters of illusional comfort and the abnormal chaos gradually becomes a part of our every day schedule. I often hear the triumph of the chaos, its victory song propagating its success in chaining the invincible humans in a land of grudge. Will these songs ever recede? Will the power of the human race ever free them from the clutches of this demon? Or will the chaos continue to rise filling the globe with its peace of loud cries, contempt, hatred and dissatisfaction?

The cave dwelling native man which had learnt the need of living together in communities, today is deliberately separating itself from its own race. The least evolved barbarians who went for a hunt hand in hand as now transformed in a specialised breed which backstabs the ones they live with. The evolutionary time scale may show the progress that the human race has undergone, but somewhere deep down, psychologically and emotionally we have undertaken an about turn. The eras have changed, the times have progressed, the world has advanced but our development has shown itself by way of receding cultures, vanishing customs, fading values and eloping virtues. We don’t have a lack of such people who sit back at home typing a status that alludes their concern about a mishap that recently happened; we don’t lack men who are waiting to put the blame on each-others shoulders the moment something big takes place- but we definitely lack such men who feel the intensity of grief that the incident puts forth; we lack such group of men whose heart coordinates with the mind to tell them that emotions are of no use unless they actually bring about a change in our perspective, a change in the manner in which we look at the world that lies spread out in front of our eyes. The concern that the void words of Instagram stories convey have to be replaced by gentle hands that reach out in times of need, the efficiency with which we share our grief in the social media has to be extended to the heart so that it can feel the pain of those in need as easily as the mobile screen does. In this era that stands as a witness to holistic technological advancement of the Homo sapiens, the eyes cry only on Tik Tok, the heart shows its emotions only on FB status, the concern is expressed only on Twitter updates to earn popularity and Instagram to accentuate followers. The natural instinct of this well mechanised body operates only when there is an android or i-phone to capture its various moods. Yes, we are amidst a chaos. A chaos not limited to our aggravating dissatisfaction, a chaos not limited to the boundaries of our complaints, a chaos not hedged by the over expectations that surround our being- but a chaos that has distanced us from ourselves. A turmoil has long been initiated that has made us devoid of the understanding what it is that we are doing and what it is that we should be doing. We have somewhere lost our original selves in this turbulent motion of the society, we have sacrificed our original selves in the fire modernism, we have deleted our original software in the vain apprising that has seemed essential to our fooled brains. All that remains with us is a clone that can look like but never feel alike, all that is left is a void creature with similar countenance but widely diminished sense of compassion, all that stays alive is the body that does all the functions required but the heart that beats within its ribcage doesn’t feel anymore. What is the need of this change, this advancement, this evolution if it deprived us of the one quality, we were unique to bear? What is the profit of such advancement if it leaves us with only an artificial version that can never equal the original by way of valuing the individuality of our fellow people?

As my eyes rested on the far stretched horizon, I knew that the problems that lie among us can never end until and unless we gather the strength to address them. The cliff that I saw in my dream was the edge of destruction where the human race stands today. One careless, callous step can throw it off while a calculated measure can help it reach a safe ground- the decision however can only be taken by the one who stands there, face to face with the danger. The chaos will never completely subside because till there is life on earth there will be differences in ideologies which creates separation and differences. But it can definitely be reduced if we master the art of judging which subject to bestow priority on. I can still hear the laughter of the chaos, the cries that yells from deep within- but I am helpless. I guess sometimes knowing the reason of a problem is not enough- you need to know the procedure of fighting it also. I do not know it now, but I will in the future. No, its neither an inner determination or an optimism that makes me say this nor is this a dialogue from a movie that I utter. It is just a natural reflex, a concept derived from history that shows whenever such a trouble has arisen, whenever humanity has stood just a step away from destruction it has revised its methodologies for the better. This revival demands the sacrifice and loss of few innocent lives but it always does work. At the moment, being the insignificant, powerless individual that I am, I don’t contain the vigour to challenge the nature which creates the chaos, I don’t possess the audacity to question the cosmos of this course of action that it has levied. I can only wait and allow time to shed it healing touch on all, I can wait for the tables to turn and assure myself that I would always value the principle that urge me to pen down these thoughts today. And when all learn to value their principles and virtues the chaos will be submerged under orderliness; the cries shall be overshadowed by serenity and peace in its true meaning shall prevail.

“The cries that spread around shall soon turn quiet,

The values that have vanished shall return back in sight.

Peace shall prevail its only a matter of time;

All around shall be virtues that’ll glow and shine.

All shall live in mirth and work hand in hand,

The evils of hatred, the masks of façade and the sins of viciousness shall be buried under the sand!”