"Grave views on life..."

This is basically a link to complete the essence of this post.

The views that contribute to the title of this post, come to me on those occasional instances of overly extended gloom, clouded mornings overstaying their welcome et al. Further, one may enter this cave fully knowing that the thoughts featured therein are a complex function of all that passes from in front of the resident lion's eyes..

This is in some ways a rant on what I observed as being fed to myself, along with its Uncle 'Logical extension'.
When one is still a child, one learns of the race of ranks, marks and relative performance.
Jumping straight to class XII, one is cajoled into working the extra mile, with the carrot being that this is after all, the "final" time you'll need to exert yourself, after which you can float into the sunset of academic rigour related issues.

Class XII is often associated with Entrance exam pressures as well. And the moment one prepares to encash on the promise mentioned above (The promise, of something no less than freedom!), one is reminded of the critical importance of professional qualifications, with morose references to the exiting market situation et al. And thus one learns that the pot of gold has been shifted to that ideal place, located right next to the huge billboard which screams "Congrats on making it to NSIT/DCE/IIT/AIIMS/PMT et al!".

Once in college, one goes about practising the freedom that one has been recently endowed with. There too, N-1 years (out of the N that form the course duration) afterwards, one is ambushed by that one word that will lend meaning to all aspirations that had led to this place in the first place: Placements.
And thus, one is advised to do one's best to get into a "good" company, along with appropriate emphasis on how much this starting step could influence the growth of one's career opportunities.

Once at work, one realizes the importance of work, perks, networks et al. One sees oneself married 'y' years later; one's peers climbing the ladder way too fast for one's unexpectant eyes.

And the picture must be clear by now.
In those hours that haunt one every now and then, when these "views" come rushing back, one sees the diseased, and twisted hand of inevitability gesture to one, the seeming "end-of-(happy!?)-days". One sees all the world with an eye of suspicion, bordering on paranoia, unwilling to let go of each moment, in the morbid fear of losing it the very next instant.
At another level, this could be the seeds of the perfect "Incentives/Compensation" lecture that every iron-fisted dictator in the world unconsciously wanted to attend!

At another, one could invoke the ancient tool of generalization, and look at the entire cosmos with eyes wide open/shut. Here, one realizes that it is undying hope, coupled with a sense of faith, that makes the entire drive you 'maya-land' (if you will) worth anything at all. Hope, for an end to what today seems an infinite loop with several segmentation faults and the like, and a faith simply in the fact that some meaning must lie concealed beneath all the layers of concrete that have been, and will be.

And then there is yet another plane, which in some wily old backhanded way, could be the deepest depression disguised as a bliss which sends the self soaring higher by the second. (Wait: What if the deepest depressions is infact identical to the bliss of the soaring highs; what if that place of perceived rockbottom-ness, is where the entire spectrum lies traversed, with the 2 ends actually meeting as in a loop, thus rendering the very concept of "extremes" and "ends" null and void; what if, sorrow and bliss are 2 identical twins, same in all respects, from their nature, to their eventual destinies, to even their vital statistics... Then what is it that makes one the preferred vehicle of choice over another, for the journey that we embark on every life, every day, every moment?)

Returning from that deliciously spontaneous aside, and keeping that aside for another post another day, one returns to the seemingly dingy locales where one had encountered the highs soaring to unfathomable heights. Here, one identifies with the essential frivolousness of the perceived existence of any emotion.
To elaborate: the ideal of happiness, remains alive because of the perceived lack of it. Furthermore, as described previously, the target remains ever moving and inherently unattainable by our mortal selves. This remains true for as long as one attempts to attain said target. (The last verse from here comes to mind. Thanks.)
It is thus perhaps the pursuit of any ideal, that itself forms a major part of said ideal. And in accepting the true worth of the pursuit, one perhaps wins half the battle against the world, the elements, the self. Perhaps.

Thus, much to one's pleasant surprise, the grave views that one held from time to time, weren't quite as morose as one had expected after all... (Or weren't they? After all, 'sorrow' and 'joy' were found to form a golden couple of invisible oneness!)
(This comes to mind. Why, I have no clue, and perhaps there's no reason why I should!)
(Wow! Now this ambled along! More logical connects seemed visible here! :-)

I love this game!