ATMs seem to have an innate hatred towards this poor soul whenever I try to cross the path of an otherwise harmless square box in a hole. Whenever I come near them though, they tend to have a life of their own.

Every time I go to the one near where I live, it starts not recognizing the standard touch commands. I would stand in line watching person after person taking out money until finally, it’s my turn too(yippee!). And then, after an entire hour, the ATM simply stops working. Or accepting the fact that touching it is supposed to make it do stuff. Or it runs out of money(so MANY times!).

And then there was this time in college when there was a power outage right when I pressed “withdraw”. It ended up gobbling up my money and not even giving me a receipt for it. And the manager at the bank told me that there was nothing he could do to help me, other than wait until the money comes back on its own(!). Thankfully though, I got my money back after a day or so(phew!).

But the real reason I am writing this right now is because one of the funniest things happened to me in an ATM today. The one thing I have noticed about people everywhere is their lack of knowledge about how queues work. They seem to think that the real reason queues are kept is for the person in a passing aeroplane to be happy seeing all of them standing in one neat line(!).

I went to this ATM where I see people spilling in and out of the ATM cubicle. The door was kept open and people were just milling around. There was this lady with a kid around three years old in front of me. The kid had some chocolate in hand and was making the noises that only kids can make, apparently. After a while though, it seemed like he was struggling with something.

And then, right in front of everyone, in the overflowing queue, right in the ATM cubicle, he takes a liking to pee(sorry, no other word!). He looks around walks a few steps, does a bit more of the same, and then walks off like nothing has happened. By this time though, his mom has seen this, and she scolds him off and stands in queue as if nothing has happened(!).

The ones behind me in the queue start looking at each other and we are at a loss on what to do. Never did anyone teach us etiquette for this kind of a situation and we all agree silently to avoid awkwardness by ignoring the situation. And now, it is the turn of the lady. She spends around five minutes trying to figure out which way the card goes in, while gallant on-lookers help her and I stand nonchalantly.

She then proceeds to take five minutes figuring out how the touch screen works (more gallant on-lookers inside the cubicle). More time is spent in withdrawing money and making sure that the transactions are processed without any of the helpful on-lookers stealing any money(!). Then, a brisk walk with the kid following her, and she leaves me wondering when my turn would come to do more on-looker-provoking activity.

Is God a phenomenon, a mere fabrication of the minds of millions over the ages? Or is God really a supernatural being that most of these millions make Him(Her) out to be?

Well, let’s look at how people have analyzed God over the ages (not talking about history here, so please wait a bit more before yawning!).

The question that bugs me the most is that the most obtuse thing that I have found is that people, including myself, have found from time to time that they cannot distinguish between faith and belief. What really is the difference? Here is my take on it.

Belief is that which takes form out of sometimes tangible/believable things that happen to us in life. Faith is a completely different thing. It is inherent in us. Let me make that clearer. I believe that people believe for a reason, or for that part, many reasons. They can believe in a lot of things. They can believe in God, love, death, friendship, trust. They can even believe in you or me.

However faith is really something that comes not from our experiences, but from within us all to varying degrees. It does not depend on age, nor does it depend on character. I find it wrong to say that I have faith in someone. I feel that this is closely related to a sort of control over fate/destiny(whatever you call it. More on fate and destiny later).

It is really not all that difficult to build up belief(am not saying it is easy), and this is essentially what religions try to do most of the time. They build one’s belief in something that unbelievably seems to be out of the grasp of the normal human being’s ordinary mind!!! But I have joy in the fact that religions have often tended to succeed more often than not over the ages. But faith is not something that springs out when someone performs religious rituals. It is something that people take years, sometimes a lifetime to learn.(Sadly, some of us may not learn it even then).

Now, the most interesting aspect here is that religion is not directly the bond between humanity and happiness. I believe that faith is that bond. Be it faith in God, or faith in ourselves, or faith in something that is worth it. Whatever one might think, faith is what keeps us steady in the roughest of weathers.

So then, why have people not woken up to the fact that faith is what takes us through life?
Well, if only it were that easy! It is only the most resolute who can cling to their faith when all else fails. For faith does not conjure up tangible miracles or visible realms. It is at its simplest, a feeling. Of protection. Of warmth. Of life.

(The views portrayed here are entirely my own. Please do not be offended. I beg your pardon, if I have offended anyone.)

Have faith.
Take life by its reins.

Prayers are a human’s way to redemption. Pray for each other, so that our lives may be slightly better.
Help each other, so that others’ lives may be slightly better.

Why do we feel the need to prove that we are better? Why is there an urge in every one of us to show the world that we know something about everything? Why do we live every day trying to display our superiority in every walk of life?

I am sure we all remember (and try to forget) that one time when we foolishly tried to show off to a far superior expert and got our asses kicked royally. It has happened to me many a time. Yet, I find myself succumbing to the urge to float my idiocy in this ocean of aristocratic crap that is the world.

Instead, we should strive to be humble, yearn to be invisible, struggle to be in the shadows.

Only then will we truly live life to the fullest.

Now here is a different thought-process that a friend of mine recently took time out to explain to me : The world is not a dark and gloomy place due to the lack of love. It is a scary place because of human misgivings. Here’s how!

Everyone has love with them, within them; and that too, in plenty. The only thing that the world is asking of them to make it a better place is to give it. Let the love flow. And here is where we come to the most moronic of roadblocks. It is a classic case of volunteer dilemma. No one wants to give anything, even love, without being positively certain that they are bound to get something in return. We want returns on love!

Simple solution : Give it. Spread the love. Make sure u expect nothing in return!

Umph. Easier said than done. If only it were that easy. But then hey, if it had been easy, wouldn’t everyone be doing it already? Some things in life are hard for a reason.

Give oodles of love without hesitating. Once the initial hesitation is gone, it is like a series of huge waves crashing on you. No mortal can stop them. You feel a sense of exhilaration that cannot be described in mere words. If you can give without any expectations, then other people that you give your love to would be so touched that they start spreading it in turn. This is in fact, the watered-down version of the essence of all philosophies : religious and otherwise.

So, why do we hesitate? I believe that at a very personal level, we are all scared that people will make whatever we give BETTER, if we give it to them. We are scared that people might improve upon what we give them, and then take the credit all to themselves. This is what each and every one of us fears deep inside our hearts. We want the claim, the fame. Nobody else should take what is rightfully(!) ours. This is also why people value a mentor so much. This is why counseling is such a big factor in our lives. Most problems in life arise out of lack of attention and love. Does this thought not haunt you?

We have loads and loads of love without ever realizing it. The well of love is infinitely deep inside each one of us. All we have to do is to dig deep and start giving it to others. Selfless love is what moves the world on its axis of moral justice. Everything in the world starts and ends with acts of love and faith. All thoughts and actions start and end with you. It does not matter whether or not the love that you part with comes back to you. All that matters is that you love others like you want them to love you.

And the world shall be at true peace.