upar dekh

When I was much younger, I would sit plumb in front of TV for hours on end. I used to do my homework, sheepishly looking towards TV in skew or hooded eyes, trying to fool parents in believing me that i was indeed studying, and i just 'needed' to 'listen' to TV.

Looking back now, i feel that might be the reason behind my habitual forward tilted low gaze. Whenever i realised my posture, i would correct it with upward tilt of my head.

A few days back, I realised something beautiful. Upon that habitual realisation and subsequent jerk of my face upwards, I noticed the difference between the world that one sees. When one looks with low eyes the object of ur gaze is at the top half of your vision. The thought is restricted with the 'purpose' of gaze. Besides the colors that usually pervade for this pose are dark and mundane - concrete, road, furniture, people.... There's a sense of being constrained. No escape from the trivial, the mundane. The sea of mediocrity surrounds and sucks us in a conspiracy to trivialise our life.

When one tilts the head up by that 50 degrees, the transformation in vision is immense. The predominant colors are blue and white of the sky, greens of trees and faces of people in bottom half of vision. Its a new vision altogether. all of a sudden world seems so much more beautiful now. full of possibilities. boundless. Instead of people looking like obstacle and conspirers, they start looking like fellow humans. each one master of his own world.

and at the same time, one realises the magnanimity, the grandiosity, the humongousness, the uber super duperness of nature and the relative smallness of human. This, while humbling, also elicits great pride. we build machines bigger than us, structures dwarfing us, aiming ever higher. (and in the process fucking up our precious planet, but I guess its possible to stretch dreams into Big realities without fucking up mother nature)

Well, there is one more difference in the vision of these two postures. While earlier, the vision would be too focussed and one missed to realise the details, in the later, the details swim into you vision and provide a context to what one is seeing. Suddenly the comprehension is much deeper and things make much more sense.

Many among us still miss out on a lot of things, never discovering how beautiful the world is, due to putting the object of ur gaze at the horizon of vision. When was the last time you looked and were amazed at the monstrosity of approaching rain clouds? When was the last time you followed a bird on its sojourn in blue sky? when was the last time you saw a shooting star and wished for something? when was the last time you gazed at the stars and humbled by the beauty and sheer limitlessness?

Comments

ou phrontis said…
what an observation...!

you're so right... so many times our view is so clouded that we automatically see that which our brains expects to see. reality is screened...

especially liked the final two paragraphs! great job!
Ajinkya said…
thanx! :D
hey, i was writing a response to your comment and it started a cnversation in me. I am posting it as a new post instead now. thanx, doubly so :D
Strider said…
I dont know. Being the height I am, I've always seen more sky than people...
:P
another one. ever tried not to go all TOEFL word list when you are writing? go desi for a change...
Ajinkya said…
simplicity is tough, man.
complex flows out easy.
i've loved this blogpost :) its nice how you have kindof begun the thought and where the throught has lead you to...its very interesting to know how differently we all think and write. lovely.
Ajinkya said…
Thanks :D

i often take the topic of our perception and its effect on how we feel, elsewhere in the blog too.
dipti said…
what an observation...!

you're so right... so many times our view is so clouded that we automatically see that which our brains expects to see. reality is screened...

especially liked the final two paragraphs! great job!
i've loved this blogpost :) its nice how you have kindof begun the thought and where the throught has lead you to...its very interesting to know how differently we all think and write. lovely.

Popular posts from this blog

The anthem of the deluded

Why I repair my shoe

new pov