Ruling stars!

I am a strong believer in star signs. I worship Linda Goodman and find her characteristics of signs pretty accurate. In fact, one of the first things i want to know about a person is the star sign, so that i have a base.....to understand them better. I believe that people with certain star signs are likely to better get along than other's.

I was wondering, you think countries could have star signs? I mean, the way a country behaves..could that have certain patterns? Am not talking about the people of the country..but at a larger..political level. For example, United States of America would be a LEO. Always in the forfront...loves attention, likes to be in the limelight, is arrogant with pride and playful at the same time. Here's something that Linda Goodman says about Leo's "The exasperating thing is that they're quite good at rationalizing things and smoothing out the wrinkles in your life. Too bad they can't manage their own affairs with as much ease and finesse. Leo just can't help feeling superior and behaving dra matically now and then" Now don't we see our very own Uncle Sam in here?

North Korea is a typical SCORPIO baby - Stubborn, uncompromising, unforgiving, exteremly dominating and in need of constant discipline. North Korea has always been in a perpetual conflict with its more peace loving neighbour South Korea. It is now raring to take over the world, forcing everyone to take notice of it. Like a child who won't listen to any reasoning...North Korea is the world's scorpio baby who needs to be handled with a lot of patience and firm action.

While describing a CAPRICORN, Linda Goodman talks about the slow, beaten tortoise and the over confident hare. The hare is carefree and underestimates the tortoise....and looses sight of his goal. The tortoise on the other hand, wins due to sheer determination and focus. A 100 points if you guess who it is?! India? Pakistan? Iran? Nahhhhh...its China. The world almost dismissed...what with its political issues and the never ending population. We saw it more as a burnden than the next super power of the world. Yet there it is, surging ahead....consistantly and ambitiously. Listen to this, "Now study a Capricorn. Where will you find him? Just about anywhere he can advance or improve himself. Any where he can get ahead and further his secret ambitions. Try a social gathering. The Capricorn is not a carefree party type, but the goat we're studying is a social climber as well as a mountain climber". Before we know...the world will be wrapped up in chopsuey and mandarin will be the global language. Make way, the chinese are here!

Now my birthplace, India. My beloved India. Some say she the next super power of the world, some say she's a dominating 'big sister' yet some find her a harbringer of peace and love and spirituality and yoga. Read on - "Librans hate to be rude, yet they'll straighten the crooked picture on your wall and snap off your blaring TV sfft. LIBRANS love people, but they hate large crowds. Like gentle doves of peace, they go around mediating and patching up quarrels between others; still they enjoy a good argument themselves. They're goodnatured and pleasant, but they can also be sulky, and they balk at taking orders". Yes, we are living within a Libran. Thought to be very balanced and good natured, but in reality not always. She has her own set of problems and confusions, she looses control and track and is unsure of where exactly she was heading. But she is kind, a good listner and very helpful.

Get the drift?! A lot more analysis can go into this..and who knows...we may have a science of political behaviour!!

I, me and thyself..!

Try this. Sit alone in a room and think about 'nothing'. Just don't think. Simply sit there. No, don't close your eyes and don't concentrate or meditate. Just sit. Your mind will drift. To someone, something, some place, some noise, some smell, some memory. Erase. This you will find is one of the hardest things you'll ever do. To sit with yourself...thinking of nothing but you. The hardest thing to do is to spend time with yourself.

I am not talking spirituality. I believe spirituality is not something you can talk about or teach. So, am not getting philosophical here..! What i mean is, we live inside of us..our ENTIRE life....being so unaware of this thing called ME. This doesn't mean that we are selfless...no...quiet the contrary. We always always put ourselves first. Isn't it funny then, that we find it so difficult to sit with ourselves. We are always thinking of 'the other'. Our world view, our definitions, our values, our self worth, ideas, feelings, smiles are all from that 'other'. Everything that we do or think is because the other exists.

Recently i was watching a movie, Anger Management. This guy (Adam Sandler) goes for anger management therapy. His therapist (Jack Nicholson) asks him, "So tell us Dave, who are you?". Dave starts by saying that he works at so and so company and this is his job. The therapist interrupts him and asks, "I am not asking what you do, i am asking, who are you?" Dave had no answer.

Tell me, Who are you?

Way out?!

Jobs lost. Low investments. Falling GD P's. Financial Gloom. In the United States, 25 banks closed down in 2008 and 36 have gone down in the first quarter of 2009 while a whooping 634 banks have come out as being weeker in the recent 'stress test' of major banks, undertaken by US government. The dollar is weak. United States exports have fallen by about 20% in the last quarter. Billions of dollars have been lost and billions more pumped into the economy to resurrect it.

There are claims from experts that the economy is reviving. At times, people seem to be taking hope from them and we see it reflecting on the stocks. I am no economist. But i do understand that half the world is reeling under immense financial pressure.....that what happens on wall street affects my life/our life here in India.

Like i said, i am no expert. But i feel, the best way out of this situation if for company's in to invest in 'Human Resource'. It's a tough call. Losses are high and most company's aren't even being able to cover the day to day costs, leave alone making profits. But human resources could very well turn out to be the best short term investment a company could make. Not only will that give purchasing power to people, something thats been seeing the downside too, but it will also help them increase their investments.

It might be a simplistic solution or rather option to all the mind bogling strategic steps taken to make nice with the economy. But still, its one worth giving a thought to!

I DO...!

Gold rimmed. Bright. Sheer. Beautiful.....is how a marriage looks and seems in the head, before it happens to you. It is also how the heart feels....brimming with joy and dreams and happiness...a whole new world waiting for you...finally when you are on the other side and call yourself 'married'. The gold covered, pure thing inside of you is waiting for a lifetime of waiting and expectations to come true. You will finally belong, with someone. You smile a lot, laugh a lot, suddenly you want to meet your friends and spend time with family. All of them notice the glow on your face, the generous smiles.....unmarried friends look at you with a tinge of jealousy...biding their time and telling themselves, someday it'll be 'their' day.

Getting married is probably the most thought about topic for a girl. Even when she has her very first crush...she is convinced that this is the person she is going to marry...its him she is going to live happily ever after with. She moves on as she grows up....she tries giving a face to the one she'll finally marry....always waiting for him...always second guessing who it will be. The dreams are all the same....the beautiful clothes, happy faces, loving husband....a special feeling...of knowing that it is your day today..that you've never looked so beautiful, that no man has ever loved anyone as much as your husband will love you and no woman could possibly love any man like you love yours.

The more i talk to my married friends the more i feel like....like....there was a lot of dreamy fog, the kind you see in movie songs during a dream sequence...and you were running through it, happy and sure of finding a wonderful new world....but now you are out of it...the fog has lifted and there is a bland reality staring at you. The gold rimmed cloth is torn and tattered and worn out...the bright colours have faded and it doesnt feel like silk anymore....! You are confused and try to adjust to your surroundings...taken by surprise....you ask yourself...have i come to the right place? Most of the times, life goes on, you fall in love with a khadi cloth which may not be as soft as silk, not as bright but still looks good. But sometimes not....sometimes the worn out cloth leaves scars and bruises that are difficult to mend...you long to see the glitter of gold that you loved so much...but dont...! It is this disappointment of not seeing that precious glitter that crushes something inside you....and you know nothing will ever be the same again.

Fix you - Coldplay...!

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse.

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream, down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face and I...

Tears stream, down on your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face and I...

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.