To Want a Need

I was told the difference between Wanting and Needing by a good friend: Need is for existence; Want is desire.
There is something deeply sad and yet infinitely brilliant about life and time. Time makes us forget everything: People and places we cared about; moments we thought we’d never let go; Faces and memories that were to remain forever, they all go away. They go and are replaced by the new. The sad thing is that it means that all is fickle, and there is nothing. Everything we care about, everything we revere, everything we hold dear… can be forgotten. The great thing, though, is that hurt is temporary and goes away.
That’s wanting and needing. A need can never be forgotten, no matter what. A want is often replaced by newer wants, and in the so gets forgotten. 

Musings to Listening Voices II

I sometimes think that we are all part of a greater collective; each of us being a tiny piece of the puzzle. God, of course, is everywhere and His power can be seen in the elegance of everything. Now, a person who questions everything and sees everyone equally would likely to be more attuned to the nature of life. I think for that one has to have faith; in one’s own self and in the greater power above. I would think that people without religion wouldn’t have anything to draw strength from. I mean if you look at it psychologically too, it fits. People need to feel that there is a greater power that will take care of everything. Otherwise there would be hopelessness. I know someone who has recently started calling himself an agnostic. He claims that questioning religion can lead you down that path. I don’t agree. I think that questioning can give you clarity. And that where your faith comes in… if your faith is strong enough it can survive any questioning.

UN – 25/7

Musings to Listening Voices

It’s always so fascinating to understand people… there is so much good in everyone… but the fact that we don’t understand someone makes us dislike or perhaps hate them. The true sadness is that we are incredibly complex, and few have the patience to sit and sift through the complexity. The result is that we don’t understand… and so we hate. The paradox is that the whole point of ‘life being life’ revolves around the complexity of people who live it! It’s so incredibly elegant, and intricate. Every little detail…! Everything and everyone matters. I believe in His greater plan. Sometimes if we are properly aligned, we can see its glimpses, and it’s enough to make one smile or to cry! It’s beautiful really, the plan of life… sometimes.

 UN – 16/7

The Dennis Retires

It would be appropriate to write a few words on the retirement of the man who initiated my love affair with Arsenal. It was Dennis Bergkamp and Marc Overmars, because of whom I started to follow Arsenal initially, and the rest is history. Dennis retired from soccer on Saturday, in a glittering testimonial match vs. Ajax Amsterdam in the new home of Arsenal Football, the Emirates Stadium. Such is the standing of the man in world soccer that the match featured legends such as Johan Cruyf and Marco Van Basten, alongside superstars such as the De Boer brothers, Patrick Vieira, Overmars, Henry, Ian Wright, Van Der Saar and so on.

                              
Dennis Bergkamp was always a treat to watch. Blessed with an amazing brain, he could see the killer pass before anyone else, and that was how he made the ‘hole’ position his own. He was always a scorer of great and important goals, each of which showed the tremendous skill and intelligence that his game possesses. Anything that the likes of Maradona could do, Bergkamp could also do with his right foot. But his game was never about showboating; on the contrary, much like Zidane, he always used his skill to create space for his team and was never a selfish player. As a person, I can’t really say much because unfortunately I never met him, but from all that I have read, he is a funny, amiable and a family man.
He maybe the Ice Man, the non Flying Dutchman or the Dutch Masterclass; but for me, Dennis Bergkamp will be one of the greatest players in the modern game and the best Number 10 that Arsenal ever had.

My favorite Bergkamp goals,

1 – That one against Newcastle. It has to be one of the most audacious goals ever. He received the ball, flicked it one way and turned another to score an astounding goal. The goal became the Goal of the 2001-2 season.

2 – That one against Argentina in the France 98 quarterfinals. Great player that he is, amidst an ordinary performance, he received a long ball in the box, controlled it instantly and volleyed it past Peruzzi (I believe). This happened in the dying moments of the game which seemed to be headed for extra time. Holland won 2-1.

3 – That chip against Bayer Leverkusen. Defenders all around him and no danger for the opposition, he just suddenly launched a sweet chip form outside the box that was the icing on a 4-1 victory for Arsenal.

4 – That hat trick goal against Leiscter City. Brought the long ball down, controlled and curled it in. Simply brilliant. Became the only player in history to have all three of his goals nominated in the top 3 in the Match of Day program. This goal became the goal of the 1997-8 season.

All hail the Dennis!

Somewhere Only We Know

From Keane’s mesmerizing song….

Oh simple thing where have you gone
I’m getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you’re gonna let me in
I’m getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

And if you have a minute why don’t we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don’t we go
Somewhere only we know?                                                          

A Tale of Two Headers

Fair play to the Azzuri… I thought they deserved to win the tournament based on their sheer doggedness.

But what of Les Blues? What of Zizou? France actually dominated the game second half onwards. Zizou was everywhere; the center of everything. We even saw some typically high class runs from Monsieur Henry… in fact I thought that it was one of Henry’s better performances in an France shirt.

But the truth of the final was the truth of life. It just showed how sport imitates life; how reality is a drama. What happened was the reality of existence.
Here was Zinedine Zidane… the man who had taken Les Bleus to glory in 98, a man who had united a nation. Here was a man who was enroute to becoming a much bigger symbol of France football than Platini himself. Here was a man who had lead them to another final…
He scored a brilliantly laid back penalty, and France were 1-0. In his last game… what a farewell.
Then after the second half, Zizou was everywhere and France dominated. In extra time he had a marvelous header saved by the magnificent Buffon; and then his world fell apart.

Just like life… C’est La Vie… one minute you’re on the verge of footballing myth… a man who scored in two World Cup finals… a man who in the center of an increasingly fluid team looking the more likely to score… a second World Cup for the taking…
A man who is on top…
And then life shows you who’s really boss… and you come crashing down.
Two headers in the space of 5 minutes defined it all. One was a shot on goal, brilliantly saved; the other pummeled into the chest of the wretched Materazzi, who actually had a pretty good game to be fair. The problem though, was that Materazzi must have said something truly awful, for Zidane seldom shows any emotion.
This emotion that he showed, was deliberate and vengeful.
He lost it… he lost a legacy that could have possibly rivaled that of Pele… and he left his team alone to die in the Berlin night.

Whatever Materazzi said, Zizou showed have known better. Ten minutes to go to penalties, no Henry, no Vieira… and then no Zidane.

One feels sad for the great man, a man who had really turned back the days to produce an immaculate display.
I still think he’s great.
I still think France deserved to win the final as they played the better football…
I still think Italy were the rightful winners of the cup because of their consistency.

The following words, taking from an article from the Guardian sum it up best:

Perhaps we’ll never know what was said or what he was thinking. Perhaps the greatest riddle of all is that in destroying his legacy as a sporting hero, he might have immortalised himself as the man who stood up to bigots, real or imagined, no matter the price.

The State of Having

Certain things have come to light over the last month or so, which have pointed to the existing importance of having good people around you. Friends you can trust, who give you good advice, who care; and most importantly having a supporting family. The support system, I guess, as much as anything else, defines who we are and what we become. It bears upon whether we find ourselves… or lose ourselves. And like I said sometime ago, It’s always important to find ourselves, because that’s who we end up being and being with.

I certainly wouldn’t be here without some amazing people.

And of course… it all comes together in a little concept called having faith. Faith in oneself, in others and most importantly in God. In His will, and in the fact that He always has a plan.

Its always important to be contentedly happy, even if life is problematic.

The Quote

“The deep pain that is felt at the death of every friendly soul arise from the feeling that there is in every individual something which is inexpressible, peculiar to him alone, and is, therefore, absolutely and irretrievably lost.”

The above is the quote I was refering to in the post below. Its by a German philosopher called Arthur Schopenhauer.

The State of Being

So here we are. Writing at the office again.
Anyways… got to hear a really interesting quote yesterday. It was by some philosopher (I’ll reproduce it shortly), but the gist of it talked about losing of something unique every time a human being is lost.

It is something that I’ve come to believe in over the last few years. I’ve been lucky enough to meet some truly wonderful people, some of whom have ended up as great friends (globetrotters they be; across UK and San Fran!), and each of them brought something truly singular to my existence. You can choose to do a lot with these singular things: you can learn from them, or simply disregard them. But the point is that everyone, whether they be good or bad, are unique. They are who they are.
They do the things they do because of who they are. That uniqueness; that process of thought formation and of doing cannot be replicated.

People can be copied in action, but they cannot be copied in Being.

I suppose it all stems from the vastness of the human psyche and our brain. No one can truly understand the reality of reasoning within each of us. Yet, we reproduce that reasoning faithfully time after time. This is what makes human beings such a treat to get to know. They keep surprising you. That makes life worth living.

 I’ve often asked this question to myself: if I were to go through life again, would I do things differently? Would I change things? The answer is always no. Because who we are now is because of who we were then. Our state of being now is the sum total of all the experiences, mistakes, triumphs and regrets so far.
That makes us truly unique.

And yes… Les Bleus are in the finals! So are the Azzuri. Should be interesting…

Hide and Seek

Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek”. Brimming with sweet naive sadness. You can see the video here…

where are we?
what the hell is going on?
the dust has only just begun to form
crop circles in the carpet
sinking, feeling

spin me ’round again
and rub my eyes,
this can’t be happening
when busy streets a mess with people
would stop to hold their heads heavy….