Friday, 21 July 2017

WHY DO 'CHESTERS' LEAVE US?


A broken heart is a source of inspiration for powerful music and art. But it can chew on your happiness and peace of mind, and if you can’t move on, the melancholy can become addictive, and FYI, it kills too.

The world has lost many of its most brilliant musicians and artists in general to death over this phenomenon.  From Kurt Cobain to Chester Bennington, they were all good at they what did, and inspired millions of people all around the world. They were unique and special, but they would have drowned themselves in the cacophony of their own thoughts, addicted to remaining sullen and sick over something that only they knew was true. Perhaps, they convinced themselves that it was true. One cannot guess the miseries and ordeals in personal life that they went through, for real, but if you know the real strength of human spirit, you will know that nothing is too strong for you to give up.

One of the most influential painters in the history of human evolution, Vincent Willem van Gogh has remained an inspiration for painters aspiring to do big all around the world. But even he lost his own battle. It is believed that he had Bipolar disorder, and if you know the devil, the disease is strong enough to capsize the last bit of hope you have of living peacefully.  Your mind alternates between extreme emotions, a medical condition, where chances of a comeback are bleak.  If you try to understand van Gogh’s paintings, you would feel like they were inspired from the backdrop of a creative but broken soul. And what do we learn from that? Is creativity and sadness akin to each other?

Substance abuse, binge drinking, depression and pain – It is a common conviction that they are all synonymous with the life of artists. This conviction (I would say) is a result of pure misunderstanding! It is just a choice! You can either see them as catalysts or yet another source to just chill out! Or maybe, you don’t need them at all. It’s all up to you, and the way you think to be precise.
To find inner peace remains the biggest challenge of all. And where are we failing? Why did we lose the best of musicians and artists to various branches of depression?

“Why am I here? What have I gained? Why did it happen to me? Why me? Why don’t they understand?” These questions form the foundation of most of the suffering that a human spirit goes through. With broken expectations, a shattered heart and tear-filled eyes, maybe one can come up with the best of music.  It is good to let go of your emotions on a piece of paper, or let it go with the flow onto the strings on your guitar. But what happens after that? Why are you not happy, when your music or writing inspires others? Why did you fight hard to get published, or make and exhibit your music in the first place, if you can’t take pride in what you have earned? And if you really read all the questions at the start of this paragraph, you will understand that they don’t have fixed or permanent answers. They are always flexible. A person is what he thinks he/she is. We are all lucky to be here. Think that, and most of those questions will be dwarfed by reality. Think of yourself as someone who inspired millions and you are a star; not for others, but most importantly for yourself; and that becomes you. Think of your life as meaningless, and that’s what it is. If you think of yourself as someone with a broken relationship and no real friends, then that’s you! You are what you think you are! So why leave, when you can build a better world for yourself, just by changing the way you think.

It is easy to contend that it is not easy to change. And it is not easy at all. But think of this – when you are sad and depressed, very often all it takes is just a good song to spring your mood up to an all-time high! When you see a baby laugh, when you listen to motivational speeches, it turns the table on your mood. ‘Mood swings’, in a positive way though, we can call it! Music, literature, and, life in common has enough to power, captivate and charge your soul. So when you know that a major changeover is possible, why do you give up? Why do you end up blind?

You do intensive work-outs, and your muscles develop! But you have to start working-out and eating or glutting is not going to help! When you run your imagination wild about yourself, you have to know that the scripting for your own life is taking place there! So, it all depends on the kind of work-outs you do!

Smoking is addictive, but how many times have you enjoyed your cigarette till the last puff! And why are smokers not able to quit if it is not that an enjoyable a habit. Just like brushing your teeth becomes a very important task in your life, smoking also becomes a part of your identity. If you relate the power of these habits on your daily life schedules, it will help you understand the problem that the artists go through. 

Depression and sadness not only became a creative tool, but it also became a habit that they couldn’t resist. They delved on it because they found beauty in it. And it did serve them well, but the masked demon in it swallowed them all. Sadness-turned-depression hunted them down. And they didn’t think so much as to avoid or understand its intervention, because they loved it in a way. To avoid all this, it is important to understand the power of happiness, and the art of flipping the coin upside down whenever it is needed. 

Just like how songs can change your mood in the blink of an eye, there are enough resources to uplift your mood all around you. But for that, you have to have the determination to change, which is the only constant! Keep on trudging and be patient till you see the green light! Faith is the answer, and your mind holds the key to all your problems. It is in you! Before anything, one has to believe in himself/herself, and take that leap of faith. We are all lucky to be here, and the one thing that controls our inner-peace is our own mind. If you don’t have it, you can always have it, but only if you are ready to start. To develop a muscular and fibrous body, one has to work out with a lot of discipline for several months. And similar to that, taming your mind won’t be an easy task, but on that part everyone should know that success is not an easy word, and it is not just limited to fame or glory. Success is when you decide to break the chains and set yourself free. Success is when you are happy! When you try to axe a habit of yours, it is never an easy procedure. Pain, sadness and irritation are part and parcel of the process. But it will eventually happen, and the habit will die off one day! People have battled even death and come out alive. When they staged a comeback, it was a message to the whole world that the mind has healing powers. And if you know yourself, and know how to tame the mind, you will realise that happiness is indeed a choice!


Sadness can inspire art and serve your creativity well. But if you don’t have them in check, if you forget to smile, then know that the real success of remaining happy and feeling lucky to be just alive, will always remain elusive to you. The choice is yours and it is very important because we can’t have more ‘Chesters’ leaving us! The world needs them!



Hemanth Sreekumar 
hemanthsreekumar.89@gmail.com

Sunday, 8 January 2017

THE BEAUTY OF DISCUSSIONS THAT ARE FULL OF JUNK!



Your life may not be productive every passing moment, and one has no right or need to expect it to be. Some useless discussions, stories or passing comments make for memories that stand stronger than the supposedly idealistic topics like politics, life, world and much bigger things (again supposedly). Perceiving life to be productive by means of talking and reading only the most knowledgeable stuff, is the by-product of self-inflated thinking.  You deem yourself suitable only to discuss about the matters that flash on TV screens or things that can be associated to soul-searching, or in a nut-shell, things that are commonly perceived as damn serious! That’s pointless because not everyone is like you and while you had the opportunity to enjoy some conversations, you wasted those moments because you were more focused about your standards even as trying to relate and judge the topic being discussed and the person who speaks in front of you. Too much of useless scrutiny that killed the moments! That’s what I’d say!

Being enraged, rebellious, sympathetic or sad about the fate of humanity or about the political scenarios (that are unchangeable) doesn’t bring us any good; at least not always. Where is happiness in those moments? Food and shelter are the primary needs for a living, but talk about feelings and the ones that stand out from the rest, are love and happiness.  You don’t have to be the genius or a knowledgeable guy who can talk about anything – instead you should be the person who brings in an aura of happiness to the table, or someone capable of being a part of that happy group at least, rather than being judgmental and premeditating your mind that you are not going to indulge in some discussions that you deem are junk. Some junk food are unavoidable no matter how much we resist it right – that’s our appetite governed by the ground rule of life! We need it for a change. Similarly, we need some useless articles to spice things up in life too! It’s our choice, and nothing makes sense in fact – even your existence! We are like visitors on planet earth – all we have to do is choose happiness over things that are detrimental to our peace of mind.

If possible, you should be able to gift smiles to people. Those moments really count. Help as much as you can if it brings you happiness. But do not focus on proving your point or proving who you are every time. Not everything you do should make sense. At least once in a while, you should loosen the strings attached to your spirit and cut it loose. Laughing and watching others laugh is a different phenomenon that is unique and powerful. There is a vibe that helps you charge your thought process with loads of positivity. Do not miss that! (Conditions applied: Too much of it can kill your productivity too.)

Coming back to the point, write to express your opinions, but never do it to enforce them. Have a different or a unique and unbiased point of view, but don’t hate or treat the people who are different from you with pity. They are who they are. Don’t convert every moment that you breathe to boast and brag about your knowledge and viewpoints, unless it helps the other person. Even if it is all about helping, you should feel free once in a while. You should reduce the flames and learn to laugh! Don’t stress yourself too much with serious topics – at times bluff and junk that makes you laugh and look stupid, helps to ease the burden of survival and hence brings out the best in you while you are still alive to breath!

It’s all about how you nurture your thought process! Don’t fuck up your mind for no reason, and breathe free! Don’t be so serious. Be one among the common folks rather than convincing yourself that you are different! 

If you are different, that will show when the time is right!