Death.

Death inspires me - not that I am  downward spiralling, but because it inspires me to live more - making every moment count.  We're all dying, little by little, with the cells weakening, the fibres stretching and the heart getting closer to its last beat. Personally, I like that fact.  There is nothing more exhilarating than waking up every morning and going 'WOW! THIS IS IT! THIS IS REALLY IT! LETS HAVE A KICK-ASS DAY!' It helps me focus my mind wonderfully, makes me love vividly, work intensely, and realize that, in this amazing scheme of things, I really don't have time to sit around in my pyjamas, eating cereals at noon and watching re-runs of F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

If you feel I am sounding morbid here, lets think of death not as a release but as an incentive. The more focussed you are on your death, the more wholly you live your life. I don't believe in an afterlife. I guess that makes me a bad Hindu, and might be re-born as a dung-fly (only if I believed in that!).  Not trying to hurt the believers' religious sentiments, but I genuinely think afterlife is one of the biggest philosophical problem the earth faces. Everyone thinks they are getting a harp after death. 

Believing in an afterlife totally ruins up your living life. How? Underneath every day action and word, you think it doesn't really matter if you screw things up this time because you can all sort it out in some metaphysical plane. You will make it up with people you no longer talk to and become a better person, and lose that stomach flab in heaven. Oh, and learn to speak Japanese. After all, you will have time! It's eternity! So who cares what you do now? This is just some lacklustre waiting room you're going to be in for 20 minutes, with no wings at all, and are forced to walk around, on your feet, like pigs do. Heaven, the biggest waste of our time we ever invented, besides Buttersticks. 

So. Yes. We're all crumbling into the void, one cell at a time. We are disintegrating like sugar cubes in champagne. Then why do most men and women pretend  it isn't happening? Why do we often sit around and contemplate a future that doesn't even exists, instead of getting some stuff done and making it happen? I am a huge apostle for NOW.  And I totally love Robert De Niro's take on it - "Time goes on. So whatever you're going to do, do it. Do it now. Don't wait." This make me restless, but I am constantly curious about whats out there. I like picking life by its neck and shaking it, just to see what falls out of its pockets. There is a strange kind of joy in discovering something new - whether its accidentally finding a hidden street with amazing street art, or just striking up random conversations with absolute strangers. Or taking up Swing Dancing lessons next month.

I don't try new things just because I am scared that one day I might drop dead and my bucket-list would  be incomplete. Rumor has it that your life flashes by just before you die. If thats actually true, I would rather have mine worth an Oscar - she died doing what she likes the most. And that is something no harp or golden wings can ever replace.

What do you think your flash-by movie will be like?