समांतर

समांतर
म्हणजे 'parallel'....शाळेत असताना गणिताच्या पुस्तकात समांतर रेषांचा धडा होता.

गणित हा तसा माझा नावडता विषय - दहावीचा गणिताचा पेपर दिल्यावर आयुष्यात गणिताकडे पाठ फिरवायची नाही असा मी पण केला होता..पण हा धडा मात्र एकदम लक्षात राहिला..

गणिताच्या बाईंनी फळ्यावर दोन रेषा काढल्या आणि म्हणाल्या 'ह्या आहेत समांतर रेषा, ज्या कधीच एक मेकांना छेदत नाहीत'. Two lines in a plane that do not intersect or meet are called parallel lines.
इतर वेळेस तासाला झोप काढणारी मी एकदम जागी झाले आणि डोक्यात काहीतरी वेगळेच विचार चालू झाले. या रेषा छेदत नाहीत? एकमेकांना कधीच भेटत नाहीत? समोरच्या फळ्यावर माझी नजर खिळलेली होती आणि वाटला, काय होईल जर मी ह्या दोन तोकड्या रेषा वाढवत नेल्या? फाल्याबाहेरून भिंतीवर? भितीवरून सरकत सरकत खिडकीबाहेर....बाहेरच्या झाडावरून पलीकडे दूर डोंगर दिसतोय तिथपर्यंत?तरीही त्या नाही का भेटणार? तास संपल्यावर मला लक्षात आला कि कितीही काही केला तरी हा नियम आहे कि त्या नाही भेटणार एकमेकांना....

आयुष्यातल्या काही नाती पण अशीच समांतर रेशांसारखी होत जातात...काही नात्यांना आपण समांतर होण्या साठी सोडून देतो ...तर काही नाती गुंफायची इच्छा असूनही समांतर होतात......सुरवातीला एकाच बिंदू पासून सुरु झालेली नाती नकळत विरुद्ध दिशांना वळतात...
वेळीच जर काही केल नाही तर ती कधी समांतर झाली हे सुद्धा काळात नाही..असं कुठल्याही नात्यात होऊ शकतं, हो कि नाही?

Room For Regrets

Do I have any regrets in life so far? I asked myself. I couldn't lie...YES my heart shouted out loud. But I know this is not the case with everyone.I have seen numerous chat shows where the host asks the guests if they have any regrets about life, most of the guests confidently respond negatively. Autobiographies of leaders, professionals and achievers reinstate the face that having regrets in life is a sign of weakness, it's a sign of undetermined mind or it is simply not respecting the course your life has taken. I look at such people with awe and curiosity in my eyes. I wonder "are these people really honest, or are they lying?". I don't know- they seem confident that every action , every decision they took in their life was correct even though they failed or faced problems. They show it to the world that they have realized that everything that happened or they did has some 'higher purpose' and 'meaning' attached to it.Even all of their wrongdoings taught them something and hence there is no room for regrets.
But doesn't it sound unreal?
Why is that having regrets is regarded as a sign of weakness so much so that when you honestly admit your regrets it is considered naive and politically incorrect?
Let me admit today , that I DO have regrets : plenty of them !
I love my regrets...I love them totally!
Every single regret of mine, every single afterthought has taught me more about myself. I now know what is my thought process, how do I make decisions and what are my pre-conceived notions. Every time I open the chapter of regrets in my life I can reflect back on my mistakes.Realizing my regrets has helped me to make a mental note of things that I should be careful about in present and future.
No matter what we say to the world, there are certain things that haunt us when we reflect back on our good and bad times...
There is definitely a special room for regrets in our lives- but its tucked away in the far end of our heart, it's path visible only to ourselves.