Curious as it might sound, I attended a Landmark Forum Session few days back. I am sorry to say – it gave me the creeps.
If you are blinking at ‘Landmark Forum Session’ – It’s a personality development forum where in people come in and solve problems, cross hurdles which has been impeding them for years together. In the words of a rather loud trainer for the day – the forum helps you to realize the context of your life and also provides you with tool / technology (!) to deal with that context.
Why did I attend is the question that is ringing in your head right now. I met an angel couple of months back. I will jump in a well if she was to ask me to…this was one such well. You will get more meat to chew on this one…but not now.
I will give an insight into the session – in the shortest and most crisp manner possible. The landmark team had a bunch of people who had completed their course and were giving their feedbacks as to how they benefited with the course. And curious enough, a lot of them had regained their families. Really?! There was a man whom with my minimal knowledge I assessed to be proud, fixated with the concept and inflexible in mind. I assumed he was the trainer. Once the session of thanking and stories of transformation was done, they got on with real business.
The trainer started his marketing stunt. He offered guests to ask questions and provided insight about the program through the answers. Some questions were candid and like any experienced ‘talker’ some incoherent answers got him out of that muddle. After which the fee structure was announced and the time lines. Until this time I was really ok with the whole sales pitch that was made. To be fair to the trainer, he also mentioned that he is not doing it for charity. Its business.
At the end of this instance the trainer announced you can find volunteers sporting a yellow badge to help you, if you may want to register. I turned around to take a look. I could see volunteers flowing into the hall from different corners. They looked like a military unit surging on an unsuspecting senate for a coup. They had a mean look in their eyes, almost fixed at some predefined targets. One person had locked his eyes on me. And he moved swiftly towards me as if to pin me down before I could get up from my seat. At that moment, a seemingly peaceful session broke open into a chaos.
I dodged the guy, thanks to an old lady who got in his way and walked ever so slowly towards a registration counter. I avoided eye contact with everyone with a yellow badge and walked fast, as if I was going to pick something up. I told my thanks to the person who took me there and locked my eyes on the exit sign and dodged all yellow tagged ‘volunteers’ [who, I strongly feel are sales execs of Landmark].
As I stepped out of that hall, in my head, I could hear the commentators go, TOUCHDOWN!!! And I broke off into a dance!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Good Deed = No Bad Deed
Few days back, I returned to Bangalore from outside the city by bus. It was very early and as the bus eased into its stop, I could see auto drivers swarming up against the door to gobble up every passenger who got out. I have been doing this for years hence I did the customary ‘not looking in the eye’ trick and walked away. The guys who follow you are usually who can’t elbow their way to the front. They are usually milder.
I negotiated with one such ‘milder’ auto guy. He took some bizarre short cuts and we were zipping down the ‘Ring Road’ in no time. This road is usually deserted and at 4:30 on a wet morning, it looks like outer space. No life around. Suddenly I could not hear the auto engine anymore. He was fiddling with the throttle and then it all gave way and he parked it to one side. He got off and vanished behind the auto. A chill ran down my spine. I thought this could be the encounter of my life time.
Moments later many auto guys stopped by. I was pretty sure they are all wondering how to divide the loot. I was prepared for the attack and thought of even making the first move. The driver came up front and gave it another try and viola! It started. He explained to me that the darn rains had got his spark plug wonky.
I was still in my ‘ready to attack’ mode. Not realizing what a fool I was making of myself in my head. Slowly the auto driver was looking like a hero. He did not loot me! How many people do that?! He must be one gem of a person. A real good guy.
I dunno about you, but I seldom trust people today. It’s the stories you hear, the news that you read. There aren’t many good people around anymore. I am alert today, lest I fall into a trap that may have been laid by any random guy on the street. I assume most people have an intention to hurt me. I am not abnormal. I am just another average Indian citizen.
I am guessing, earlier it took a lot more to be seen as a good guy. A lot of ‘good deeds’. Today it’s a little easier. Just don’t do anything bad, you will be a hero.
I negotiated with one such ‘milder’ auto guy. He took some bizarre short cuts and we were zipping down the ‘Ring Road’ in no time. This road is usually deserted and at 4:30 on a wet morning, it looks like outer space. No life around. Suddenly I could not hear the auto engine anymore. He was fiddling with the throttle and then it all gave way and he parked it to one side. He got off and vanished behind the auto. A chill ran down my spine. I thought this could be the encounter of my life time.
Moments later many auto guys stopped by. I was pretty sure they are all wondering how to divide the loot. I was prepared for the attack and thought of even making the first move. The driver came up front and gave it another try and viola! It started. He explained to me that the darn rains had got his spark plug wonky.
I was still in my ‘ready to attack’ mode. Not realizing what a fool I was making of myself in my head. Slowly the auto driver was looking like a hero. He did not loot me! How many people do that?! He must be one gem of a person. A real good guy.
I dunno about you, but I seldom trust people today. It’s the stories you hear, the news that you read. There aren’t many good people around anymore. I am alert today, lest I fall into a trap that may have been laid by any random guy on the street. I assume most people have an intention to hurt me. I am not abnormal. I am just another average Indian citizen.
I am guessing, earlier it took a lot more to be seen as a good guy. A lot of ‘good deeds’. Today it’s a little easier. Just don’t do anything bad, you will be a hero.
Chaos – The key to Stability
Consciously or not, we strive for only one thing in life. Stability. We may project stability in one way or the other. For some it’s a job, for some its relationships, for some it’s a home, for some it’s a fat bank balance. Everyone has a definition for stability and I bet it’s different in each case.
The big questions are – How and when. How do we get there and when will we get there. For anything to become stable, it must first have its chaos phase. It’s the rule of the jungle, so to say. There is no stability without chaos. It’s imperative. As I said, stability might mean something entirely different for you and for me. But chaos almost always means – sweat, hard work, disappointment, failures, roadblocks, hurdles. It’s almost always problems.
I tend to take refuge when ever faced with problems. I blame someone – from time to parents, all have been prey to this blame game. I always find a way to shield myself from the problem. Until I figured the need to taste the flavor of this chaos. Meet it. Look it in the eye and walk your way through it. The chaos will allow you to flip every stone around and give you a million perspectives. You will solve your chaos. But the moment one hides behind the shield of a blame that you created, you have lost sight of the chaos itself.
The key to achieving stability is to accept the chaos and moving forward. I am dealing with one such chaos in my life right now. I was scared to face it. Now I am staring it in the eye and I am walking through my chaos.
The big questions are – How and when. How do we get there and when will we get there. For anything to become stable, it must first have its chaos phase. It’s the rule of the jungle, so to say. There is no stability without chaos. It’s imperative. As I said, stability might mean something entirely different for you and for me. But chaos almost always means – sweat, hard work, disappointment, failures, roadblocks, hurdles. It’s almost always problems.
I tend to take refuge when ever faced with problems. I blame someone – from time to parents, all have been prey to this blame game. I always find a way to shield myself from the problem. Until I figured the need to taste the flavor of this chaos. Meet it. Look it in the eye and walk your way through it. The chaos will allow you to flip every stone around and give you a million perspectives. You will solve your chaos. But the moment one hides behind the shield of a blame that you created, you have lost sight of the chaos itself.
The key to achieving stability is to accept the chaos and moving forward. I am dealing with one such chaos in my life right now. I was scared to face it. Now I am staring it in the eye and I am walking through my chaos.
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