Moments of Wow and Holes.

This is an early try at my being profound so be nice. It's sort of a self help article but written in my trademark batty way .......

Have you ever had an argument with a fully grown daughter and realized at some point that she is being super logical, and you are wrong, but can’t admit it? You have a flashback, and remember her in your arms, gurgling and cooing, not being able to make a proper sentence. It seems like just yesterday. Now here she is, hands akimbo and telling you that you are not making any sense.  

You have two choices – one where you think, “Look at this silly young thing arguing with me” or “Look at the beautiful human I have created.”

If it is the latter, it is a moment of Wow!  or MOW.

There are many such moments in our lives when Wow! baffles us in a good, bad, surprising or even confusing way.

Have you attended an interview, and done well, answered every question with confidence, only to not get the job? Well, that’s a moment of Wow! in a bad sort of way. You have two choices – one where you think, “What’s wrong with me?” or “They don’t deserve me.”

Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash had two epic MOWsy moments – first, when he became the Sultan of Zanzibar (now Tanzania) and second, when the British did not agree with the succession and declared war on Zanzibar which lasted just 38 minutes, ending his reign. It is, by the way, the shortest war recorded in human history.

He must have thought one of three things – “That was quick!” or “Huh?” or "Who are these infidels?".

Then there are the “embarrassing” wows. In 2014, SNCF, France’s Railway giant ordered 2,000 trains and found out, to their dismay that 341of them were too wide to enter some tunnels and stations. The trolls had a field day on this engineering mistake.

In 1897, Mark Twain’s cousin, James Clemens, fell ill and a rumor started that it was Twain who was actually sick. Soon enough, that rumor grew into a eulogy marking Mark Twain’s untimely “death”. The author emerged healthy, and famously said, “The report of my death was an exaggeration”.  That must have been a surprise-MOW for Twain, his cousin and his fans!

Life is just a random collection of moments and those who are aware, self-aware and keen observers will appreciate “MOWsome” situations every day.

Tipping someone more than 20%, saying thank you when a stranger gives up his/her seat for you on a crowded bus or train, someone picking you up after a fall, a boss saying that you showed grit in the face of defeat or a subordinate saying he/she learnt a lot from you even if it was not to follow your bad habits! Life comes at you, every day with surprises, big and small.

On August 15th, 1977, OSU’s radio telescope, the Big Ear (!), which listens to space signals of extraterrestrial life, picked up a signal from the constellation of Sagittarius which was deemed very unusual. Astronomer Jerry Ehman scribbled a WOW on the observation notes and that narrowband pulse is now called the Wow Signal. It was a confusing and exciting moment of Wow.

On the 35th anniversary of the Wow Signal discovery, Nat Geo beamed a stream of 10,000 Twitter messages (#ChasingUFOS) towards the constellation. We are waiting for a response from ET. If it comes during our lifetime, that will be the biggest MOW ever.

You now have many choices to think about, “Is ET out there?” or “Did God make just us?” or “Was the signal a false positive?” or “Will extraterrestrial radiation kill us all?” or “Why the heck did they call that thing the Big Ear?”

The point I am making is that we have a choice in every situation we find ourselves in due to decisions we make or someone else makes in which we are a player. And when that happens, we have a simple choice to make – do we want to take something away from the situation or leave something back (like an argument, last word, a nasty whatever).

The only thing in the world that gets bigger as you take from it is a hole. What you take out is dirt. When you take the dirt out, you get a hole, and a bigger hole. Dirt is our ignorance, our biases, our folly. You think a hole is empty. It is but it is not.

Think about surrounding yourself with holes, many holes, an infinite continuum of holes. The only thing in the middle will be you. Now you, the real you, can move. You are unconstrained. And that’s all you need, to discover, appreciate and respect > you.

Now move, because the hole has given you space to do so. The hole is hope. And hope is never empty.  

That’s as profound I can get one a day like this. Whaddyathink?

Happy Goa Liberation Day and Happy Saint Nicholas Day.

Your fearless follower.