What's happened to me?
"Do your work dispassionately
without expecting, focusing on results"
says the Gita
Yet, here am I
after every poem
and post in the blog
checking, cross checking so many times
for the comments, reaction of readers
with an ache and longing
bordering on obsession...
Is it the same me
who prided self
as being mature and able
to avoid the beaten path?
Looks like all us, one by one succumb, eventually
and it's just a matter of time...
Has the fever of the times caught me as well ?.
What's happened to me?
"Do your work dispassionately
without expecting, focusing on results"
says the Gita
Yet, here am I
after every poem
and post in the blog
checking, cross checking so many times
for the comments, reaction of readers
with an ache and longing
bordering on obsession...
Is it the same me
who prided self
as being mature and able
to avoid the beaten path?
Looks like all us, one by one succumb, eventually
and it's just a matter of time...
Has the fever of the times caught me as well ?.
What's happened to me?
Ha ha but I don't even question my checking on the comments :D
ReplyDeleteYou are right, we yearn for the comments.natural feelings resonates
ReplyDeleteThank you Mridula and Ila!
ReplyDeleteI am not refering in the poem to seeking genuine natural feedback.
As I am not very active on social media, I could not give the example of one who makes a post and then checks on the number of 'Likes'every few minutes and his/her elation or depression is linked to responses of others...
Appreciation matters but then it should not become a matter of obsession.
ReplyDeleteThank you Indrani for appreciating the essence of the poem...
ReplyDeleteAppreciate your views - what you are referring to is natural human emotion. :)
ReplyDeleteIf I may also add, Bhagavad Gita says that one has the right to work only, but not to the results (karmani eva adhikara te ma phaleshu kada cha na) - it never tells us to not focus on results, one must focus on results, else human race will perish if it is goal-less.
However one must accept the fact that results are not in one's hand. As Daniel Kahneman explains beautifully in his book "Thinking Fast and Slow"
Success / Result = Talent/ Effort + Luck
Great success/ Result = Lot of Talent/ Effort + Extraordinary luck
There are innumerable factors which affect the outcome, hence there is no point on obsessing about results and getting emotionally drained. Instead one should focus on the process rather than the outcome, as we Value Investors like to say, and which you are trying to bring out.
Thank you Subhodeep for the excellent articulation of what I was trying to convey.I and the readers are indebted to you!
ReplyDeleteIt happens to all of us.....:)
ReplyDeleteThank you Sunaina for reading and giving your feedback!
ReplyDeleteIt is quite natural! :D
ReplyDeleteThank you for your feedback Deepa!
ReplyDeleteOh is it abnormal? Then i have major issues :)
ReplyDelete