Ever tried stargazing? To cover the entire gamut of celestial bodies from a particular spot, one has to sit and just watch. Two things make the whole razzmatazz possible: distance and stillness. When one brings a book too close to the eyes, it often is too difficult to read. So distance brings perspective, whereas stillness provides a sense of
non-association.

Now imagine what ‘life-gazing’ would entail! If one watches oneself from a ‘distance’ and with ‘stillness’ one would be disabused of the misguided concept of I. Through life-gazing, we realise we are just a combination of ups and downs, ebbs and flows, crests and troughs.

In astronomical terms, several isolated completions of lunar cycles. I find this awfully liberating. If we investigate the easily camouflaged reasons behind our happiness and sadness, we find that these spikes are already documented as our biorhythms.

There’s nothing superstitious or unscientific about it. In fact, the science behind this is fairly advanced. The point is, if you live in a hut by the sea and are informed about an impending storm, you have a decent chance of saving your soul by laying low. That is if you don’t give in to the melancholy and be pragmatic at every step. However, ignorance in such a situation often proves to be fatal.

To wrap this one up, two things can truly emancipate man from the duality of life. One is his ability to first recognise these cycles. The second is to then equip himself with various tools to strengthen the base in times of struggle. That brings me to my final question: ever tried life-gazing?