Rediscovering vegetarianism

I am now in Europe for the last few years and one thing which I tried very intendedly in this period was to start eating nonvegetarian food without any second thought. To make it fancy to say, convert me from vegetarian to flexitarian. This wanted to avoid, myself look like an exception in the crowd for this reason, which I faced a lot in most of the social gatherings. This got a further boost by the fact that I was not a thoughtful vegetarian with some ethical feeling, but became so because I was grown in a strictly vegetarian brahmin family. Not to say, I had never tried eating anything which is termed non-vegetarian in my Hindu family.

Being in Europe, when need pushed me, I tried that. But, surprisingly, I found no taste in it. I was told that the taste has not developed as I never tasted such things as a child. It may appear if I try something closer to my familiar taste, they meant spicy :-). In this period, I got married, and my wife, a grown as non-vegetarian, claimed that when she cooks, it will be so tasty that I will like it. And, she was not the first and last one to claim so. However, everyone failed, so did she. Or, maybe they started passing.

I slowly started discovering that the childhood teaching that, giving pain to others for your pleasure is not good, is still sitting in my head. I try, or not my senses could feel that what I am eating is a product of a painful death of other life. People tried to convince me that plants too have life, but I know well that they don't have a brain to feel pain, nor they have others who feel an affinity with. Having this feeling, every time I try to break across, this wall gets higher and higher. Having a student hotel training to eat the worst kind of food, but nothing can bring a taste to me out of others' suffering.

Layers

Everyone has different roles to play in a single life, and all these roles require one to act in a certain way or at least require oneself to modify accordingly. But, there is no limit for number roles one has to play, which leads to a situation for one who wants to know you are, which one is really you? Where these different performances end to yield real you. I often encounter myself and my friend and family members through some of their old writing or images showing emotions, and I get surprised to think: is this the same me or the same person I know now! The role we play in life can simply not explain this, it will undoubtedly require several layers to construct something meaningful.

Work hard & Party harder, Really?

Ever since losing my childhood ignorance about the need for success (an overrated word), I have been listening somehow that work hard and party harder. But, with the experience so far, I feel this is a perfect example of perverted truth, another oversold quote to drain-out the imagination. In fact, they never fall together and broadly classify real-life people into two classes: the hard worker and hard-partying people. Similarly, from the productivity point of view, it is often said that "work smart, not hard. This is again a lazy quote far from reality, In fact, I agree entirely with John D. Cook, when he says, "Productivity tip: Work hard.", no other go, guys! At least I have not seen anyone.

Productivity tip: Work hard.

— John D. Cook (@JohnDCook) October 8, 2015

Keeping high to let you die

Among my friends and family, I am seen as someone not very tasteholic. This is to the level that I even had a bitter argument with a friend saying, we live and work hard to have good food. That good is undoubtedly the taste, not health. To me, it's animal characteristic, not for humans. But, I also see that whether people explicitly say this or not, most live it.
Anyway, point for me is that, while people are so much fond of tasty food, how long do they really enjoy the taste! Technically, what's the residence time, a few seconds max a few minutes, isn't it? And, then it's only after effect, which is mostly not the best thing. Alcohol and drugs have a more extended pleasure period and more side effects. All keeping you high for a period to ensure equally more substantial ill-effects. Seriously, look around, most good things taste poor, and most good tasting things have adverse effects on health. So, all races and chases for taste are for that happiness of a few mins.?! Think about it next time when you are dying for "good" taste, and also your purpose in life.