वांग्याचं भरीत का भरताचं वांग?

माणसाचं आयुष्य थोडं फार वांग्या सारखे असते. काही छोटे, गोरे-हिरवे गार, तर काही काळे कुट्ट. काही लांब आणि रुंद असून काळेच असतात. काही लठ्ठ-गोल असतात. काही गोड, गुणी असतात तर काही काटेरी, विषारी असतात. त्यांना खाल्याने अंगभर नुसती खाज सुटते. तोंडात फोड येतात. गोड, गुणी ह्यांची गोष्टच निराळी असते. चमकदार तर असतातच, वर चविष्ठ आणि गुणकारीही असतात. 

पण एक गोष्ट सगळ्यां मधे सारखी असते, ते आहे त्यांचे सुंदर मुकुट. 

वाह! राजेच अक्षरश:

बरं मग, माणसा मधे आणि ह्यांच्यात सारखेपणा कसा आणि कुठे असतो? 

भेदानें सुरवात करूया. रंग, उंची, आकार, आणि गुण. शिवाय, जन्म घेणारा प्रत्येक माणूस - पुरुष किव्हा स्त्री, हे उरावर मुकुट घेऊनच येतात. घराण्याची शोभा वाढवितात. बरोबर ना? पुढे चालूया...

वांगे पिकल्या नंतर, विकायला ठेवले जातात, तसेच मुलं-मुली शिक्षण पूर्ण करून नोकरी-धंदा करण्यास तयार होतात. वांगे घरात शिरून, उपयोगात आणताच, बाई त्यांचे मुकुट छाटून टाकते. भुट्टयांना तर चक्क अग्नी वर ठेऊन त्यांची कातडी जाळून टाकण्यात येते. पुढे काय होते, हे आपणास ठाऊक आहेच. छोटे, लांब-रुंद ह्यांना उभे, आडवे कापतात. कधी त्यांत मसाला भरून शिजवतात, तर कधी तेल, बटाटे, टमाटे, मटार, आणि छप्पन मसाले घालून उकडतात. काहींना चिरडून टाकतात. 

आपल्या बरोबर साम्यता दिसतेय ना?

शिक्षण पूर्ण होताच, थकलेले, भागलेले, मुलं-मुली नोकरी-धंदाच्या शोधात घरा बाहेर निघतात. नशीब असेल तर चटकन काही तरी हाती लागतं, नाही, तर शिळ्या वांग्या सारखे एका टोपलीतून दुसर्या टोपलीत ट्रान्सफर होते. 

भाजीवाला स्वताचे नुकसान होऊ देईल का? नाही! तेच शिळे वांगे तेल-पाणी लावून चमकावतो आणि विकायला ठेवतो. मग एखादा गरजू येतो आणि वाळके वांगे कमी दाम देऊन, अति आनंदात घरी जातो, कापतो, चिरतो, आणि पाणीदार रस्सा-भाजी बनवतो, मिटक्या मारत जळक्या भाकरी सोबत खातो. 

आपल्या जीवनात सुद्धा असेच काही घडत असते, नाही का?

नेमकं काय होत - वांग्याचं भरीत का भरताचं वांग?

आता मी थांबतो. बरीच साम्यता दाखविली. याहून अधिक समानता असेलच. 

थोडक्यात, सुग्रण उत्तम असेल तर वांगे चविष्ठ बनतील, मूर्ख किव्हा असमाधानी असेल तर बेत बिघडतो. तसेच, माणूस उत्तम गुण विकसित करेल तर देवाला भेटेल नाही तर उकिरड्यात सुद्धा 'नो-रूम' ची पाटी वाचावी लागेल.

आपली प्रतिक्रिया जरूर नोंदवा.

Are your experiences useful to others?

To the above question, most of us would nod a YES! Right?

Indeed, the experiences we all get from whatever we have done in the past and whatever we are doing or whatever we are going through today is a good teacher. Sharing good or bad experiences with others prepare them mentally and physically, provided they are prepared to learn from them. They get insights on how to handle or manage typical situations or on how tasks can be completed successfully. 

But the tough part is how many people connected with us directly or indirectly benefit from our experiences. The numbers might be very less. Why?

It is simply because they think their education or task management skill is superior to experiences of others. They aren't prepared to accept anything beyond their mental or physical reach. 

However, there are few who are always on their toes to learn from their own mistakes and grasp everything from the experiences of others. Although the numbers are very few, they succeed in whatever they are doing or are planning to achieve. They never take credit for their success. In fact, they openly accept constant learning from others.

You know, such breed is very rare. 

So, how would you know whether your experiences are useful to others? Here are few pointers which can tell...

• Accept your mistakes and guts.
• Ready to learn from your mistakes.
• Learn from your confidence. 
• Take risks.
• Listen and work on your suggestions.
• Take notes and put them to use.
• Observe your actions closely. 
• Maintain a positive attitude.
• Ignore negative influences.

I ensure to constantly learn from others. Although I wasn't open during my initial years and suffered. But the success of others whether hidden or open helped me alter my approach toward personal and professional life.

The above is a small list collated from my personal and professional experiences. There may be more and I invite you to share your opinions on experiences.

4 solid reasons that forced me to quit Facebook

Login. Like. Comment. Share. Post. React (of lately). Logout. Login again. Well, the entire blue universe knows this cycle. It is like a GIF. A continuous loop. It goes on and on. The probability of end doesn't exist. I felt good to connect with long-lost friends and re-connect with forgotten family members, and, of course, make new friends, virtual though. Facebook allowed me to easily connect with like-minded people, enabled me to join groups of things that are of interest to me. 

I recall joining Facebook around 8 years ago, I think it was 2010. Since I love to write I thought of exploring this platform too. I was quite active on SCRIBD before signing-up on Facebook. The experience on SCRIBD was totally different compared to Facebook. Constructive criticism and proper guidance existed on SCRIBD then. Not sure whether it exists now. SCRIBD gave me hands-on experience in writing poems, stories, blogs etc. I do not use SCRIBD anymore, but I still have a lot of articles on the site.

It was probably late 2010 when a colleague coaxed me to join Facebook. I signed-up quite reluctantly. He knew I was on Twitter, but he was glad. 

Days, months, and years passed, I made a lot of friends, nearly 500 in 5-6 years. Joined many groups that uplifted my zeal to write more. Exposure to 3-4 social media platforms equipped me to take-up a job in social media marketing. I got one and ensured I continue learning. 

I did. I learned. I applied. Today, I have a stable job as a Senior Content Writer in a growing digital marketing company in my hometown.

It was in 2016, I found I was stuck among scores of people who had nothing to do with me or my writings. So, I started removing, and I removed nearly 48% of them and brought the figure down to 239 friends. Of these 239, 10% (just 23) are connected or I can say, they are there to like, comment, or react to my posts and I return the favor. No idea, what's going on with the rest 90%. 

Needless to say, I cherish the company of these 23 people, who are close to my heart. I haven't met all of them in-person but I love them, and they will always have a special place in my heart. 

Coming to what forced me to QUIT Facebook. 4 solid reasons, here they go...

• Too much addiction - Knowingly or unknowingly, I was getting addicted to logging-in, liking posts (randomly), commenting, logging out, and then coming back to do the same thing. The cycle endlessly continued at work and at home too.

• A lot of bragging - I am an easy going individual and never like to boast or brag my achievements or written works. I know, it is wrong to expect the same from others but I hate people who brag excessively about petty things. 

• Posts without context - Of late, posts on the social media giant are out of context, for example - political posts, signing useless petitions, abusive stand-up acts, etc. I see posts that have no relevance. I mean they are useless to me. I would prefer something that helps me increase my knowledge. 

• Racing to nowhere - It is like a race. I can never win but I can't afford to lose too. To let my friends know that I exist, I regularly need to update my status and if I don't, none would bother to ask my whereabouts. 

To finish, in the past eight years, I had a good time learning, knowing people, and sharpening my writing skill, but this is not the way. There are better ways. There are better options.

Thank you for reading. Do share your experiences.