Explain yourself!

I am impatient. If I am convinced that something is correct, then I usually don't like to explain why. What do you mean 'why?'? Most things can be explained, and it is useful to explain things patiently. It is better than annoyance for reasons of popularity, and better than silence if you want credibility. And if my audience is not listening, well that's their problem not mine :)

INTP

I took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test. It is a simple test that classifies you into one of 16 personality classes. You can take it free on a number of websites. And no, you don't have to sign up for a free ipod. Mine turned out to be INTP (Introvert, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving). Actually, some tests give you the extent of each. I am strongly introverted and thinking, and somewhat intuitive and perceiving. Here is a link to a brief description of INTP that I found in the web. Pretty accurate I think.

http://www.e-mbti.com/intp.php

Free advice

A young friend of mine was feeling frustrated with the way some professors treated students. People who have gone through an undergrad engineering school in India can identify with that at some level. So I gave him some advice. Now, giving advice is one thing, and following it yourself is another. It is far easier to preach than to practise. But then again, you cannot effectively teach what you don't follow. So, I will put my advice on the record here, to remind myself what I should be doing:

As a child, I used to be scared of my neighbor's rooster, which would steal every chance to take a peck at me. Time has flown by since then. I have grown. If I were to encounter the rooster today, it would probably not try the same strategy.

Things will change. One of the only things that never changes is the fact that things continue to change. And in the bigger scheme of things, my approval rating with the rooster does not count for anything. What would be sad though, is if I became a miserable, grouchy rooster myself, giving a hard time to those whom I was supposed to nurture, protect and guide. It is the responsibility of the strong to protect the weak, the privileged to uplift the underprivileged. Those who act contrary to these principles, are just plain irresponsible. Period.

No one can tell you what in principle is right. No person, nor book of wisdom (even if it is believed to have come straight from the mouth of God) can ever do that. They may tell you what they think, but you are the ultimate judge of right and wrong in your life. There will be some questions to which you will never find convincing answers, and it is good if you can grow comfortable coexisting with these questions. It is far better than living the lie of pretending to have all answers.

Nurture the strength of your own spirit. Look around yourself. Help those who are more miserable than you. It takes the mind off from dwelling on one's own miseries. It keeps you from joining in the league of ordinary roosters.