Friday, February 25, 2011

Kiss the badge and make them cry!!

"Romance is dead in football". Fernando Torres, ace footballer said this last month when he made a 50 MM pound transfer from Liverpool football club to Chelsea. And he said " I was not a Liverpool fan. I never kissed the shirt badge. Forget club loyalty, it's all about trophies". Many skeptics will say that Chelsea just bought talent at a ridiculous price. Some will say they made him an offer he could not refuse. Some will say he is chasing his dream. But is that really his dream or is it just what the world forces him to believe is his dream?This is a microcosm of the predicament faced by many folks in the world today. Do you really recognize your dream and stay loyal to it? How do you stay loyal in a materialistic world that eulogizes individual achievement, that celebrates quick wins over gritty long term steadfast loyalty to true goals. How do you ensure you can believe that something is worth fighting for? How do you work to keep that romance alive? And how do you keep it alive not just for yourself, but for others on the team too. Do you kiss the badge and make them cry?

Loyalty to an organization, to a family, to a country or to a cause is fast becoming a scarce commodity. Community living and joint families are forgotten relics of a different generation. Families are fractured by inheritance issues, organizations are held hostage to the whims of a money-minded workforce, and the world is wrecked by power hungry despots. How do you counter these forces of friction to energize a generation to be committed to a cause? How do you counter the tailwinds that are drag on harmony to revolutionize and romanticize commitment? Flirting with temptations of this ephemeral world, one gets sucked into running after fame and fortune, one forgets the true calling. Someone once said, "Even if you win the rat race, you are but a rat". So, find your true calling and build loyalty towards the cause. Look at yourself and ask the question if you are passionate about the cause you are espousing? Is it something you will stick with in the long term or is it just a passing fancy? The one way to be sure of your commitment is to free your mind of all the clutter, be relaxed. Your most natural inclination during this calm uncluttered state of mind is what you want, that is the dream you should chase. Be a romantic!! Make the romance come alive as you chase your dream. Show unflinching commitment and loyalty, this fractured world needs that more than anything else. And once you are sure of your commitment, then wear that badge on your sleeve. Kiss the badge and make them cry!!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Cousin, I can see the desperation in this blog. I want to say that dreams are not easy to fathom forget following them. Many of us have dreams which are about possessions, like a big car, expensive watch, posh house etc. So yes we get into the rat race in order to follow these dreams. A lot of us even win the rat race! On the other hand, there are people who follow their dreams but they either fail or cannot muster enough courage to stay the course and join the rat race. Then there is a category of people who make it! The dream, work hard towards it, achieve it and also make money around it. Some of us only dreamt of getting into IIT and others dreamt of acting, painting, playing, fashion designing etc. These achievers are remembered and praised not for their material possessions but how they possess your mind space. Their control over you. I am quite sure that Torres does not make it in that sense. He is playing for a club and passion for the club cannot replace patriotism. Maradona is reverred because he made his country win WORLD CUP and the love he has for his country. Torres is no Tendulkar! He cannot make them cry!

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  2. Raks,
    Your comment is very true. You can notice this in Indian cricket too. Two decades back cricket players played for the nation, but now people take the sides of their Club (IPL). There is no 'attachment' to the entity. It is all around the money.

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