Eagles eye view

Wow! Its been a while since I have penned down my thoughts. Probably because I havent "really" had any thoughts. Of late life has been just a roller coaster ride.. its been fun but hardly the kind of ride where you get to appreciate anything but the speed and the twists and turns.
My initial thought was to pen down the highlights of the past two years but the more I think about it the more pointless it seems. Which brings me to a more important question..
Is there a level of abstraction of looking at life that can make even living itself seem trivial?

The more life is looked at with a microscope the rougher it seems. People say that one should learn to laugh at oneself. People also say that learn to forgive. What is the common theme behind these age old tenets? Isint it the fact that they preach abstraction. If one can look at ones life from a vantage point seperating the event from the subject and the perpetrator then would the world be a better place to live it?

For instance, if someone pours a bucket of water on you when you are sleeping. You are bound to be angry. Why? Because YOU have been woken up, YOU are cold, YOU are wet and hence YOU are angry. Watching the same chain of events unfold for a stranger on television would elicit anything but anger.. strange isint it? Just seperating the event from the subject (YOU) turns a potential conflict into a script from a comedy flick. The pertinent question is how high can this level of abstraction go. Global warming, pollution, threat of nuclear holocaust.. on a tiny planet planet populated by simple minded savages.. a planet which rotates around an insignificant star in an insignificant corner of a galaxy.. a galaxy which is one of the billons probably teeming with life.

Does this mean that all our worries, pains, strive for perfection, our affections, our afflications are all inconsequential in the larger scheme of things? Maybe they are. However, if everyone stops reacting then we will have world peace but would this be a world worth saving? Do I have a point to make? Yes I do and it has all to do with salt.

Salt! I like a bit more on my food but many dont. What has that got to do with world peace you may ask.. well the point is that there is a level of abstraction for everyone. It is not a global standard that can be defined. Even the best cooks cant estimate MY need for salt can they!
The fact is that the more you distance yourself from the nitty gritty details of life, the happier you will be but what level of distance you maintain has to be your decision alone. Once your BP hits the roof you know its time to move to the next level of abstraction.