The lark's on the wing...

IIT has never looked so beautiful.
I logged on to write something different. This post by my old friend Phoenix (a year and a half old (the post, not Phoenix)) promted me to transfer to my blog a line that I wrote for myself some time back when I was feeling low and that has remained on a post-it ever since in front of my desk. However, I'll reserve that for another time. Right now, Jilawatan by Call loops indefinitely, the window on my left is open for nearly the first time in months and a reasonably large part of everything in the world looks good.
It's wonderful to hear songs you once liked after a really long time of neglect. They lose none of their earlier charm and in fact, acquire character with age. You notice nuances that you didn't earlier and fall in love with the song all over again, only deeper than before. Some of it is because the song was always great and you didn't invest enough time or weren't generous enough the first time around. Some of it is because you have changed over time and notice and appreciate different things or the same things in a different way.
It's the same with (old) friends. I talked for a longish time with Phoenix and enjoyed the conversation. By her own assessment, Phoenix says she's changed. She has, and so have I, as have circumstances and I think we've all changed for the better. We talked about a lot of things - general, impersonal stuff to common friends to how we saw ourselves and each other to the New Age Woman, which is one topic I always love discussing. It was refreshing not only because she's one of those people who can come out of their skin and look at themselves and their world somewhat objectively but also because of the time since our last such conversation (peopletalk, I call it). It's a bit similar to meeting a relative after a year who immediately notices you've grown taller while your own family never consciously noted.
It's also strange that I think of Phoenix and other friends from this time as 'old' friends. Can friendships that limit themselves to the superficial and never delve into the personal, that never make demands on either person's time or resources, that in fact never have had lows, become 'old' or 'deep' or 'close'?
In fact, are lows a prerequisite for experiencing highs? This is a question that is analogous, IMO, to the difference between Eastern and Western philosophies. Eastern philosophies stress the need to reduce desires to nil in order to achieve lasting peace and contentment. Western consumerism, on the other hand, teaches us to be ambitious and to work towards fulfilling as many of our desires as possible as the path to happiness. Essentially, if you aren't dissatisfied with who you are and what you have you will not experience the joy that comes from working hard and achieving your goals. If you don't know hunger, you'll never enjoy chocolate. Our ancient wisdom, however, advises us to achieve permanent peace - and leave both the euphoria of achievement and the unhappiness of frustrated ambition, neither of which can exist without the other - behind by crushing our egos to dust and attaining an ego and ambition-free existence.
Right now, however, IIT looks lovely.
I can see a blue sky flecked with clouds and just a little too bright to look at without squinting and under it, green patches with gardeners and the rain working to make them greener and an idle stroller here and there on grey concrete with bright wet patches reflecting the mood above. Life could be worse. :)