The two faces of irony

The one that we are used to seeing is the mocking one. That which makes fun of us by delivering what was totally unexpected but not out of sync with events.

The other one is more mysterious. It comes in various guises and quite often, we mistake it for coincidence or even, providence.

What is the funda?

Sometimes, life gets a bit too much. There is suffering inside, suffering around us, suffering we get to hear, and we feel it. Some want to do something about it but can't. Some want to do something but "that" step is a lil too much for them to take. Some others like me are caught between these two and agonize over the state of limbo.

For a majority of last week, I was recovering from a bout of flu. Aside from congenital bronchitis. The pills were quite good in the sense that not only my return fairly steady but also, I was left quite exhausted and sleepless in weird hours. On one of these periods, I was wondering what is the point in feeling something if your efforts are not making any difference. Is there something that is preventing from being truly significant? I realized with a shudder that life maybe the most wonderful thing on earth but it is beset with mortality, causing the efforts to hit one hurdle or the other. I thought of "V for Vendetta" where my friend wrote a very good post about it. Then, I veered to Batman. The ultimate orphan. And "Batman Begins". Can guilt be transformed into such a rage? An overpowering drive to "atone" for the death of loved ones by killing crime, and not the criminal. And to those who saw BB, and feel a terrible sense of outrage over some appalling crimes that happen, what is wrong in Henri Ducard's methods of killing the perpetrator? The logic of "crimefighter being nobler than criminal and hence should not kill the criminal" sounds medal-worthy. But, if precedents are not set, what is the guarantee that a change in attitude will come about by just letting them go?

Now, how is this connected to the other face of irony? To the face of sin, indulging in spreading mayhem and chaos all along, is it not pleasantly ironic to see the good forgive it by not dealing in kind?

My other example will demonstrate this more.

For long, I have stayed away and immersed myself in things that I thought will ease the pain. It was tough, thoughts often went in that direction, but with effort, I managed to convince myself that I had passed that stage. So, I continued to slog myself during weekends, without any worries.

Destiny said, "Balls! Take this..."

And so, one such weekend proved that things are not that simple. There is just no way that you can tell yourself that "C'mon, it can't be that hard. Just concentrate and it will turn out alrite." Frankly speaking, life is not that simple sometimes.

Feelings are funny things. By the time you realize that its not a passing emotion, the moment is either already gone or the person is. The roller coaster ride continues even after the person has left and the void grips so hard, it is like an inescapable noose. Stolen glances only increase the heaviness and the burden of expectations (that horrible word again) remains.

There should be some kind of machine that can selectively erase the memories you don't want to stay. What use technology if it can't design a device like that?