Complexity

Nirvana was one of the greatest rock bands of the 80s. I am not a huge fan. But who doesn't like a few of their songs. I guess I never became a fan because I really never could understand what Kurt Cobain was trying to convey. Yes, of course, his enunciation was terrible. But the complex issues that he tried merging into one song was what I could never break down. Random phrases like "mosquito", "albino" in "smells like teen spirit" still don't entirely make sense to me. Well it might not have been just random phrases to Cobain. It might have been his way of conceptualising the deranged world that he and all of us tried and are trying to live in.

I admire him for trying. A man in his 20s who tried to fight; A man who mustered support from masses aka "Y generation"; A man who was idolised. The reason behind his suicide is still unclear. But one reason is that the pressure got to him. The pressure of being an idol; of being the leader of the Y generation; a hero of the rock world. All that pressure and the want to unravel the complexities of life itself, might have been too much for him to handle.

We all have had our share of complex situations. The kind that make you want to pull your hair out and shout out so loudly that people miles away from you should know of your troubles. They happen more often than we'd like them to occur. Sometimes a simple task which should be overcome without any hassle, turn into a mess. It could be as simple as brushing your teeth in the morning. You could run out of tooth paste. And what should take usually five minutes turns into ten minutes. The extra five goes into salvaging what is left in the tube. Maybe you could manage to squeeze some out using both your hands, but by the time you get your tooth brush near the tube's end, the roll of paste just crawled back in. Complexity is annoying, especially when it occurs in little petty things. But those cases are overcome easily.

Well, that's not the case when complexity hits the big stuff. When that happens, at times it becomes hard to comprehend the situation. We then stand immobalised, not knowing what to do next. If we panic, we will trip over. The only option is to take a step back, consider everything and take it from there. If you are successful, then its a lesson learnt. Not only do you get to know the mistake you made, you will also get to know how to tackle the problem if it ever happens again. But if you fail, then you can't do anything but see your pawns topple over. The most you can do is minimise the injuries. But even then, if you learn from your mistake, then you haven't lost out entirely.

Complexity isn't always healthy. Its like poison. In tiny doses, it makes us stronger. But in large doses its fatal. Much like what might have happened to Cobain. If we take the right measures, we can avoid it. But if it still manages to slip through and create chaos, that isn't the worst case scenario. The worst case is when you are unable to defeat it. So, the least you can do, is fight! Don't succumb to it. Give it your best shot! Cobain tried. And I admire him for that.