"We don't swim in your toilet so don't pee in our pool"

This goes out to all those folks who enjoy nitpicking other's 'faults' (perceived or real). Its real fun when you're pointing out someone else's problems, but one look within will reveal that we aren't without our own faults ourselves. Reminds me of this quote from Friends from a long time ago, that is the subject line of this post. This line came to me as I was just getting out of bed from a short nap, in that space between sleep and wakefulness. Funny as it sounds, its often true. We are oblivious to our own faults while picking on those of others. Its a defense mechanism in a way, it makes us "feel" good to look for wrongs in others, it elevates us to a position of judgment, giving us a sense of power in what is really a world where we have little or no control. The problem with most of us is that we don't recognize this fundamental truth. Control. A word with endless connotations and meanings. One of my professors at IIT makes this statement in the beginning of one of his courses, where he says that a basic truth in life is that we have no control: what we are under, is an illusion of control. I'm doing a bad job reporting his words exactly, but I often reflect on the message in his teaching when I feel the world changing around me or when something unexpected happens. It helps me stay calm under the situation and allows me to reflect a bit more rationally than I would have otherwise. Ofcourse I'm far from being completely detached, but hopefully will get there sometime. Giving up, even in a limited way is a truly liberating experience. That's what growing up is all about, anyway, isn't it?