She looked up into the sky, the vastness was simply breathtaking. The serenity of the moment seemed to extend forever. A distant noise – a bird call or was it her imagination. Still sleeping under the open skies, she gently moved her eyes backward. A glorious sight unfolded – a thousand birds flying across the skies. Perfect synchronicity – no rushing, no lagging behind. An amazing formation – aesthetic and geometric. Peak dynamism yet a peaceful countenance. She wished she had a thousand eyes to follow each one’s flight. The magic of the moment lingered in her mind. Merging with those birds, she almost felt like it was her flight. A momentary regret creeped in – God had not designed humans to fly!

He looked across the seas. There must be more to life on the other side. What if there were others? What if there were other lands? How exciting it would be if we could swim across the oceans and arrive at the end of the earth? How thrilling it must be to explore not just what meets the eye but way way beyond the horizon? How many creatures must actually habit the deep dark waters? How many beautiful creatures must lure the dreamy mind… The dancing dolphins must surely have a call. The fearsome whales must surely have their vulnerability. How miraculous it must be to be able to swim across to the other side ! A momentary regret creeped in – God had not designed humans to breathe under water!

I really wish I could see him – just one more time! As I lay taking my last few breathes, my eyes long to see the form I so cherish! Alas it has been so many years since he left this land. I don’t really remember the colour of his eyes. Nor his favourite food or his accent. Did he really exist? Does his story have any truth? Will it be lost for eternity, no footprints on anyone’s mind? Was he just my imagination? Did he have dark brown eyes? Was his hair curly and did he really have that smile? A momentary regret creeped in – God had not designed humans to remember for a lifetime…

She looked into the sky, the vastness was simply breathtaking! She had done it a thousand times. Yet every time she sat in awe and wonder! The clouds, the radiant sun rays, sometimes the night skies and the twinkling lights on land, the fog that covered everything, even those rattling moments and sudden dips – just being in the sky made every flight worthwhile. Merging with those birds, in the comfort of the aircraft, yes it was her flight! So what if God had not given us wings, we have still learnt how to fly!

He looked across the seas – the land was rolling by. The call of the dolphins lingered in his mind. The wind had changed, the storm long past, the rocking ship was now a gentle slide. Every corner of the earth, he now could map, the expeditions to the poles had marked all the lands. How miraculous it was to see the other side! So what if God had designed us to breathe only on land, we have still learnt to sail across the sands of time!

We may not have a memory of all times, but we sure know how to save a million bytes on a tiny micro chip. We may not have been designed to scream across the globe, but we certainly do have telephones to carry our voice through! We may not be able to predict another’s thoughts, but we sure know how waves become particles, and electrical impulses travel down our spine.

I may have been designed with a million specifications, but I certainly have made the rules on how I unwrap mine!

The probability of a man learning how to fly is ‘0’ – ‘impossible’. Because we know we don’t grow wings, we don’t have hollow bones or what ever else it takes for a little bird to fly. Within the definition of a bird’s flight, we remain locked under the label of ‘impossible’. Work on that definition, expand it to mean the ‘feeling’ of a flight and not merely the presence of wings, today every man born can fly even before he walks!

The probability of a man surviving in the deep ocean without a piece of floating land is impossible. We will never be a fish, can never brave the ocean floor. Yet here we stand, having conquered all the lands, throwing away the word ‘impossible’ by merely expanding ‘swimming across the seas’ to ‘sailing across the seas’. Suddenly the probability of a new born being able to ‘swim’ across to other lands is no longer in doubt. We didn’t change what can’t be changed, we merely expanded our definition to achieve the ‘impossible’.

What any man may consider impossible, is merely the mind giving up on two counts – not comprehending how it works and not dreaming how it can manifest. The probability of that impossible thought actually manifesting is 100% – because the very presence of the thought some way made it possible for it to manifest.

So the devil’s advocate argued ‘Can a monkey give birth to a human child? Isn’t that impossible!’ The gentle whisper of God rang out ‘A monkey can never give birth to a human child. That is impossible. But the monkey can surely evolve to become a human and give birth to a human child. Now that seems possible!’

The advocate wasn’t convinced ‘How about reading others’ minds? Can one really know what the other is thinking?’  The reply was prompt ‘You can never read another’s mind. That would violate the individual’s integrity. But even right now, several humans do know, how to tune in to others’ thoughts to experience what others feel. If the language of his thoughts is your end search, that may never be revealed. But if the emotion of those words is your goal, yes you already know how to feel with these…’

The advocate gave a grin, he now had the ultimate argument ‘You can never know the number of children that will be borne to that child! That surely is impossible’. The smile never waned. ‘It depends which direction you are looking. how many children will be born in the future will always remain a mystery. That is impossible to know. But from a moment in the future, surely she will be able to trace every child she ever bore. Looking into the past makes the same task very much a possibility.’

Surely there must be something that is impossible! It cannot be just a fence that needs to be crossed. Ah yes! I know! You cannot bring a dead man alive! It is impossible! And every one must die! Living eternally is also impossible.

Life as defined by man, began with birth and so needs to end with time. Within that definition, of course you are right. Living eternally is not possible as it is to never die. But is there a truth independent of man? What is death to you when you are not even alive?

If everything merely is restricted by definition, what then really is ‘impossible’ or for that matter even ‘possible’? There is no smell to the colour blue nor shape to the feeling joy. There is no temperature to a thought and certainly no emotion to heat. Every quality defines the object. By its very definition, it restricts the object. ‘Possible’ and ‘impossible’ are aspects within that same definition. Because you are alive – in this form shape and name, you need to die – from this form shape and name. But in the reality of the universe, when you can neither destroy nor create energy or matter, isn’t life always a possibility as entwined with the impossibility of death?

Every time the definition expands or necessity invents, the impossible becomes possible. Of course there remains the truly impossible stuff – that which don’t define the object are impossible because they are not part of the definition. But ain’t it stupid to say ‘impossible’ when actually they are not even part of that definition? Something is ‘unknowable’ not because it could be known but you are not intelligent enough to know, but because it is outside the very scope of that definition.

Ah ! Now I know what is impossible! Knowing you, my dear God, is impossible! Because, by your very definition, if I define you I restrict you. So your very existence is beyond the scope of ‘knowing’. Merging in silence implies the witness ‘I’ doesn’t exist. Without a witness, I can’t prove your presence. No wonder there are so many who believe you are merely a fragment of their imagination! Knowing your presence is impossible!

That is actually not true! What you define, you constrain. Knowing everything ‘about’ me is probably impossible to you, because you can only know to the extent you are capable of understanding. But knowing me is the easiest. If your definition of me is forgiveness, you can experience me when you learn to forgive. If your definition of me is love, you can experience me when you learn to love. When your definition of me is ‘non-existent’, you deprive yourself of experiencing me. By merely adding the possibility of my existence to your definition of me, you have created the possibility of experiencing me. The probability of the impossible is always ‘1’.

Written by Gita Krishna Raj  |  Published in infinithoughts in November 2014