A long time back, almost 15 years back, while working for an IT company, i wrote a blog on the funny, wonderful poetic and entertaining “Out of office replies” i could collect from my colleagues at work.  Yes! Like people collect stamps, coins etc., I used to collect Out of Office replies.  That blog post came out well.   

 Only one person, whose OOO message, I quoted in that email, got really infuriated and send me a rather strong email.  I took that in my stride, though it was my pre-Zen days.  (Now with Zen in my flesh, bone and marrow, I can take a lot of ridicule,  sniping and even a knife stab at my back quite well.  ).

 Almost an year back, a good colleague and friend of mine, as she left our Org to start something on her own,  wrote to me in her parting message , “  hope you are well!

wanted to let you know that I will be transitioning out of XXXXX on the 15th of Jan.

I wanted to take a chance to let you know that I will miss working with you! Though our interaction was brief, you are one of the warmest people I have interacted with at XXXXX and will miss working with you. Your OOO emails were always my favourite to read! 

I would love to stay in touch outside work as well and hear more about your incredible stories and experiences.”

 That brought back my old hobby   to my PFC. ( Pre Frontal Cortex .)  And I was on the lookout for Out of Office messages again.   But I could not find anything worthwhile to my list. In fact my own OO replies was poetic if  compared to those staid messages !

   I remember I did share my concern with my reporting Manager, mentor and good friend at work Robert M.  He was in charge of Cultural transformation, and I said to him, “Did we become too serous fellas at work and life for our own good! Do we take ourselves too seriously and instead our work seriously!  Are we losing our happiness, laughter and soul in our work.”

 And I started writing a blog …  “IN the presence of absence”. At that point of time, i did not know Mahmoud Darwish too had written a book of poems with the same title.  I had to buy a copy and My new year went in devouring them and making it my bone marrow. He sounded far better than Rumi, Gibran and Rilke put together…   Let me share one such bloodstone !

It takes a lot of pain in one’s heart, to write with own blood! And it sinks in the mind and soul of a reader.

 Will i ever be able to write like him!!!   

May be. May be not...    

 Especially with Zen,  I think,  I won’t be  hurt that much  or  broken inside to write poems with blood as ink and bones as pen.

 Mahmoud Darwish knew it well that he is going to die soon and he put his soul into those poems.  And he died within a few weeks of publishing those poems.

 I recommend his book highly… Must read…

Get the poem back in your mind, heart and soul.

 Happy or Sad reading...