Hello dear readers. I received some interesting comments on FC #123.
Tarun Kunzru says: “I’m quoting a line from ‘Time’, sung by Pink Floyd – ‘You run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking, racing to come out behind you again. The sun is the same in a relative way, but we're older shorter of breath one day closer to death!’ This brings home the point – the past is history, the future is a mystery, and ‘now’ is a gift, that is why we call it ‘the present’. On a lighter note, sometimes when I have heavy stomach gas and discomfort at night, I cope with it knowing – this will soon pass!”
Karthik says: “A thought goes out to all those who are disabled, either by birth or during the course of life. While medicine has advanced vastly, there are still many illnesses that don't have a cure. While they may not be able to say ‘this too shall pass’, they do so by adapting to the circumstances, like the boy in the FIFA World Cup inauguration who only has a body up to the waist but possibly moves faster than anybody with his hands!! Perhaps for them, the disability has come to pass as they live with it, rather than hoping that it too shall pass.”
Ashvini Ranjan says: “Assume, for argument's sake, one is championing the philosophy of ‘this too will pass’. He would be the last person on earth I would like to meet while experiencing some beautiful moments in life. The very thought of those moments being fleeting will dilute the purity of my joy. Similarly, in moments of grief, there may be lessons to learn only such occasions can teach, if I were to philosophize to console myself, it too will pass!”
Amber says: “Very powerful when we say this too shall pass… and so true. Nothing is permanent, and change is inevitable. The experience stays and shapes our thoughts, attitude, and actions. Life is all about making choices while in prosperity and in adversity, which determines the course of life. How to make the present amiable, to make yesterday memorable and the future beautiful!”
🧳 Circumforaneous
I am no wanderer — at least not someone who wanders aimlessly. I wander purposefully. I just got back from an official sojourn to Jamshedpur, and was indeed impressed by how tier 2 and tier 3 cities are all so well-connected by air. I travelled to Ranchi and then did a two-hour drive to Jamshedpur. The four-lane expressway in Jharkhand surprised me — a distance of about 120 km was covered in less than 2 hours! I must confess to being consumed by wanderlust.
I love travelling, whether it be for business or pleasure. I have been travelling since 1982, and airports, hotel rooms and meeting rooms have become my home away from home. It may sound ridiculous to many of my readers. But that’s what it is, with me. There are times when there is a lull and my wife asks me, “Why aren’t you travelling?” She believes that men should be away from home to appreciate what homecoming means.
Guys, can you believe that I am writing this post on a Friday night, just so that I don’t miss my Sunday post?
Circumforaneous means “wandering from place to place” or “going from shop to shop or market to market or forum shopping”. The word may not mean doing any or all of that aimlessly or without purpose, but there’s no justification to say that it excludes wanderlust. The word ‘circumforaneous’ was first found in the following poetry written anonymously way back in 1697:
From a Bank of Green turf his old habitation,
A Worm put his head out, and made Proclamation:
"Let all the Beasts know, if anyone is sick
"I Worm am by Practice a Doctor o' Physick;
"I'm none of your Quacks that are circumforaneous:
"But skil'd by long Travell in Parts Subterraneous:
"Where nature her chymical Art does display,
"Where all the rich juices and minerals lay:
"I think without vanity I know the power
"And virtues locked up in roots, stones or flowers."— Anon., Æsop naturaliz’d, 1697
(Æsop Naturaliz'd is a collection of diverting fables and stories from Æsop, Lockman, Pilpay, and others with useful morals and reflections.)
The moral lies in the narrative, in which the worm claims to contribute more to preserving the soil than the ‘quacks’ that wander aimlessly, accomplishing nothing. The word ‘quacks’ may also have had reference to ‘gyrovagues,’ who were monks that were accustomed to wandering from monastery to monastery without having an end objective. There are proselytizers who go from place to place and try to persuade other people to accept a particular religious or political belief, idea, or way of life. These are circumforaneous people.
Circumforaneous is derived from the Latin circum (‘roundabout’) and forum (‘marketplace’).
Forum shopping is quite common among ordinary people and business guys. As ordinary people, many women are not normally given to impulsive buying or being carried away by the first look. They are circumspect in the way they check out, compare, and at the end of it all strike a good bargain. In matters of shopping, I am not (and most men too, unless one is tightfisted) circumforaneous. I tend to ‘buy & fly’. It is a different matter that I land myself in trouble when the wife suspects that I suffer from colour blindness or that I did not remember that she has something similar to the one I bought. Speaking of shopping, I urge you to read (if you haven’t already) my post: 🔗 Filter Coffee #085 On Shopping Complex
For business guys, the main purpose is value realization, which depends mainly on how you discover the value for what you want to divest. Take the simple example of selling a house. You tend to do some forum-hopping to see who is willing to give you the best price. You become circumforaneous in your effort to maximize value.
One can be circumforaneous in matters of job-hopping. Here today, gone tomorrow is the order of the day. Attrition is another barometer for circumforaneous behaviour. The inability to retain talent and meet the aspirations of the millennial is indeed the reason for organisations to find that they have a revolving door through which the circumforaneous employees exit in pursuit of short-term benefits.
Travelling salesmen are now a legend, what with online and telemarketing growing by leaps and bounds. During their time, travelling salespersons were a great example of contemporaneous behaviour. The challenges, disappointments, and some moments of accomplishment made their life a mixed bag. Their contemporaneous existence deprived them of quality time with family and children. Of course, now the internet is their window to selling opportunities. Circumforaneous has a new synonym for them: ‘surfing’.
The Romani people (the more accepted term for the community known as the Gypsies) have long been considered among the most mysterious, exotic peoples on Earth. They have been described as a race of nomads who have no natural home. They are considered circumforaneous and have their own language and cultural identity. The Romani people came to Europe long ago from India. They would rarely or never stop in one place beyond thirty days, but always wandering and fugitive, as though accursed by God. Many societies shunned them for their circumforaneous nature – often viewing the community with suspicion and superstition. If you wish to read more about them, please use this link: 🔗 History of the Gypsies - Owlcation
Can there be a circumforaneous mind or a mind that wanders? I am sure all of you agree that our minds wander more than our bodies. We fantasize, hallucinate, zone-out, blank-out and so many other things that make us feel like “we are there, but not there”. We daydream and have flights of fancy. When someone is talking to you, you give the impression of listening to the person, but your thoughts are elsewhere. This is the classic tussle between the wife and husband. I am a living example of saying yes without registering what was said, and I confess I am circumforaneous, in that sense.
Here’s a one-liner:
A travelling salesman walks into a bar.
The bartender says, "Why the long face?"
The salesman replies, "Amazon”.
Dear readers, despite being circumforaneous, I have managed to post this edition of FC. Phew!
Do take good care of yourself. Ciao!
Traveller's and circumvigators, typically, don't let studies come in the way of education. The best learning comes from travel.
As my grand mum said - you can build your appetite when you travel but come home and eat your food.
Nice one Pm! Didn’t know such a word existed😁