Life, meant to be lived
Amidst the world when the spike of protein is taking on so-called advanced human civilization, where death has become a new normal. I take this time to reflect on the question of life and death which is not exactly opposite but the latter are being part of the life itself.
Life is so fragile. You don't know what may happen next. Going by the average life expectancy I would not be here 40-50 years down the line. Death is certain. Everyone who has born has to die. Be it the most successful people on the planet to those daily wage labourers who spent most of his time doing manual labour.
This reminds me of a Kabir's meaningful couplet:
आये है तो जायेगा, राजा रंक फकीर
ऐक सिंहासन चढ़ि चले, ऐक बांधे जंजीर।
A lot of times we try to run away from the 'ultimate'. However, I believe that once we appreciate that our time on this planet is finite, it can change our outlook and attitude towards life. Once we internalize this truth, you would see you will become a much sweeter person than you are. Probably you will not fight on silly things. And instead, you may want to do the most important thing in life.
However, most of us have a different perspective as to what is ' the most important thing' in life. For some it may be his/ her career for others may his parents or loved ones. But I believe that the most essential thing in life is life itself. We may think this is important or that is important but everything stops if life stops. Hence, the moral of the story is that don't take yourself too seriously.
In the end, I would like to write down a few suggestions which have flown from my life experiences. I never believed that for a happy life, you need to be a sage heading to the hermit. Life is meant to be lived and not to be sacrificed. I believe that every person has some innate calling as to what he or she wants to do. It can be anything - be it cooking, music, dancing, acting, among many others. The point is that if we follow our calling there is happiness within us, and only when we are happy can we spread happiness in the world. The fear of failure should never stop us doing what we want to do.
Another aspect of life that needs to be respected is uncertainty. we need to embrace it. A lot of time we try to control life but we fail miserably because only little can we control. Can you control your breath- the most important thing?. However, it does not mean that you should go haywire and there should be no planning. But we should not fret over things which we cannot control.
In the end, I would say that yes we should work towards achieving our goals. Yes we should aspire for higher realms but while doing all this can we not be more kind and compassionate? Can we not our lives with full integrity? Can we not enhance our lives by exploring it before we rest in peace?
My heart says it’s possible - what's stopping you?
