"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain
That's why I feel life is a vivacious dream-lets dream big and explore.
It’s also a country of disillusionment; people wander about without realising what they really want in life. The office goer ventures through office hours without any semblance of job-satisfaction; the student qualifies one exam after the other, cramming up things, without knowing when this utter mind-boggling pressure of studies is going to bear fruitful results; the sportsperson (other than the cricketer) continues to toil without recognition.
Finally, we end up doing what others expect us to do. We walk on the oft-treaded path looking at the end of the journey (which at most times is money, luxury, status). Many falter on the course and some reach the end. Those who falter invariably remain sad, at not having fulfilled their long-cherished dreams. The question here is: those few, who finally reach the end, are they really happy?
You end up reaching the peak, but what then? What do you do know. You took a painstakingly boring journey, devoid of imagination, sacrificing your creativity for the oft treaded path - in short wasted a few precious years of your life to achieve this peak. But at the supposed peak what do you find- this is not the end of the journey. Rather it’s just the beginning of a new one, where the level of challenges and competition has intensified. In other words you are still running in the rat race to success- only the rats have changed, they are more trained than the previous ones!
So what does one do?
If you lose the race you are sad, if you reach towards the finishing line you are fatigued.
About the answer one cannot be sure about…….. But let’s rethink!
The answer lies in the race itself. It’s not about forfeiting the race but enjoying the race. It’s about treading the path you want to tread. As all pious text lead to the same Ultimate Truth, perfection in all spheres of life leads to the same level of success. It’s not about burying your dreams but give your level best to achieve them. At the end its about living life the way you personally want, choosing the field you want to work upon and in the process love the journey.
The fact is, even in the process if you lose, you don’t feel disheartened because you enjoyed what you did and gave your best. The point is to give your best, because mind you the worst feeling in life is I could have done that but I couldn’t because …….
I may be wrong, as I am too immature to comment on such a big question. But I believe that life is all about dreaming and that too dreaming big. To dream about success and attain it independently by choosing your own path to it, not following someone else’s, so that twenty years down the line you don’t have any complains. You only have a smile and a thought……..the race was nice, the roads were good, the U-turns better and the rats excellent!
