Life is just beautiful. Look at the smiling baby, budding rose, sun rise, lush forest, beautiful peacock, cute parrot, playful puppy, tantalising aroma of food, impressive Taj, amazing Aish, handsome Hrithik.. there is beauty everywhere.. there is joy everywhere. there there are friendship, love, parents, work etc.. so many things to cheer about.. You just need to be positive and be happy always. This is one way of living.
It was one of the empty Mumbai locals. The time was fast approaching midnight. A guy with a long stick enters the compartment. Yes, he was blind but wasn't a beggar - started shouting at his peak for selling buds and plastic covers for 5 bucks. You get down the train and walk home - you see the slew of people sleeping on the sides of the road (including kids less than 2 yrs). Then there was this old man trying to sell channa for as low as 2 rupees. Then the dog with 3 legs struggling to move ahead. The next day morning. It was the near by kirana store. You see this really small kid (with dirty torn cloths and running nose) begging desperately to the store visitors - The store-wala is shooing away the kid. You can't resist but getting a biscuit pack for the poor little one. Then, the crowded train - people just struggling every day to earn their living. Then, the road-side hawkers who are sweating and shouting the whole day for tens of rupees. "Come on, stop it", I can hear you shouting. It's the reality of life. Most human beings are not happy. Life, inherently is sad, painful, sickening and depressing. This is another way of living.
Which one of the above is probably the right way to live - Be happy & unaware of things around OR get muddled with sad aspects of life? Yeah, there is no simple answer to this. And it's not that these are discrete states for different set of people. Just that each person will have one state dominating over the other.
I thought more about it. Happiness/Sadness, Peace/Revolt, Surplus/Deficit, Powerful/Weak, Beautiful/Ugly, Superior/Inferior, Positive/Negative. Let's call these dualities. Probably, life is not about dualities. We would never feel complete in one of these dualities. The feeling of neutrality and equanimity but with a strong sense for action and a clarity of thought is what we should constantly strive for. And I believe it would help in the betterment of the self and the world around.
And Psalm of Life captures this vividly:
Reference Courtesy: My DeaR friend
A PSALM OF LIFE
TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream ! —
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way ;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle !
Be a hero in the strife !
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God o'erhead !
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
@RegularThe tamil movie was called "NaanKadavul" (means "I am God"). A very dark and hard-hitting movie. But hats off to the veteran director Bala for his boldness and making us aware of the lesser known worlds - those of Begger Mafia & Saadhus who proclaim themselves as Gods. When you come out of the theatre, it takes a while to come to normalcy.
"Life of 25 people" seem to be the pattern of the books I picked up this week. Be it "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish", which discribes the struggle and success of 25 Indian entrepreneurs OR "Lasting Leadership", which tells the story of 25 global business czars. Both are interesting and different from each other - Will post more about it next week once I complete them.
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