Isn't the first day of a year always about retrospection? Thinking about the things that we did last year and the ways in which we could have done it better? As I was retrospecting last year events today, I was reminded of the novel "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway. Poor old Santiago fights his way to end his bad luck of not catching a fish for 84 days. Battling the storm and many other adverseries far out in the Gulf Stream, he finally manages to catch the biggest fish of his life. Despite all his physical injuries, he enjoyed his victory. He was the happiest person in the world. Many may think that it was enough. But, was it? That's the point of whole novel. Santiago hadn't thought it through to protect the fish he had caught for the sea is full of bloody sharks. And that's what happened. The sharks kept on attacking one after the another leaving only the fish head and bones.
This story applies pretty much in our real life in our day to day relationships. We put up the greatest fight to achieve something in our life--establish the most wanted relationship. And the mistake we often make is to think that the struggle is over. We fail to protect our relationship from the worldly sharks. It hurts to see our dearly prized possession go away, but we aren't able to do anything. We keep on making the same mistake over and over again thinking that it won't harm the next time. But when has doing the same things over and over again produced a different result?
The research shows that, out of all things, we devalue people the most in our life. Mostly, we pay attention to worldly pleasures that is only temporary. It is often too late to realise what we have lost. So, this year let's not lose too many things in our life. Let's try to recover what we have lost. Let's reach out to people instead of thinking alone. It's never too late for anything. New year is never new unless we start doing things differently. Let's make 2018 a grand one. Wish you all a happy and prosperous new year!!
😘😘😘
Not a long time ago, I was deadly sick. I can't remember if it was a dream or imagination of my unconscious mind. I stood teetering on the edge of abyss. Everywhere else was white and void. That was not the world we live in. I felt goose bumps as I walked through the edge of wilderness. I wasn't sure what I was going to face. I had hardly taken a few steps when I heard a deep voice from behind, "What do you seek?"
I turned around but there was no one. Then the other words followed from the same voice,"Is it me that you truly seek?"
"I am not sure," I replied bewildered. "But I definitely can't talk to a void."
It was then an apparition appeared in front of me. It was of a tall handsome man dressed in white. He had a square shaped brown face and a shaved head. He said, "Here I am. Now speak your confused mind."
"Where am I? Am I dead? Are you God?" I spoke spontaneously.
"You are where you needed to be. And I am what you want me to be. For simplicity, you can call me Truth," He said smiling.
"Happiness."
"What?" He asked surprised.
"I seek happiness. That's why I am here," I said.
"Well, I can't grant you happiness. Happiness is something only you can find. I can only give you answers," He said plainly.
"Then answer me. Inspite of my desperate attempts, why can't I really be happy?"
"Desire can be confusing. Sometimes it may only give temporary satisfaction. You might selfishly mistake it for happiness."
"Then tell me how do I identify real happiness?"
"Let me answer your question by a question. What do you really want in your life? When I say life, I don't mean now, tomorrow or day after. I mean what you really want out of your life?"
"I want a life filled with love, surrounded by people I really care about."
"See, life is simple. You only want love. Now tell me, what's stopping you?"
"Stopping me from what?"
"Stopping you from what you really want? Love."
"In real world, it's not that simple. There are too many ifs and buts. Finding true love and keeping it for eternity is almost impossible. We can only try, but it is never in our hands to be successful."
"Do you really think words like 'try' and 'successful' make sense when you truly want to achieve something? Get out of common belief, buddy. You are not here to explain about your failed attempts, are you?"
"I guess I am not, but..."
"Let me make this simple for you," He said abruptly. "Tell me why all of your attempts failed?"
"I tried and tried. But eventually it didn't work out. So I had to let it go."
"Since you couldn't find the solution, you eliminated the problem. Yeah?"
"Maybe. But it was not completely in my hands. It takes two to tango in this case. I tried finding the solution too, but it was not always agreed upon. There were lot of issues, lot of fights and demotivation. I think we had all reached our breaking point. That's why, it had to end."
"So, are you happy now?"
"No, I am not. I have just eliminated the need for happiness. All the love, I have buried deep down. I think I have compromised to my destiny."
"Will you be able to live this life with that compromise?"
"I don't think so. That's why I am here, I guess. Tell me what shall I do?" I said emotionally.
"Think through this well. You had brought nothing in this world, and you will take nothing. This interim is just a medium through which you can spread happiness. This interval is too short for grudges and hatred. Don't keep any regrets. Love unconditionally. Never let people go out of your life. Always work towards the solution and not the problem. Believe me, God does reward honest efforts--sooner or later. But the key is not to give up. And if this is all for someone who really loves you, you will always get good return--though return shouldn't really be in your mind while doing all these. Have faith in lord and you will have no regrets in the end," He answered.
"Yeah, I already know. Maybe, I was too stubborn to face it."
"Then you must know what to do in order to be happy. After all, I am just the figments of your imagination, or rather your true self," He said and vanished.
I jumped across the abyss and returned to my dead body. Very soon, I would overcome my illness and know how to deal with my happiness.
This story applies pretty much in our real life in our day to day relationships. We put up the greatest fight to achieve something in our life--establish the most wanted relationship. And the mistake we often make is to think that the struggle is over. We fail to protect our relationship from the worldly sharks. It hurts to see our dearly prized possession go away, but we aren't able to do anything. We keep on making the same mistake over and over again thinking that it won't harm the next time. But when has doing the same things over and over again produced a different result?
The research shows that, out of all things, we devalue people the most in our life. Mostly, we pay attention to worldly pleasures that is only temporary. It is often too late to realise what we have lost. So, this year let's not lose too many things in our life. Let's try to recover what we have lost. Let's reach out to people instead of thinking alone. It's never too late for anything. New year is never new unless we start doing things differently. Let's make 2018 a grand one. Wish you all a happy and prosperous new year!!
😘😘😘
Not a long time ago, I was deadly sick. I can't remember if it was a dream or imagination of my unconscious mind. I stood teetering on the edge of abyss. Everywhere else was white and void. That was not the world we live in. I felt goose bumps as I walked through the edge of wilderness. I wasn't sure what I was going to face. I had hardly taken a few steps when I heard a deep voice from behind, "What do you seek?"
I turned around but there was no one. Then the other words followed from the same voice,"Is it me that you truly seek?"
"I am not sure," I replied bewildered. "But I definitely can't talk to a void."
It was then an apparition appeared in front of me. It was of a tall handsome man dressed in white. He had a square shaped brown face and a shaved head. He said, "Here I am. Now speak your confused mind."
"Where am I? Am I dead? Are you God?" I spoke spontaneously.
"You are where you needed to be. And I am what you want me to be. For simplicity, you can call me Truth," He said smiling.
"Happiness."
"What?" He asked surprised.
"I seek happiness. That's why I am here," I said.
"Well, I can't grant you happiness. Happiness is something only you can find. I can only give you answers," He said plainly.
"Then answer me. Inspite of my desperate attempts, why can't I really be happy?"
"Desire can be confusing. Sometimes it may only give temporary satisfaction. You might selfishly mistake it for happiness."
"Then tell me how do I identify real happiness?"
"Let me answer your question by a question. What do you really want in your life? When I say life, I don't mean now, tomorrow or day after. I mean what you really want out of your life?"
"I want a life filled with love, surrounded by people I really care about."
"See, life is simple. You only want love. Now tell me, what's stopping you?"
"Stopping me from what?"
"Stopping you from what you really want? Love."
"In real world, it's not that simple. There are too many ifs and buts. Finding true love and keeping it for eternity is almost impossible. We can only try, but it is never in our hands to be successful."
"Do you really think words like 'try' and 'successful' make sense when you truly want to achieve something? Get out of common belief, buddy. You are not here to explain about your failed attempts, are you?"
"I guess I am not, but..."
"Let me make this simple for you," He said abruptly. "Tell me why all of your attempts failed?"
"I tried and tried. But eventually it didn't work out. So I had to let it go."
"Since you couldn't find the solution, you eliminated the problem. Yeah?"
"Maybe. But it was not completely in my hands. It takes two to tango in this case. I tried finding the solution too, but it was not always agreed upon. There were lot of issues, lot of fights and demotivation. I think we had all reached our breaking point. That's why, it had to end."
"So, are you happy now?"
"No, I am not. I have just eliminated the need for happiness. All the love, I have buried deep down. I think I have compromised to my destiny."
"Will you be able to live this life with that compromise?"
"I don't think so. That's why I am here, I guess. Tell me what shall I do?" I said emotionally.
"Think through this well. You had brought nothing in this world, and you will take nothing. This interim is just a medium through which you can spread happiness. This interval is too short for grudges and hatred. Don't keep any regrets. Love unconditionally. Never let people go out of your life. Always work towards the solution and not the problem. Believe me, God does reward honest efforts--sooner or later. But the key is not to give up. And if this is all for someone who really loves you, you will always get good return--though return shouldn't really be in your mind while doing all these. Have faith in lord and you will have no regrets in the end," He answered.
"Yeah, I already know. Maybe, I was too stubborn to face it."
"Then you must know what to do in order to be happy. After all, I am just the figments of your imagination, or rather your true self," He said and vanished.
I jumped across the abyss and returned to my dead body. Very soon, I would overcome my illness and know how to deal with my happiness.
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