Life is neither a TEMPEST, nor a MIDSUMMER NIGHT’s DREAM.
It is the COMEDY OF ERRORS, to be lived AS YOU LIKE IT!
So, here I am – talking about LIFE! And unlike my previous posts, I’ll try keeping things SIMPLE here (on public demand!). Its been a good twenty years of lackadaisical dawdling on this planet; whiling away time by counting the “handful of” stars; following the clouds “moving” across the clear blue skies, listening to the age old fable of an old lady on the moon, relentlessly spinning yarns! A very short duration of enjoying twenty springs may not qualify me even as a novice logician to talk as big as the topic itself, but then, growing up steadily to the truth all along the journey has made me draw some infallible conclusions which can stand with all might, the test of the age old doctrines. If life would have been all about extrapolating its tints, tones and shades in Shakespearean sonnets, we would have painted our literary palette with all possible hues. If it would have been music, we would have played on! But not so surprisingly, life is much more than that. And are we complaining? Believe me, not the least. Even with all its sturm und drang, bringing to the lowest low and then throwing up in utmost ecstasy, it is made sure that we do not have any dull moment to dwell in. Conclusively, one thing constant about life is CHANGE, and that too instantaneous – It is indispensable. It is vital. It is fundamental. It is the verity that sustains life and forms its very essence. It is the raison d’ etre of the subsistence of all the heavens.
It is the COMEDY OF ERRORS, to be lived AS YOU LIKE IT!
So, here I am – talking about LIFE! And unlike my previous posts, I’ll try keeping things SIMPLE here (on public demand!). Its been a good twenty years of lackadaisical dawdling on this planet; whiling away time by counting the “handful of” stars; following the clouds “moving” across the clear blue skies, listening to the age old fable of an old lady on the moon, relentlessly spinning yarns! A very short duration of enjoying twenty springs may not qualify me even as a novice logician to talk as big as the topic itself, but then, growing up steadily to the truth all along the journey has made me draw some infallible conclusions which can stand with all might, the test of the age old doctrines. If life would have been all about extrapolating its tints, tones and shades in Shakespearean sonnets, we would have painted our literary palette with all possible hues. If it would have been music, we would have played on! But not so surprisingly, life is much more than that. And are we complaining? Believe me, not the least. Even with all its sturm und drang, bringing to the lowest low and then throwing up in utmost ecstasy, it is made sure that we do not have any dull moment to dwell in. Conclusively, one thing constant about life is CHANGE, and that too instantaneous – It is indispensable. It is vital. It is fundamental. It is the verity that sustains life and forms its very essence. It is the raison d’ etre of the subsistence of all the heavens.
Call it struggle, call it duty, call it beauty, or if you please, call it mystery- life comes in all packages and names. But then, What’s in name? Thing which we call rose, would smell as sweet if called by some other name. (Thank you, Shakespeare, for coming to my rescue again and making things easier.) So, I prefer calling it an ADDICTION. My latest shovel-digging discovery about myself reveals my addiction to life. This soul-excavation exercise has indeed come a long way in bringing out the latent passion in me, a mere citation of which throws my grey cells (and all other cells, whatsoever) into action like a springboard. And presto! The spirit is all worked up!
For some, throwing back arms, listening to the rain, smelling the coffee beans may come easy. What is the use of such hypersensitivity? Why not take bitter with sweet and make merry? And if at all the need be, we still have the philosophers’ theologies thronging our book-shelves to give us company when we feel the need to pacify soul’s emotional and philosophical upsurge. Fine, if you want to take a rose-tinted view of life and be content with the shallow layer of phony pretence. But not when you want to be aware- aware of your motives, aware of your surroundings, aware of your and others’ needs, aware of those invisible and minute details which our worldly eyes ordinarily tend to overlook. To be aware, so as to bring meaning to the existence of otherwise aimlessly wandering creature. At times, when we are left stranded on the crossroads- wherein we have to decide as to which route to take and what course to follow; whether to stand up and question, or to shut up and comply- Life has answers to all these and more, only if one has the zeal to strip the glamour and see what lies underneath!
For all the experiences that affirm one’s belief that nothing can be labeled wrong or right, the assertion stands vindicated for reasons more than one. Restricting our vision to an insulated cocoon forces us to see the things in a more claustrophobic way. We perceive things and call them reality. It is when we come out of our self-imposed arrest from the cozy envelop and open our eyes to the light we realize that everything is equally bare naked under the blue sky and the shining sun. A daily event can force us to rethink our life and our beliefs. Some truisms that we’ve known since childhood don’t really take root until we face serious challenge to our identity. Once we tag something as right-wrong, good-bad, we lose our inherent ability to see the complete truth. We bring the entity from the divine pedestal, to a human realm, where authenticity of the same is decided by pre-existing chauvinism and prejudice which, in its wake of segregating “proper” from “improper”, “holy” from “sinful”, renders the soul’s search for higher knowledge as null and void. Who should decide what is legitimate and what is illegitimate? Can there be any absolute for something as relative as human life? Are mere words sufficient to describe the picture in totality? The straight answers escape man’s perception, and theoretical elucidations are too hyperbolic for human mind. Nothing it is, but a mere illusion, and nothing we are, but a part of it.
This brings me to a famous quotation by a scholar from some school of thought:
“We forget to LIVE life, because we are busy UNDERSTANDING it!”
Erudite indeed, and the thinker deserves the entire accolade for his word of wisdom. But unfolding the countless layers, questioning various mountains and hills to arrive at the hidden truth, has its own fascination which, by all means, is more consuming than any climax that physical world can possibly boast of. Its grip is beguiling; its mystique, enticing. Life would certainly prove to be more complex than the theory of relativity to a layman, when it is simpler than a child’s smile. It would definitely betray a conceited intelligentsia for all it cares, but would surrender to the humble valor of the diligent hunter. No monopoly of a few learned, the ardent seeker would never be left unsatiated. Yet the mystery would lose its meaning only to the worthy.
Knowing life is like knowing one’s own self- more than breathing in and breathing out. More than right or wrong, it’s about what we are and what we want to be. It’s about connecting to that realm, that sphere that one hears and talks about in long forgotten parables. It’s about people and moments. It’s about love and lovers. It’s about heart and heartbreaks. Those tears and smiles that count for the most valuable asset that a man keeps closest to his heart, and protects them even from himself, if the need be. It’s about all those times- good and not-so-good - that make for one’s past, and at times, render the present false. With all its uncertainty and unpredictability, life is never lifeless and monotonous. It plays its stroke well and throws its baton at you, just to make your well laid plan fall flat to the unexpected. Caught off guard? Well, that’s what life exceptionally good at! At times, we don’t know what is going to happen next. And believe me, its better that way!
