In my forties now I realize that it’s not that important to go all the way. It just burns you out. It overheats you and you go panting like a sick mule on a treacherous slope. All that matters is that we take steps. There never was a final destination, nor will ever be. We just hold the baton for some time. Journey well feller!
The main cause of
discontentment and unhappiness is that we are too hard on ourselves most of the
time. We have almost something of everything in us, but we are always looking
to change that into everything of everything. I should have that car, I should
have that man or woman, I should have that designation, I should possess that
much in my bank account, I should become a bigger star, my children should be
world beaters, and scores of all and sundry matters that define our life keep
us away from enjoying what we already possess. Always looking too far into the
future gives many stumbles in the present and welts and bruises as well.
If you can’t have happiness
and joy with what you already possess believe me running after the mirage is a
futile exercise. I am not saying one shouldn’t be competitiveness. Just compete
with a belief and gratitude that you already have many things, that life won’t
be a mess if you don’t reach the intended target. Run after goals but always remember
that you already many things that allow you to even think of going further.
Stay in gratitude.
Why be tortured to be a
perfectionist when you have your friendly sweet-sour amateur self goading you
on the path of life? A joyful amateurish clown may turn out to be perfectionist
one day. It’s very much within the grasp of normal laws, nothing miraculous
about it. Be a happy joyrider, not a grumpy one. The latter only creates
nuances on the pathway for others as well.
Why think in terms of the
best cook masters in homes and hotels and thus never give it a try yourself?
Bake your bread. It may come near the funniest boundaries of the weirdest
country or region in the world. Does the tongue discriminate between the best
shapes as it turns the best and the worst in the same saliva-saturated mess?
Make it eatable to a degree first. Set your own parameters of improvement. Eat
your funny bread with gratitude. Give half of it to the dirty stray puppy,
mauled by the bigger bullies in the street, lying coiled up near your gate. I
do the same. It makes up for the lack of taste born of my amateurish effort.
Boil your soup, make your sandwich, fry your eggs, prepare your vegetables as
per the capacity of your hands and cooking aesthetics. Hold this slim chance in
your hand. One day you will cook to the satisfaction of many people around you
if not the entire continents. Isn’t that success?
Eat in moderation, your
food, money and even designation. Don’t overeat any of these. It gives
indigestion of both stomach and mind. I tried gulping down an entire little of
pure cow milk in a few sittings in a day and got to know that I need just half
of it. An extra visit to the loo reminding me the difference between need and
greed. So the kittens that have occupied the unkempt yard are the beneficiaries
of this realization. Their mother doesn’t visit them anymore. Grown up as they
are. They are learning the art of life in the yard before jumping onto the
larger stage of life. Till then I can play a bit of part time role in getting
them still bigger. Looking at them cutely gulping down the milk, their
moustaches having milky dews, the milk in my stomach gets an extra digestive
juice to give me more benefit.
