‘My mind, like lost ship, wanders aimlessly
Drowning away in the deep blue sea
Who am I?
What should I be?
Should I try or just let it be…’
The above expression succinctly expresses my state of mind and I’m sure anyone who find themselves ‘lost’ in this maze of life. As someone who is often confronted by this question of ‘what do you want to do in your life?’, ‘why haven’t you figured out the career you want for yourself? ’ .., from parents, relatives and even myself, I feel lost and anxious and it’s vexing. It also makes me wonder how ‘objective’ and ‘uni-directional’ we tend to make our lives. In this journey called life we tie ourselves down with our own set of goals and forget to experience and really live. We fail to appreciate ‘uncertainty’ and lose ourselves in the process.
Life is unpredictable and no one can be certain about their future. Of course goals and dreams are the driving forces that help us achieve in life but should we get ourselves so attached to them that we abandon everything that’s around us. I have seen so many ‘well-respected’ people who have with this nose to grindstone mentality that is ingrained into us from a young age, reach peaks of their respective careers but, ‘are they happy?’ NO. Moreover one of the prime reasons for this otherwise unexpressed anguish that seethes in many of us is the way we choose careers. We always have it pre-decided by our parents or if you are ‘lucky’ you have a list (No points for guessing the list, come on!) to choose from.
We cage ourselves in an attempt to fit in the definition of what the society considers a ‘successful life’ and at the end of it all realize that it was all so POINTLESS. A mundane job (that you hate but still do), a marriage, two cars parked outside a house with kids (preferably a son) playing in the lawn all achieved by a certain age and guess what, you’ve made the cut. Hurray! That in my opinion is a recipe for a disastrous, repressed life and that’s not how I choose to be. I want to try new things, make mistakes, learn, and breathe (figuratively). Go on adventures and pursue my passions (multiple, in my case). Say yes to opportunities that come my way. Do things that make me happy and do it with all the grit and determination I have. Create new things and express myself. Be comfortable with the ‘uncertainty’.
A parting advice for everyone, ‘Take every day as it comes, live life in the present and be open to learning. Don’t plan too much and live too little. Give life a chance to turn out the way it wants to and who knows it might be grander than what you had it envisioned.’ KEEP SMILING
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Be happy!