A few days back, as I was going through my daily dose of internet skimming, I chanced upon a very interesting one - liner - "Never take life too seriously, nobody gets out alive anyway".....hell yeah, the ultimate truth of life...DEATH, there's no escaping the clangs of it. But this brings up quite a few thoughts in this peculiarly curious catty mind of mine.
First, isn't this just the opposite of what we have been told right from our childhood. Study hard, take life seriously, else you will end up having a messed up career and future!!! And hence, we, burdened and alarmed by the very thought of ruining our future, in all honesty, start taking each and every item in the menu of life seriously....may be a competition, an exam to begin with.....a few years later, securing a seat in a renowned educational institution, a job interview, an assignment at work which gets linked up to the obvious prospect of an increment or a promotion.....further on, the choice of a life partner - oh dear, will he/she live upto the standards, will the society and family approve of my choice, what if they don't, safer option - leave it to the others to decide.......then, savings - to ensure a comfortable life for the family, loans, EMIs, kids, their future and the list just goes on......and before we realize we are standing at the gates to bid adieu to this world with death staring us in the face. So, when did we stick to the "don't take life seriously" instruction? Did we actually live or did we just scramble away through life in an attempt to stick to the rulebook, meet other's expectations, putting off what the inner self truly pined for thinking..."Ahh, there's a lot of time for that".
Too late now, its time to step into the other world......say your goodbyes and tag along with "Yamdev - the God of Death". For a lucky few who are whisked away while in the cradle of dreams and for a few others for whom it all gets over in a matter of seconds before they can even comprehend that it just happened, at the cost of sounding cruel, I would still say, its a blessing in disguise....but for the rest, from what I have seen and experienced, its an immensely traumatic affair. The knowledge that its time to leave, that all you lived for and lived with, has to be left behind, can be extremely painful. Letting go can be a difficult task at hand, especially for the acutely emotional ones. I, for e.g., am one who gets emotionally attached to anything or anyone that I decide to give that space in life.....it could range from entities as important as the family, that special someone, to just a person I have met, a friend to even something as simple as a workplace that I am used to. Walking away from these due to circumstances in life, say a change of job, is in itself a hideous task for me. This, even when there is a slim chance that life might turn a full circle and bring me back to what I leave behind now. Given that, I can't help but imagine what an intense wave of sentiments a finality like death could bring in on me. If I were to be aware of the fact that I will be leaving behind all that I ever held dear, I would die a death every single moment till my wait for the end is over.
Who says then, that suicide is an act of cowardice. In my opinion it takes a hell lot of courage to decide and let go off life and all that is associated with it. Having said that, let me add, I am not here to say that giving up on life is a wonderful thing to do. Living and facing the challenge that life brings with it is an act of greater intrepidity. But I have often heard people comment in such cases that, if only the person had thought about all he/she was leaving behind.....if only the person had been a tad bit stronger. It is in that context that I say, no one should assume that an extreme step is always a result or sign of weakness. It might as well have been the tipping point after having stayed strong for too long. And no one can fathom what it could have taken that person to consciously let go off....everything.
And just as I come to a close, in the benefit of those who have been kind enough to reach upto this point of my monograph, inspite of the extremely dark and heavy mood that it carries, let me just end this on a positive and hopeful note - "Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here lets dance it away". J J J
First, isn't this just the opposite of what we have been told right from our childhood. Study hard, take life seriously, else you will end up having a messed up career and future!!! And hence, we, burdened and alarmed by the very thought of ruining our future, in all honesty, start taking each and every item in the menu of life seriously....may be a competition, an exam to begin with.....a few years later, securing a seat in a renowned educational institution, a job interview, an assignment at work which gets linked up to the obvious prospect of an increment or a promotion.....further on, the choice of a life partner - oh dear, will he/she live upto the standards, will the society and family approve of my choice, what if they don't, safer option - leave it to the others to decide.......then, savings - to ensure a comfortable life for the family, loans, EMIs, kids, their future and the list just goes on......and before we realize we are standing at the gates to bid adieu to this world with death staring us in the face. So, when did we stick to the "don't take life seriously" instruction? Did we actually live or did we just scramble away through life in an attempt to stick to the rulebook, meet other's expectations, putting off what the inner self truly pined for thinking..."Ahh, there's a lot of time for that".
Too late now, its time to step into the other world......say your goodbyes and tag along with "Yamdev - the God of Death". For a lucky few who are whisked away while in the cradle of dreams and for a few others for whom it all gets over in a matter of seconds before they can even comprehend that it just happened, at the cost of sounding cruel, I would still say, its a blessing in disguise....but for the rest, from what I have seen and experienced, its an immensely traumatic affair. The knowledge that its time to leave, that all you lived for and lived with, has to be left behind, can be extremely painful. Letting go can be a difficult task at hand, especially for the acutely emotional ones. I, for e.g., am one who gets emotionally attached to anything or anyone that I decide to give that space in life.....it could range from entities as important as the family, that special someone, to just a person I have met, a friend to even something as simple as a workplace that I am used to. Walking away from these due to circumstances in life, say a change of job, is in itself a hideous task for me. This, even when there is a slim chance that life might turn a full circle and bring me back to what I leave behind now. Given that, I can't help but imagine what an intense wave of sentiments a finality like death could bring in on me. If I were to be aware of the fact that I will be leaving behind all that I ever held dear, I would die a death every single moment till my wait for the end is over.
Who says then, that suicide is an act of cowardice. In my opinion it takes a hell lot of courage to decide and let go off life and all that is associated with it. Having said that, let me add, I am not here to say that giving up on life is a wonderful thing to do. Living and facing the challenge that life brings with it is an act of greater intrepidity. But I have often heard people comment in such cases that, if only the person had thought about all he/she was leaving behind.....if only the person had been a tad bit stronger. It is in that context that I say, no one should assume that an extreme step is always a result or sign of weakness. It might as well have been the tipping point after having stayed strong for too long. And no one can fathom what it could have taken that person to consciously let go off....everything.
Now that I have said all the above, although it might appear to be so, the fact is I am not scared of death. I have been handed over my share ( and
possibly a little more than what I had expected J ) of the tough tasks
that life ( being the tough task master ) hands over to each one that lands up on
the face of this earth. I have had my moments of "weakness" or
"strength".....but so far I have sailed through them and I hope I can
do so with grace every time in whatever period of my life remains, until its time for me to walk over to the other side of the rainbow.
And just as I come to a close, in the benefit of those who have been kind enough to reach upto this point of my monograph, inspite of the extremely dark and heavy mood that it carries, let me just end this on a positive and hopeful note - "Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here lets dance it away". J J J
