"Naan vaazhkaila thothuten da!" (I lost in life); said she!My classmate. She was all of 25 then. There was a quite pause on the other end of the phone. I din't know what to tell her.
I knew she was going through a bad phase in life! May be three to four years of bad phase. By bad phase I mean, the life did not go according to her plan. But, "Lost in life?" Does that mean, there is a win in life as well?
And then today she called again, after a loooong time! Her voice sounded happy. She said she is on her way to Italy. My mind immediately said, Ah! this girl has won in life!
Won in life?
How do I define success and failure in life? That if everything you wanted in life happened, is that a victory? and if everything that you attempt in life does not happen are you a failure? If so, I was the biggest failure, in life! Nothing, basically nothing, has gone according to the road map the society and the family and my own maniacal brain had for my life! Every time there was a plan, my life has gone in the exact opposite direction.
Do we define victory or defeat by the status or the amount of money you earn in life? So, does it mean the most successful are the biggest earners, like the Ambanis or the prime minister of India who has achieved greater status than anybody else in this country? Or do we define success by the number of countries visited? Like you are successful if you are in the States, especially if you are an Indian. Or this friend of mine, had she suddenly won over life, coz she is going to Italy?
When I went back and read the last paragraph, geez it stuck me hard! I am a failure there too. I din't earn 20% of the money I could have, nor did I visit the number of countries I would have!
So what exactly is a victory in life? Am I successful? Or as usual, am I a failure? I don't know!
May be it is different for different people! May be there is no template for success! May be as the modern generation godmen tell you, happiness is more important than success. And then the question is to define happiness! Ah, the complexities of life.
For now, it is simple! Wish her a safe trip to Italy and go back to what pays you. As simple as that!And of course be the best you can be!
1 comment:
#grammar_nazi
In the first line of you article you write - '... quite pause'. I have trouble with homonyms. I guess you you meant was quiet pause - a pause without words. Or was it 'quite a pause'meaning a considerably long pause? Anyways, another interestingly written article, Sam. Cheers!
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