Liven Up!

Treading the path of life we all reach a stage when we are so involved in doing the daily chores and fulfilling our responsibilities to the best that we hardly notice the years slipping by and only live from weekend to weekend, completely leaving behind what we had initially set for! 

Looking back at the carefree school college days we often exclaim “O Yes! Those were the days!” The days when we had wild dreams of touching the sky while looking for a new horizon! And then we all achieved our academic scores, married our loving and caring spouses and got busy making homes out of concrete houses and balancing lives between work and home! 

And while doing all that we somewhere left behind our dreams, our hobbies and our passions… which at times give a gentle tug deep within. Somewhere deep down one feels a void which if not filled gives one a persistent feeling that something is amiss! 

But what’s stopping us now? Can’t we work our way around in our favour? Why not? Someone so aptly said, “If you do what you need to do you are surviving, if you do what you want to do you are living”. 

Trust me! Life can really be amazing if we do what we love to do and what we want to do. It can really bring a world of difference to the quality of our lives. And it really does not require us to take some tall decisions or make some big changes. All it requires of us is to do those little-little things we crave for and which give us happiness deep within. 

Life is too short and unpredictable and mostly does not give us a second chance. This reminds me of a short story I would like to share with you. 

About a hundred years ago, a man looked at the morning newspaper and to his surprise and horror, read his name in the Obituary Column. The newspaper had definitely made a mistake but his first reaction was of shock and for a moment he wondered whether he was ‘here’ or ‘up there’! 

His second thought, when he regained his composure, was to find out what people had said about him. The Obituary read, “Dynamite King Dies” and also, “He was the merchant of death”. This man was the inventor of dynamite and when he read the words ‘The merchant of death’, he was horrified and he asked himself if this was how he wanted to be remembered. 

He perused over it and decided against it. That very day, he altered the track of his life and started working towards peace. This man was The Popular Alfred Nobel who is fondly remembered today by the great Nobel Prize. 

Now just as Alfred Nobel got in touch with his feelings and redefined his values, let us pause and do the same for a minute and ask ourselves – How would we like to be remembered? Will we be spoken well of? Will we be remembered with love and affection? What will our kids remember us for, the hours we slogged to earn money and keep home, or the time we spent with them? And will we be even missed? 

Actually we might not even get a second chance like Alfred Nobel because life often throws lemons our way when we least expect. However even then it is for us to make masala lemonade out of those! 

Alright, lighten up! Life is too short to dwell on sadness or be stressed. So, count your blessings, square your shoulders, lift your head high, take a long deep breath and smile and let that smile reach your eyes, put a spring in your step as you walk and live life as if there is no tomorrow! 

Life is too short to live by someone else’s expectations and life is too short to delay the realisation of our own dreams. So live your life whole-heartedly and be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire! 

One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

--Oscar Wilde

Credits: The picture is taken from pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/549228117026865737/)