March 21, 2007

Life: deconstructed..

Continuing with my reflections on life..

Like i mentioned in my last blog, Einstein said you can live your life in two ways.. I say you can live it in three..
When all is said and done, you can look back on your life and you realize you have lived either of these three..

1) A life of SURVIVAL
You are born, you live because you are alive, you wander about aimlessly, direction-less.. Like the scent of a flower wafting on the breeze.. Only in this case there is not beauty involved.. You are passive existence personified. There's hardly more to this life than not dying.. And then someday you die..
The general person comes under this one.

2) A life of SUCCESS
You are born, you live because you have a mission. And that mission is to climb as high, walk as far and fast and to be the best that you can possibly be. Every waking moment of your life, you are thinking about your agenda, only your agenda generally contains only one word, "ME". People generally would remember you with anecdotes of success.. (and sometimes bottled feelings of hate and resentment). Personal success is all that there is to this life.. And then someday you die..
Most celebrities and successful industrialists come in this category.

3) A life of SIGNIFICANCE
You are born, and you live because you only feel truly alive when you are helping others lead a better life. You sacrifice personal progress for the cause of a greater common good. Inside your heart and mind, you believe that the progress of people around you is a direct indication of your progress. Your agenda is to make a difference, however small, to the world, so that people remember you with gratitude. You live for the betterment of others and it is through their happiness that you experience contentment and happiness filling your life. And then someday you die..
Men generally accepted to be "great human-beings" fall in this category.

We have all undoubtedly known people from all three categories. Some we feel proud of, some we feel jealous of, and yet others we feel a pity towards. We ourselves seems to live all three ways though out daily lives. And we all know that just trying for one of the three is sometimes not the only way to ensure we can actually live that life.

Which one do you choose?? Do you choose passivity because you have to die someday anyway? Do you choose to make the best of your life just because of the fact that you have so little time here? Or do you rather sacrifice immediate pleasures for a stake at immortality?

or is it that an unknown entity called "fate" decides and its not your choice at all what your life is??

Av

2 comments:

Ashwini said...

Av is one of the "great human-beings" I've ever met.In search of his own exitence, he has already made a huge difference to a lot of people's lives. As his blog says there are three kinda ways to live life,Av surely falls in the third..
I have never seen anybody who is as comfotable under his own skin as Av is! That makes him so special. Destined to make it at the Grammys as well as the Nobel, this friend of mine will surely make a difference to all the lives that come his way..
And as far as fate is concerned Av, only the sequence(whether its first the Grammys or the Nobel)will be decided by fate !
Cheers Av!

Raahul said...

well nicely written AV. Plus gives a lot to think abt on...

Well so in which category will u put yrself... for me i think i can alteast consider myself between category 2 & 3.... But then many times there come situations which govern which type of person u become or behave...