Many of us would have read a small story “Sukhi Kaun” (Who is happier, contented?) by Hindi litterateur and story-writer Raja Radhika Raman Singh in our early formative years. In the story, the king is restless and awake while the servant dozes off waving hand-fan back and forth for his Master.
Now, when we all are busy in our life handling daily stress see a road-side vendor or a manual worker taking a nap in the open skies we often envy their life. For a moment we just want to abandon what all we have and embrace a simple life. This, however, remains in the realm of fantasy and rarely acted upon.
The result is we keep slogging till we reach the end of the journey. After time has gone, we only regret.
This happens so because we are never ready to shed our ego, self image and fear of losing identity or being left behind.
We seldom take a pause and reflect what we really want and in this maddening race against time, we lose the sense of what really matters. The opportunity cost to retain our ego, self image and identity is paid in the form of sleepless nights, bouts of anxiety, debilitating thoughts and at the end of it all results in a life full of regrets.
Life is the sum total of choices we make. A change in this mix can only transform our life. If prioritising mental peace brings us bigger joy than climbing the success ladder, then we must make that choice. If chasing our dreams gives us satisfaction, then we should pursue it. Remaining stuck in between the two choices or being indecisive about the end result is what leads to unrest and anxiety.
If we close our eyes and ask ourselves — Do I really want to live the life I am currently leading or I want something different? The answer remains carefully hidden in the deep recesses of our inner self in the layers of self-deceit, image consciousness and societal pressures.
We can only free ourselves bit by bit everyday and lead the life we want.
Being envious of the servant or the vendor certainly does not mean giving up what all we have. It does not mean disposing off the Honda City car and buying a rickshaw instead. It only suggests being contented with what we have and be ready to part with our possessions.
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The author is a journalist and aspires to become good human being by observing the people around him. He is also co-founder of TopLeadIndia.com
Well placed examples. The writer rightly explains how life should be looked at and how should we make choices to be on righteous ground and self-effacing.