Madhushala...

After posting my first blog, the next task was to make sure I keep this blogging thing going on… unlike the other things, where I start with some initial enthusiasm and then it finally fizzles down to nothing….. so here goes this one...

The other day I overheard a complete anti thesis to my philosophy of life, which is ‘living in the present’ . Two gentlemen were talking about how people nowadays seem to enjoy their present.. without giving much thought for the future. They want to just live the moment and don’t plan or think about what will happen to their tomorrow .

I have met loads of people in life who keep worrying about the future unknown and don’t seem to notice all the good things happening around them. They always think ‘What if” I had taken the other path which was laid down before me.. maybe i would have shaped up better… maybe i made a wrong choice….. Ah, now we come to THE dreadful word, choice… CHOICE is a powerful word. Neo (in Matrix) makes a choice and so does Harry Potter (Griffindor or Slytherin). Mahatma Gandhi made a choice. So did our Kalpana Chawla… Did all of them get the desired results???

At each and every step of our life, this word haunts us. Since we can’t predict the ultimate result of our decision, we get scared.

In such times , a question can help ease our worries… That is....

“ What would you do, if you were not afraid ? “ (from Who moved my cheese?) .

I will not claim that this is easy to incorporate into our " thought process".. But in some of those scary moments, where we do not know which side of the wall we need to jump, the question “ What would you do, if you were not afraid ? “ helps to make a sensible choice. It makes us more confident and logical in our ideas. Though I strongly feel that the important part, is not the choice we make….. but rather, more important is the Attitude with which we handle the pitfalls of our choices. THIS is what makes or breaks us.Everything happens for a reason. Failure is a means to personal expansion.

If we come across any successful person’s life experience, we will find that it was not always hunky dory.. The fact that they are in an enviable position today, is because….. even when they learnt that their CHOICE was not working out, exactly the way they wanted, they didn’t give up... They kept making changes as and when required , holding to their core values intact…. And their positive ATTITUDE to continue performing their best ,whatever is the consequence, helped them through….

The dilemma on whether it is better to live in the moment or to plan for the future is always debatable. Whatever is the choice and however it is turning out to be, if we have our principles clear, just going ahead with the right attitude can help...

A few lines from Madhushala (The Tavern) by Harivansh Rai Bachchan sums it up..

Seeking wine, the drinker leaves home for the tavern.
Perplexed, he asks, "Which path will take me there?"
People show him different ways, but this is what I have to say,
"Pick a path and keep walking. You will find the tavern."