If not...

Living life could be the easiest task in this world and at the same time could be the most difficult one. Only when we realize what important is there with us, is not going to be any more. What if not?....Life is a series of choices we make. When the usual happens...we enjoy our choices. When something unusual happens...we regret or fret over the choices. But ultimately, it is only the person who has to bear the consequences of his/her choices. May be a small wish which comes true can give the pleasure of few moments...and may be a dream of life can never reach to its destination. What I have realized is...that a human being should always be compliant to accept everything life has to offer. I have seen people who ended life for a petty cause which meant a big one for them. I ponder sometimes on it. Is it so easy to end life just like that? After all, anyone can die easily...what's hard is having the courage to live.

When I was in school, I had a small diary with me in which I used to write what all I would like to do in my life. I was a dreamer just like everyone is. My bucket list of dreams was the whole essence of my being. It included the people I will want to be with, dreams I will wish to complete, responsibilities I will like to fulfill and zeniths I will aim to achieve. Years gone passed, some dreams found their destiny, some are still unfolded and some would never culminate into what they were supposed to. I used to open it sometimes and fret over what remained incomplete. I thought I don't have the strength and courage to reclaim whatever is unaccomplished. It is true that we make our earnest efforts to fulfill what we dream of. But there are also two phases after our efforts...either we get it or we don't. Life blooms when we get it...but life shatters when we don't get it. That should never happen to life. Regardless of the destiny of our dream, we must always keep in mind how to live without it.

I remember a small story long back from my school life. I had a teacher at my school. He was not very interactive with students other than his subject related queries. I had raised first time in my life from a naughty fellow to a sincere student in that school so I would say I was emotionally very attached to the school. My father got transferred from the town and I was to leave the school. I was feeling nostalgic by the thought of leaving the place which first showed me my abilities. I went to meet all my teachers & seek their blessings. When I met him, he was quite silent during the whole conversation. He gave me his wishes and all of a sudden I broke down in front of him. I told him that I won't be able to live without this place, school, my teachers, friends.

He paused for a moment and then said" OK, this is the last lesson from your teacher. You told me that you write your dreams in your bucket list diary so that you have them in front of your eyes all the time. From today onwards, make one more list of the things, people, places, dreams, ideas without which you won't be able to live. See it everyday, try to balance everything in it against the ingredient which is most important for your survival. I bet you will erase everything from your mind and that list, once you realize that they are not that important.....Of course, people are important. They can't be compared to non-living things. But their sweet memories are important, not their physical presence beside you all the time."

I asked" Do you think it is easy to leave places and people? I see new schools and places every year and before I try to spread my roots somewhere, it is time to say Goodbye. Why is my life a drift boat all the time? I want to stop somewhere and immerse in one. I am tired of these rooting and uprooting phases of life."

What he said after that has been one of the most valuable teaching of my being as a human. He said" This is the beauty of life, dear. Rooting makes a tree strong and uprooting stops its nourishment. And that's the only difference between the life of a tree and a human being. A human grows the strongest only when he/she is uprooted. You find it difficult to stay away from the roots that nurtured you. Lekin zindagi mein aisa kuch nahi hai jiske bina jeeya naa ja sake. I am here for a while. Who knows, whether I will be alive after 2 days...my family will suffer the most. But eventually, they will learn to live without me. Because life is like that. It keeps on proceeding ahead till the moment you stop its procession or end it. Remember, dreams are your own choices and not a compulsion on you...so complete them for your happiness. If not...then try & learn to live with their incompleteness also. There is no other thing which is more important than life."

I touched his feet and left the place. I made that list with all the things, people, places, ideas and dreams. During the course of time, I kept on erasing names from it. And after 25 years of my life, I have only three names left in that list.

1. God
2. Life
3. Spirits & Values
These are the only three names that are imperative for my existence.

I came to know after 2 years that my teacher met with a road accident and lost his life. I could never meet him again and tell him that he actually taught me how easy it is to live without everything in life. Just make everything unimportant in comparison to your life...and life is easy. Achieve your dreams...life will be better than before...If not...then also, life is with you. What else one needs to live? Just life right?....