There is no written "manual" on life. We live according to our wish, guided by the values and ethics that we have evolved. But we often forget that we are part of a larger picture and have been put on this planet for a purpose. We forget that there is more to life than mere existence. Finally we just end up counting our days rather than making our days count. Life is not a spectator sport. We cannot just sit back and watch things unravel. We need to find a purpose to make our life meaningful and then strive to achieve that purpose. Albert Einstein was once asked, "Why are we here"? He replied, "If the Universe is an accident, we are all accidents. But if there is a meaning in the universe, then there is a meaning in us too". The more we understand about our purpose, the more we can dance in tune to the cosmic ballet.
We cannot help ourselves, without helping others. We cannot enrich ourselves, without enriching others. We cannot prosper, without brining prosperity to others. It is always the little things that make a huge difference. Once a man was taking a morning walk on the beach when he saw hundreds of starfish stranded on the beach sand as the tide receded. Realizing that they will die soon, the man took a few steps, picked one and threw it into the water. He did that repeatedly. Right behind him there was another person who couldn't understand what this man was doing. He caught up with him and asked, "What are you doing? There are hundreds of starfish. How many can you help? What difference does it make?" This man did not reply, took two more steps, picked up another one, threw it into the water, and said, "It makes a difference to this one." Are we making any difference to the lives of others? Big or small, it does not matter. But if each one of us did our part, wouldn't we end up making a huge difference to people around us?
There are 2 kinds of tragedies in life. One is not getting what we want and the other is getting what we want. If we are not clear about our value system, then getting what we want can be a bigger tragedy. The story of the greedy King Midas says it all. He got a wish to turn everything that he touches into gold. But his greed finally paid off as he was not able to eat anything and also ended turning his beloved daughter into a gold statue. Distorted values always lead to tragedy. Unlike the game of soccer where players can be substituted, the game of life allows no substitutions or replays. We need to be sure about what we want and what we intend to do.
Nothing else matters as long as we do the right thing and make the right moves. Our imperfections do not count as along as we exude positive vibes and spread happiness around us.
As rightly paraphrased by Mark Twain, "Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest".
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