Justification of Life

‘Happiness is not a place where you reach but a state which you create’ –Robin Sharma

           

It was mid May summer evening. I was waiting for my friend in the garden area which is a part of a multiple building blocks.  I heard loud noises of children running in the central park around the godly figurines, rejoicing, their prattle and laughter demonstrating the happiness they felt during summer vacation. Far away I saw a mother followed by her little daughter, holding a writing pad in her hand and a school bag on her shoulder, the mother seemed annoyed while the little girl sported a sore expression on her face. The child’s thoughts were focussed elsewhere as she followed her mother. The child may not have been more than three years old so it perplexed me more. These days we find children going for guidance to tutors throughout their growing years of  schooling so often that when a child refuses to go for extra classes, the mother worries as to how  a child would cope up with the extra burden of tuitions when the child  grows up without habituating the routine. On asking the little girl’s mother, I came to know that the mother was sending her daughter for a practice in handwriting so that her future would be brighter in the coming years. The child came back within no time as the teacher seemed to be absent from her duty. The delight, the child, felt showed her detest for the classes, but now the mother walked away anxiously planning her child’s future.  It sent a dull pain within me when I remembered having done this to my little boy who wanted to play, but my goal was to grow him to face  the society rather than ascertain his happiness. Over the years, I have understood that people forgo little joys and thrills of life while pursuing larger goals of societal prospects which perhaps stand for momentary stature. I also understood that happiness differs from person to person. A poor person finds happiness in owning basic needs like food and shelter, a rich person finds contentment in showing wealth and status off, a spiritual person finds peace in contentment concerned with minimum needs while a child finds pleasure in any situation, being completely unmindful to the walk and talk of society.

Recently I discovered a new park in one of localities nearby with a walking track and a huge lawn area with swings and slides for kids.  It has benches for the elderly and young. It is well maintained, wide open, and a person can view all around the park as they are walking. It is well lit in the nights too. There  I saw these three young boys  who might  have been twelve years old, they sat huddled together on a bench, a  two litre bottle of soft drink was tucked in between the space left. They had two packs of potato wafers, they relished each bite of it with a sip of the soft drink. They were overjoyed and enjoyed their party. I have never seen this  kind of joy in a child who gets this often savour it so.

There was a mother who would not stop smiling after her little child landed down the slide all alone. There were ladies chatting, the old feeling complacent for having grown old and a young couple arguing endlessly. Each day we stumble on numerous ways of being happy and thankful, but each day we also ascertain millions of  ways to be miserable and discontented. A child has the innocence to forget the difficulties and celebrate the joys in life, but adulthood often lands us in self pity and lament. I remember my school days when I felt contented reading borrowed books and comics in the summer evenings, the smell of the pages still lingers within me. A good book, playing marbles with my brother and sisters, eating watermelon late in the evenings accompanied by narrations by my parents about their childhood days, building sand castles on the hard soil kept me happy. I never aspired for anything more for my heart had the purity of thoughts. Many a times accomplishment leaves no room for a childlike virtuousness in enjoying an ecstasy of  an early morning sunrise, the sunset, dew drops on leaves or large and tiny rain drops,  frosty winter mornings  or the beautiful flowers in spring. Many a times we leave the world contributing nothing for the needy and helping none by being over involved in our growth and opulence making one repent when death approaches. Resolving to lead a satisfied and serene life by being a part of life  with the purpose of doing good for others will  help us leave the world majestically with no misgivings.

‘Life is no brief candle for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations’-George Bernard Shaw