Never take our eyes off the basics of life

By Sivaramakrishnan A, 3rd Jan 2012 | Follow this author | RSS Feed | Short URL http://nut.bz/1lymdpu./
Posted in Wikinut>Guides>Philosophy>Personal Philosophy

Peaceful coexistence has always been a challenge. The majority is on the defensive as governments fail them repeatedly but they are still the backbone of societies. The leaders must never take their eyes off the disadvantaged as others can take care of themselves and find meaning in their lives.

• What a Life!
• Realities of life
• Keep the fire burning

What a Life!

This should have been told and retold from time immemorial! But we do get some relief by overstating the obvious. No harm, anyway, in letting out some steam but without harming others by words or deeds. But when they also extend to our thoughts, we soon feel life is a breeze. When uncertainty is the only certainty and accepted as a fact of daily life, nothing can derail our lives, nothing at all!

Realities of life

Time is getting scarce: Money lost can be made good. A ninety-year old businessman used to tell me that the real coward is a lazy man, afraid of work, averse to making a living! The rich say that money does not motivate them generally; let us take them to their word! It is the process of enhancing and finding meaning in their work and the lives they touch that matter to them. However, increasingly, we are running out of time. If that encroaches on family bonding, then our future is at peril! Don’t forget robots cannot replace human interaction; though the latter come with warts and all!

The bad seems to trump good: The good is always in a majority; sometimes we have to bide our time and also do our part to goad them than just hoping for manna to fall from heaven. When their dear leader, Kim Jong-Il, departed, there was frenzy of sorrow in North Korea; that was difficult for others to fathom the emotions that brought out such a public outpouring. Explanations came from those who had cried their hearts out at the passing of Mao in China; one is just expected to do the right thing, no questions asked! Hopefully, common sense should prevail; but then again, that is not common anywhere, even in democratic countries!

The life is still a blessing: Our mind could be conditioned in such a way that sorrow trumps happiness; how else to explain why even the super-rich are able to find fault with the less privileged who are the backbones in any society, stoically backing systems that fail them often? Forget also the financial data; let the economists, including Nobel laureates, slug it out with contrary opinions and conclusions! Life is how we accept it; even those severely disadvantaged find their own niche, to pass their days and accept their fate. Form a personal point of view, having been in corporate sector and in close quarters with few super rich, I can vouch that wealth has no bearing on happiness! In fact, some very wealthy, in Asia at least, are jealous of the happiness that the poor are blessed with, even while on empty stomachs!

Keep the fire burning

We do not know why we are here, what our exact roles are; but to spread some positive cheer seems the normal calling for us. For that, we need to keep smiling; after all, only a happy person can make others happy! No need to print money or keep our leaders on tenterhooks all the time. We can even take a load off their shoulders. Goad them do the right thing; just help the disadvantaged and keep them in view all the time. Leave most others to their own devises; they are, after all, endowed with common sense. We are aware that none in their senses will upset the cart, which may no more be stuffed with apples, but just bare essentials for survival! Once we find meaning in coexistence, after ensuring the basics for a living, then the challenge will be how to take our lives to the next logical and meaningful level. But that always has been a challenge, as we have looked for trouble, finding faults in others, even without setting an example. Yes, it will indeed be a repeat story; what a life! But we should never give up, make repeated efforts, helped by social media which help reflect the inner urgings everywhere; just peaceful coexistence!

Mark Gordon Brown moderated this page.
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