They say life and death follow a cycle but what is missing from this is the level at which this cycle operates. It operates on a species level and not at an individual level. This means that every individual has just got one life to do whatever she wants to do. This also means that this is a lot of responsibility and unpredictability in that one life that she is living.
There is uncertainty on a day to day basis. Today we are alive, tomorrow we may not be. What happens if we have thought of a lot of things to do in life but we are in a life and death the very next day? Will we have sufficient accomplishments in the past to die peacefully with a feeling contentedness? May be not. May be it is not practical to deliver and achieve everything we thought of achieving in the short span of time we lived for. Therefore, it is essential to divide our lives into as small time pockets as possible and achieve as much as we can every day. These achievements can be very varied ranging from learning new pieces of knowledge and disseminating them to acts of goodness to help others. But what is essential is to plan one's acts on a decade, short term and daily basis and take a stock of those everyday, every week and every decade. Ask yourself 'What if I were to die tomorrow? Have I done sufficiently enough so far to happily die tomorrow?' If the answer is a resounding 'No', then may be it's time to switch gears.
Another corollary of the uncertainty is that one should do what one likes and loves to do because this is another sources of contentedness. What if on the deathbed one regrets living someone else's life all this while? And lack of more time to live their own? Unfortunately, there will not be a second chance. Hence, one should figure out all the activities and experiences that one enjoys and likes doing on a day to day basis and continue to them. This can be working for a start-up, partying, playing, sitting idle watching the sun rise or set, travelling and so on. The question is 'Have you done enough of it to die peacefully?' The most likely answer would be 'No' owing to the definition. This is an activity you love doing, and hence you cannot get enough of it ever. So, the real question is 'Have you leveraged sufficient opportunities so far to do those activities?' If the answer is 'No' then you need to go back to the drawing board and plan those experiences as soon as possible.
But someone would ask, 'How do I know the activities/ things I like?' It is simple yet profound question. Based on my journey so far, I can confidently say that one of the best ways to figure this is to experience as many experiences as possible and as early as possible to find it yourself. There would be seldom occasions when others will tell you what you like, but you would know it only when you experience it. There is no substitute to this and this is the purest way of figuring out. If you don't know whether you like dancing, go to a pub dance all night or join a dance club and practice for sometime. At the end of it, you would know if you love it or not. You can also ask yourself 'can I ever get enough of it?' If the answer is 'No' then probably this activity needs further attention. If the answer is a 'Yes', then this activity can be back-burnered for now. Hop on to another such as photography, or travelling may be. But do as many activities as possible and as quickly as possible. Because for all you know, there might not be another tomorrow.
There is uncertainty on a day to day basis. Today we are alive, tomorrow we may not be. What happens if we have thought of a lot of things to do in life but we are in a life and death the very next day? Will we have sufficient accomplishments in the past to die peacefully with a feeling contentedness? May be not. May be it is not practical to deliver and achieve everything we thought of achieving in the short span of time we lived for. Therefore, it is essential to divide our lives into as small time pockets as possible and achieve as much as we can every day. These achievements can be very varied ranging from learning new pieces of knowledge and disseminating them to acts of goodness to help others. But what is essential is to plan one's acts on a decade, short term and daily basis and take a stock of those everyday, every week and every decade. Ask yourself 'What if I were to die tomorrow? Have I done sufficiently enough so far to happily die tomorrow?' If the answer is a resounding 'No', then may be it's time to switch gears.
Another corollary of the uncertainty is that one should do what one likes and loves to do because this is another sources of contentedness. What if on the deathbed one regrets living someone else's life all this while? And lack of more time to live their own? Unfortunately, there will not be a second chance. Hence, one should figure out all the activities and experiences that one enjoys and likes doing on a day to day basis and continue to them. This can be working for a start-up, partying, playing, sitting idle watching the sun rise or set, travelling and so on. The question is 'Have you done enough of it to die peacefully?' The most likely answer would be 'No' owing to the definition. This is an activity you love doing, and hence you cannot get enough of it ever. So, the real question is 'Have you leveraged sufficient opportunities so far to do those activities?' If the answer is 'No' then you need to go back to the drawing board and plan those experiences as soon as possible.
But someone would ask, 'How do I know the activities/ things I like?' It is simple yet profound question. Based on my journey so far, I can confidently say that one of the best ways to figure this is to experience as many experiences as possible and as early as possible to find it yourself. There would be seldom occasions when others will tell you what you like, but you would know it only when you experience it. There is no substitute to this and this is the purest way of figuring out. If you don't know whether you like dancing, go to a pub dance all night or join a dance club and practice for sometime. At the end of it, you would know if you love it or not. You can also ask yourself 'can I ever get enough of it?' If the answer is 'No' then probably this activity needs further attention. If the answer is a 'Yes', then this activity can be back-burnered for now. Hop on to another such as photography, or travelling may be. But do as many activities as possible and as quickly as possible. Because for all you know, there might not be another tomorrow.
Very well written
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