Sorry for the appalling display of plagiarism…
The title nevertheless has been kept for a reason, it is because watching a movie with a similar sounding name served as the ‘big bang’ for this post….
What is a good life? This is a question I have often asked myself. I am sure, most of you might have asked this question yourselves to the little remaining piece of junk that is the conscience (or in case of Ayn Rand’s fans..the ego)
Is is doing what you love that constitutes a good life? Is having a perfect partner be it a friend or a lover that makes life good? Is having all the right material benefits such as a house, a flat or a car and the right amount of cash inflow that make life worth living? Or is it the ability to have three square meals a day and a fourth too if time permits that maketh a person happy?
I was in this farewell party of a guy from work today, and we had this small (actually mini) feedback session where he told each one of us present, what he thought was their nature. I as usual was given the feedback that I do not live my life to the fullest. This acted as the final nail in the coffin.
The movie from which this title has been borrowed, showed a filthy rich guy, who had no interest whatsoever in the ceramics (for the lack of a better word) company owned by his dad, his mom was supposed to knock on the door of this guy’s room when she entered. She had to actually invite him to have dinner with herself and the guy’s father and the best of the best was that this guy’s dad promised him a Porsche SUV if his son worked in his company for 3 months which was great since this guy already owned a Honda CR-V.
This guy ends up becoming a photographer for a local magazine and the first salary that he earns, a measly Rs. 15k is very sentimentally presented to his dad. The logic that we are provided is that this was the true calling of the guy.
Now, imagine a scenario where the guy was actually expected to complete his degree, get a job and feed his family. His parents were poor and could not afford a rented house forget a huge bungalow that the character’s father owned. What would be the scenario then? Would he still become a photographer when a job he personally disliked offered him a salary of Rs. 40k??
That my friends is reality for you. People who never try and pursue their dream most frequently fall in this category. They can’t do it because..well they can’t do it. They have their parents and siblings to look after who are looking upto him/ her for their daily bread. To keep his/ her parents alive, this person has to earn. He/ she does not have a choice of careers. They are just living their parents’ dreams.
You can find many such examples, everyday in the tabloids or the TV news channels, there is this story of how a son of a janitor in a government school secured a full scholarship in a medical college, how a daughter of a guy who sold Idlis is the state topper in the engineering exam but cannot join as she does not have enough funds to support her education,
And in the midst of all this, there are the well to do guys who crib about the fact that they are not living a life that they deserve. Have we ever tried to judge what the people who make rags to riches stories actually wanted to do with their lives? Do we ever question the life goals of a person who expressly did what he did just to feed his parents?
Who now has the right to be happy? who is not living his life to the fullest? and who now should wake up??
5 comments:
Everybody seems to be asking this question lately.
There are two things: Hygiene factors and Motivational factors.
Hygiene factors include the basics: roti, kapda, makaan, dukaan, job, safety, security - job and life and so on. The things which are a necessity to live a life with dignity.
Motivational factors include the next level things: desire to do big deeds, a passion, love for certain things, a desire to achieve great things.
Unless Hygiene factors are fulfilled, there is no way that a person would come across/realize his/her Motivational factors. He/She would not even think of them. If you are hungry, you are not going to think about painting a Monalisa or creating a Symphony or writing The Fountainhead etc. That comes only when your basics are met and you don't really care for your daily bread or worry about your family's future (again food, shelter and security).
People who can achieve despite all the deficiencies, are at different level altogether. I am not talking about them. I am talking about you and I, the daily guys.
This is usually called a filling life, where you have an opportunity to make your own choice. How many examples you need to have from Western Society where a Historian became a Physicist, and almost every other mathematician was a philosopher; or talk about people taking up unusual jobs or courses only because of the love of it. Through this come great things instead of going to work only to desire the clock to tick 5 and leave.
i think you are being judgemental
@ila- iam just asking who would join a 'satisfying' job which pays less when the person is in dire need of cash..if this is judgmental..so be it :)
Lets take your 'rich' guy and 'regular' guy one to one, on the basis of what it takes to achieve a certain defined measure of fame/success, and assume that this also constitutes their happiness.
The 'rich' one, provided with all the luxuries, isnt in the need to get anywhere. Needwise - he has all that he wants. So, he has to overcome years of inertia to get up and go and do somthing to achieve. He has to overcome himself.
The 'regular' doesnt have all that he needs. He is used to hardwork, or at most, to fight for all that he needs and wants. In this process, he is mysteriously also has a chance to work towards what he wants. Because, almost all types of successes today bring with them comforts of life. I might just have a better oppurtunity and ability to get this success - strictly because of his condition.
To every regular one of us who doesnt get to do what he wants - there are tens of rich lads who fail miserably and drown in their comforts.
Get up, get out. He has given you more than you know.
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