As children, our parents mean the world to us. They answer all our questions, solve all our problems, tend to our needs and teach us about life. There is nothing in the world they cannot do, or so we think. They are giants of people who have the world in their palms and we look up to them as a source of inspiration. They are invincible walking encyclopedias that always manage to quench the endless curiosity of a child.
But as we grow up, we slowly learn that they have their own shortcomings too. That they are also only human and it is only natural for them to err. They too have to live and learn. The realization that they have their own rollercoaster lives with ups and downs is both, enlightening and disappointing. To add to the damage, the real depression comes across from our vision of our own futures. Hoping that one would eventually become a ‘giant’ as we grow up is swiftly shattered as we realize the giants are also mere mortals. Is that where we will end up too? Just another brick in the wall? Forgotten by history once our lives are over? However, it is the reality of life and it would be foolish to tell ourselves otherwise. All the celebrities, world leaders, scientists, and inspirational characters that we frequently look up to also lead a bumpy life. They have had their own share of failures and stepping stones. But they have embraced the pain of life and taken it in their stride. Sheer perseverance, determination and passion is what sets them a class apart. Learning from their mistakes, their experiences is the right step, rather to lament about the destruction of an illusion that you believed in.
I frequently remind myself that we are tiny beings on a floating sphere of mass hurtling through space at neck breaking speeds. Cockroaches have existed on this planet longer than we have. The insignificance of our existence is irrefutable. We need a grander view of the situation to helps us to forget the little details that hold us back. After all, what’s the worst that could happen?
As Mark Twain once said “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Someone should make a warning sign – ‘Excessive thinking is injurious to health’.
Currently listening to – If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot
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