MEANS TO SUPPORT LIFE AND LIFE

– Apurba Kr Khound |

Generally speaking the age of sixty is the time to call it quits and retire from jobs and enjoy life as a senior citizen.

Thirty to forty years of the prime time of life is devoted to jobs to earn, for supporting life ! In a developing country like ours, with a billion plus population, the choice obviously is very limited to get a job after one’s heart, knack, qualifications and experience.

No wonder that in a significantly large number of cases, the job becomes a grind that squeezes sponteniety out of life, making room for cynicism, negativity, the sense of insecurity to take roots over a period of time. The weight of the “means to livelihood” inevitably succeeds in burying the ‘spirit’, closing the window to “things beautiful” that Life promises !! The Joy of life gets replaced by mundane pleasures ! Finally, the incompatible marriage of convenience truly becomes irrevocable on the treacherous journey of life !!

This sad turn of events is largely attributable to poverty, lack of employable opportunities and the resultant sense of insecurity perhaps. Neither the spirit nor the life style followed, permits one to revisit life after retirement to enjoy life in the true sense of the term.

Yet, the scenario is so different in the developed countries where people can take a break to pursue individual interests and take up a job again for financial support when necessary. This is equally applicable to the field of education. Pursuit of higher studies is by choice, not necessarily having anything to do with job prospects. The reason perhaps, is a sense of security arising out of a buoyant economy and the net of Social Security provided by the State, making hunger and lack of shelters no more potential threats.

But hunger and shelter remain as big issues for majority of the people in our country, forcing people to try and augment earnings by whatever means, losing sight of the purpose of life or what makes a human being the most evolved specie on Earth.

As a result we see means of livelihood taking precedence over life itself at the expense of humanity!

The state of the Country is not going to change overnight, nor the attending circumstances. The only option one has, is to try to nurse and keep alive the spirit, despite the counter pressure of “means to livelihood” to crush it.

The feeling of having discharged well the worldly responsibilities like : having a nice building, good bank balances, nice cars, well settled siblings etc, is satisfying indeed !!

Unfortunately, the all important “list of lifetime accomplishments”, is subject to the law of Diminishing Returns!! As such, the returns of happiness or satisfaction, dwindle with passage of time, missing altogether on the most essential ingredients to life “Joy and spontaneity” !!

To do well in life is laudable but it’s equally important to have lived life well, for life to become more than just satisfactory!! It’s one truth about life to be realized sooner rather than later as there is no second inning to be played!!