Here’s what I have been doing since August this year (and expected to do till Dec):
Meanwhile, the struggle to keep up the pace of work on bloozle continues while Hemant tries to work remotely from Dubai. And as the new ArbitMBA website has received a very favourable response - Arbit comics are also getting published every fortnight as usual.
I don’t know whether to call my current life as going through a roller coaster or going on like a rolling stone. Because while lot’s been happening, life doesn’t seem to be moving ahead in a meaningful direction – the dots don’t connect [Original Source]– at least not from my standpoint!
I guess so many of us are running like me, in quest of a goal, a promised land or chasing a life which we aspire to live. But I am afraid, one day when twilight sets - we will all look back and find that we have reached a wilderness, far away from the Promised Land and far away from friends, family and the life we would have cherished.
We have heard it all in self help books or interviews of successful people - enjoy the moments, care for today. And we often take it in the wrong way - we go out, we party, we spend time driving around the city late into the night. But how many of us are doing something really meaningful in life? Something which when we look back will leave us satisfied to have done it – irrespective of having achieved anything.
Leave the selflessness and meaningfulness of work also aside. How many of us get a chance to enjoy nature, art - listening to music, reading books, writing books, drawing, painting ...? Were people born to crunch data in excel, make beautiful presentations or maintain IT Systems, or to speculate on the share market and count their crumbs when the market fell?
Don’t misunderstand me - it’s not about work-life balance. It’s about life, its goals, our faculties; about rising above chores and daily routines and moving towards a more meaningful existence. Alas also about living those dreams which you had as a child ....
| 8-Aug | Received Car delivery |
| 9-Aug | Went to Pune on first drive itself |
| 15-Aug | Getting used to driving to office everyday |
| 22-Aug | Work on new version of www.arbitmba.com |
| 29-Aug | Went to Lonavala with friends; came back and worked on remaining pieces of ArbitMBA new version |
| 3-Sep 5-Sep | Ganesh Chaturthi - went to Madh Island; after the gruelling weekend in Lonavla Release of www.arbitmba.com |
| 12-Sep | Went home for Ganesh Visarjan |
19-Sep 26-Sep 3-Oct 10-Oct 17-Oct | Mad race at work - with multiple assignment's on head, working Saturday's and Sunday's But also stole visits to - (Not Just) Jazz By the Bay, Bandra Reclamation, St. Mary's Church on weekends |
| 24-Oct | Went home for Diwali |
| 31-Oct | @ home post Diwali |
7-Nov 14-Nov | Rush to complete current project@work - working Saturday's, Visits to Inorbit over weekend |
| 21-Nov | Tentative plan to visit Khetan's marriage |
| 28-Nov | Might go to Pune if Mom's going to be there |
| 3-Dec | Attend Krittika's marriage in Mumbai |
| 12-Dec | Abhishek's passing out from IMA |
| 19-Dec | Visiting Amritsar, Mathura and Agra |
| 25-Dec | Christmas/ New Year weekend |
Meanwhile, the struggle to keep up the pace of work on bloozle continues while Hemant tries to work remotely from Dubai. And as the new ArbitMBA website has received a very favourable response - Arbit comics are also getting published every fortnight as usual.
In between this there is a regimen to maintain a healthier lifestyle – trying to get into a habit of going for a walk every morning – eating healthier food etc.... pufff !! Thank God – there are no major personal commitments to be met!!
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I don’t know whether to call my current life as going through a roller coaster or going on like a rolling stone. Because while lot’s been happening, life doesn’t seem to be moving ahead in a meaningful direction – the dots don’t connect [Original Source]– at least not from my standpoint!
I guess so many of us are running like me, in quest of a goal, a promised land or chasing a life which we aspire to live. But I am afraid, one day when twilight sets - we will all look back and find that we have reached a wilderness, far away from the Promised Land and far away from friends, family and the life we would have cherished.
We have heard it all in self help books or interviews of successful people - enjoy the moments, care for today. And we often take it in the wrong way - we go out, we party, we spend time driving around the city late into the night. But how many of us are doing something really meaningful in life? Something which when we look back will leave us satisfied to have done it – irrespective of having achieved anything.
Leave the selflessness and meaningfulness of work also aside. How many of us get a chance to enjoy nature, art - listening to music, reading books, writing books, drawing, painting ...? Were people born to crunch data in excel, make beautiful presentations or maintain IT Systems, or to speculate on the share market and count their crumbs when the market fell?
Don’t misunderstand me - it’s not about work-life balance. It’s about life, its goals, our faculties; about rising above chores and daily routines and moving towards a more meaningful existence. Alas also about living those dreams which you had as a child ....
Nice thought..
ReplyDeleteHowever I feel the reason for being unsatisfied is because we do not always know what will get us satisfaction...
People spend their life following the light at the end of the tunnel only to discover that the warmth of the silence inside was more pleasurable...
They fought for their entire life for independence, but when the dawn came, the tore up the nation they were trying to free...
It is time for the intelligent masses of this country to stop & contemplate.. Is the gyan about money being the key to success the absolute truth or are there circumstances!!
We are responsible for the state we are in and the faster we realize the fact the faster we can get the desired happiness & success... Easier said than done!! :)
Wow!! that was long....
Everyone is in the blind race for achieving things that have been 'defined' as 'success' by others. They dont necessarily mean success for you. They may or may not mean satisfaction to You.
ReplyDeleteA good job, a nice salary, a car and the ability to service expensive tastes in food, clothing and entertainement is what has become a measure of Success today and everyone is running the race. The beauty of the situation is that in the blind race; people are simply running trying to achive these things without really getting any satisfaction (even after achieving them)
The need is to pause and look at what we really want from life and where does satisfaction lie ...
Realisation of this need to pause is the first step ... and i congratulate for taking the first step ... (More than half of the world population is not even aware of it )
I had made a post on similar lines sometime back.. Here it is.. http://my-mind-space.blogspot.com/2007/05/living-with-purpose.html
ReplyDeleteHey Nikhil, very well written post. Guess all of us are looking for the same "goal at the end of the road". Only some succeed in connecting the dots, while some don't!
ReplyDeletei get asked this question frequently "bade hokar kya banna hai?" and it is extremely difficult for me to answer that. i am not too sure of the answer. or shud i say, not at all sure of the answer. i've always maintained the philosophy of enjoying what i'm doing, while doing what i enjoy. more of "living the moment as it came". there's a lot of hindu spirituality that gets discussed at my native home. every scripture mentions that one needs to meditate, to look within, and realize for one's self why he/she was born and what is the ultimate goal. rest of our "wordly" chases are shortlived and mithya as they call it!! i'm not sure if i've answered any questions, not that i have attempted to. just that i got into a flow and wrote a few lines, that's all!
ReplyDeleteLets face it. Most of us are going through this rigmarole of events. At every stage in life we are driven by what gives us momentary happiness ( which, sometimes is based on achieving success, the way others define it ). It could be something like topping an exam to a child, getting a well paying job to a youth, to seeing his children live his dream to a father. Honestly I see nothing wrong in it till you live "in the moment" and enjoy the moment, rather than changing focus to the next thing as soon as your immediate goal is achieved, thereby deferring being happy till the next goal is achieved.
ReplyDeleteNikhil, your blog gives me a sense of déjà vu. Have lost the count of the number of instances I have wondered what will make me happy; what is it that am I here to do; what is my calling in life? No categorical answer.
ReplyDeleteThen I tried thinking of the happiest man I have ever seen. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a man.
It was my pet dog I used to have years ago.
I can’t forget his non stop jumping and running while greeting me after a long day; his excitement at the mention of an evening walk or the eagerness in his eyes to have a wholesome meal. It was intriguing to see him leading the “dog’s life” with utter contentment.
I guess it’s true for any living species but humans.
I believe two abilities set humans apart from the others:
• Ability to see what is NOT there?
• Ability to live in the past and future while flawlessly ignoring the present.
Time to think…or shall I say ‘un-think’.