Even though sad to think that the New Year makes one older by a year, it is nevertheless good to have feelings and expectations that the bad days are gone and one may yet see one’s hopes and aspirations coming true.
I received a message wishing me a new turn in life that could be, in a way, reward for all my hard work for decades without much in return. One hopes that happens, and yet one could be better off expecting nothing spectacular happening.
I am a fan of John Keats, and used to memorise his beautiful poetic lines during my college days. One of his poems is emphatic on not to expect anything in life until it happens. “Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced. Even a proverb is no proverb to you till your life has illustrated it.”
So, that is that. My New Year resolutions have this point clearly drawn. Work hard, even madly, but never expect that great returns will come your way. If they come in course of time, fine; otherwise one need not bother much. The very fact that you have worked hard and sincerely will give you peace of mind and happiness. You will have sound sleep and good health too. What else does one need?
One more thing that experience teaches is that one does not make full use of all the opportunities that comes one’s way. Even if one grabs 50 pc of these opportunities, one would have been miles ahead in terms of achievements. What I see is that we lack the strength to make sound judgments, and don’t pursue our goals all the way. We are too lazy and give up too easily. Nothing is impossible, only that we make it so by our thoughts and actions not being in tandem.
{{/usCountry}}One more thing that experience teaches is that one does not make full use of all the opportunities that comes one’s way. Even if one grabs 50 pc of these opportunities, one would have been miles ahead in terms of achievements. What I see is that we lack the strength to make sound judgments, and don’t pursue our goals all the way. We are too lazy and give up too easily. Nothing is impossible, only that we make it so by our thoughts and actions not being in tandem.
{{/usCountry}}Also, one must value time and must never let
it go wasted. Shakespeare reminds us how we while away out life: “… we play the fool with time and the spirits of the wise sit in the clouds and mock us.”