Pearls don’t lie on the sea shores. You have to
dive to get it. Diamonds are hidden deep in the earth - Precious things are
never easy to find!
What is the
lure of seemingly unattainable goals? Why do we treasure these precious things?
Why does one take risks? Why do we put our lives in danger to achieve lofty
goals? Just for the sake of victory? To prove that we can do anything?
Let’s take the
example of trekking up a high & treacherous mountain? Does one climb just
to conquer an unseen mountain? Or to prove that he can? Or is it just a
healthier way to pass time rather than watching a movie over the weekend?
I asked my Father who has climbed the highest mountain in Africa-Kilimanjaro. His bucket list
includes conquering the highest peaks on all 7 continents called the Seven
Summit Challenge.
He feels an attempt to conquer nature and be in
harmony with it, transforms you. You come to know yourself by looking within,
by losing external pressures on yourself & truly meeting your inner self. For
some time you let go of all the baggage associated with you. On a deeper level
your basic characteristic traits do not matter. All your regrets and your
achievements go hide deep in your backpack.
The mountain does not care whether you are a CEO of
a multinational or a local Sherpa. After walking for some time in nature you
lose your identity and become one with the mighty mountains. You are one with
the wind. You are one with the mist. You are the birds. You are the greens. You
are the freshness. You are alive. Somehow nothing else matters, your work, your
relationships, your troubles, nothing at all.
All that matters is the next step. It could give
you a firm footing and confidence to move ahead or it can lead you to a fifty
foot fall. In that decisive moment you are alive. More alive than you have ever
been before! That’s when you completely lose yourself and grasp who you truly
are.
Each moment reveals newer potentials. You swim
across unknown waters of your soul. In the everyday routine of life, all of us forget who we truly are. However, being on a trek is one of the very few times when we actually remember our true and innermost selves!
Through falling, you register that you have
the strength to get up.
Through bruising, you discern that you have the power to
be healed.
Through being alone, you perceive your own freedom.
But what’s the point of taking risks
that will only put your life in danger? If we hurt ourselves & our loved
ones, is this self-journey & discovery worth it? The answer to this is the
answer to everything in the universe – moderation and thinking it through. We
have to take calculated risks and think them through. Between calculated risk and reckless decision-making, lies the dividing line between life and death.
We will only understand the miracle of
life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen. In the end, we only regret
the chances we didn’t take… we’ll always wonder what ‘could’ have happened. Who
we are is defined by the choices we make in life. If we always go down the path
everyone has taken, never trying anything new, who are we? We would just be a
follower. A leader is unique, different & an innovator.
We wouldn’t be “we” if we did what
everyone did. We can’t change the world by being exactly like it. When we stop
taking risks, we stop living life. The
un-trodden pathway is never easy!
We may be called insane and criticised but
remember, the only people who aren’t criticised are the ones who don’t take
risks.
DAR KE AAGE JEETH HAI!