As a child I remember there was a not so popular (cause I never understood it) weekly science documentary on Dordarshan called ‘Living on the edge’. I still cant figure out why the documentary was titled so, anyways my understanding of the documentary as well as english language per se was and still is, quite limited.
A lot of people like to lead their lives on the edge. I think once a person gets addicted to living life in this fashion it is difficult to change and it becomes addictive. I never thought that it can be pulling and one can enjoy it. I had always believed in the good old tortoise adage of ‘slow and steady wins the race’, but there are underlying assumptions in this logic. The logic is that it is only the ‘product’ and not the ‘process’ which matters in the long run. I think both the ‘product’ as well as ‘process’ are equally important. There is a lot of fun in the process of achievement of result which can sometimes be greater than or equal to the joy of actual achievement of success. So the tortoise fable may not be that completely true under such circumstances.
I believe life is a long journey where the actual achievement of results is towards the end of this journey, in such circumstances most of our life we are in the process of achievement of success or rather chasing a mirage. So it becomes more important for an individual to enjoy this chase. I am in no way undermining the importance of achievement of results, rather I am only emphasizing the fact that the run of life is equally important and that the faster you in the race the more enjoyable it can get. Hence people who have realized this fact tend to run as fast as they can.
Speed has always fascinated humans, but then as one of the ads mentions “Speed thrills but then it kills as well”. It is not that living on the edge comes without stick, there is a very fine balance between enjoyment and danger. It can be fatal sometimes as I have found and experienced several times, but the addiction of this way of life still drives people. But then one should always be conscious that over-addiction of any kind should be avoided. Trying to do the balancing act of living on the edge of the wedge (!!), but I have started enjoying the edge.
Aski “De Khatra” “De Casta”
A lot of people like to lead their lives on the edge. I think once a person gets addicted to living life in this fashion it is difficult to change and it becomes addictive. I never thought that it can be pulling and one can enjoy it. I had always believed in the good old tortoise adage of ‘slow and steady wins the race’, but there are underlying assumptions in this logic. The logic is that it is only the ‘product’ and not the ‘process’ which matters in the long run. I think both the ‘product’ as well as ‘process’ are equally important. There is a lot of fun in the process of achievement of result which can sometimes be greater than or equal to the joy of actual achievement of success. So the tortoise fable may not be that completely true under such circumstances.
I believe life is a long journey where the actual achievement of results is towards the end of this journey, in such circumstances most of our life we are in the process of achievement of success or rather chasing a mirage. So it becomes more important for an individual to enjoy this chase. I am in no way undermining the importance of achievement of results, rather I am only emphasizing the fact that the run of life is equally important and that the faster you in the race the more enjoyable it can get. Hence people who have realized this fact tend to run as fast as they can.
Speed has always fascinated humans, but then as one of the ads mentions “Speed thrills but then it kills as well”. It is not that living on the edge comes without stick, there is a very fine balance between enjoyment and danger. It can be fatal sometimes as I have found and experienced several times, but the addiction of this way of life still drives people. But then one should always be conscious that over-addiction of any kind should be avoided. Trying to do the balancing act of living on the edge of the wedge (!!), but I have started enjoying the edge.
Aski “De Khatra” “De Casta”
1 comment:
You have drawn interesting parallel between product and process and life and its achievements. Well, as many may tend to believe that "actual achievement of results is towards the end of this journey" and "most of our life we are in the process of achievement of success" but I don’t agree with this. In my opinion life itself is the reward. There is nothing to be achieved at the end of it or in other words, the process itself becomes the product. With this belief it is easier to argue why one must live one’s life to the fullest as you seem to emphasize as well. With life the whole debate gets little more philosophical. What is the "product", if it is different from the "process", we are chasing after all? Is it success, fame or something else? What if none of the above? Is somebody’s life defined by how he/she went down the history? I have tried to discuss few aspects of this in my own blog, "Philosophy of Detachment". But coming back to the point, yes, there is a thrill in living life on the edge although I don’t have much experience with that.
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones that you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
--- Mark Twain
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