Confucius says you have two lives, and the second begins when you realize you only have one.
The world lost so many people in 2022. When I learned about the sad demise of the soccer icon of the 20th century, Pelé, I could not stop thinking about how mortal we all are. Pelé played an instrumental role in popularizing soccer. He played for 21 years and scored 1,283 goals in 1,367 professional matches, including 77 for the Brazilian national team. However, the list of achievements doesn’t bail you out. Pelé leaves a legacy not many would ever do, but he must leave in the end. This is the ultimate truth! No one overrides this.
But why am I talking about death when we are getting ready to welcome the new year? Most of us need to pay attention to the fact that our time on the planet is limited. Every moment, we are closer to our grave. Indian mystic, Sadhguru says in his book, Death, “The greatest calamity of the human mind is that it is against death. The moment you reject death, you also reject life. Don’t be dead serious. Life is a brief sparkle, but you shall be dead for a very long time.”
If we understand and embrace this ultimate truth, would we waste any time not living to our most profound capacity? I don’t think we will procrastinate or have grudges for anyone. We will all want to live joyfully. There was a dialogue in a Bollywood movie Anand, which stuck with me. I loosely translate it to “Life doesn’t need to be long. It should be big.” The essence is that why be afraid of death? It will inevitably come. Live like every moment is last and make it memorable.
Naval Ravikant says, “our lives are a blink of a firefly in the night. You’re just barely here. You have to make the most of every minute, which doesn’t mean you chase some stupid desire for your entire life. What it means is that every second you have on this planet is precious, and it’s your responsibility to ensure you’re happy and interpret everything in the best possible way.”
We all make resolutions at the end of the year, thinking we will all do something in the new year that will change our life for the better. It is a good exercise, but the resolutions are usually broken within the first few weeks because they lack action, and in our subconscious mind, we believe there is enough time left, and we will have another chance.
How about the resolution to live every moment joyfully and not make our happiness dependent on the outcome of whatever our goals are? Strive to become the best version of yourself, become boundless to do more, and celebrate life. I realized today that the quest to be always right makes the surroundings unhappy. I chose to be joyful, not just for myself, but for the ones who matter and make life worth living.
Rumi says, Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.
This is my new year’s resolution. What is yours?
Happy New year to you and your loved ones! May this be the best year so far!
I’m grateful for your time in reading this blog. In the comments section, let me know your experience and perspective on the subject. Please share the blog with your friends if you enjoyed reading it.
