Standing on the threshold...

Standing on the threshold……

             They say time flies. Well, it sure does and how! There I was nervously preparing for my 10th grade exam, studying as though my life depended on it.That seems like another existence now, time has all but erased the memories of those wonderful days, when cocooned under the watchful eye of our teachers, we led those carefree, predictable, safe and secure lives

    Since leaving school, my calendar has flipped two years and here I am ready to appear for the second most important exam of my life-the 12th grade or so they say. The necessity to choose a vocation almost seems like a burden on my 18 year old shoulders. Gone are the days of naïve  decision-making, your future lies in your hands, you either make it or break it, I hear the world screaming.

So what is it that beginners want from the future? There is of course the burning desire to be somebody in a crowd of nobodies, to conquer the world, to not just leave the world like an unwanted speck of dust wiped off from its face. And while you’re painting a picture of ambition and success, there also lurks the dark demon of failure deep down in your heart and you involuntarily end up distorting the picture. One can find failure in all walks of life—the disillusioned actress, unable to break down the mighty iron doors of stardom—wasting away as an item girl with the controversy-hungry tabloids constantly gnawing away at her. The failed businessman, who has lost his life savings in the share-markets, now soaked in debts, also presents a heart-tugging story.



    In this world of cutthroat competition, failure is inevitable. You decide to write and you’re competing with the likes of Shakespeare, Roald Dahl and Charles Dickens. A scientist competes with the path-breaking discoveries of Newton and Einstein just as a businessman wrestles with stalwarts like Henry Ford, Bill Gates and Narayan Murthy. All these great men have given us many a pearls of wisdom, but isn’t it always easy to make a quote or two when you’re at the top? With due respect to all these men and their thoughts, I really don’t think there IS a key to success....Great people just break in!

      But  how does one break in? By taking the tried-and-tested route of becoming a doctor or engineer or doing an MBA(each of which, after doing a mountain of hard work, would ensure  a lucrative pay package) ?Or following your instincts and taking the rockier, murkier, not-so-dreamy path less-travelled? Sadly enough, happiness and contentment cannot be withdrawn from any ATM or bank or the former option would do just fine. Thus, in this hungry, desperate quest for success comes the all-important question-Is it really worth seeking success, which will betray you, once the show is over and the audiences have had their share of fun? Once you light the candle of success, sure there will be light, illuminating the world of your dreams, but remember the candle is simultaneously melting away and soon there will be darkness again.

  What will remain with you for an eternity is your passion, that which you have nurtured over time and fed devotedly and that which belongs to you and will always belong to you. Ambition and passion, for most people, are two parallel concepts, with ambition speeding away and passion left unattended. It is only when the two converge, are legends born, and the world transformed into a better place!

    Taking a leaf out of the great Steve Jobs’ book, why not find what you love and do just that? I believe that love is like the Sun, a never- ending source of light and energy.

So here I am standing on the threshold, spinning a yarn with passion and devotion, coloring it with the brightest of colors, knowing that one day this yarn will be woven into a blanket of happiness, which will provide me warmth and comfort no matter what.

.                    THE END