It is the hour of evening gloom. The sun has left the western skies, the birds have retired to the sanctuary of their cosy nests and I sit here in my glorious loneliness, pondering the meaning of life, people and relationships, yet again. It is that time in life. The children are grown and have taken wing, to soar and to seek frontiers farther than their parents ever dared to. A whole new world awaits them, much as it did for us, all those years ago.To be young is to be alive, to discover, to hope and to dream the impossible dream. There are many dreams to dream, many a mountain to climb and that magic rainbow to discover; that is the excitement young adulthood brings. The world awaits them. In whatever manner, humble or great, they shall touch some lives, bring a smile to a care worn face, and wipe the tears of a less fortunate one. But as they enter the adult world, they bid a final farewell to the happiest and most carefree times of their lives. This is not to deny that several great joys and triumphs await them on the road ahead, but many of them will come at a cost, financial, emotional, whatever. Many years on, they will cast back to these times and wistfully remember the joys of what were their childhood and youth. But for now, they must live their lives in forward motion. As was famously said, life must be lived forwards, but can only be understood backwards!
Kahlil Gibran wrote, "Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you." We as parents must grow up to accept that reality. In the larger scheme of things we are merely the incubators of god's progeny, no more, no less.
10 comments:
I think children always feel the gnaw of that particular longing. They forget to tell children, just as much as they do parents, about the incomprehensible sorrow of growing up. Gibran is right, life only perpetuates its own desire. We are but embodiments of that desire. Idealism drains away quicker and quicker with each passing epoch; forty then is twenty now- leaving you with the sallow abyss of something eternally unfinished. How shall we reckon time, with years? with blood? with death? Age believes youth fills the emptiness; youth believes the same of age. I don't suppose it could work any other way. How shall we live and believe in love and joy if we all actually glimpsed the sisyphan drudgery of existence? No. It is best that we each believe in the other's happiness; imagined or not. Beautiful piece, in any event. Much love.
Nice, thoughtful piece, written with a wistful passion! I wonder though, why is it that growing up is so often tied up with cares, worries and lessening of happiness in some sense? Cannot the opposite also be true, that we can grow up to a sense of increasing joy and fulfilment? It seems somehow so counter intuitive, so out of sync with the paths of our own lives that we give this possibility very little chance. Yet I believe it is very real: that we can actually find increasing meaning as we advance in years. We are surely wiser and have done much from which we have learned, but in the art of contentment, of living in the present and taking pleasure from the simplest of things - these we somehow do not seem to learn - though the way is not as closed as we believe it to be.
I often look back to my youth and I find many things I had that I do not have now and many things now that I did not have then, but if life is a river then nothing prevents us from flowing. Onward, then - and may happiness come from the flowing - neither looking forward nor backward!
That was wistful indeed! And yet it is acceptance without any trace of cynicism, poignance without wretchedness. The depth of emotion flows strong, undimmed by wisdom's distance. A mature Shelley, untainted by the haze of poppy seeds, if I may!
sounds like the poignant musings of a dutiful and affectionate parent witnessing the attachments slipping away with the inexorable march of TIME. Referring to the statement that " Life must be lived forwards, but can only be understood backwards",
I wish to mention that true happiness can arise only by living in the Present Moment by accessing the Power of Now and letting go of psychological time. I wish to recommend the book " The Power of NOW " by Eckhart Tolle to the author.
See pa, the world is actually fairly optimistic. So it's just you then. And all those genes you filtered and passed on to me. Maybe they should include a B(roody) chromosome- along with X and Y. Just for you and I:D
A lovely photograph....and beautifully written thoughts!!!
I think we are all programmed to forget pain, misery, anxiety and other negative things that we have faced, once they are behind us in our lives. That is why our childhood usually looks rosier than it actually was when we look back at it.
I think children too pay for their joys and triumphs. While the price that they pay may be different from what adults pay for their successes, it is often as stressful and painful for them as it is for adults.
But I agree with most of the other sentiments that you have expressed so well.
Dear rambler,
Nice piece. Thought provoking (it’s taken me two weeks!!!!). Enjoyed reading it.
Liked Mr. Aroon’s views as well.
I must say though that there is an opportunity to be happy at all points of time/at any given point of time- youth or otherwise… at the same time, even during youth, there are costs (if we want to see it that way)!!! For example, the vedic students who provide so much positive energy and knowledge to us don’t know what a TV is!!! Or what a cinema theatre is or what an ice cream is…. And they still enjoy life just as much as some of us (the normal folks).
In some sense, it is, like Mr. Balaji has said, a bit of ‘programming’(in IT terminology).
The living in the ‘forward motion’ actually applies to all ages, not just to the youth, i.e if we want to be happy through the whole of our lives. There is an opportunity in every phase to provide happiness to others and thus find joy for ourselves. It is for us to seize this opportunity and making it happen.
Prabhu
I immensely like this latest piece in which TTS turns poetic and philosophical. He quotes and teases us with apparent riddles of LIFE like that Life must be enjoyed forwards but can be understood only backwards. Again, your children are not yours: they belong to Life. They come through you but not from you. They are with you but they do not belong to you. This is the essence of Life, I do hope that his next creation will be in the lighter vein.
N.Ganga Ram
fab photo- highly thought-stirring comments- a sleeping giant wakes up !
KRS
It has been nearly a year since your last post - a flag for action rather than a statement of the obvious!
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