Life is fragile

Two incidents which happened quite close together reminded me how fragile and temporary  life really is .

Around three weeks ago I visited one of the schools I work with  and met a lady who was in Middle management . I often saw here whenever I visited . She assisted me that particular  day  and chatted animatedly for a few minutes as she usually did – always cheeful and smiling .One morning , ten days later she felt breathless & was rushed to  hospital . Blockages were found and   a stent was  put . She  came home  and was on the road to recovery .  

A few days later she felt out of sorts again , was taken back to hospital again and passed away later that day . She leaves behind grieving friends and relatives . It all seems to have happened in a blur .

A week or so ago , once again in a school , a gentleman  came to see me after a function   . We chatted for a while , exchanged pleasantries &  took a few photographs . He sounded  excited about his son going to college in a few months’ time and about the upcoming board examinations .

Two days later   I heard  he had travelled abroad , had suddenly developed a serious health problem  and needed an urgent  procedure to be performed . The same was carried out and he is recovering well by God’s  grace – need I add, he is a lovely gentleman .

Thinking about such things often make me well up and feel sad .

Is life unfair ? Is it far too fragile for us humans to cope? Are we ever going to be prepared ?

We often get so caught up in the day to day chores , jobs and accompanying  worries , living life in the fast lane that we find no time to pause, reflect and smell the roses . The destination is always beckoning us and we are always in “fast forward” mode.

Everything is either a race , a chase or a competition and we have conditioned ourselves to enjoy it or so we believe .  

Often I remark about our lives as educationists,  preparing pupils for life ten or fifteen years hence,  while not actually having a clue what life has in store for any of us a minute from now . In reality , there are no guarantees and all you can do is live , love and be the best version of yourself as possible .

I know this is easier said than done but we need to take ourselves away from the artificial aspects of life and the things that wont matter in the long run and learn to appreciate what we have in the “now” because at any time it can all end .

At the start of every year you hear people talking about how “this year” they will tick items off their bucket list -:

The sky dive they are dying to do

The trip up to the Everest base camp

The book they planned to write ( me )

However we keep putting off the start and we choose  to stay busy while complaining about the paucity of time to indulge in our pet projects .

While planning ahead and striving for new goals is admirable, we also need to enjoy the present moments and celebrate our successes however small and insignificant they may seem at the moment  .

We all have to deal with minor annoyances and inconveniences in our lifetime  but we should learn to complain less and parctice gratitude instead .

Envy, hate, anger, jealousy are all toxic emotions that eat us up – we know that for a fact but that does not prevent us from letting them fuel our passions and emotions to frightening proportions . At times It's fine to take inspiration from others &  to admire their life style and achievements  but that can lead to envy  and do more harm than good .

Often we look at neighbours, friends and colleagues and the life they lead – the fun, the frolic, the fancy cars and sprawling mansions  but we must  remind ourselves  that we don’t actually know the life they lead – their regrets, insecurities, and self doubts which they could be masking with a smile – it’s the truth !

Facebook and Instagram do make for happy families and continous good times ! The fact that we know that many are faking it does nothing to stop us from pressing the “like” button

On closer inspection we need to embrace the life we have , leaving behind the negativity and that which does not matter .

A lot of our time, energy and passion  is wasted in futile pursuits in trying to change the world instead of trying  to change ourselves and therin lies the problem . We are reckless with the time at our disposal in the present , passified by the assumption that our future will be enriched by the things we hope to do .

I am often reminded of the lines from As you Like it by William Shakespeare and spoken by Jaques

“  All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts”

The day we are born, the curtain goes up and we start playing that first part– there are no practices and no  dress rehearseals and we are thrown head first into  the final show – there is only  one chance to prove ourselves  .

Life is an extremely  precious and fragile gift & we need to make the most of it because, like a china pot , it can easily fall and shatter into a thousand pieces and all that would be left would be tears in other peoples eyes .