Life, as we all know, is like that troublesome virus that keeps changing its morphology and hence makes it impossible to nail a cure for. In fact, so vain are its complexities and idiosyncrasies that we are often left befuddled, with mouth agape, trying to make sense of the curveballs it (life, not the virus) keeps throwing at us.
Back when I was young and naive, I used to believe that in the 'no-regrets' philosophy. You know that theory which says you shouldn't regret anything that once made you smile blah blah...
Well, now I'm older and wiser. And like most mature people believe that what you believe in when you are young and naive is a load of crap.
Of course, you have regrets. And sometimes you regret things that once made your addled brain happy too. But that doesn't mean you stop making mistakes...nah! You just keep making new ones. You keep regretting them. And you keep learning from them. That's the way the cookie crumbles.
You see, that's the thing about regrets and realisations. They usually happen only (and I mean ONLY) in hindsight. By this I mean that when they happens, the clock has already ticked by, the circle is complete, the chapter is over, and the deal is sealed. Things attain clarity only when you are not desperately seeking for the haze to clear. And all you can do then is shrug your shoulders, fake a wan smile, and say 'C'est la vie'.
Because that's what life is all about anyway, isn't it? It's never a straight curve on the time versus progress graph. It's a zig-zag...a roller coaster ride with surprise ups and downs. You remember the game of snakes and ladders you used to play as kids, wherein you could never be sure what the throw of the dice would bring you? Well, isn't life pretty much like that? A series of unfathomable situations with puzzling choices for solutions, with the only way of surviving the chaos is to go with the flow.
However, all this is easier said than done. When push comes to shove, you tend to get clingy, desperate, hopeful, even obstinate. You try to tighten our grip over what you think is yours and reach out for more...
And somewhere amidst all this mess, you tend to lose out on what is most important...the here and now.
Your present, however fleeting it may be, is the only thing that is certain. And you tend to give up on it in the pursuit of an elusive tomorrow.
You get too busy chasing butterflies when you can stop and smell the flowers...
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Z for 'Zig zag zindagi' is the twenty-sixth post in the 'A-Z Series' of posts, a chain of scribbles by me on topics starting with each alphabet of the English language. Read back and forth for the other posts, and please feel free to contribute your thoughts on the subject.
With this post, I finally complete the A-Z series of posts. I have been guilty of neglecting my blog for a while now. But I promise that is going to change start August. So watch this space for a lot more frequent updates in the days to come.
Cheers!