Share a lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life.

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The narrative reflects on lessons learned through life experiences. The protagonist grapples with self-discovery while facing the duality of human nature in personal and professional relationships. He recalls moments of agitation exacerbated by deceit and selfishness from others. Observing a snail, he recognises his own slow acquisition of knowledge and awareness. Through various challenging incidents, he learns that trust and sincerity are often conditional. Despite life’s harsh lessons, he finds solace in simplicity and hard work, understanding the necessity of reciprocity in relationships. Ultimately, he appreciates the journey that led him to a balanced life, enriched by learning and self-growth.

Churning questions

As usual, sitting in his small room with its door open, he was trying to read a book. When he felt mentally agitated, he needed answers. He took out a book and started reading. Generally, he reads on an electronic book reader, but this time he had a book in his hand. After reading a few pages, his mind began to churn with many questions. Falling upon each other, they were vying to come up. Each was struggling to surface first. This created a mesh, and all were jumbled up.

Pleasant environment

(a) Monsoon was retreating

He looked across the door. The pair of Plumeria trees had become luxuriant with broad, lanceolate leaves in a dense cluster. White coloured flowers with a faint fawn hue are clustered, peeping out from the bunches of foliage. Monsoon was retreating, but sporadic drizzles made the ambience cool. The resting water droplets of petals of the flower and the lacing edges of leaves looked beautiful.

(b) Fluffy Prenia

His mind was distracted and focused on the natural beauty after the mild drizzle. A pearching Prenia was calling. With its long tail and slim, fluffy body, it looked pretty. He smiled. Natural happenings were always his source of inspiration and solace. He felt relieved in the moment of distress or agitation.

(c) Old favourite song

One of his favourite songs came floating in the air and took him back in time. The singer requested a boatman to take him across the river. His beloved was on the other side. He was unwillingly on this side of the river. The song expressed the pain of separation. The singer pleads with his beloved to erase his name from her psyche. He had no merits, but she should forget and forgive his shortcomings. The floating words in the air from above the Plumeria hit his ear and went straight to his heart.

The Journey and life lessons

Many people have entered his life during his journey so far. It was like a voyage, as Maxim Gorky described in his book. The protagonist met people of various natures and hues on the ship he was sailing along the Volga. Isolated and carefree about life, they took life as it came. As the journey progressed, they gradually vanished unnoticed, giving him valuable life lessons.

(a) Slow snail

One fine morning, while on his morning walk, he noticed a snail slowly crawling on the leaf of a plant. The small, sluggish creature seemed overly cautious, carefully feeling its way as it moved. Watching the snail made him think about himself. He realised that he was also quite slow, lagging fifty years behind in picking up new things and learning. The snail had a simple brain structure as a ganglion; it lacked sharp reflexes. Even though he had a well-developed brain, his reflexes were not sharp, and he was sluggish in learning. At his advanced age, he realised he had learned things much later. These were things a teenager would typically understand earlier. He thanked the Almighty for the acquired wisdom through life lessons.

Simple hearted

He was a simple-hearted person who used to take things at face value. On any petty issue, he would become restless. He never saw the other face of individuals having multiple faces. It often hurt him. Affected by the ostensible adversities, he would react sharply. It led him to land in ridiculous situations.

(a) The incidence

He remembered an incident which sent a tickling sensation to him. During his early days in his job, while learning about the procedure, he received a letter. A woman had frantically requested the authorities to relieve her from the atrocious behaviour of her husband. He looked puzzled. One of his senior colleagues suggested that he send the letter for a report from the subordinate office.

(b) Things are different from how they appear

“She is in danger”, he had said in a hurried tone. His colleague laughed and coolly repeated his suggestion. He drafted an emotional letter directing the subordinate office to take immediate and stern action against the woman’s husband. Watching the draft, his boss called him and politely told him never to take action in haste. His boss trimmed the proposed draft down to a direction to send a report. The way things were unfolding amazed him.

(c) Double face

Later happenings in his life corroborated the teachings of his immediate boss. The difference between moral teachings and the practical aspect of life annoyed him. It shocked him to see the dual nature of people. On several occasions, he noticed with disdain how people double-crossed for their parochial selfish gains. He could not understand how people who were courteous and polite to him had ruthlessly criticised him. They did it for their selfish causes. Once, his superior boss showed him a fake letter complaining about his so-called delinquent behaviour and “corruption”. He remembers it with great aversion that the man behind it used to pose himself very near to him.

Deceitful attitude

These things would agitate him, but armed him with life lessons. He felt emotionally hurt and used to have sleepless nights. It was mainly because of the fear of losing his job and the treacherous behaviour of people around him. His notions about people were fast changing, but it was yet to become permanently etched. The basic, simple nature remained unchanged. His dedicated hard work kept him grounded. He did not expect anything out of the box. His superiors believed in him. It helped him cope with the mental agony caused by selfish elements. It also helped him understand how things worked in society.

Ubiquitous negativity

Not only in workplaces but in relationships too, there was a degree of deceit and selfishness. He found that people would swarm him when he was in a position. He, as usual, was very late in understanding the fleeting nature of relationships. It has been primarily a means to take advantage of his position, not because of emotional or otherwise genuine attachment. Soon, the scene changed, and the swarms used to diffuse and vanish.

Volatile relationships

He learnt the practicality the hard way and realised the volatile nature of relationships. It includes those with colleagues, friends and beloveds, or any emotional bonds. People don’t bother about sentiments, and in the fast-moving materialistic world, it doesn’t carry weight. 

(a) Give and take

The universally accepted phenomenon is quid pro quo. People try to reciprocate things that they get from others. The credit and debit are balanced, and the account book is closed after it is done. There is no scope for carrying it ahead until there is some spillover which needs to be settled.

(b) Hard work pays

Now, all worldly accounts have been settled and closed. He often reflects on the losses and gains of his life. When he started, he had nothing. No place to live in, no food to eat. Gradually, he developed a hold fast to stand. He faced a very tough time, but managed to sustain and survive. He struggled and worked hard. His superiors were happy with his work, but he did not get anything undue. 

Simple and satisfied

His journey till now was satisfactory, if not rewarding. He earned his house, which is his permanent location. Besides, he has everything necessary for a moderate and decent life. He leads a simple life without luxury, for which he has no grudges. He feels lucky for the harsh lessons life taught him. They are the assets of his life. He spends his time on self-study, acquiring knowledge, reading and writing. He often goes out for a long drive in his car. Driving, like writing and photography, helps him to rejuvenate himself. The accessories needed for his journey are easily found on https://amzn.to/46o2zDk

Everything has a price

Facing the vagaries of time, he learnt many things about the mundane world where almost everything has its price. People are ready to pay the price and have it. It can range from material wealth to emotional attachment and from companionship to temporary bonding. It is according to need and the availability of time. The world is like a market where bartering and trading are usual. A world where everyone is dependent on the other for their needs.

Objectivity vs subjectivity

Expecting faithfulness and honesty in an absolute term is futile. These are available, but in relative terms. The important thing is that nothing is free. One has to pay for it. It has to be in any form, like physical and mental labour or material wealth. The good thing is that the dignity of labour has still maintained its sheen. Nothing can beat honest hard work. He is satisfied that he is a self-made man who has earned his life

Did this article resonate with you? Please share your experiences and comment on what you think about the lessons of life. Please do comment in the comment box below and dissipate it.

Also read:

Reflections on a Life of Collecting Memories

The illusion of immortality: Lessons from a king

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