You only live once. The one life

GUEST COLUMN: Dr N Prabhudev

Bengaluru, July 2:
Sing songs that none have sung! Think thoughts that never in the brain have rung! Walk in paths that none have trod! Love with a love that none has felt!
Lately I have been hearing the term – “YOLO”-you only live once, a lot. Yes one lives only once and many, not even that. Of late I have thought about this and I wanted to share my feelings with you all! The higher we soar the smaller we appear to those who are grounded!
We enter this world weak and helpless! Ironically, we often end our lives much like we began—weak and helpless. Yes, No one wants to die- including people who want to go to heaven! The idea of good and evil has been a central theme in human culture and thought. The real battle of life is not with those who think differently from us! The battles of life are fought out every day in the silent chambers of one’s own soul.
When I was in school, I believed life was something that happened in college. College happened. And yes, it was fun. I wanted to feel alive. I wanted to grow fast. I thought life would happen after marriage. Marriage happened – a commitment filled with love, trust, and shared dreams.
I wanted to make it big – for myself, for others… perhaps that would make me feel alive? I became a cardiothoracic surgeon and that seemed like the perfect expression of me. With a lot of hard work and team efforts, it began to take off in a significant way. It was exciting and at times nerve-wracking. My chin upon my hands and in despair asked God: Where is this thing called LIFE? Why do I always seem to miss it? Where is it? Show me!
In life Let your grasp be higher than your reach! Aim high with feet on the ground. I have embraced life without fear and without regret not compromising who I am. I am truly alive. Often many of us live like a worm in the gut of a corpse, trapped inside a prison of cold flesh, helpless and uncaring, unaware even of the inevitability of its own doom. So live now and be alive!
Measured against eternity, our time on earth is just a blink of an eye. Fear of failure, Fear of rejection, Fear of going broke, Fear of being alone, Fear of humiliation, Fear of being ostracized by family and friends, Fear of physical discomfort, Fear of regret, Fear of success – How many of these fears are holding you back? Convince yourself that you aren’t afraid! Let not fear paralyse you!
I have learnt that in life Respect is earned, Honesty is appreciated, Trust is gained, and Loyalty is returned! Never regret anything that once made you smile. Life is learning about things that did not go as one planned. Life is about letting go of past hurts! Forgive but don’t forget! Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass! Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.
Time passes, Memories fade, Feelings change and People leave. That which remains is the loneliness. In Life choose ethos of symbiosis – harmony over opposition, unity over division, “we” over “I.” Suffer, learn, and grow. Hours become days and days become years and years become a wasted precious life, and what for- just survival?
Happiness is reality divided by expectations? It’s okay to make mistakes. The purpose of life is not merely to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate and to make some difference that you have lived and lived well.
This is life, this is life.” Sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes wow, sometimes so-so, and it goes on. All the various phases are interwoven in the web of life and all I can do, really, is just live them. Live every day- You only live once.

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