LIFE

Sometimes we need to make life-changing decisions. No one else can make them for you. And living by the consequences of such decisions is called 'your life'. As a parent, all one can really hope for is that by the time such decisions need to be made by their sons and daughters, they would have shaped the clay pot, so to say, to the best of their abilities, that their children would know whats best for themselves. After that, all they can do is step back and see how well the clay pot functions.

But what happens when the parents are reluctant to let go of your image as a young kid in need of guidance? Does it shield you from the responsibility of making these life-defining decisions? Can you blindly follow the orders of a general, knowing that inside, your heart is screaming out to do what you feel is the right thing to do? And more importantly, would it be your life you would be living if all you do is try to follow the wishes of others?

Being fair to the parents, they just want what's best for their children. But the thing they should ask themselves is, are they doing it the right way? I believe that no one, absolutely no one, in the whole world has found the correct answer to the question of how should life be lived? We are all trying our hand at answering it, and in the process come up with a formula that works in some cases, but fails in others. Agreed that the ratio of success to failure varies in all cases, but its somewhere in the middle for most of them. In such a case, how would an individual know how to get up if he/she never has to take a fall? Of course the near and dear ones can lecture at lengths about the pitfalls and lessons learnt from their lives. But that doesn't work half as well as making those mistakes ourselves and learning from them.

Therefore, a solemn request from the progeny to the progenitor, "You did a great job in the time you had to mould the clay. Now, in the baking furnace, its time to try my hand at living my life. You are always welcome to guide and suggest. That's your right as the clay potter. But the decisions to be made are mine to make. Please try to understand and help me do justice to my life. Let me play the dice, let me stumble if I have to, let me learn to get back on my feet, and by doing so, you would help me walk my life with my head held high."