Aditi Roy Ghatak's Page

(Originally taken from Classygal's Blog at Wordpress - http://classygal.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/that-thing-called-perfect-life/)

That thing called…. perfect life!!

Have you seen anyone with a perfect life? Someone who would say, “Yes, I have a perfect life”. Off late I have found many people around me complaining about their lives. The concept of a perfect life is highly over-hyped one. Here, I would like to clarify that I don’t have a perfect life either (at least, the way I had imagined when I was little). Fairy tale fantasies and easy life just don’t happen with me for some reason. But I don’t yearn for one either.

Though, I find it extremely remarkable and saddening the way have-nots in life outweigh the haves. Even if you get every possible luxury or comfort in life that you yearn for, you would still find ways to miss something. The impact of the things/people that you don’t have will always be bigger on you than those that you have. And hence, comes the imperfection in life.

What are the key elements of a perfect life, if we go by popular demand? Power, fame, money, success, beauty….  Considering the above parameters, Barack Obama – President of US, one of the most powerful people in the World, should be among those with the perfect life. Well, I don’t think he has one seeing the tough times his govt. is facing. Let us take the case of Marilyn Monroe, one of the most beautiful faces ever. She died of sleeping pill overdose at a fairly young age, some say she committed suicide. But she had all the fame, success, money, beauty. Aren’t all that supposed to bring along perfect life?

One of my favorite songs in Bengali has an interesting line which I am translating here. “All those things that I always yearned for but never had in life, I have realized that I am better off without them. For if I get everything in life, my life would be a waste”

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.” ~ Steve Jobs

Nothing is constant, the only constant thing is death. The aha moment, when you realize that your time is limited – you will start living your own life. Yes, I did have my aha moment some time back. You can say that its a tad too early for me to embrace spirituality and ponder over topics like death. But I have realized that the quest for some tough answers related to inner self and specific events begins very early in life and I am trying to fill some of those blanks in my mind with the answers.

An excerpt from the book “Tuesday’s with Morrie”, which had a moving impact on me.

“The story is about a little wave, bobbing along in the ocean, having a grand old time. He’s enjoying the wind and the fresh air – until he notices the other waves in front of him, crashing against the shore. ‘ “My God, this is terrible,” the wave says. “Look what’s going to happen to me!” “Then along comes another wave. It sees the first wave, looking grim, and it says to him, “Why do you look so sad?” “The first wave says, “You don’t understand We’re all going to crash! All of us waves are going to be nothing! Isn’t it terrible?” “The second wave says, “No, you don’t understand. You’re not a wave, you’re part of the ocean“

Part of the ocean