Stay humble, stay grounded.....
I will turn 46 years old in less than a week's time.
Wow! Time does fly, doesn't it?
These 46 years have shaped me - my thoughts, my convictions, my being, myself .....like a sponge, I have soaked in as much as was possible over the years and I continue to do so ...as I still feel like a naive child when it comes to larger and more pertinent questions of Life. However, along the way, I have also "learned" a lot that I take the opportunity to share these learnings with those that are open ....this blog is one such humble attempt.
Today I want to talk about something that Life has shown me over and over again - something that has hit home, time and again, down the years- and that is the need to always remain humble, to keep your feet on the ground, at all times, irrespective of all the successes you may achieve.
Simple for many, I guess...
- For those who have either found no reason to fly or have far too many weights around their feet that do not allow them to even think of leaping, leave alone flying. They carry their humility like an albatross and always with a tinge of regret, but they are "grounded", almost chained.
- Then there are those who do not aspire to fly either - in today's world, this kind of person would be type-cast as someone that just "exists" - with no ambition, no drive, no aspirations - not the kind you would possibly like around your table for dinner; they stay "grounded" as they know no other way and couldn't be bothered really.
However, most of today's world wants to go places - with their capabilities, their careers, their aspirations, their lifestyles, their kids.
Competition is just about everywhere you see and hankering for what is perceived as a "successful life" is rampant.
I am not saying its a bad thing....the drive to excel, to be different, to out-do has lifted the bar for many and has actually made the human being more evolved I guess. But sometimes, I have seen the "end" becoming so important that the "means" are often compromised - one does not think twice about stepping on a few toes, twisting a few facts, crushing a few values while climbing that ladder of what is called "success".
And surprisingly, these same people do meet with success, they shake hands and seem to "belong" .......and that's when "humility" becomes a forgotten word, something to be swept under the carpet or kept locked in the attic, lest it reminded one of those ugly times when "success" had not kissed one's forehead.
Bridges are burnt because one begins to believe that he/she has arrived at the desired destination and there is no turning back.
Old relationships are forgotten or forsaken, newer bonds are built and held dearly. Earlier associations are brushed off and the focus is only on the new ones, even pretending there were no other kinds before.
One tends to forget one's root.
I have seen this kind of people at close quarters many times, down these years - at work, within the family, in my social circles. I have always wished them well. They "arrived" and "ruled"
I am sure we all have seen this kind of people around ......
And then sometimes, unpleasant things like disdain, ill-placed pride, arrogance, egoism comes into the scheme of things...
Unfortunately, next comes the "fall" of some of these same personalities, as sure and certain as was their "rise".....not all, but a large percentage, I must admit.
People who from those heights they had achieved (sometimes after a lot of struggle and strife), forgot what it was like where they came from, forgot what it could be like if they ever had to go back there ever again - got disconnected, intentionally and completely. And then, because the world is round and that's how life also tends to flow, a change of circumstances and the winds were blown out of the sails that once looked infallible. And these people suddenly didn't know what hit them......the heady towers crumbled and the laws of gravity pulled them to the very ground they had chosen to distance themselves from.....
Scary! Happens all the time - yet, do we learn? Not always....not as much as we should.
Yes, I believe in soaring high too - but through lofty ideas, through excellence, through creativity and through goodness.I am all for "flying" - for dreaming, for aspiring and for chasing your dreams. But I sincerely hope we can still remain "humble" and in sync with realities of life - that we learn and improve, not forget and disconnect blindly. Yes, some bridges may need to be burnt as well to prevent us from going where we should have never been - but let's not step over relationships, let's not use and abuse our roots that bind us to where we come from. For you never know, when you may need to go back to those very roots and you don't want to appear "alien" or "disjointed" to them.....
God please help us all - to always stay humble, to stay grounded ...
Amen!
Wow! Time does fly, doesn't it?
These 46 years have shaped me - my thoughts, my convictions, my being, myself .....like a sponge, I have soaked in as much as was possible over the years and I continue to do so ...as I still feel like a naive child when it comes to larger and more pertinent questions of Life. However, along the way, I have also "learned" a lot that I take the opportunity to share these learnings with those that are open ....this blog is one such humble attempt.
Today I want to talk about something that Life has shown me over and over again - something that has hit home, time and again, down the years- and that is the need to always remain humble, to keep your feet on the ground, at all times, irrespective of all the successes you may achieve.
Simple for many, I guess...
- For those who have either found no reason to fly or have far too many weights around their feet that do not allow them to even think of leaping, leave alone flying. They carry their humility like an albatross and always with a tinge of regret, but they are "grounded", almost chained.
- Then there are those who do not aspire to fly either - in today's world, this kind of person would be type-cast as someone that just "exists" - with no ambition, no drive, no aspirations - not the kind you would possibly like around your table for dinner; they stay "grounded" as they know no other way and couldn't be bothered really.
However, most of today's world wants to go places - with their capabilities, their careers, their aspirations, their lifestyles, their kids.
Competition is just about everywhere you see and hankering for what is perceived as a "successful life" is rampant.
I am not saying its a bad thing....the drive to excel, to be different, to out-do has lifted the bar for many and has actually made the human being more evolved I guess. But sometimes, I have seen the "end" becoming so important that the "means" are often compromised - one does not think twice about stepping on a few toes, twisting a few facts, crushing a few values while climbing that ladder of what is called "success".
And surprisingly, these same people do meet with success, they shake hands and seem to "belong" .......and that's when "humility" becomes a forgotten word, something to be swept under the carpet or kept locked in the attic, lest it reminded one of those ugly times when "success" had not kissed one's forehead.
Bridges are burnt because one begins to believe that he/she has arrived at the desired destination and there is no turning back.
Old relationships are forgotten or forsaken, newer bonds are built and held dearly. Earlier associations are brushed off and the focus is only on the new ones, even pretending there were no other kinds before.
One tends to forget one's root.
I have seen this kind of people at close quarters many times, down these years - at work, within the family, in my social circles. I have always wished them well. They "arrived" and "ruled"
I am sure we all have seen this kind of people around ......
And then sometimes, unpleasant things like disdain, ill-placed pride, arrogance, egoism comes into the scheme of things...
Unfortunately, next comes the "fall" of some of these same personalities, as sure and certain as was their "rise".....not all, but a large percentage, I must admit.
People who from those heights they had achieved (sometimes after a lot of struggle and strife), forgot what it was like where they came from, forgot what it could be like if they ever had to go back there ever again - got disconnected, intentionally and completely. And then, because the world is round and that's how life also tends to flow, a change of circumstances and the winds were blown out of the sails that once looked infallible. And these people suddenly didn't know what hit them......the heady towers crumbled and the laws of gravity pulled them to the very ground they had chosen to distance themselves from.....
Scary! Happens all the time - yet, do we learn? Not always....not as much as we should.
Yes, I believe in soaring high too - but through lofty ideas, through excellence, through creativity and through goodness.I am all for "flying" - for dreaming, for aspiring and for chasing your dreams. But I sincerely hope we can still remain "humble" and in sync with realities of life - that we learn and improve, not forget and disconnect blindly. Yes, some bridges may need to be burnt as well to prevent us from going where we should have never been - but let's not step over relationships, let's not use and abuse our roots that bind us to where we come from. For you never know, when you may need to go back to those very roots and you don't want to appear "alien" or "disjointed" to them.....
God please help us all - to always stay humble, to stay grounded ...
The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is.
Amen!
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