WHY DO YOU AND I LEAVE HOME, EVERY MORNING?






Pic.: Sundar Srinivasan

The birds in the sky, the fishes in the sea and the animals in the jungle, all leave in the morning in search of food. No one has instructed them to do so; they know, if they don’t leave home, they will die of hunger...

And, man?

Every morning, you and I leave home, too. But, is food – satisfaction of the hunger of our stomach - our only objective?

It is not. Still, we all leave, every morning... Else, we know, that we all will starve of hunger ... not just of our stomachs, but, also, of our minds, hearts and souls...

Our survival instinct is the greatest motivator... Deep down, in all of us, there is that desire to live, survive... protect ourselves from our predators... Birds, fishes, animals and man – we all have this burning desire to remain alive... From this basic desire, follow the other desires: food, clothes and shelter... And, for man, the social animal, there is a greater drive, a greater reason... It is: the desire to leave a legacy... yes, of some kind.

Think about it... Why do you and I leave home, every morning? What keeps our motivation alive?

I am sure, if we look within our hearts, we will, certainly, find, that, along with the desire to survive, we do have the desire to leave a legacy...

Most of us have loved this popular fable of the deer and the lion:



“Every morning, in Africa, a deer wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning, a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest deer or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a deer: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running!”


True, whether I am a deer or a lion, or whether I am a student or a teacher, or whether I am a priest or a house-holder... yes, I have to wake up, every morning, and leave my home... alert, agile and alive and, yes, hopeful... Else, I know I will not survive... I will starve of hunger of my body and soul, both!

GERALD D’CUNHA

Comments

Nirav Advani said…
True, not the desire for food alone, legacy runs through our breath! Nirav Advani
May 21, 2014 at 1:54 PM
Anonymous said…
Inspiring!!!.... Manish
May 21, 2014 at 3:19 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...