OUR CASTLES IN THE AIR


















“There is no security in life; 
only opportunity.”

Mark Twain

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost,” said Henry David Thoreau, “That is where they should be. Now, put the foundation under them.”

Do these words make sense, today?

I do not know about you; but, yes, they do make a lot of sense to me… When all that I did – for nearly 62 years of my life – suddenly appears to me as just those castles in the air! Suddenly, someone has shaken me very hard and made me realize, that my castles still lie suspended in the air, without any foundation at all!

So, what should I do, now? Let my castle-building work, of over six decades, go wasted? Or, start focusing on the foundation work?

“Man proposes, and God disposes.” How casually we have all said these words! And these, too: “Life is what happens to you while you are busy making your other plans!”

Yes, what’s that you and I were busy doing all this time?

And, what about ‘Life’? Where is it?

Whatever was ‘needed’ to us, Life always gave us… and, it still gives. The excess, yes, Life always takes it away from us… and, levels us all… the way it has done now. Our house-maids and watchmen are no different from us… and our Presidents, Prime Ministers, Army Generals, along with the Popes – yes, we all are same… Aren’t we?

Then, what was that we all ‘fought’ for – so obsessively – for so long? Only to build our castles in the air?

Now, that someone has shaken us all very, very hard, and shown how our castles still lie suspended in the air, without any foundation at all… Yes, now, what?

Maybe, we can see this is an ‘opportunity’ to do what we all had ignored all along – the ‘foundation work’. Yes, maybe, as Mark Twain said, in this frantic castle-building Life, there is no security at all, except an opportunity…

And, what is that?






GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: publicdomainpictures.net

Video: 2cellos


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