THERE IS A TIDE IN THE AFFAIRS OF MEN

 



“But, Life is just a party,

and parties weren’t meant to last.”

Prince (Musician)

 

“Where is Jack Ma?” People are asking this question, world over. They are, also, worried. Some say, that he is ‘laying low’; and some  suspect, that he has been jailed by the present Chinese government…If the latter is true, it’s really sad!

Jack Ma’s story is an inspiring success story… A simple teacher, who, once, taught English, could go about building such a vast business empire – Alibaba and Ant Group – to be crowned as ‘Asia’s Richest Man’… yes, it’s the stuff straight out of a fairytale book!

But, there he was – Jack Ma… A great business magnet and a philanthropist… and, yes, a great icon for millions…

Shakespeare,  through Brutus (in Julius Caesar), says this:


“There is a tide in the affairs of men,

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life

Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves.,

Or lose our ventures.”

 

This has been the secret of ‘Success’ for almost all the ‘big whales’ out in the sea called ‘Life’… They all venture into the sea when there is flood… when the current serves them!

But, then, the tide can turn, any time, for any ‘big whale’! Jack Ma was, once, a darling – the poster boy – of the same Communist government. But, in one sweep, the same regime can nail you on the poster as - ‘WANTED’!

Is it only applicable in China, or is it applicable everywhere in the world? What about the ‘Jack Mas’ in our own country – the darlings and the poster boys of our own government?

The ‘tide’ turns, Sir… The sea works according to its own rules!





If we do not sail the ‘full sea’,  our voyage will be bound in shallows and in miseries… Is that our fear?

Good health, strong relationships, three meals a day and a sound sleep at night – and yes, quiet dignity – are these the consequences of not sailing a full sea?

I do not know…

I do not know when was Jack Ma the happiest – when he was a simple teacher or when he was a mighty tycoon!

Virginia Woolf concludes:

“The flower bloomed and faded;

The Sun rose and sank;

The lover loved and went.

And, what the Poet said in rhyme,

The Young translated into practice.”







GERALD D’CUNHA 

 

Pic’s: 1. Unknown source 2. pixabay

 

Video: 1. The Outcome 2. HW News English

Comments

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

"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 painful that
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 does it matter
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...