Keep Aspiring!

Listening to the song "Papa kehte hain bada naam karenga’’ always makes me nostalgic and takes me back to time when life was full of big aspirations and dreams. I am sure majority of people can relate to my feeling. This song always filled me with new vigour and zeal to do something worthy and creditable in life. College days, friends, pure emotions, crystal clear dreams, hot discussions over tea ,spicy samosas and this song..Most of us have been through this phase for sure.

As time passes by and we are out of our student phase, all friends disperse and tread on journey for fulfillment of their dreams...some achieve their dreams, some achieve partially and for some the picture is entirely different. The zeal, the excitement in twenties is intact till thirties but slowly it starts fading away.

I feel most of us start to make adjustments with whatever is the situation as we reach mid thirties.In the journey of fulfilling our dreams, responsibility gets increased many folds. Family, children, social obligations tend to bound us. We have already accepted more or less the set career path .We start limiting our dreams to existing scenarios.We get busy with routine life and suddenly sometime when we reach our late thirties and we listen to this song papa kehte hain we realise that some things are left back, some opportunities have been missed, some dreams are still a wish and not a reality..

In late teens we are oblivious of the realities of life. Our dreams and aspirations are independent of practicalities. They are based on our interests and our skill sets. We are determined and our will power is strong. We are so positive. But once out in world, the realities start dawning. Sometimes they may favour and we may reach pinnacle .Sometimes they may limit our abilities, they may turn our paths in different direction altogether. At the end of day we all want to be happy and we start compromising in some or other way. Our dreams may take a setback and other things may take priority. The context of bada naam changes. We start losing our individuality and start considering ourselves a part of the whole lot moving at constant pace with set direction whether really happy or not.

I feel at this moment it is important for everyone to listen to this song with a new perspective. Rather than feeling low this should motivate us to begin afresh. Our dreams should always be fresh. When recently I watched this song I felt we are never too old to relate to it. Every day is new so even our dreams can be refreshed. We may not have achieved what we dreamt in teens but we can venture out again .New dreams, new interest ,new goals add spark and positivity to our lives. It is this spark I guess which keeps human race moving. Stagnancy is dangerous. Boredom, compromise and disappointment start creeping in day to day life. There is no such thing as permanent failure or success. Every moment is unique. We should motivate ourselves to experiment with some new challenges.

I met a lady who owns a retail garment shop and over a period we have interacted a lot whenever we meet. She knows that I am a Chartered Accountant (CA) and told me she had to leave CA in between due to marriage and then she joined the family garment business. Recently when I visited the shop the staff told me that their madam doesn’t come regularly now. I called her up and was glad to listen that she cleared her CA exams. Her son was appearing for his board exams. She decided to use this opportunity and study along with him for clearing CA exams. She now works for a CA firm (a long cherished dream) and manages the shop with help of trained staff and her husband.

Our varied experiences in life add a new perspective. At midlife we are in a position to understand and accept feasibility of things. We can think of solutions to tackle obstacles in a more efficient way. Dreams combined with exposure can help us to map out our path more clearly.

My aspirations have always been very short term. Over a period I have realised that long term aspirations become redundant with changing scenarios. Change is constant. So should be my goals. Human nature is inquisitive and mind is not ready to settle with same routine and work. Experimenting with new ideas and new strategies add a different edge to our mindset. This strategy may not always give us commensurate monetary gains but satisfaction and peace which we gain in this process is priceless.

Life is small and limited but full of unexpected oppurtunities.I feel new places, new work ,new goals can amplify our happiness and joy. At no point in life we should regret that I had dreamt about something .Regretting should be temporary aspiring should be permanent. Our individuality is essence of our worthiness and we should never lose it.We should always have the courage and strong belief to fulfill our dreams.

Somebody has rightly said..

"मंजिलें उन्ही को मिलती हैं जिनके सपनों में जान होती है। सिर्फ पंखों से कुछ नहीं होता, दोस्तों हौसलों से उड़ान होती है।"

So Friends keep growing keep aspiring !!