He stood before her with all the possible gifts, unsure about what she wanted.
Greeting card ✅ Chocolates ✅ Showpieces ✅
“Nice.” was her response. “Damn! Should have gone for the soft toy.” He thought.
Year 2
A PPT on her life that she could watch at one go on the click of a button was presumably his idea of a good birthday gift. She agreed. So did her parents. The catch? It was good. Not grand.
Year 3
He poured his emotions to construct a metaphorical story that encapsulated their journey till date. The story was but a mere figment of his imagination while at the same time being an expanse in which his dreams were bound. She was impressed, sure. She praised the use of language, definitely. Just not in the way he hoped for.
Year 4
He stood empty handed before her and exclaimed, “It’s me! I am your gift! Happy birthday!”
It began to drizzle. She moved towards him and mock punched him on his arm. “You are the worst.” He was bewildered.
She took his hand in hers and said softly “You outdo yourself every single year. But that is not a possibility next year. No one, not even you, can ever get me a better gift than this.”
As they walked away into the drizzle, arms firmly entwined and her head on his shoulder, the sense of accomplishment he felt at the time was insurmountable.
A desert… Sand dunes… Scorching heat… A trail of footprints.
A person woke up in the middle of this desert after being unconscious for several hours. He was now walking across the entire stretch of the desert in search of a place… to escape the scorching heat, to rest, to survive.
On the horizon to the east, he could see the outline of countless palm trees where there were not supposed to be any, for the east end of the desert was marked by an ocean whereas there was a known settlement a few miles to the north. Dismissing the palm trees as a mirage, he moved northwards for a few hours and by nightfall, he reached the settlement he was searching for.
While the villagers were fascinated at the sight of the wanderer who seemed unlike any they had ever encountered before, they accepted him as their own and arranged for his accommodation. Over the years, he became accustomed to living in the village and lived with contentment as he went about his daily routine and in doing his bit in contributing to the economy of the village.
Happy ending! Or is it?
Consider the following substitutions:
Original Word
Substitution
Desert
Life
Scorching heat
Troubles we face in life
The palm trees to the east
Our goals in life
The village to the north
The sort of life we choose to live to stay safe and avoid the risks that could be encountered while achieving our goals.
In all probability, the wanderer would have been accurate in assuming that the palm trees were a mirage and it was “safe” to move to the north. However, if he would have headed eastwards, there is also a possibility that he would have stumbled upon rare stones on the surface of the sand. He could have made a fortune and would not have to adjust himself to the ways of the village. He would not have lost himself.
Sacrificing long-term vision to achieve short-term success is a monumental blunder. Sacrificing your goals to live a “secure”/ “safe” life is undoubtedly a good way to go but such a life is not fulfilling. Because the thrill and excitement you experience while pursuing your dream and the happiness, joy and ecstasy you feel on achieving it trumps the feeling of security your compromise has provided you with.
The end of the story does not seem so happy now, does it? You are regretting not moving towards your “mirage”, aren’t you? Thinking it’s too late to search for it in the wide-ranging desert? Never. For according to the artificial construct of time, you could be late for an event scheduled to occur at a specified time. Your life goals are not scheduled events. So, you would achieve a goal at the age of 50 when you wanted to achieve it at the age of 40. Big deal! By striving to live a “safe” life, you might never achieve it.
In the end, it is a matter of your life, your goals, your happiness. A safe life or a fulfilling life. The choice is yours.
Words on a canvas 