Theory of Relativity

A couple of days ago, a friend of mine tried to end his life. At the last moment, he realized he didn't have it in him to do what would have been the last thing he would have ever done. He was shattered, was pissed at himself, for not being able to end his own misery. He broke down and then he called me. I was shocked to hear this from him, to realize that he had given up so easily on himself and the people who think are there for him. 

True – life does get messed up sometimes. But life is also about relativity  How much agony is enough agony? Is life all about figuring out how much despair we could take? Is it about finding our threshold for pain and trying to push the limits by a little more each day? Is life about finding those moments of joy in a journey of sorrow? Or is it about learning to deal with phases of pain in a journey of bliss? Is life about feeling sorry for the leaves that wither every fall? Or is it about being happy for the trees that endure, waiting for every spring? 

Every time I try to answer these questions, I also think about the people who have gone through worse, managing a smile all the way through, irrespective of whether or not they survived the phase. In the end, it all boils down to the theory of relativity. How much are we willing to take? How many times are we willing to fall? How much longer are we willing to hold? How easily can we lose a frown? We set our sails and risk the ocean of life in pursuit of these answers. It takes more than ordinary to fail with pride, learn the lesson and sail into the unknown again. Maybe that’s why there are 7 billion humans on earth yet only a handful of heroes. 

The good news though, is we decide what we want to be!!