Life of Two Men

There were two young men – one was educated with a good academics record, a white-collared job and a life to look forward to and enjoy. Another had poor academic record, a physically demanding job and a life full of hardships.

You will expect a well-watered, well-manured, well-lighted plant to grow big, strong and bear more and sweeter fruits. Alas, human life is not similar to that of the plants – it unfurls in accordance with your actions and not just on circumstances.

The well-placed man was a principled man. He chose to live a truthful life – not compromising his principles, living by the very righteous decisions, not indulging in corruption. Often, such men are temperamental. He found his job tough and often found himself at loggerheads with the system over variety of issues. He had to change his job(s) and often found himself transferred. One fine day, another transfer came and the man, fed up with the system, decided not to transfer to another city. Instead, he decided to fight a court case against the company. And to the worst of his luck, he could not push the company at the receiving end, he lost the case. With this, he lost his job, ending up with no money and no further own life security.

The hard-working man had grown up in hardships of life - had seen his parents struggle to make ends meet in his childhood. He had the responsibility to take care of his parents and myriad of siblings. The only option in his life was to put his head down and work as hard as he can. He knew how the system works and bent himself to work in accordance with the system. He got married and never shirked away from his responsibilities – worked day and night and took care of his parents, married of his siblings and brought up his children, providing them with good education. He saved every penny he possibly could – he cut the budget on his clothes, his food choices, his lifestyle, his children’s upbringing, often hurting himself and his family with his penchant for saving money. He retired from his job with a moderate pension, well-educated children and a comprehensive healthcare plan to take care of the family.

Being a real-life story, this story presents a curious case of principles versus pragmatism. Not every principled man is wretched and not every pragmatic man is happy. The decision is ours to take and the life is ours to make.

Live your life in the “your” best way. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.