“Curiosity killed the cat” and “Opportunity doesn't knock twice”. Sound like two great English proverbs intending to tell you something really important. But, the catch words here are “Curiosity” and “Opportunity”. These could mean simple English words to vast majority of people. But, to some special, privileged people, it’s altogether different world. “Curiosity” and “Opportunity” are names of two rovers sent by NASA to Mars.
Get born, start schooling at the age of 6, start college at the age of 18, start job at the age of 22, get married at the age of 26, become parent at the age of 30, become grandparent at the age of 55 and die at the age of 70. This is what life has to offer you. In between these milestones, you have some options, some serious options. You have the option to choose, you have the option to decide, you have the option to work, you have the option to make a difference, you have the option to live.
Imagine you own a car, you want to drive it from Bangalore to Chennai and you have never traveled from Bangalore to Chennai earlier. How will you go about it? You will plan the journey – you will check the tyres, you will check the fuel, you will check the water in radiator, you will get along the road using the sign-boards and of course, use the GPS. There is a slight catch here now. Imagine you own a car and you don’t know where you want to travel to. This is exactly what life is. We do not know the destination, we do not know where we will travel to. So, how do you go about it?
I believe, there are many ways to live – One, start the car and take the car wherever the road takes you. Second, start the car, find the next best destination, reach it; then, find the next best destination, reach it and keep travelling along the best destinations available. Third – start the car, decide your next destination, reach it; then, decide your next destination, reach it and keep deciding your destinations, keep reaching them. Fourth – decide your final destination and come what may, rest only when you reach it. I believe, most of us belong to the first mode, a few belong to the second mode and even fewer to the third mode and rarely, people know the purpose of their living – the fourth mode.
The essence of life is knowing the purpose of it, and at a bare minimum, at least deciding the purpose, if not knowing it. At the end of life, “curiosity” and “opportunity” could still mean English to you or you might comprehend it as something which is stationed at Mars. It’s only and only up to you to decide what magic you want and you can perform.
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