I just finished reading this true story about a man's extraordinary quest to climb Mt Everest. His name is George Mallory and you can get all details and videos about him if you google his name. So, i don't have to explain the story much except that he was last seen 600ft from the top of Mt Everest in 1924 at the age of 37 and his body was found only in 1999. It is still unknown whether he reached the summit.
While most people say it is sad that the world would never know if he reached the summit when he was that close to it and should have been the first ever man to reach the top if he actually did. But somehow i dont find it sad. I mean, how many of us would get to die 600ft from the top of Everest?? Imagine the views he had in his last moments. Imagine the excitement he must have felt when he was THAT close to being the first ever man to reach the top. Imagine the beauty surrounding him...imagine the experience of touching the divine nature. He had been dreaming of that moment since he was just a child and he knew all the risks he was taking...he knew death could happen at any moment if attempted to reach his dreams...he knew he may never see his family again....though he loved them more than anything and YET! He couldnt resist the climb...why?? I guess its because we human beings are made to strive for the best. We are not to settle for anything. The more we achieve the more we want to achieve. That's just human nature. Otherwise we would all be like bears, hibernating after each achievement.
I realise that people are mostly worried about how long they would live rather than how passionately they live. And the fear of death or danger stops us from living altogether. We try to go risk free! and that is why it gets boring.
We take diversion at every risky path and end up walking on a boring one way with no spectacular views or exciting twists and turns to negotiate....we could even end up sleep walking...day in and day out...going on like robots coz our lifestyle doesn't even require thinking!! Then one day...when we get old we look back and start wondering what on earth have we been doing all these while. Most of us do live this way....and what happens to us after our super long life?? People forget us within days and the world goes on like nothing happened. Now compared to this man whos body was found like 70 years after he died and it was well preserved in the icy mountain top. While he kept the whole world doing research on him even after he died he left a mystery for the world to figure out...people are writing books about him. We still know a person by the name of George Mallory lived in this planet....why?? how?? simply because he followed his dreams despite the risks that he faced. If he refused to take that risk and chose to live with his family....yes of course he might have lived another 50 or 60 years...but would we be talking about him today??
No, because no one talks about anyone who has simply lived long without any passion. Of course we cant all climb the Everest. But we do all have a passion. Some of us simply ignore that passion and bury the little dreams to have a "normal" life. Then we complain that life is unfair or boring! What can life do...when we keep taking diversions at every exciting path it puts in front of us!!
Passion is not only about wanting to achieve super huge things like becoming a super star or legend. Its about loving the roses on our path. Its about looking at the beauty of life. Its about enjoying the privilege of being on this planet ...its about having interest to know what all this is!! Its about wondering how on earth are those stars shining for a billion years...Its about admiring the full moon even from the little hut we live in. Its about being passionate about everything! From food, to clothes....colours and animals, people and trees....the rain or shine ...the nature in all. When we are passionate ...no days would seem ordinary anymore. Every minute can be joyous. Only then ...our hearts would come to know what we want most....then we will identify our true passion and then we can follow it. And once we are on that path...everything else falls beautifully in its place and life starts making sense. And only then, we start living.....till then we are merely dragging ourselves from day to day.
Some might argue that life is so hectic now and how is it possible to find our passion amidst the chaos. I think it is chaotic because no one is following their passion. Everyone is crammed up in one standard path of making money and nothing else. So of course the path is crowded and chaotic. If each and every one followed their passion there would be a thousand other paths to take and every path would be beautiful and calm. We are suffocating ourselves by walking in the crowd. Lets get out of it while we can. It is not impossible...again..there will be risks...but i would rather be preserved on the top of Everest for 100 years then to be gone with the wind in a minute :) Woudnt you!!?
:)
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