Sandcastles

{Modified by me after being copied from a forwarded email.}

 
Hot sun. Salty air. Rhythmic waves. A little boy is on the beach. On his knees he scoops and packs the sand with plastic shovels into a bright red bucket. Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created.

 

All afternoon he will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing the walls. Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle stix will be bridges. A sandcastle will be built.

 

Big city. Busy streets. Rumbling traffic.

 

A man is in his office. At his desk he shuffles papers into stacks and delegates assignments. He cradles the phone on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with his fingers. Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed and much to the delight of the man, a profit is made.

 

All his life he will work. Formulating the plans. Forecasting the future. Annuities will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges. An empire will be built.

 

Two builders of two castles. They have much in common. They shape granules into grandeurs. They see nothing and make something. They are diligent and determined. And for both the tide will rise and the end will come.

 

Yet that is where the similarities cease. For the boy sees the end while the man ignores it. Watch the boy as the dusk approaches.

 

As the waves near, the wise child jumps to his feet and begins to clap. There is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. He knew this would happen. He is not surprised. And when the great breaker crashes into his castle and his masterpiece is sucked into the sea, he smiles. He smiles, picks up his tools, takes his father's hand, and goes home.

 

The grownup, however, is not so wise. As the wave of years collapses on his castle he is terrified. He hovers over the sandy monument to protect it. He blocks the waves from the walls he has made. Salt-water soaked and shivering he snarls at the incoming tide.

 

"It's my castle," he defies.

 

The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand belongs...

 

And I don't know much about sandcastles. But children do. Watch them and learn. Go ahead and build, but build with a child's heart. When the sun sets and the tides take - applaud. Salute the process of life and go home.

Myself....

Going in the right path, when all around yourself are free to do whatever the hell they want to do, is a bit difficult but not impossible. We know we have to keep pace with this world but it does not mean that we are supposed to change the values that we have. If we are convinced of our values, they should be given the first preference while deciding on the factor of changing oneself to suit the world.

 

Changing without losing your own distinct identity is the key to a successful change. Keeping pace with the world, while folowing our own ideals is an art.

 

When my friend gave up drinking about five years ago, I just wanted him to do what deep inside himself, he thought was right. Not what the world thought was right.

 

One of the first things in this direction is to be positively assertive. Don't take anyone's opinion or remark too seriously.

 

Secondly, identify, upto a certain extent, what your core values are. Is honesty a part of your character or you are a person who fits the situation? Or are you a totally dishonest person? Is taking risk your nature or you are always one who'd prefer a safer path. Identify who you are and what are your best qualities. Do not compare with others. It may be that you are best at doing house work. But the friend near you who is too popular in your workplace is some one different: think twice before emulating her blindly. Be yourself. And for that you have to know what are your best qualities. One of my friends is best in keeping quiet and that helps her in her life.

 

Continuous progress is an untold things that we always want. I said progress. Not change.

 

Let us believe that continous change is mandatory. You cannot stop it.  But continous progress is what is under our control.

 

Progress continously. Follow your own values.

 

This world is a very funny place. You cannot ever say for sure what the world wants. But it is an easier task to decide what you want. Focus on few things at a time. (You may wish for hundreds of things!)

 

The following is a quote I had seen long back - repeating it - it is by Ralph Ellison, "Battle Royal"

 

All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was.  I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory.  I was naïve.  I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer.  It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with:  that I am nobody but myself.