It so often and
easily happens that you don't know what to do next in life. Recently
while I was doing an internship in Chennai, we had an office lunch
bidding farewell to someone who was leaving. There was some senior
employee in the office who asked me what I was going to do next. I
innocently replied that after the lunch I'll get back to work like
everyone else and I hadn't planned anything for the evening. He was
like No No.. I am asking what are you planning to do with your
future? I was left numb for a second, then I gathered myself and
replied, “I am just in my second year, I need not know that now
itself. I don't have any plans as yet.” He was filled with shock
and gave me the example of his son who is in his 8th that he is all
planned to become a computer engineer. I appreciated the fact and
tried to busy myself with the food. Though the food had only rice, I
found it certainly better than the talk! This was just one encounter,
I have met many people who are so much more worried about my future
than me.
There was some
mentorship programme at our institute where a particular club of the
insti had invited so called successful college pass-outs. One
of them on taking up the mic wanted to teach us to always play safe
in life. He said that one should strive for what one wants but there
are always chances that you might not get that and hence you should
have plan B, plan C and also your plan D always ready. I was
terrified to hear that for I don't even have a plan A ready with
myself. I raised my hand and asked him, “Is it always necessary to
have plans ready? Can't we go on in life with instantaneous
planning?” He replied saying that no instantaneous thing works, you
should always be planned. I wanted to argue but given the crowd and
his attitude, I dropped the idea.
All this
renders me worried about what I shall do in future, for I don't have
any plans. But what I wonder more is why do we need to have
plans, why can't we let life flow the way it wants to. Is it
necessary that I make a life scheme and that scheme decides what
interests me? Isn't it upto my heart over what interests me? I have
often heard the quote, you are the potter who shapes his life, but
should we decide the final shape of the pot even before we start
collecting the clay. The scheme of final shapes we already have is
pretty limited, isn't it? If we let ourselves be the potter and shape
the pot with time and the natural flow of life, won't we end up with
a shape which is completely new to this convention-ridden world?
The
next time anyone asks me about what I am going to do with my life,
then my only reply would be 'I'll be taking it easy!'
