Yesterday, we lost one of our young colleague who died untimely at about 38 years age due to massive Cardiac Arrest while being in a hospital. He had no medical history. He was very jovial and charming. Widely respected and adored by everyone who knew him. He is survived by his wife and two small children.

What I am writing about is not about him, it’s about us all. In a fraction of a second, it was all over for him but the agony, which is going to be very long one, started for his family. He did enjoy a life full of smiles and lots of friends, not withstanding the fact that he died young. But are we enjoying the life, which might end as abruptly as mentioned above. Here you are and there you are gone.

Scores of us are besieged by ego problem, we want to be always respected by others and want to ride roughshod over others as soon as and wherever it is possible. We want to think we control and run our lives and in that exalted feeling do not value relationships and friendships. When it is immensely possible to treat friend, relatives and strangers with kindness and dignity, without affecting your calculations for success, even then we miss the opportunity.

When we do not know where we are heading (where our life is heading, how long we are going to live), we plan for many things for next few years. Planning for future is a must, but such plans should be bare minimum essential for ensuring safety and security, physical and economical, for self and family. Mostly, apart form such plans; other plans include designs to succeed by hook or by crook. Even if it means trampling over our own colleague’s head or feet.

Success makes everyone of us happy, grand success makes us even happier, but is there a end to this cycle? Even before one celebration of success ends, we start running for next one. In this long, treacherous and rough road to success in today’s competitive world, are we paying the price of it by sacrificing happiness. Would we not be better with little less success and little more happiness?

I think, at a regular interval, we all must pause and take a stock of net sum of our life and reinvent fun and enjoyment, alone if that suits you, but preferably with friends, family and if feasible, with people less fortunate than us. May be one can follow a cycle of intense competition and success and of relaxation and reclaiming of fun. At no stage, however, we should make ourselves slaves of perceived success and never ever we should forget to enjoy life, because, we do not know when our account on this universe is going to get closed.