Unfair to life

On every step taken up on the ladder, he forgets to celebrate. But on every fall, he doesn't forget to whine.

On every achievement, he forgets to be grateful to God. But on every failure, he doesn't forget to blame God.

Isn't it being unfair to life?

When he is in school, he's told to study all day to secure his future. "Son, you're in 10th, it's the base, study hard. So you wouldn't have to work too hard in +2."

"Son, you're in 11th, study hard, so that you wouldn't have to break your head in 12th."

"12th is very important. Study hard. You can have fun in college."

"College isn't for fun. You have to work hard to get a job."

"Work like an ass for 2 years, so that you secure your position in the job."

"Work harder, you got to marry and have kids. It takes money to run family."

And the life goes on... actually the life never started. Isn't it being unfair to life?

You use clay to make pots but it's the emptiness inside which you use to store water. You build house with bricks, but it's the space between where you live. You work for 10 hours but it's the remaining 14 hours for which you live, for which you earn. You earn for 6 days and it's for the 7th day for which you earn. You forget this fact and blame life for all the miseries. Isn't it being unfair to life?

Man waits for one big moment of happiness, one big house, one big car, one special person. He forgets that life is made of plenty of small moments of happiness and many special people whom you just need to recognize. I have seen so many such people. And when that big moment comes, they don't know how to celebrate! They would have completely forgotten how to rejoice life! Isn't it being unfair to life?

Maybe he's a man who has a big family to take care of and huge responsibilities on his shoulders. But what's the point of doing everything when his own shoulders are shivering with fatigue? When despite doing everything for so-called 'living', there's no life, isn't it being unfair to life?

And when you're unfair to life, how can you expect life to be fair to you?

I don't mind keeping my mind so open that my brains fall out

Rocky comes with a left punch! A right punch! A solid right again! He's hitting on the body! Jabbin' it hard! The southpaw comes with the left, right on the face! ... .... ... ... and the winner is Rocky Balboa!

No, I am not typing the subtitles of Rocky movie series. But each and every dialog of this movie series "Rocky" is something worth listening to. I have seen the whole series thrice. Some people think it's about boxing, but I feel it's about life. Boxing is just a medium to show it.

No, I am not typing the review of "Rocky". But this series touched me. I developed an affinity towards boxing. I saw plenty of boxing movies after that, "Cinderella Man", "The fighter", "Raging Bull", "Million Dollar Baby" and many others. So, I thought, 'why not learn boxing? It's good for physique, for learning self defense and it might be fun learning it.'

I started searching for boxing teachers around my place but to no avail. So, I 'OPENED' my mind and started searching for kickboxing teachers. After all, I'll be adding something (kicks) to boxing, that won't be a loss. I got phone numbers of plenty of kickboxing teachers. So, I started calling them. But one teacher had a voice which was completely different from how a strong, arrogant, experienced and physically colossal guy should sound like. He was the only one who asked me, "Ankur, why do you wanna learn kickboxing?" I said, "Fitness and self defense." (I didn't wanna tell that I am actually interested in learning boxing, but because I couldn't find a teacher, I am opting for kickboxing.)

I fell ill and I couldn't go to meet my (future) master for a month. But my excitement to learn kickboxing started growing. At last, I met him. It was directly a training class and there wasn't a slight mention of the word 'kickboxing'. I shirked at the thought, 'Am I learning karate or something? No, I don't wanna learn it. It looks so boring when people perform karate.' But again, I kept my mind 'OPEN'. I soon learnt that I am gonna learn kickboxing, karate, kungfu and maybe some more stuff, all mixed! I was on cloud nine with excitement. Then I grounded my mind and decided to devote a little part of my day, everyday, to practice Martial Arts. I love it, I love it more than I even thought I'd love boxing. I don't wanna just punch. I wanna punch, kick, grab, poke fingers, lock bodies and most importantly, feel close to God by doing something I love doing and to which I can put my whole mind and body.

As they say, 'Never forget how it all started'. It all started with few movies about boxing. And what propelled me? My 'OPEN' mind.

A little prayer as I end this article:

Dear God, Thank You for introducing me to Martial Arts and my teacher. Dear God, give me strength and courage to follow it throughout my life. Dear God, always keep me grounded, as I wanna learn everyday.