Life...a.k.a ...quicksilver

Life, over the centuries, has changed. We often think that we are born in the wrong times. It is easy to imagine ourselves being born in a different age and be a Knight, a Samurai, a great warrior or atleast some great lord in the Great Britain of yore.

But on deeper thought, it does not take long to realise that this thought process is flawed. It is a result of the escapist attitude that we develop over a period of time. These people that were just mentioned were the best of the best of their times. So, being them was not easy. In fact, we have knight-like-people in our own times too. Some we recognise as such, some we dont; but they exist and if we are not one of them in our times then it is foolhardy to believe that had we lived in some other times, we would be something else.

This is another reminder of the fact that however glorious the past may be and how rosy or thorny the future might seem, it is important to live in the present. The present, no doubt, is a result of some things of the past, but it's in no way a slave to it. And what you do today, now, this moment-- will leave an undelible mark on your future. Its on the person, to a great extent, whether that mark is a bad looking scar or a beauty spot.

But there is a big difference between earlier times and now. Earlier there was more to live and explore and find out. Even the experts of the old times had enough times on their hands to dabble in other things and that is why we had a scientist, a writer, a painter , a thinker and a philosopher- all roled into one- in Leonardo da Vinci. Their are many more examples of this kind, and I am sure we all know some of them. But the point is this: even a specialist was a generalist in those times. These days, as young as eighth grade students have to decide which side they have to go to and then the rest of the world is cut off to them. Young children have no time to play as their is loads of studies to do , homework to finish, exams to top in. So they start losing out on some of the things that really made childhood what it is.

As one grows up, voluntarily or involuntarily, one has to keep on making choices and keep losing out on life. Till one day one becomes so good at something, that he is no good at anything else.