Just breathe

A boy left emotionally unhealed for years after a severe breakup, expected to shortlist girls over a week vacation and start a family

A girl wanting to start a startup, but is still looking for support to break the stereotypes

A boy expected to have it all, struggling to fill the voids in life as he lives by himself in an alien country

A girl fighting out in an city while she feels her body clock ticking, and has no means to understand what is happening to her

A boy living the expected career dream by fighting it out in a sales territory in a tier 4 city

A girl at the threshold of a new career and a breakup wondering what is she supposed to do

A boy putting all his energies in work and keeping his house wonders where is meaning, where is love

A girl flunking through exams sits alone at home where her parents are really sick

“Am I in the right career? My relationship status is complicated. I am not sure how will this work out. I think I want this. I think that will make me happy. I think that job is good. I think that salary is worth dying for. My aim is to move to that city. She didn’t reply to my message. I didn’t get the project of my choice. I am not happy. “

All the instances listed above are true, and have all the resemblance to people I know alive and kicking. Myself, friends, peers, colleagues looking for meaning, looking for clarity, looking for relief. Some coping with routine, some with occasional venting, some ignoring, some accepting, rarely anyone healing. Speaking of people with similar background as of mine, we hit the real world perhaps too late. 26 is not the age where one is expected to have sorted it all out and brave the realities of real life which are of inevitable nature. One looks for control and meaning externally, but the only place it can perhaps come from is from the inside.

They teach you everything in schools but one thing, which nobody does teach, is how to handle life amidst uncertainty. Being educated from the top colleges in India, one blessedly enters the world of endless opportunities. Corporate struggle, alternate lifestyles, yoga, book writing, business, teaching, traveling, marriage, literally everything is open to you. Now imagine leaving all these choices to a kid who never took out time to realize or develop his internal values. How is he expected to make a choice from such an array, when he only knows what he wants, but doesn’t understand what is that he needs. How can one navigate life when his own internal compass is missing? Result? Mayhem. Chaos. Anxiety. Depression. A taboo our generation deals with, but is rarely brave enough to speak up or share.

Suddenly the real world becomes way too real and many find the necessary life skills missing to live a joyful, stable and meaningful life. Of course my assumption is that consciousness is always there. Because there does exist a lot, where consciousness is missing most of the time and they rarely ever realize if something is wrong or not aligned within them. Otherwise, the cases are extreme. The sorted ones are rare, I haven’t met any yet. And for the others pain increases with their level of consciousness without any means to develop a perspective on what really is happening within. What the hell is happening here?

I guess it’s a journey wherein everyone finds answers at his own pace. But it is our responsibility to ourselves and to family and friends to keep going amongst this uncertainty; and to build and share joy in our lives.

Yes, I understand that every life must end, aw-huh,..
As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, aw-huh,..
Oh I'm a lucky man, to count on both hands
the ones I love,..

Some folks just have one,
yeah, others, they got none, huh-uh

Stay with me,..
Let's just breathe.