Lessons from six decades

In a few days I will finish six decades of existence. Like the other “milestone” birthdays, this event provides a good opportunity to reflect on what these years have taught me. Of course, it is quite difficult to put all the lessons learned in a neat and short Blog-post, but here is my brave attempt at identifying six-most important ones. As you would observe they are all interrelated, building on each other, and I have discussed a couple of them in earlier posts.

Make physical fitness an integral part of your life: This is an important one because doing so may or may not increase how long you live (you can still have a bus run over you) but it definitely increases the quality of your life. You can not only do more activities later in your life, but enjoy each one better. Growing up in a country like India, where becoming smarter was emphasized far more than becoming stronger, this was a difficult leap to make. Fortunately, I had some role models---people who are not only wiser than me but stronger.

Emphasize collecting experiences more than collecting wealth: I firmly believe that when my time comes, I would feel a lot more satisfaction in having had great experience in my life than the size of my bank balance. These experiences include seeing different places, doing different things, and meeting different people. As Thoreau said “…when I come to die, (I should not) discover that I had not lived.” The lesson? Live!

Take joy in small things: There are big experiences and there are the small ones. The big experiences are few and far between but the small ones are plenty. A glass of wine, a cup of coffee, a book, a hike, an evening with friends. Unless we learn to enjoy the small experiences, we won’t get the full benefit of what life has to offer. One needs to be able to take joy in doing the same thing day in and day out, because, let’s face it, even for the most fortunate amongst us, that is what the life is about. Can you see the same object with fresh eyes? Find new nuances in the same piece of music?

Learn to ride the two “horses”: As per one of my previous posts, we need to do the best we can AND be happy with what we have. We need to work hard to achieve our goals in life, but at some point, we need to switch horse and enjoy what we have without being envious of people who have more or regretting what we have not been able to achieve.

Don’t live for others: I am defining “living for others” as aspects of our lives that are driven by our desire to impress. If we remove those, there will be little material impact but we will be able to devote a lot more time (and money) to doing things we truly enjoy.

Live for others: Switching to the more conventional definition of “living for others,” people who are able to do that have found true joy in their lives. This is perhaps the most important lesson, something I hope to put in practice in the next few years!

Pedaling away...

Yesterday we had a beautiful morning. Yes it was a bit damp and the rain clouds were threatening to open up any moment, but everything looked green and fresh. It was a typical mid-summer day in New England.

I went biking.

I started from our home in Acton, biked to Concord Center, and then to the Carlisle State Park and back. As I was pedaling away, I was thinking about why I have started enjoying this activity so much that I am prepared to get up early, get all sweaty, and tired; and feel good about it at the end.

This is the answer that I got.

Biking starts from home. I do not need to go to a special place. Just get on the bike and start pedaling.

The destination is predictable. It is back home. I am not going anywhere in particular.

It is the journey that matters in biking. How you enjoy it is the only thing that counts.

I have started enjoying the journey. I like what I see and experience. I enjoy the majesty of tall spruces and firs. I like the deep green of maples. I look forward to seeing the sparkling ponds with Mallard ducks and Canada Geese. The Purple colored flowers are everywhere this time of the year. I bike on narrow, winding roads, almost dark because of the overcast sky and the thickness of forest.

Sometimes, I am going up hill. It is a lot of work. The legs start aching and the lungs are straining. I am tempted to get off and give up. But I continue. The thrill of getting to the top without giving up is great!

Sometimes, I am going down hill. I am going fast. The wind on the face feels great. Then I remind myself that I can not make a mistake when I am going fast. I can easily stumble and hurt myself pretty badly.

This bike is one with gears, like almost every bike you purchase in the West. I am constantly adjusting the gears to make sure that I am going as fast as I can within the limits of my strength.

People on their fancy bikes constantly by-pass me. They are may be 30 or 40 years younger. Let them go past. They are all going to the same destination, home. They will reach their destination faster. May be they will not enjoy the beauty surrounding them, as much as I do.

It starts raining, as was expected. I enjoy it as much as I would if the sun was shining. These are all parts of the biking experience. After all, in biking, you are exposed to the elements and not protected as you are in a car.

This is what biking is about.

And, in case you did not guess, what the life is about!