Should life really be a rat race?

Since the day we enrolled in kindergarten, there has always been attention and celebration surrounding kids who do well compared to others. It could be simple things like the best drawing or the one who managed to tie the shoelace. Such celebrations surrounding these achievements and success continue till the end of our time.

Should this be the case?

As kids when we observe so much of celebration and glory surrounding those who do better than us, we try harder to achieve the same level of attention. What happens when the child is biologically unable to grasp things quickly due to conditions such as dyslexia? Do we put him into a different segment of the same competition or does the system look away and make them keep competing with children without such conditions?

This race that begins in the early stages of life goes on until the day we die. Even after retirement, people are always aspiring to do better and more meaningful work so that everybody else can take them as an example of how to live.

Should life be this way? Are we built for constant stress? What is this need to get attention?

There is a famous quote by Dolly Patron that states “Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life”. Does this not make so much sense? As humans, we keep achieving materialistic things, one after the other mostly to maintain a social status whilst seeking respect from society.

Can materialistic things help us be at ease during the last stages of life? Does life mean only meeting deadlines? Most of the adults on their deathbed regret skipping their child’s concert for a meeting, missing an anniversary celebration with the spouse just to meet deadlines, and not playing an active role as a parent in their child’s early stages of life.

There is so much more to life than meeting deadlines and scheduling meetings. There is no need to travel everywhere to enjoy life. Life is right now. We have no guarantee that we will live to see the day we plan a trip overseas.

In Buddhism life is compared to the dew drop on the edge of grass. Just like how the dew drop could fall off at any moment, life can end. The comparison shows the uncertainty and fragile nature of life.

We should learn to enjoy life as it is. The morning cup of coffee, sunrise when you look out of the window, strangers who smile and greet you on the way to a store, and a long cold shower at the end of a tired day are things that we should be grateful for. These are markers of how beautiful life is. Yet, these are things we take for granted.

Life should never be a constant rat race to earn money. None of us are going to get out alive anyway. Next time when you are having a bad day, look around you. Count your blessings. There is always a reason to be grateful and if you are not able to find any, life itself is a gift from god. This is only a short ride and all we would have at the end would be the memories we collect so make sure you leave no room for regret.