School Homework and Life Questions!

In this constant struggle to grab what’s ahead, we often forget the order, neglect things, and a lot ends up getting messed up.

I was helping my son with his studies… No, I don’t always do that; my wife has gone to our hometown for the Ganpati-Gauri festival, and since my son’s exams have started, there was no other option.

So, he came after memorizing something, handed me the book, and said, “Dad, ask me questions.”

Then I started. While he was answering, I noticed something that I used to do too when my mother used to take my studies during my school days. If an answer had 5–7 points, I would often start by mentioning the last point first, and then go back to the first, second, and third, and so on.

My son was doing the exact same thing. I don’t know what his intention was, but I used to do that thinking if I started with the first point, I might forget the later ones.

So, I used to hold on to the last point in my mind first.

In doing so, the last point would stay in my memory, the first 2–3 points would come back as well, but the fourth or fifth point would sometimes slip away. This happened quite often. I don’t know why.

Then, when I left school/college and entered the real world, the situation remained the same.

I always used to think of the later, far reaching goals in life. mostly not thinking about taking small steps, considering the needed things in that time. Had no enough patience to work out in small way and then reach out to bigger goals.

In the rush to grab that distant goal, the distant dream would come into my grasp, but then, the nearer goals, which were necessary at the respective time, would slip away like the fourth or fifth points in the answers to the questions.

Wanted promotion, within 1–2 years. Buy a house, a car keep working hard.

Maintaining the job is the first point; getting a promotion, buying a house, and a car are the last points. And then, taking care of health, food, relationships — these are the fourth and fifth points, which tend to slip away.

And so, the real question of true happiness and contentment in life remains unanswered.

In this constant struggle to grab what’s ahead, we often forget the order, neglect things, and as mentioned above, a lot ends up getting messed up.

The example I gave here doesn’t apply exactly to life, but to some extent, we all make this mistake.

Let’s see if, going forward, we can keep all the points in order and solve life’s question.