Everything that has a beginning has an end...

There is a time in life when there is nothing in the world makes you think of the end. As a child it was the lion roaring at the end of the cartoon that made my heart skip a beat. And when it roared again I would not be able to contain my excitement – it is the beginning of a new story. No matter how many times I saw Popeye open the can of spinach there was excitement because I knew Popeye is going to win. Now I think of it I wonder why Popeye did not think of fresh spinach — but then how would he carry it around — I hear you say. Popeye is still there, but quite a few of the special people who were around me then have gone.

If childhood meant relating the word ‘end’ to end of a movie, now it is more of an obsession. There is a relation that can be easily struck between the words end and begin. Life teaches us that they go hand in hand. One of the biggest truths of life is that everything that has a beginning has an end.

The lively plant we water today will become part of the soil one day. But it is becoming part of a new beginning. It replenishes the earth to be part of the new source of life. That end however is painful for other who are in attachment with the plant.

Change is inevitable, and once again it is only after a while on being the path of life we realise the only way to deal with change is to accept it. In fact acceptance could be the key to many challenges in life. If we were to pause a moment

while having an argument with someone we realise it is the egos that do not want to give in.

Does it really make a difference to the nature whether two people agree or disagree unless they can cause environmental damage? The sun will rise to usher in the day and the moon will ensure the closure of the day whether we are in agreement or not.

As a child sunsets always created a sense of missing and it was only later I realised it was the ending of the day and knowing it would never come back that created the vacuum in the mind. The sunlight was replaced by the dim light and somehow the sound of outdoor became louder until it took over completely when everyone slept.

Today these moments are treasures because it is unimaginable the night in millennium without the humming of air conditioners and traffic no matter what the time is people are constantly running against time.

When you are younger you want to fight for changes because you want to be the change. Naturally it is the youngsters who bring in the new ideas, which is one of the reasons why civilisations have continued to evolve. However it is the experience of the elders in the society that brings in the stability. Stability leads to sustainability and sometimes it is the visionary ones who can manage to have all the three.

A common instinct is to get excited about a new project but it is only the experienced individuals who would think of the half way through the journey and eventually the conclusion.

It is important to close — while visualising the closing part of a project is easy, predicting life is impossible. Unpredictability is the nature of life and that is what makes it exciting. We can only hope for the best and yet have a Plan B around just in case. But wouldn’t it be fun if Popeye could hand over his can of spinach once in a while? Popeye would tell us that can of strength is within us — we call it the will power.

Lakshmi Kothaneth

lakshmiobserver@gmail.com