What is your age?

Life is full of problems. While some of them are created by Nature for a purpose, most of them are our own creations and that too without any purpose. A wise person is one who does not create problems for himself and also seeks a purpose behind the problems created by Nature. However, it is easily said than done. Most of us keep on creating new problems in addition to the existing ones. Life is thus spent in this process and its true goal is missed. Not only this, these problems are a constant source of worry and disturb our peace of mind.

I feel there is a need for changing our attitude towards the problems of life. Most of them are trivial and get sorted out in due course. It is a fact that ultimately all our problems get sorted out or become redundant and if we keep this fact in mind, they will not disturb us much. When we look back at our life, we realise that many problems, which appeared so big at that time, look so petty now that we even laugh at our folly of being so upset about them. This is true for most of us and if so, should we also not adopt the same attitude towards our present or future problems? I have a very interesting experience to narrate in this regard.

One of my friends is a frequent visitor to my place and it is always a pleasure to receive him. He is a senior engineer in a government organisation and is rated as a very good officer. Hardly ever did he bring any personal or official problem to my notice. But one morning, he appeared upset and sought my permission to put his problem before me. By his body language I was able to understand the kind of problem he was likely to share with me. I knew that I had no solution to his problem and at the same time I was sure that he himself was capable of sorting it out. Therefore, refusing permission for placing the problem before me, I asked about his age. Though it appeared strange to him, he told me that he had crossed fifty-two a few months back. Then I asked him whether any of his problems, till that age, still remain unresolved. Being an intelligent and good person he could immediately understand my intention. With a smile on his face, his response was that even the problem which he was going to share with me, got sorted out and he didn’t need to share it with me. This response pleased me a lot and I appreciated his wisdom. It is a different matter that then he narrated his problem also but along with the solution with which I fully agreed.

Therefore, whenever we face a problem, an easy way to sort it out is to think that all our past problems got sorted out in due course and so the present problem will also find a way. Our getting upset or frightened only delays the solution. The quicker way out is to keep cool and to trust our inner strength, which is provided by Nature or God.

Rakesh Mittal I AS (Lucknow)