8/7/2019 It is Not the Load That Breaks You but How You Carry It

1/2

End Term Evaluation- Mind, Body and Soul

Sudhanshu Shekhar (PGDM/09/163)

1

8. It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. -- Lena Horne

And they lived happily ever after This is perhaps one of the most recurrent themes in every

film, drama, play or soap opera you have ever seen. There is something enigmatic; a completemystery about these words. Why? Because these words are fleeting in nature. It is because of

our fundamental inability to live happily in the present that has led to the formation this cathartic

expression happily ever after.There is no happily-ever-after in real life. The reason people

only see pipe dreams of being happy-ever-after is because of their obsession with material

success and their utter disregard for the efforts they put in.The human mind is conditioned to

condemn failures and this is the key to all its sufferings. A simple example of this would be a

marathon runner running in the Olympics. For him, the 15- minutes of race are his life, his

destiny. Victory appears to be a matter of life and death. But does life really end with that race?

Absolutely not! A failure is a failure only if conceived by the mind in the same fashion. Edison

failed ten thousand times in lighting the bulb. He should have given away long before but he

didnt. He was working for his blind love of physics, for lighting the world of millions but not

for blind success.Even in the midst of failure he would have died a contented man.

Why?Because he tried and tried to his best. He worked out of passion not mere ambition.

The biggest problem lies in our corrupted definition of success. In todays world, the easiest

measure of success is ones bank balance and the type of house or car one owns. Power,

privilege and social status the three essential components of success. Everything else is

dispensable. And this is where the problem begins. In our pursuit for this shallow success we are

at war with ourselves. In my pursuit for bank balance I am in conflict with my dreams. In my

chase for my dreams I am in conflict with my peers and in my quest for status I am in conflict

with my virtuous self. In short, in my pursuitfor the outwardly, I strangulate my own self to

become something that is more socially acceptable, respectable and success-able. From here

rises the abominable feeling of being trapped and a general hatred both for oneself and others.

Such a success drives our attention and intentions only to the end result, the final product, rather

than the efforts. We tend to forget that no one has even found satisfaction and happiness is his

creation. Rather, it was the process of creating the masterpiece from which the happiness came

about. Drawing Mona Lisa was a source of happiness for Leonardo Da Vinci. It didnt matter to

him whether people would criticize it or revere it for its mysterious smile. It didnt bother him

that the dame in his masterpiece lacked eyebrows. All he wanted was to get lost in the process ofits creation. Success is a consequence of efforts, not the necessary conclusion. Victory lies in the

race run, not the trophy won. Call it the handiwork of a dogmatic society or a play of the devil,

but human nature is too stubbornly braced for success and the distorted perception that success

and success alone is the key to infinitesimal happiness. And when this perception vaporizes

people suffer from an inevitable onslaught of mental anguish.

8/7/2019 It is Not the Load That Breaks You but How You Carry It

2/2

End Term Evaluation- Mind, Body and Soul

Sudhanshu Shekhar (PGDM/09/163)

2

This brings us to our second point, the false perception of happiness. The pursuit for happiness

for most of us begins outside - in money, power and status, whereas the source of all happiness

lies not outside but deep within. People work all their lives so that one day they can sit back and

relax. Unfortunately, such a day rarely comes and most perish in the chaos of their pathetic

existence. The problem with this compromising relationship between material success andhappiness is that it discounts all time periods in ones life wherein the individual is free of misery

or sorrow. Happiness lies not in the presence of pleasure but in the absence of sorrow. Most of

the time when we are free of pleasure and sorrow the end result turns out to be boredom which

again gives rise to sorrow. If we just feel grateful towards the absence of sorrows from our life,

life would be much more beautiful and a lot of boredom would be curtailed. As Gautum Buddha

said, There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

To become happy, one does not require any heroic efforts. One can even get happy just by seeing

the ATM machine. The next time you use it, just think how much more painful it would have

been if you were to go and fetch a money order or run to the bank every time you needed money.Look into the glass door in front and perhaps you would be looking at a smiling face. Happiness

is as much a state of mind as despair. A happy mind is nothing but a mind free of conflict.

It is sad that as the human race has progressed the conviction in its voice has decreased. It is

because we are running after goals that are not our goals, we pursue dreams that are not our

dreams and we act in ways that deceives our moral character. Nothing, not even failure, can deter

one if he is convinced about the truth and authenticity of his actions.Alas!Achieving such faith in

oneself is a difficult thing. We are a race which trusts in God but not in itself. The key to every

kind of happiness lies locked within ones own mind. There is no happily ever after in life. Life

as a collective whole is happy and anytime it ends would be a happy ending. The sooner werealize this the better it is. It is not circumstances that speak of despair but the mind within. It is

not the load that breaks one down but the shoulders beneath.

Submitted by:

SudhanshuShekhar

PGDM/09/163