Does life decide your limits or do limits decide your life?

Hello everyone. I pop up in your news feed, or email once in a while with an article. Evidently, I don’t write regularly on the blog, because I believe unless you feel it, you cannot bleed ink on paper. So, every article I write comes out of my own heart, mind or soul, and sometimes simultaneously from all three.

The matter I write, whether or not I manage to take an article to conclusion, whether the article is needed in the first place, the time I take to finish my article and the frequency of publishing a complete article – all these are dependent on the boundaries that are set for me in terms of time and work management. I explain this process to emphasize that the way I handle my life is no different. The work I do, whether or not I am able to finish my work, whether that action or decision is even required to be made, the time I take to fulfill my commitment and whether I can multitask – all these are dependent on the boundaries that are set in my life. Phew! That was a long haul! But why am I talking about life and boundaries in the first place? That is because I read a quote a few days back – “Live limitless”. Although I have seen countless articles, poems, quotes etc on the same lines, this one got me thinking. They tell people that there is no limit to their dreams, goals or personality. They tell people to push ahead of the strings that hold them without considering what or who is stopping them. But, is this correct?

I disagree partially. This matter of boundaries and limitations in life is a very subjective matter. It is neither black, white, grey or rainbow. It can be a mixture of all these four. This statement of mine is very artistic in nature. It can be interpreted in many ways, like poems have been for all these years, whether or not the poet meant it that way! So let me explain.

Let us imagine a girl for our case. Tanya is a 15 year old who lives in a metropolitan city in India with her parents and a brother, Aryan, who is 4 years younger. The father is employed with an average salary and the mother is homemaker. They live in a two room apartment allotted by the government since 20 years and are living a very ordinary life. All good?

Point 1 – Considering the girl’s age, she is soon going to enter the 11th grade where she has to choose her stream of education in school. For those unaware, the choice in general is made between Science, Commerce and Humanities (or Arts). It is a crucial decision of her life evidently because it will give her the footage to decide her career.

Point 2 – Considering where they live, the expenses will be high and the father is working on an average salary. The mother is managing the entire household. They both are working in their own capacity to give their children a comfortable living. Let’s say that at this time, the school decides to organize a trip to US for a competition organized by NASA. It is an amazing opportunity for Tanya, but the total costs that they would have to pay would take away a major chunk of their savings till date. They also need to save enough for her college education.

Point 3 – The brother, Aryan, is a bright student in the sixth grade and has just started exploring his talents seriously. In addition to being the topper of his class, he has discovered that he is good in gymnastics and is already going for classes outside school. He is one of the good students of his gymnastics class and the teacher informs of a state level gymnastics competition in the national stadium, which Aryan is urged to take part in, as this would give him an excellent opportunity in the sports field. But Aryan remembers of an exam in school, which would be jeopardized if he decides to participate, owing to the practice sessions and the competition itself. Aryan himself is more interested in pursuing the academic field rather than sports even though he is good in sports as well.

In each of their situations, they cannot decide for themselves. They have consider those around, as their decision directly affects that of the others. If Tanya chooses a field without a picture in her head of what she will do within that stream, it will put her future into uncertainty. It will put undue pressure on the part of the parents to provide for her till she finds a footing, which may or may not be timely. This pressure on the parents will increase as they have to provide for their son similarly. This will in turn pressurize the son to compromise as he will see his parents under tremendous stress. In the second situation, if her parents decide to send her for the competition, they might not be able to save for her college. As a result, even after getting an excellent exposure at a young age on an international platform, she is unable to pursue her field of interest due to lack of funds at the required time. Aryan’s situation is sure to split the readers into two. But if he does decide to take up the competition, he needs to realize that he will lose grades. It may not look like a great deal to you considering his age, but for a sixth grader who is used to being in the top bracket, it is huge deal to lose grades. He may or may not pursue gymnastics further in life, but these grades will stick to his mind, and as a family, they need to be prepared for any such eventuality.

So, every decision impacts the others in the family. Limitations are a part of life and cannot be done away with by doing only what you yourself feel is right.

Does the decision taken by Tanya, Aryan and their parents in their respective situations fall under the “Live Limitless” category, or do they have to consider their boundaries before deciding?

Point to ponder?

Be satisfied, be detoxified, be Priya-fied!