All of us come to this Earth for a limited time. We are given "body and mind" as an instrument to explore. While the upkeep and maintenance of this body and mind are essential, the primary purpose of "life" is to use these tools to explore. After all, we do maintain and upkeep our cars by getting their annual service done, getting them insured in case of accidents, supplying regular fuel to them, getting them washed and cleaned, yet the primary purpose of a car is to help us travel from one place to another. We use cars to travel to the destinations we know. We also use cars to explore destinations unknown to us.
Travelling to the known destinations is fun. While driving to the "Road frequently travelled", we get to encounter different scenes not seen before. We get to see different terrain, climate, and weather. We move from the plains to the mountains or vice versa. We get to see the beaches. Sometimes we drive on the long, lonely roads. Sometimes, heavy traffic and in the process, we gather different experiences. However, while travelling towards the known destinations, we know what we are going to experience since the people who have travelled on the same path have penned down their experiences, and we want to have a "direct experience" of the same. Thus, on the one hand, there is some sense of security; on the other hand, there are hardly any surprises and thrills.
On the other hand, sometimes we decide to drive along the unknown terrain to the "Road less travelled". Travelling is full of surprises, and that's why we are fully attentive. We don't know what will happen next, where we will get the next petrol pump, and what new challenges we will face. This is the domain of "unknown," where our instincts are our guide. That's why our mind can't afford to go back to the past or future. It has to stay firm to the present moment. When our 100% attention is there in the present moment, it's like living life to the fullest. While travelling on the known roads, our mind often moves into the past and future. We are driving on the road, but our minds are busy thinking about the office. That's why we live only a small fraction of our lives in the present moment, and that's why life feels so short and unfulfilling. On the other hand, while travelling on the "road less travelled", we stay fully aware in the present moment, and that's why we live 100% in the present moment and feel fulfilled.
I feel that we can't ignore the "upkeep and maintenance" of the body and mind. At the same time, we need to drive on the "road frequently travelled" as well. We have to do some work for our livelihood so that we can do the "upkeep and maintenance" of not only our body and mind but also the kids and other family members dependent on us. Society pays for driving on the "road frequently travelled" and that's why most of us do some job or business, to do the "work" valued in society, which is rewarded in terms of money, and money is used for the upkeep and maintenance. However, the real fulfilment lies in driving down the "road less travelled". When we explore the domain of the unknown, we stay fully aware, and that's why in those moments, we live our lives to the fullest.
There is no fixed rule of dividing our time between the "upkeep and maintenance", driving the "road frequently travelled", and driving on the "road less travelled". Society is like a pyramid. Most people are at the bottom of the pyramid who spend almost the whole of their life in the "upkeep and maintenance" and work in the "domain of the known" to the extent that is mandatory to ensure desirable upkeep and maintenance. Some people are at the middle of the pyramid who are "quite ambitious" and aggressively set goals in the domain of the known. They want to become billionaires and powerful, and do not hesitate to compromise their "upkeep and maintenance". They may stay hungry and compromise their health to get an assignment or a powerful position. Very few people in society are at the top of the pyramid, whose focus is on the "road less travelled".
It actually requires a very strong conviction and connection from the inner self to be assured to walk along the "road less travelled". An aware mind will naturally examine the value of "upkeep and maintenance" and soon realize that death is the reality that nobody can avoid, and therefore upkeep and maintenance have limited utility. Even if we wash our car 10 times a day, its useful life is not going to increase. Even if we feed our bodies with the best of the comforts and food of this world, we are going to die very soon. Similarly, little awareness will make us realize that walking along the "road frequently travelled" keeps us busy with no commensurate advantage. We keep following the same routine of going to the office almost the whole of our lives to meet some artificial targets set by some "ambitious" person, feel stressed, and at the end of the day, feel unfulfilled. As we become aware of this, we keep travelling the "road frequently travelled" to the bare minimum. Awareness naturally brings different ways and means to reduce the cost of upkeep and maintenance, and that's why our dependence on the "road frequently travelled" also gets reduced. Why do we need to consult doctors for every issue? Why not shift to naturotherapy? Why not eat simply and stay healthy? Why not make the kids aware of the huge cost and little value of "comforts and pleasures" being sold so aggressively in the market, so that their "needs" get reduced, and they do not waste a significant portion of their energy in walking along the "road frequently travelled"?
"Awareness" of the alternative ways and means of "upkeep and maintenance" of the body and the mind helps us do away with our compulsion to travel along the "road frequently travelled". As our needs get reduced, we get more time and energy to explore the domain of the unknown. We feel fulfilled. The more we feel fulfilled and the further our dependence on mindless pursuit of pleasures and comforts gets reduced. The more time we get to travel along the "road less travelled". Once this "cycle of exploration" sets in, we realize that so many things that we considered necessary for a "good life" have lost their meaning, and our preferences and choices of life have undergone a significant shift. We no longer like to participate in mindless social discussions; rather, we enjoy the company of the people who have explored the domain of the unknown. We no longer think of securing the future because we know that everything is changing fast. We like to participate in the change rather than being afraid of the same. We no longer crave social validation. Why would Einstein get enthused by the appreciation of people who have never studied science, and why would he be let down by their criticism? He understands that people walk along different paths.
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