Everybody wants to grow and chooses the best growth path, yet almost all of us end our lives in "routine". Mostly, we are quite unhappy with the "routine" we are trapped in. The people who are trapped in poverty, unsure of even having food for the next time, want to somehow become rich. If they are successful, they end their life in a different "routine" as a rich person. Students who have to work hard in schools and colleges somehow want to finish their studies and start a career in a good organization. If they are successful, they end their life in another "routine" as an employee. Employees want to complete their job so that they have enough money for the education of their kids. If they are successful, they end their lives in another "routine" as a retired person. People look forward to entering into relationships for the sake of "exchange of ideas and thoughts," but soon, almost all the relationships become "routine".
We try to run away from one routine and end up entering another routine. Why does it happen to us? What is the missing element? Why don't we have a passionate life where almost every moment is full of passion and we are full of enthusiasm? Why do we choose one "routine" after the other? Why is our growth limited to coming out of one "routine" to enter into another?
Probably, because we have never given a serious thought to it. Since childhood, we have been in a hurry to reach somewhere. To achieve a milestone. The moment we achieve one milestone, we become desperate to set the other. We have never experimented with life without milestones. We have never lived life on an "as is, where is" basis. That's too difficult for us because we have been so conditioned since childhood. We want to become Rama but do not want to leave Ayodhya. Why would anybody go to the forest? What purpose will it serve? Of course, when Rama is going to the forest, he did not know that one day Sita would be kidnapped, and what he does will inspire the generations to come. Rama just lived life on an "as is, where is" basis. He was fully present in the moment, and that's why he could find the out-of-the-box solutions.
Somehow, we are so clingy to "certainty" that we lose the entire fun of life. Rama can't be certain of even the next moment when he decided to go to the forest. He embraced uncertainty. But he could embrace uncertainty because he prepared himself to be immensely capable in at least two different ways. He contemplated the comforts of the palace and, in the process, realized the truth behind the comforts and luxuries, and his entire conversation, well documented in "Yoga Vashistha," is an eye-opener. His questions to Vashistha and Vishwamitra are the same questions that come to our minds also but we do not dare to ask these questions or listen to their answers. As soon as he realized the truth, he realized the futility of these comforts and certainty in his mind, and that helped him take apparently tough decisions like leaving Ayodhya. Second, he made his body and mind capable of handling the toughest of situations. He went to the forest with Vishvamitra and developed the skills to fight against the magical powers of the Rakshasas. Without both these, the realization of the futility of the comforts and the capacity to handle the tough situations, he would not have been able to make the decision to go to the forest.
We often do not realize the reality of this world because we never contemplate the critical questions about the purpose of life, the meaning of death, and the genesis of the universe. Because of this, we carry some "limited" meaning of our life as told by parents and society, and never challenge that. We get panic attacks if there is a crisis, according to the meaning of life presumed by us. We also do not work on our capacity-building and often fear unforeseen situations. Due to the lack of understanding of the meaning of life and low capabilities, we at best dare to "grow" from one "routine" to enter the other. We can follow our passion only if we are not afraid to lose what we have and are also capable of exploring. Unfortunately, the world is full of people who spend their entire lives in "routine," and the saddest part is that they are the heroes and role models of the fearful, greedy, and incapable minds. People who have "settled abroad", "become civil servants", "become rich", "become powerful", and "carried their relationship throughout their lives" are the role models. That's because we have never contemplated the "tears of the soul" of the people falling into the tarp of these "routines". That requires deeper awareness of life and the "capability" to dare to say "No" to the "routine".
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