WHAT NEXT

कबीरा जब हम पैदा हुए, जग हँसे हम रोये,
ऐसी करनी कर चलो, हम हँसे जग रोये

When life starts, it starts from a cry, and as it progresses, it is full of laughs and cries. The first cry of a kid brings a smile on the faces of all around, and then the actual fight begins. It is then the survival of the fittest, and as everyone says, it is not how long you live; it is how good you live.

The distance between the first cry and the last laugh is called life. And what is important is how we live this time; it can be the best we make out of it, and it can be dragged. What can motivate the person to live their lives and make the fullest out of it?    

The last time was Kab-Tak, and this time it is What Next if birth is the start what next is the purpose of life. Let’s, divide life into phases and try to understand What Next.

Birth: Now you are born, and you must deal with the fight for survival, the battle to get attention, the struggle to make the first move, the fight to make the first crawl, the struggle to learn new things, fight to adapt to the light, fight to adapt the pee and poo. The first crawl leads to the first step to the first run and then a blast of laughter and giggles. The game starts when you run, and people follow you due to love, care, and affection. What next the first lesson of life, the first bite, and the first electric shock. Life and people around us teach you many things, and this is why we are spoiled as we acquire knowledge and slowly and steadily lose the natural way of our life. I personally believe that we all are born intelligent, but education ruins us more than it supports us. What Next: time to go to school.

Kindergarten: Heaven on earth, we make friends, we learn the timetable, we become the slaves of time. We wake up on time; we leave home on time, we reach the school of time, we pray, we eat, we learn new things; many things(Picking of the nose is one thing), good bad a lot of them and we think we know a lot. Questioning and cross-questioning get a habit, and it is never wrong to ask a question. That is what we are told that kids do ask questions. What next

First school first class: we reach school and timetable takes over our lives making us machines, wake up, fresh up. School Uniform, Pray, breakfast, school, pray, classes, sports, extra classes, tuition, food, TV, Games, sleep, our vocabulary increases, new friends come in old ones we lose. What next.

Teenage: routine is going on, and suddenly hormones play with us, and physical and mental changes take place, kids get classified into boys and girls, the new norm is the difference in looks and the attitude, the way we look at things change, we become rebels, we think we know everything and other are fools. This is when what next takes a new turn as the kids are not spoiled in-home or school, but the distance between the school and home makes the difference.

First love: ragging hormones lead to first love, which is a big what next, life changes, the routine changes we change ourselves and then the school changes, the way we look at things change, we grow, and we feel to be grownups. But is life complete or what next

First heartbreak: the first heartbreak if you are lucky, you get it in the first year itself, and things can be different for others. What Next is a situation where we pick good and bad habits, which can be a trigger for some. Time is fast approaching, and the rat will be the next hurdle; doctor, engineer, scientist, teacher, business is the big what next, and we have to choose the option carefully.

Graduation: the choice of the topic and subject or course will shape our life, and this is the biggest what next as this point if all went well then there is not going to be the end of what next. Years fly. Some come out victorious and get jobs, and some are still trying to figure out their true self. Their enormous What Next is still standing in front of them. What next

First job: we get into a career, profession, business and start earning this makes us learn the process of the life, and now there is a new time table wake up, fresh up, work out, pray, get dressed, eat travel, work travel, TV, recreation eat sleep, some have weekend fun, and some ignore it depends on the circle and lifestyle they have.

First car; as the earning increase the spending pattern increases and then comes the first car, the first house, first gadget, and much other first-time experience and along with it comes the next What next and that is EMI, now life is all about the EMI and work, what next can be stuck in between. What else can be the next, and then comes the marriage.

Marriage: new life, a new habit, new timetable, new pattern, new way of looking at things, new ways of understanding, and looking for more options. More responsibilities and then comes the big next to the kid

First kid: Life takes a big turnaround, and now life is around this beautiful angel who is in between, and what comes along is the latest version of the timetable, which runs down with the timeline of this angle. Life revolves around this angle, and we forget What Next as life is all about what’s next for this one. But does What Next leave us now.

Kids grow and move out of our lives and what is left is memories. With time medicines and aliments take over the time table changes and food is the next what in the life. The ones who are free of them are worried not to catch one, and the ones who have these are fighting their own lives.

Losing a loved one is the next What Next, and then again, the timetable changes and life takes a new turn. There are chances that we lose our partner and loved one’s one by one, and that is when we sit in solitude and analyze what we have earned: money, love, faith care, or ourselves.

And the next What Next is how long will we live, and this circle will end.

The thought is not how will we die, but the biggest what next is will anyone even remember us when we are gone or we will also we have forgotten with time, and yes this is a truth we will be remembered for a year and then after that every anniversary till our loved ones are alive and then with time we will fade away, and our picture will also be replaced.

Truth is always hard to digest. That is why Kabir said your life should be such that people remember you after you have gone. Do excellent deeds if you want to be remembered, or else no one will even shed a tear when you are gone.

So what is your WHAT NEXT?