Do we have what it takes?

We’ve all wanted something badly, immensely and desperately at least once in our lives and we all have failed to attain at least one such thing.

And without doubt, it has changed us in ways we didn’t deem possible.

Maybe it was love that we wanted. Maybe it was ambition. Or maybe it was something as simple as wanting to be happy….

But…

Do we have what it takes?

Can we go get what we so badly, immensely and desperately want?

Does it ever happen that we get something that lies on the top of our wish-list?

Well…

Sometimes.

Only sometimes does the universe unite us with something we deeply wish for. And on the other times, it gives us something better….

No, it’s not irrational optimism that I am showing here.

Ask yourself. Has life been a complete waste? Have we gained nothing from it? Nothing at all??

Well, NO.

Hell, NO.

Even when it felt like we had lost everything and everyone we cared about, we’ve gotten up and found meaning one more time. We’ve risked, we’ve gambled, we’ve been scared, we’ve played safe but damn! Haven’t we’ve finally gained? We may have not gained what we planned for, we may not have gotten what we hoped; but we’ve found meaning and purpose every single time we fell deep into the pit.

Of course.

How can I be so sure? How can I speak for each one of us out there?

Because I have proof.

Take your hand to your heart and feel it beating. You’re alive. That’s the proof. That’s the testimony of the gains. That’s the explanation of all that you’ve been through and survived. And that’s the reason you got to hold tight and survive all over again if you have to.

Yet, the question remains unanswered. Do we have what it takes?

And the answer is, no.

We do not have what it takes. We can never possibly have it.

So, we thrive for it. We thrive for what we want. We work hard. Day in and out. We give our best. We put in as much effort as we can. We sacrifice things that are dear to us. We let go the bad habits, we say no to ourselves because we see the bigger picture. We keep on trying, we look for solutions, answers. We shred ourselves to build something bigger, something better.

And in the end, we achieve it. And if we don’t, we come to terms with it only to realise very soon that we were better off without it. Maybe because there was something better in store for us or because it was never worth the effort. We always gain. We always learn. Even from the losses and pain and mistakes and we come out stronger.

So it is good. It is really good that we do not have what it takes to achieve something we so desperately want. Because if we were to achieve anything and everything, we will find ourselves lost and aimless. There will be no meaning to this life, there will be nothing to do, nothing to be better at, nothing to achieve, nothing to want. And it will be a lot worse than thriving for what may possibly never be ours.

Come to think of it. A king has everything anyone may ever want. A palace, a beautiful wife or wives, dutiful children, a whole bunch of population to serve him and do his bidding. Yet his ambition doesn’t die there. He doesn’t stop at what he has. He aims for expansion and for satisfaction of his people. He aims for glory and prosperity. If not ambition then at least he ensures the security of his kingdom as a responsibility. And when he achieves everything, he indulges into recreation, he appreciates art and sports and wit. He involves himself into family, he ensures that his children have well inherited the legacy.

We definitely have heard of kings who have achieved almost everything. But they also have paid their prices, suffered their losses, and they too have had to make compromises. Even their accomplishments were tainted, taken away or incomplete.

This means none of us are given everything. It is simply because we are not crafted to value something that gets handed to us without paying a price. And also because we need a reason to live. Because we have these trillions of neurons firing all the time inside our heads and the energy the universe has stored in them demands to be expended into something that satisfies our soul.

So, even if we hypothesise a best case scenario, human life continues to be unexpected and human nature forever wanting and dissatisfied. So, if we were to never face a challenge, if we were to have the supernatural abilities of attaining everything we wanted, if we had what it took, it would probably be extremely boring!

So it is really okay to not have what it takes to achieve what you planned for yourself or wanted very badly, immensely and desperately. But, it is important to want something that much!

When you’ve the world at your feet

You get curious about the world beyond

Or indulge yourself in pleasures

That bring about your downfall

These are the two extremes

You could never have it all

So, do you have what it takes?

To rise each time you fall?