Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Failures....

What do we do with failures?
Why should they happen?
In hindsight, there would have always been a better way of doing things.
Who knows, the failures could have been avoided.

Why is it difficult to accept failures?
What makes it difficult?
Is it the ego, peer-rejection, shame, loss of face, or
Is it the stigma.

Why is it that everyone wants success in life?
What is success?
Who defines success?
What exactly is the purpose of life?

The "undeniable" embraces each one of us, repeat, each one of us at some point of time in our lives. No one is special. We are all united in our struggle towards facing the "undeniable". Each "undeniable" event is unique and distressing in its own way. But thankfully, each event is transitory and fleeting. There is so much dynamism in life that good things happen too. But then, it doesn't take long for a good thing to become a bad thing and vice-versa.

Moreover, it is easy for others to say - you will get over this bad patch. Take things in the right spirit. Whatever happens, happens for the best. I know, highly positive way of looking at things. But then, at some point, you just want to sit and ponder over all that has happened. Sometimes, you want to share the pain. And sometimes, you want to talk about your failures. I am sure everyone will agree with me, that we ourselves are victims and perpretators of this "crime".

When the "undeniable" happens to us, our friends and important people rally around to be the life-support systems. They talk about the beautiful things in life, which could make life all the more difficult for us. On the other side, when the "undeniable" happens to others, we might step in into that role of a mentor and sermonize. Wouldn't it be better to be left alone and leave others alone. I truly don't know. Guess a right mix of both will greatly help. But then, what the right mix is, is a truly vast grey area and a rather very thin line of divide too.

Lastly, we might not realise and recognize the failures of others. Behind every success in a man/woman, there lies a string of failures known only to a few persons. Sadly, the world fails to acknowledge this bare fact of life; and failure makes a person out of him/her. Having talked so much about failures, I guess "learning lessons" would be a better substitute for this word. This post only reminds me of the proverb that we learnt during those early days of childhood - "Failures are the stepping stones to success". A wise saying, ironically forgotten till failures come by, knocking at our doors.

Why does the world (us and them) forget the failures, the tears, the struggle, those moments of inexplicable emptiness, anxiety and self-introspections ... ?

5 comments:

小王子Franki said...

Hi.
I come from Hong Kong.
I feel very lucky from searching your blog.

I really like reading your post and learn a lot.

Please keep working.

Anonymous said...

Great post!.i guess even the toughest among us have sometimes felt the need for external support and encouragement to get thru our darkest times .Often it is in these times that we start realizing just how important a role family/friends or maybe that unknown stranger who shares ur pain play in helping us get thru it. It is not surprising and i am sure statistics will corroborate that ppl who give up after failures are often those without these "life support systems" to help them

Rangakrishnan Srinivasan said...

Franki: Thanks for your comments. A hearty welcome to my blog.

Saurav: Who is that unknown stranger who shares your pain (if any) these days? :) Unknown to us or unknown to you too. :))

Whatever you have written is true, very very true.

Anonymous said...

brilliant piece

matte

Rangakrishnan Srinivasan said...

hi da matte,

thanks for your comments.

cheers
ranga