Cowards die many times before their death The valiant never taste of death but once
This famous quotation occurs in Shake-speare's play Julius Caesar. These lines reflect Caesar's attitude to death. Death is a necessary and inevitable end of life. Nobody has ever conquered death. Death comes to all kings and beggars, rich and poor, princes in their castles and destitutes in their huts. Death lays its icy hands upon all creatures without distinction or discrimination. Knowing the omnipotence of death, it is the height of folly for a man to tremble with fear at the thought of death. It is extreme cowardice to shrink from the dangers of life, and a mark of bravery to face them. A coward lives in constant dread; his heart sinks at the prospect of death which like the sword of Damocles is hanging over his head. The outbreak of war, a riot, the tremors of an earthquake, the prospect of a famine or a flood, a minor illness all these make the coward shudder with fear because he thinks that he is the first target for these instruments of death. He eyes his food with suspicion lest there should be poison in it. If he stands on the sea shore or a river bank, a wave of fear sweeps over him at the idea of being accidentally drowned. As he walks along a road, he is over-careful not to step down the pavement lest he should be run over by some vehicle. He knows that death pounces upon a man suddenly and in a variety of ways and therefore his life becomes a continuous nightmare. Surely, he suffers a thousand times more pain and agony at the imaginary approach of death than by the event itself.
A brave man, on the contrary, maintains an attitude of defiance towards death. He realises the fact that death must come sooner or later and that it is no use lamenting this fact. Besides, with courage and resolution, one may well evade death many times. A brave man experiences death only when it actually overtakes him, and even then he makes light of the pain that accompanies death. Robert Browning, in one of his poems, throws a challenge at death which he regards as the arch enemy of man. We should learn to adopt a stoical attitude towards death and not suffer the torments of death in our imagination when we are still alive and kicking.
What is this life so full of care We have no time to stand and stare
Life is not worth living if it is full of worries and anxieties and if all the time we are working or thinking about our work.
Life becomes worth living only if, besides the performance of our duties, we save enough time to stand and stare. Leisure is essential for the true enjoyment of life.
The world is full of beauty and charm. If we are all the time occupied with work we are bound to miss all that beauty and charm. The rainbow in the sky, the moonlight, the dew drops on flowers and grass, the fascinating spectacle of sunrise and sunset these are all marvels of Nature. But if we have no time to see and enjoy them, we are denying to ourselves some of the greatest pleasures of life. These rights should send a thrill through our bodies. They should increase our interest in life and gladden our hearts. But that is possible only if we have time to see them. It is, in fact, criminal on our part not to find time for the enjoyment of the beauties of nature.
Apart from Nature, there is much in life to interest us provided we have leisure for the purpose. We are often in too much haste and hurry to stand anywhere and observe the things and people around us. The variety of people, the variations in their moods, the different expressions on their faces, these are all interesting to an observant onlooker. But the onlooker must not be in a hurry to reach his office or the place of his business. Nor must we forget feminine beauty and fashion. Then there are beautiful objects of art and the artistes themselves. All these deserve our wholehearted attention and appreciation. We shall only be enhancing our enjoyment of life if we find time to stand and stare at them. Our minds will be soothed and calmed. The irony of fate in case of today's man is that in a bid to make his life pleasant and pleasurable with the help of wealth, he has unwittingly deprived himself of true enjoyment of life. Material pursuits do not guarantee happiness. 'Return to Nature' is the right remedy for the shattered nerves of the modern man.
|