“Who looks outside - ‘dreams’; and whoever looks inside - ‘awakens’,” analysed Carl Gustav Jung, the great Swiss psychologist. My past actions resulted in the present and now, after introspection, I know which decisions had gone bad, not resulting as I had dreamt, and which worked wonders for the better present. The moment I had realised that I still had an opportunity, I improvised my actions with diligent travails, avoiding all that had gone wrong earlier. I feel my present life is highly rewarding and I am now in awe with the experience on a moment-to-moment basis. I have put an end to those unfulfilled dreams after realising that they were not within my reach, refraining from such plans that are to be dreamt and realised only by others with their own indulgences, for such dreams are within their control for their own benefit. Hence, the present is mine alone and not created by others and I am thankful for the productive actions that I had indulged. I had started to vivaciously share the results of my success also to those whom I had disregarded earlier. I now realise that the past was a ridiculous happiness for it was celebrated excluding those who deserved an equitable portion of my success and gaiety. In the present, I am learning to gradually erase the memories, which were nothing but self-centred celebrations captured in photographs, camouflaging my hidden failures, without remorse. Hence, eventually, it dawned on me that the present is priceless in comparison to the past and more important than the future craving for some unrealistic happiness that is nothing but a mirage.
Incidentally, the above is also the underlying theme of the movie ‘Ad Astra’, inspired by ‘Odyssey’ written by the great Greek poet Homer — composed by him between 750 and 650 BCE. ‘Ad Astra’, released in 2019, is a fictional space fantasy giving the right message. The title was inspired by the writings of the Roman poet Virgil, who said, “sic itur ad astra,” meaning “thus one journeys to the stars.” “We are world eaters; thus we journey to the stars” - is the perspective of the Roman poet endorsed by James Gray, the writer and director of the film, that the human colonisation in other planets for mining for resources is one such act, which is the consumer culture that destroyed Earth, thus driving humans to venture into the outer worlds for survival. “We’re world eaters,” in a pessimistic manner says astronaut Roy McBride (played by Brad Pitt). It has been more than 6 decades since humans first landed their spacecraft on the Moon and more than 5 decades since Neil Armstrong first set foot on its surface with the words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” The director of the movie, James Gray, moots the question of whether space adventures and journeys to the planets are really a ‘development’ to be reckoned with, neglecting our own planet in the first place. It is a fact that mankind has lost its narrative ages ago, gradually depleting its wisdom, manifested with its inability to protect and preserve Earth’s environment. Hence, was there a ‘giant leap’ at all; or was it a ‘giant fall’?. It is high time we recognise the real human values and protect the residual natural resources at present on our own planet.
H Clifford McBride (played by Tommy Lee Jones), the father of Roy, starts off on a space odyssey in search of alien life. In order to build a legacy of his scientific expedition, Clifford abandons his family and all those who love him. The movie articulately narrates the vacuum experienced in the brief relationships between father and the son who craves for him. The very same depleted human values in the name of modern-day culture of ‘work ethic’ leaves Roy also isolated in loneliness, which he is unable to confront, but takes up the assignment to travel far up to Neptune in search of his father. ‘Ad Astra’ presents space as a lonely, vast void, beautiful yet impenetrable. Unable to make amends with the blunders he had made, Clifford refuses to travel back to Earth with his son and maroons himself in the lonely and limitless space forever. Roy realises the indiscretion committed by his father and when he returns to Earth, he longs to meet his neglected wife and feels alive in the present on seeing her. He realises the value of human bondage which is incomparable to any adventure. If someone truly loves you and cares for you, it is worth sacrificing anything, including your materialistic dreams, for them.
Last week, one of my clients from Qatar visited me and appreciated my blogs, especially for posting them consistently every Saturday. He said that the five-minute narrations had a lasting effect on him and he shared them with his loved ones. I was very happy about it and then I remembered one of the great quotes of Benjamin Franklin - “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Unknowingly, my journey took the right path by writing all my bitter and good experiences, which many readers feel inspiring. It gives me great joy that I am doing the right thing and I feel very fortunate to comprehend the present and seize the real happiness at the moment.
We must write our own stories and we must lead others with inspiration and not with blind ambition. 'Ad Astra' professes that one should do away with anything that makes them blind to the gifts of reality and leaves them with a madness pretending to be the greatness they seek. Roy McBride is the modern-day ambitious person who sacrifices personal relationships, human connection and the community, all for the sake of his dreams. I too had done the same and drifted far away, but before I got cut-off and marooned into the exosphere like Clifford, I started to reconnect with all those who cared for me and loved me, rejuvenating the eroded human relationships and I am just loving it.
I read, again and again, the most precious recording of Marcus Aurelius, “Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of blessings you do possess and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours” in his journal ‘Meditations’.
The lesson I had learnt was that I should, on a priority, ‘live in the present moment, without ruminating with memories of the past, nor dream of a future that’s beyond my reach, of which I can only ‘plan’ without hope that they would ‘realise’.
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