What if the world ends?

December 2012 is when the Apocalypse is predicted. The Mayan calendar has no dates running beyond that month, famous personalities have predicted the end of the world, and apparently there is a dormant volcano under the Yellowstone National Park. There are probably a 100 different reasons that can provide fodder for the dooms day enthusiasts.
I am sure that there are a number of detailed texts that talk about the possibilities of the world ending, and I have no impetus in writing about the same. I would rather want to write about what it means to us, and what it can mean to our lives. I have always wondered “what if the world really ends?” Join me in this thought and lock yourselves in 5 minutes of solitude, and brood over this. What if the world really ends? Have you done everything that you wanted to? Are you doing the things that make you happy?
Talking about this makes me nostalgic. When we were kids, when we were innocent, when we believed that being a bus driver was the greatest job of all, when we were just ourselves, we had dreams of making it big. Making it big as a cook, as a train driver, as an astronaut and maybe a hair stylist. In those years of innocence, when our mind and heart were still not corrupted by the world around us, do you remember how unbiased we were towards the people around us? I had no idea what caste was, I did not care what color the other person was, it did not matter to me what the income of my friend’s family was, and all it took for the person to become my friend was his/her smile. But as we grew older, we grew mature. Or so we believe. Meaning of caste came into the picture, money became important, Baskin Robbins replaced the 1 rupee ice-candy, and we started judging. Owing to the fact that we are the most advanced species on the planet, we have the ability to distinguish and make distinctions. I am mighty sure that when this was bestowed upon us, it was done with the intention that humans can use this for the good of the world. But somewhere, we have lost the plot. We started making distinctions between our fellow humans. Why did we start making distinctions between a boy who is of a dark complexion and a boy who is of a fair complexion? Why did we stop believing in our childhood dreams? Why are we not cooks and drivers? Education gave us the ability to understand the world and its different shades. But this amazing human mind of ours made us conscious of things around us and we started molding ourselves to fit into this society. Inhibitions and limitations are the factors that decide how we live, and not our dreams. Do you know why people drink alcohol? Many of my friends have heard my definition, but let me put it across one more time. “Alcohol is a suppressant of the inhibitory parts of your brain”. Like my friend put it in a much simpler way, it makes you do things that you want to but cant because of inhibition. When you grow up, you drink alcohol so that you can be that kid again. That kid who only saw the world in black and white, that kid who believed that he would be Prime Minister one day. I have seen a number of people who claim that they will one day make it big, and they tell this when they are high on alcohol. Why do we feel inhibited to believe in the childhood dream we once had? Somewhere we have lost that child in us. That child does not necessarily mean losing the innocence, but rather losing that belief in the crazy dreams of ours. Beliefs that the moon was so reachable, the belief that friendship and good faith was all that were needed to make the world a happy place, the belief that money was just a paper with Gandhiji’s photo. We have lost that part of us, but it is never too late to go back.
I beg your forgiveness, for I am very verbose and often lose my way while writing about my ideas. Coming back to the original point, what if the world really ends? Have you thought about what it means to you? Imagine you have 12 more months left before the world ends, have you done everything you wanted to? I am not expressing doubts on what you have currently achieved, but think about all the things you want to do but have not because you could not. Break the shackles that are holding you back, do things that make you happy. Go tell that girl that you love her, what if she says no? the world will end in 12 months anyway. Go find that childhood friend you fought with and say sorry, eat your ego. What if he snubs you? The world will end in 12 months anyway. Tell your parents that everything you are is because of them, you may not get that chance after 12 months. Forget the calories, and forget the cholesterol. Go eat that rich chocolate cake. You will anyways not get it after 12 months. Just think about this, and think about all the things that come to your mind and you want to do. It is time to live life to its fullest, without any regrets.
Imagine lying on a hospital bed, 60 years later and thinking “I should have told that girl that I love her”. Imagine getting up one morning, 20 years later, looking at an empty bed next to you. Imagine looking at young kids playing cricket and thinking “wish I could have played more”. Time is something that is so cruel that it lets you look back, but never lets you go back. We live in a generation where life proceeds at a rapid pace, where you are competing everyday to be on top. While we strive hard to excel in our jobs, we need to realize that we were brought into this world for a reason. The reason was not just to write C programs, nor was it just to perform surgeries. We were brought into this to make this world a better place to live, a happier place to live. It is sad that, as we grow old, we get confused with the fact that ‘doing something for a living’ with ‘living’. For a young age of 22, I can sometimes talk a lot of heady stuff. That is what happens when you realize that you have already spent 22 years of this gift called ‘life’ and have not even done anything on your wish-list. So go out and enjoy life, be that kid again and look at the world around you without prejudice. See the difference for yourself.

I am writing this on a chilly Tuesday morning in the best office in the world, with a cup of coffee by my side and watching the impeccable Dravid eating the lives of the Australian bowlers. This makes me happy. This makes me content. In December 2012 I want to look back and say, I am ok with the world ending now;and that I have done things that made me and the people around me happy.