Crazy like Alice

"For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something", said Steve Jobs. 
Well, today is the 31st of December which is neither the last day of your nor my life but is certainly the last day of the year 2013. And how stubbornly we are bent on celebrating it? The people I came across in the streets of Delhi today looked more cheerful than they ever have. They were doing things that really mattered. Spending time with family, friends, having that 'me' time and so forth. I think that's what the knowledge of the last day does to people. It sort of liberates them from the urgent to the important, helps them to get a bigger vision on things instead of getting caught up in the thick of thin things. They seemed to have let go of all the trivial worries of the past and the future and seemed concentrated on the spectacular now with the knowledge that this last day would not be coming back. I think that that's what Sir William Osler was talking about when he gave a remedy to get rid of worries. He said, "If you want to avoid worry, Live in day-tight compartments. Don't stew about the futures. Just live each day until bedtime."
When the last day of the year arrives, one wonders how the year was for the world and personally for themselves. For me, it was a bittersweet year. So, like everyone else who cares, I chose to celebrate the last day. Got my mind off work for a while and just went out, celebrating.
Sometimes, I wonder what if we could really treat every day as the last day of our lives, like Jobs did. It is one of those revolutionary things one could do with one's life. We would start respecting the minutes that we let go of so easily. The minutes, once taken care of, will take care of the hours and in turn our days, months, years, eventually our life. But who does that, right? Except for the crazy ones of this world. But that kind of reminds me of that scene from Tim Burton's film, 'Alice in Wonderland' where Alice asks her father Charles Kingsleigh, "Do you think I have gone round the bend?" And Charles answers, "I am afraid so...you're mad. Bonkers. Off your head...but I'll tell you a secret...all of the best people are."
Go on then and be like Alice a little crazy!

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