Life is like a bowl of cherries. Each cherry is a year in our life; in our early years we gobble them and then we soon realise we have eaten more than we have left. Our past probably has more years than our future, and when we realise this, we start tasting each remaining cherry in our bowl slowly and intensely.

We stop pandering to inflated egos and start spending time with people we enjoy connecting with at a human level of love and friendship. We stop settling for mediocrity, doing things for the sake of just getting them done, and make every action a deliberate expression of excellence. We stop idling away our time in idle and sometimes negative gossip, and start having enriching conversations which are both fun and meaningful.

We stop pandering to people, who in spite of their age and our best efforts remain immature and demanding. We stop competing for power and focus on empowering those whose lives we can help change. We stop giving and debating labels to people, and start focussing on their inner essence. We stop giving attention to those who live with too much self-importance and start focussing on what is truly important in life.

We stop thinking about what all we did not get in our life and start thinking about what all we can give for the rest of our life. We stop regretting the opportunities we missed and start viewing the remaining years as the biggest opportunity we have. We stop counting the years gone by and start counting how many people we love and make happy every day.

We cannot waste the remaining cherries in our bowl, each one will be more exquisite than the ones eaten so far. As Confucius said – ‘we have two lives; the second one begins when you realise you have only one.’

(Today’s reflection inspired by a poem by the Brazilian poet Mário de Andrade)

(Picture – Christmas decorations at the CCI club, Mumbai)