“What is the most resilient parasite?”, the protagonist of ‘Inception’ teases us with this question. It is an Idea, he finally concludes. Once planted, he points out, it is almost impossible to completely eradicate a fully formed idea. The titular character of ‘V for Vendetta’ declared with a steady voice facing almost certain death “Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof”.
Yes. We are all driven by ideas. We are not talking about just about any idea. We are talking about ideas that tease us, inspires us, drives us and ultimately consume us. Yes, we are talking about passion here. There is no better word to describe the best in a human than the word ‘Passion’.
Yet, Passion sounds animalistic and almost debasingly primitive to the casual observer. Perhaps, that’s why writers and even Hollywood scriptwriters choose the more higher abstraction of an idea. We may be influenced by various ideas, but the ones that instill passion are the truly dangerous ones.
When I say dangerous, I mean in a positive, world-changing way that everyone of us should aspire. We often measure success by various yardsticks - Wealth, Fame or Power. Yet, time and time again, History has told us that the truly successful men and women are the ones who has left a lasting impression i.e. a legacy behind.
There is perhaps nothing to living an ordinary life, for it is mere existence. We spend a good part of our early life learning skills that enable us to earn a livelihood. Once we start earning, what do we do with that money? We acquire various goodies from new clothes to a new vehicle. We are happy until we compare ourselves with our peers and chase even bigger goodies - a car, an apartment and so on.
We chase ephemeral happiness and in the process realise that we no longer feel the joys of this ‘leveling up’ exercise. This is when you realise that the means had become an end to itself. The rat race that you got sucked into has inevitably turned you into nothing but a rat.
This is a place that I sincerely hope that you don’t find yourself into. Once we realise that there is a finite time that we live and to make a legacy, one’s world view changes. You don’t get consumed by envy when you see your peers basking in their new shiny toys. You realise that that’s not your rat race. You choose the race you want to be in. That choice will define your passion.
Be it trivial or profound, it doesn’t really matter. Your life is too precious to be wasted on a treadmill of Consumption. Go find what excites you. Excitement is infectious. If something genuinely excites you, there is no way that it can be contained. You might turn out to be an inspiration to others. Even if you change the life of one person, that is an enduring legacy.
So, look around you. Look into the mirror. Do you see passion with a capital ‘P’? If not, it’s probably time that you’ve found the courage to seek those burning embers within you.
Leaving you with these wonderful lines from Norah Jones' latest “Young Blood”, a track I highly recommend:
Watch is ticking like a heartbeat gone berserk
Lost the chance to wind the key
Roosters are nothing but clucking clockwork
Our fears are only what we tell them to be
Our fears are only what we tell them to be
