Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
Every now and then we all stop to think where we are and where we're heading to. As years pass those moments seem to bring more pressure and fear, as if we had less time (for yes, each day brings less time) especially when we are aware that we are on the wrong track in one or another aspect of our lives - that we boarded the wrong train. Questions assail us: where do I get off? Which train will be waiting for me? Will that train be the right one? Should I get off this train at all, or just accept I'll end up some place else? What if there are several trains at the station, which one shall I board?
Some people do choose to get off the train after many many kilometres and board another one. Studies show this tends to happen when people are in their forties and realise "it is now or never". They break up with their partners, quit their well-paid jobs or the country where they have lived in and built their lives for years,... They get off the train and start another trip. They take huge risks, knowing that it is either that or wasting the rest of their lives.
Some other people stay at the station waiting for the right destination but are incapable of taking a decision for fear they might board the wrong train, so they never actually board one. They do not take any risks and life just passes. These people are the most unhappy of all.
Then you have people who make boarding wrong trains an art. They don't know where they are going, change trains as soon as they are tired and do not give much thought to the consequences. Some eventually find the right track, others don't.
They just enjoy the landscape.
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| Kerala, January 2008 |
