Why you do not need to strive to be important?

It was a warm winter morning. I was sitting on my couch enjoying the sunshine that came filtering in through the window. While I sat I was constantly feeling a trifle worried about not doing enough. Doing what exactly, my mind reasoned?
Being valuable enough came the reply.
Lost in this contemplation I looked outside. There in the soft grass lay a cat. Blissfully taking a cat nap in the mid-morning hours. The ease and comfort that exuded from the fluffy cat made me wonder if the cat too is plagued by thoughts of striving to being valuable. The cat is fed by animal lovers around the area who leave plates of cat food and check in on their good health. The cat just needs to be a cat I thought. Thoughts, they can really wander! But going with these wandering thoughts made me realise that actually the whole world is designed in a way where you do not need to strive to be valuable. You are valuable just because YOU ARE!
The tree does not cut off the old leaves. Have you observed, even the old withered leaves are allowed to be on the tree till it decides on its own to fall down to the Earth\\\’s bosom, complete with its colourful hues.
It’s only humans, who need to strive to be valuable. We debate about how important the work of a home maker is. We debate how much more sacrifices the office going mother has to make. I too had been in the midst of these thoughts, taking one side or the other. But the truth is you are you and so you are important. You do not need to prove your worth.
In ancient societies, also in the Blue Zones of the world where the elderly live up to more than hundred, they are treasured because of their wisdom. Unlike today where old people are thought safer and better off away from Societies in an old age home.
This reminds me of a video that I came across of Sadhguru, where he said, ‘The only reason you are here is so that you bloom to your best version. That is all is needed to accomplish in life.’
A cat needs to be a cat and blossom to it’s fullest. A flower needs to be a flower and blossom to it’s fullest. A human need to be human and blossom to their fullest.
Things are so simple. If only we accepted all roles with dignity and love, loved people even when they are “not important to us\\\”, everything would have fallen into place.
A woman who has her heart in her new born child, would not then strive to leave the baby and add to the finances of the home, just because she needs to feel important and valued.If you look at nature, even lionesses cannot do that. It takes immense emotional and mental pain.  The home makers, who love tending to their home, loving their kids and being just that version of herself, would not be so bothered by the feeling of uselessness said by a society that runs not on love but profit.

But the need to be important is drilled so much into our psyche. We don\\\’t ask our children what they would like to do, but gently push them towards a part that would make them more important. We do it out of care, but we are doing it wrong.

This is the reason why many aspiring Picassos, chefs, writers are labelled home makers. Maybe they have some other degree where they don\\\’t have their heart. They never took the chance to build what they are made for. Also, the love between partners have become a sort of competition of who is doing the most for the family. What happened to people of one family being on the same side?

Devoured by profit making.  And surviving becomes really difficult when love is replaced by the profit margin of a person. It\\\’s heart shattering and frankly speaking not human. Can we change this?

Maybe we can raise a generation who values everything and everyone. Irrespective of what they bring in to the plate.

I looked at the cat long and hard and decided to stay in the winter sunshine, till my heart is full of warmth.
The demands of the ego can wait.

Comments