Safal Niveshak

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Life is Short

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Well, if you were to believe the Roman philosopher Seneca, life is not short but long if we know how to use it –

It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it… Life is long if you know how to use it.

But since we often fail to use our limited time on this planet well, life indeed turns out to be short, or so it seems.

I was reminded of this stark reality recently when I read this tweet –

A friend said something crazy to me the other day:

“You have 18 summers to enjoy with your kids. That’s it.”

By the time your kids turn 18, you have spent 70%+ of the total time you will spend with them. After that, it’s a wild card (they are busy, you are old).

— Andrew Wilkinson (@awilkinson)

I can’t imagine a more important reminder to stop thinking about work and focus on kids.

Anyways, the idea of life being short did not leave my mind (it never does!) and I decided to illustrate it to include almost all my thoughts on what we could do to use life well so that, as Seneca suggests, we don’t waste our precious time chasing stuff that really makes it feel short.

Here is that illustration, and I have spent quite some time from my short life to create it. Just zoom in to read my ideas on how we can use our life better, to do things and make experiences that really matter.

(Download HD version of the illustration from here.)

Most of what happens to us in life is anyways beyond our control, and we must learn to let it go.

But I firmly believe in what Mark Twain said –

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Now is the time, my dear friend, to explore, dream, discover. Because life, as we live it, is really short.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Surendran says

    Hi Vishal, this is gem of an article. Loved it! will print it and pin it to my wall.
    I like your articles and the way you write.

    Have you done any courses in writing and which website template is this? I love the simplicity of this page.

    Thanks,
    Surendran

  5. smridh says

    I have bookmarked it.

    I am blessed with a baby girl and god willingly will surely spend summers with her.

    Thanks for bringing this to us.

  7. Rashmi says

    I’m a new subscriber and I’m blown away by how much each and every idea you have written resonates with me. Keep inspiring!

  12. DJ says

    This is so valuable. Thank you. Is there a high res of the illustration pls? I’d love to put on my wall as big as possible.

  13. Ram says

    Simply Superb Vishal. Well articulated in a thoughtful manner. If we practice at least some of the them we can become better human beings. Thanks for sharing.

  18. CONRAD FERNANDES says

    Good thoughts and views . Time spent with kids is never wasted and they value it much more than any material gift that you can give them.
    God has given us enough time to enjoy all aspects and phases of life .
    World would be more peaceful if we lived this way

  19. Sunil Gupta says

    Simply excellent post as usual .
    Enjoyed a lot 👍
    Also learned a lot .
    Mr Vishal please engage us learning .
    Thanks a lot .
    Sunil Gupta
    Visakhapatnam
    🌊

  22. Ulhas Vairagkar says

    Hi Vishal – what a lovely illustration. I am sure it was a labour of love for you in making it. Thank you. I have been a avid reader of your mailers and have benefitted by it.

  25. Shailesh Agarwal says

    Wowwww… Sir you writings and thoughts are so pure and it really helps me the way I look at life. Thank you..Keep writing lots of blessing to you and your loved ones.

  27. Yash Patel says

    Hello Sir,

    After a long time, I have again read this and I felt so rejuvenated.
    And That Picture you made it – really mesmerized me.

    I am really feeling so happy.
    Thank you.

  30. G. Nadaradjane says

    Vishal, you and your writings are really great. What a maturity at this age. Quote from Mark Twain is very real because I always keep thinking that I should have done different things 20years back.
    Anyway life is like that.

  34. Prashant Kunnath says

    This is outstanding stuff. Your thoughts are simple, thoughtful,relevant and stands out to be realistic

  37. Prashant Chavan says

    Excellent Vishal…
    Your blogs… articles are so informative ….I just wait for when Vishal will publish his next one….
    Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts… Thoughts of great people with everyone…

  38. S.DHARANEESWARAN says

    only one is missing,ENJOY MUSIC OF BIRDS,RIVERS,LAUGHING BABIES,CRYING BABIES,ENJOY SILENCE AS WELL.THANKS VISHAL FOR ONCE AGAIN REMINDING US OF OUR SHORT JOURNEY OF LIFE.

  39. R K Chandrashekar says

    Dear Vishal
    To say this is a gem would be an understatement. Your blogs are like wine, getting better by the day. Cheers and God bless.

  41. P R Lakshmi Narayanan says

    Good article Vishal. I always love and enjoy reading Sadhguru. I equally enjoy reading your’s. I always found a similarity in Sadhguru’s articles and your’s.

  42. Parth Khimasiya says

    Best one sir. Also looking forward to apply ‘Life’s short’ ideology in my life. Thank you !😊

  43. Muhammad Amin says

    This is amazing. I’ve taken long breaks before but I feel like God desires me to trust him more and toil less. This testimony encouraged me so much. Thank you for sharing!

  45. Ugly hunchback says

    Goethe put it best:
    Life is short, but the day is long.

    And “on this planet”? This planet pretty much sucks, which is why God will destroy it in the end anyway.

  46. Dr. Shankha Subhra Nag says

    May be this is the best article I have ever read. THANK YOU. I have read the list many times and getting new perspectives. Understanding few lines even better after reading “The Sketchbook of Wisdom”. Trying to apply these principles in life. Will surely teach my kids; this will probably be the best lesson I will ever teach them.