I turned 60 recently. I am telling myself now that becoming a senior citizen starts at age 65 haha.
I was in an introspective mood and I started wondering whether I was where I had wanted or planned to be in life. Flat broke, no family or career, no social life and a dependent on my parents. Not an ideal state of affairs.
It can be said that I have made some mistakes in life. As far as the choices I made are concerned.
And it was here, at this point that philosophy came to my rescue.
Buddhism says that life is suffering. If that is true then I would have suffered no matter what my life situation would have been like. Even if I had been in an ideal situation for my age I would still have suffered.
That being the case it makes no sense to get depressed by the fact that I have made mistakes. Even if I had made all the right moves I would still have experienced life as suffering. And at least they were my own mistakes and I learned something.
Contemplating this insight leads to a certain amount of equanimity. Swami Sarvapriyananda calls it same sightedness. You look at any and all situations with detachment. If a certain situation has arisen that you don’t like, it only means that you are suffering in a particular way. If that situation had not been there you would still have suffered but in a different way. Suffering would have been present as the common factor.
This should help you gain some much needed detachment when you are facing a crisis or have to make an important decision. Whatever you do you will have to suffer. So why get uptight or stressed about what might possibly happen. Telling yourself that should help you to think clearly and with detachment and help you make better decisions.
Another reason for not introspecting too much and getting depressed is that there is nothing to be gained by it. There is no point to it.
Thomas Carlyle has written about Napoleon Bonaparte in his book – On Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in History. Napoleon was incarcerated at Saint Helena following his defeat to the British at Waterloo in 1815. Carlyle says in his book that Napoleon continued to be in good spirits right till the end of his life. And the main insight that helped him to do that was that he understood that there was no point in thinking too much and getting depressed.
I highly recommend Thomas Carlyle’s book. You can pick up a copy of the Kindle version for free at this link:
This book is a classic for the ages. Worth reading over and over. It might give you a whole philosophy of life especially if you are young.
I hope you liked my article and it will be useful to you. Please share it on WhatsApp, FB and X and let me have your comments. Feedback from my readers keeps me going.
I am looking for paid consultancy work. If you are interested in hiring me please email me at nikhil dot gangoli AT gmail dot com. Do not use the Contact Me or Comments forms.