Do You Think That Life Is Fair?

Life does not come with a stamp of fairness. No! It doesn’t happen. It is stupidity to expect that virtues would be rewarded and the vices would be punished. There seems to be no poetic justice in real life, the thespian world and theatre life is a far cry from the real and tangible life we are proffered. We cannot argue with life and the dish it dishes out to us at various stages of life. 

"For 'tis the sport to have the engineer / Hoist with his own petard."– Shakespeare

This quote sums up the entire essence of life. One cannot have an ostrich attitude and shun the fundamental philosophy by which life goes. Life does not go on our own terms and conditions. It has its own channels, people undergo trials and tribulations. Life’s mysteries can never be uncovered. It is difficult to comprehend the enigmatic nature of life. Life is a bubble with phases galore; happy and sad, simple and complicated, sweet and bitter, realistic and illogical and many more. Just hark back to the time when life was created. Eve was more sinned against than sinning. She ate the forbidden fruit inadvertently. Had she be aware of the consequences, she would not have touched the fruit, leave alone eat. Life was not fair then, life is not fair now. 

In this dog eat dog world, we have sky high expectations of performing well and we wind up in a land of distress when we are greeted with something unexpected and unfavorable. Life is a competition indeed, some people get what they desire and some are served for being good and cruel, no doubt. However, more often than not everyone gets disappointment at various steps of life. People are content when they have goodies in their kitty and cannot take bad things no matter how terrible they have been throughout. The nature of man is in flux and it cannot be put to rest by anyone, considering the tumultuous storm inside his or her gray matter or the external atmosphere for that matter. 

 No one is rewarded equally, forget rewarded -we are all born different with different intelligence and wisdom levels. No one is perfect and intelligence seems to have been the territory of the few fortunate ones. Life is really unfair and one gets disgruntled looking at this partiality and discrimination. Moreover, if you happen to be intelligent enough, it is not certain if you are provided with required resources. The fools might have pots of gold to relish the life but then wise people are devoid of wealth. Opulence stays within the province of the insane and the unintellectuals get to profligate a great deal. Some of us roll in the benjamins, other find it even hard to meet their ends. This is how the cookie crumbles, and we can but accept whatever is furnished to us.  

Like it or lump it, there is Apollonian and Dionysian concept in life. The order and disorder seem to have engulfed our entire ecosystem. Order is the need of the hour, things have to be in order to be successful. Also, disorder comes into the picture which helps us create order and balance in life. The rational and irrational creatures rule the roost, there is purity and chastity in this world but we have sensuality and lust into the bargain. We have a mélange of life paraphernalia which also, unfortunately, comes with labels. Everybody likes to party hearty but some underprivileged sections of society do not get to rock and roll. Also, the vulnerable is hit by a trajectile of emotions and the lucky ones just take in the beautiful world. 

“Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic."—Frank Herbert

It is said that we must look for something positive in every day, even if some days are harder and devoid of essential fun. 

Self-interest is what rams home the point of fairness and life being just. Life cannot be just, we cannot complain and nurse grudges because that does not count. There is no panacea for the problems that are universal. When people demand from life and place bets, we in a way express our self- interest. We have become self-centered and we cannot so much as look forward to something without having looked at our vested interests. When our self is satisfied, we don’t give a hoot to the world. Charlie Harper, in the show Two and a Half Men in all his opulence profligates, and have women around him. He is lucky in that he derives pleasure from life from every nook and corner. He has this tact to deal with off the cuff situations. His self-interest prods him to have a relationship with women and he gets the best out of his life. He is indeed blessed but the reality is far different from this and we don’t really get what we yearn. 

Celebrities earn a lot of money, yes they work hard and have tedious schedules but not all make it big. Some enter in the showbiz due to their associations and the nepotism, same holds good for other fields as well. The really talented ones are often behind in the race and the average ones reach the zenith. These are the slices of life which we have to consume no matter how they taste. 

Well, sometimes bad people are served right for their sins and misdeeds while the good ones are awarded. A beacon of hope flickers when things go in line with our deeds and expectations. Everything cannot be sorted for once and all, sometimes life ticks all the right boxes for you, and at times it denies you even the basic necessity. The circle of life comes full.  

Life comes with its share of happy and sad events, and we must not lose hope while we encounter certain impediments. Nor should we ride high on overconfidence just because our stars favor us. When you are exhausted with life being unjust, remember not to surrender. Time and tide wait for none, it moves on its own pace and it is never the same. Struggles make you strong and you emerge like a gold after having been under strain a lot. Incorporate change in your life so that you do not stick to one particular thing because no one thing guarantees happiness and success. People need to have a sanguine attitude and approach while dealing with life so that you do not panic during adverse times. Concentrate on the roses in your life, cast away the thorns from your roses in order to lead a peaceful life. You cannot have all things wonderful on your plate, you have to wait patiently for the good to happen. Learn to be Griselda i.e. the patient creature who can endure things without any complaints. Choices you make in life will have a direct impact on your life. Give yourself the freedom to decide things and have carte blanche so that you can make out what is correct and what is not. You have the power to keep your life under check and you do get rid of the things which do not suit you and perhaps irk you. For instance, one need not work like a dog at a place which he or she despises. 

They say sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.

There comes a time when a person is successful and success can go to head at any time. People should be aware that they do not sign a deal with success and good tidings and it might be a nine days’ wonder which is bound to fade with time. Success and failures do not last for keeps. They have an expiry date, in fact, they come occasionally to direct you through your ways. One should not be too vainglorious out of contentment. The best way to maintain sanity is to be practical in life. By the virtue of rationality, you can stay sane, sensible and wise. 

Sensible folks do not resort to vengeance or retaliation in any form and do not wish bad for others. They work hard and put in efforts to achieve results. Pray do not cast aspersions on others and wish the good for everyone around you so that they can assist you in all kinds of trouble. Life is an ongoing process, you are born and eventually you die. You go empty handed from this world just the way you entered. With all the myriad hues life brings, we should enjoy it and must not judge it for being unfair and not giving us what we want at all times. Fact is stranger than fiction, and drilling up this in our brains is no tough task. All we can do is bask in the glory of life and let it go on its own so that we too can go with the flow without cocking a snook. 

"Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day." —Paulo Coehlo 

(Featured Image Courtesy: Muthead)