Time is all you have

Time is all you have

The million dollar car, the ten thousand square foot mansion, the bank account that has an uncountable amount…. You are surely the choice of all around. Until……
In ancient Rome when a victorious Roman general walks the streets of Rome after a successful military campaign, there is usually a slave behind the general whose job was to remind him that he was mortal. This was to ensure that the general doesn’t become proud as a result of the crowd’s praise. On the sides of every funeral cortege in Kerala, is inscribed in Malayalam, “ഇന്ന് ഞാൻ, നാളെ നീ,’ which translates into, “It it’s me today, it will be you tomorrow”, telling you that whatever you have in the bounty bag, however charming your looks, whatever the power you wield, you will have to take the ride one day. You will not be the doer, all will be done for you and to you. And then you will be returned to the very nature you came out of. Be it to the soil or the flames.
There is an ancient Persian culture that gives you back, as feed, to the carrion birds, like vultures. A Dakhma, also known as a Tower of Silence, a circular, raised structure, is built by Pharsees for excarnation of the dead–that is, the exposure of human dead bodies to the elements. Imagine, even the mighty were fed to the birds, once their duty time on earth was done. So what then is there to get a bloated head when you have procession of some very destroyable stuff, or get momentary acceptance from a crowd, who would just as easily despise you if you got it wrong – even if it is just once? Remember that all you have will have to be left behind when you go away on this trip. You just can’t pack your bags for this trip. Nor can you send back the pictures of the destination. But go, you surely will, like it or not.
The story of the Roman Generals has been retold over the years to help people especially leaders avoid getting seduced by power and fame. This is especially important when people around them tell them that they are the best and nothing else compared. They do so to get something out of you. So it is important for people to take everything with a pinch of salt and strive to stay humble and grounded. The constant consciousness of your mortality helps guard against thoughts of invincibility. You are never invincible.
So what do we have that is truly ours. It is the time the Good Lord or Mother Nature has bestowed upon us, as your belief tells you. It is the way you use this invaluable of resources to the very best that gives value to your life – nothing else. It is what you do, how you do it and who all received the fruits of your efforts. The piece of bread that you gave the starving dog probably was worth a million times more than the grandiose contribution of a flamboyant stretch limo to the fancy club you are a member of.
That then is what the cortege was trying to tell you. When you come for the ride, will those around be pretending sycophants or someone with a real sorrow at the loss of someone valuable. That is the moment that the world will know your worth.
Too bad, you would never know……………….