When you are born, you are the only person who cries while everyone around you, typically, is overjoyed. When you die, in my opinion, it should be the opposite—live your life in such a way that you are missed and those around you cry while you leave the word, without regrets and with the utmost joy. Such an end seems so sweet to deserve, one must also live a worthy life.

Nonetheless, doing so cannot be easy. Lots of people die bitter and discontent and I do not want to go that way—to die well, I must live well first—selflessly, as much as I can, and with all the love I can muster, and of course with the utmost courage and hard work.   

To truly live for others is no easy thing. Nonetheless, apparently brings tons of joy and satisfaction on the personal level, not to mention you would probably be well liked, socially. Einstein said “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” I wonder if his life was worthwhile, was he possibly speaking out of regret. I never knew the guy so I can’t tell but regardless of whether or not Einstein could live up to his own words, it does seem like sound advice coming from a smart guy. The definition of ‘paradise’ varies from person to person. Every person has their own definition of life and what they want from it—some are humble, others are grand but one thing is for sure, we’re all short on time.

Why not live a worthy life by living in tandem with each other and spend out limited time on earth in harmony? Why should we emphasise messages of love, affection, peace, kindness, gentleness, simplicity, humility, forgiveness and tolerance? We are already selfish enough without having to propound further on the fact— needless to say, I do not like Ayn Rand and how she conceives a ‘perfect person’ to be. Furthermore, as the most advanced species on this planet we have the onus of being responsible stewards, compassionate, humane and kind to other beings? Why not jolly someone into pursuing the field of his/her interest? Why not accept a person for what s/he is? Why not be more accepting and less judgmental? We need to pose multifarious questions like these to properly assess ourselves and our society. Only then can we perhaps get the grasp of the real meaning of life—because it sure as hell isn’t working nine to five while growing more and more apathetic to the world.

It would be better to give flowers to any person whom you admire instead of only offering flowers to corpses because at that point, seriously, it’s too late.  Delivering beautiful eulogies don’t mean a thing to the dead. Celebrate life while alive and do not let the lives of friends and loved ones end in heartbreak. In the end, only the thing that matters is that your heart is light and free of guilt and regret.

Apparently, Steve Jobs’ last words were, “You are loved when you are born. You will be loved when you die. In between, you have to manage.” Make of that what you will—I’ll just leave you with that.

Karki is pursuing Bachelor’s in Psychology from Ratna Rajya Laxmi (RR)