How do you define success in life?
While the literal definition of words remains the same, what changes over time is the way in which they are perceived and implied in life. For example, showing kindness for the whole part was an actual way of life before it also became an effective tool to persuade people to do things, and that is how the implication of mistrust changed over the time as well.
My maternal grandfather was from a financially stable family hence him and his brother had the option of pursuing their passion. They all got into different professions, some of them did quite well monetarily and others also became quite well known in their lifetime. But one thing they prioritised the most was the unity in family; it stayed strong for many good years before it broke apart with the next generation taking charge. That is how they implied the definition of success.
In the case of my paternal grandfather things were very different, he simply walked out of a family dispute, regarding the house and wealth of the joint family. With him was my paternal grandmother. They built everything from nothing, the success implied here was building a life in which no one else had a claim, own roof, own money. It was a humble and beautiful life, but successful in its own terms.
My father, for him, success was implied differently. The humble means he grew up with, he wanted to change it all, there should be no deficiency, one should not have to worry of money to live life. That’s what he did and so did his siblings, all had good academics and very respectable careers.
Now about me. When I think of success I get reminded of my childhood, standing on the terrace, the breeze blowing, touching my presence, my mind at ease, no sign of worry. This peace and calmness had been brought to me by the hard work of my ancestors and predecessors.
There is always someone who has to go through the struggle and the grind to make things stable at a certain level, if it is not you, then someone before you has gone through it. I was of the generation in my family who did not strictly have to think about high income and how fast it could be attained, there wasn’t the matter of how a house would be built or monthly grocery could be arranged, there was enough to afford considerable comfort in life. Hence, I got the opportunity to select my way of life and I got the time to do it.
So, I simply entered the world of books, editing and some occasional writing. I did it with love for the field in mind before the need of the income. I even made changes to my way of work, now I also have this blog I write and also some work in social media for which I had to learn quite a lot more than my existing skills. I happily did it all and continue to do it, and I never forget that all it has come as a result of those in past contributing their effort for the future, and likewise I have a part to play for the next as well. This is how success will be defined for me.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
