What is Life?

I doubt the makers of the English language had any idea that when they created the word ‘life’ they were essentially paving the way for eons of befuddlement. For them, ‘life’ was just a one-syllable, four-letter word. But we humans love interpreting things, so we try to understand the true meaning of that trivial sounding yet rather relevant word. 

Is life simply ‘eat, sleep, repeat’? Is it more than the pleasure or satisfaction we get from our daily activities – however mundane or heroic they appear to be? 

Our day-to-day actions don’t just have an impact on us but also affect the society. Unfortunately, for most, human life is all about consumption. We plunder resources, are superfluous in our usage and almost everything we do increases our carbon footprint and squanders the planet’s assets. 

On dying, we leave behind a world worse than the one we entered. 

Playwright paragon and prolific poet William Shakespeare compared the world to a stage and people to actors playing diverse roles throughout their lives. But I believe that there is a crucial missing piece in that equation. People are not just performing monkeys in the play of life; they are also the scriptwriters! For everyone is dealt a hand and how they use their cards wisely to add meaning to their and others’ life is entirely up to them. 

So, with apologies to those who impart deep philosophical definitions to life, frankly speaking, life itself means nothing. We add meaning to life! Our actions decide whether we create valuable, enriching experiences or we remain one of the billions who depart, not having given back anything to the world which gave us everything. Everything we do determines whether we fulfil our roles on the world stage to the best of our abilities and contribute to its enrichment, or not. 

Not everyone gets a wide, straight, and smooth road to success and can move effortlessly towards their goals. As a volunteer educator at an open school for the poor, on the banks of River Yamuna in Delhi, I meet children who journey through life on narrow, uneven paths, full of potholes. Lives full of hardship, lacking even necessities which we could not dream of living without, they are determined to do well for themselves as well as contribute to society. So, every day, they take a long walk to their school and sit on mats in the open. Unflinchingly in heat, cold or rain. To learn, explore and interact. They know in their hearts that studying is their ticket out of misery and education can make them fly. 

As I teach them Art and English, I witness firsthand their thirst for knowledge and how it brings them unbridled joy. Seeing eager children striving to carve something out for themselves, sustain their families and eventually impact the world around them, I realize that life is really whatever we wish to make of it. Not everyone is born equal, but the underprivileged, with their resilience and courage, can create a meaningful life for themselves and others in their ecosystem.

Nature’s message was always there for us to see. It is written on the wings of a butterfly. Chaos theory says that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world. So, even educating a few can be a game changer, creating a cascading effect that multiplies opportunities for others as well. And as the process continues the outcome is an enriched world where people live exhilarating, meaningful lives and are net producers, revitalizing society, instead of being net consumers, depleting it.

Therefore, I believe that education is the key to invigorating ‘life’. Educating the young not only helps them break the cycle of poverty and sustain their families, but also enables them to play a role in furthering societal prosperity. With education, people become valuable human resources and are offered the opportunity to give back to the world. 

So, a small shift in thinking and energy has transformed my life and has given me the power to potentially rejuvenate lives of millions.  All it takes is education to make the world flourish and us, humans, soar.