New Year Resolutions

In life we often fall prey to our temptations. Temptation for an object is only our reaction to it. However strangely, desire is rarely satisfied by the enjoyment of the objects or things we like. Rather our yearning for things we like initially grow more and more as does the fire to which fuel is added. Life is a toxic brew of longings, desires and passions.

Almost all people harbour a desire to be great or have a desire for things, moral or immoral. When the conscious is set aside, the incendiary mixture of desire, deceit and debilitating sense of gratification often give birth to actions that backfire. The sad thing is that in the blind yearning for desires, irrational actions are often justified as being rational because of the pleasures associated with them. However ultimately does not life always prove the “irrationality” of the so-called rational?

As years pass by, one’s sinister dimensions that were previously suppressed by one’s sub-conscious mind become suddenly exposed. This is when illicit relationships become stale or illegal actions become meaningless. In illicit relations men get bored and women get disenchanted. Men grow bald while women become fat and lose their attractiveness. Affection becomes affliction and in many cases leads to broken homes and displaced children. Suddenly there is a regret on why the wrong moves were made in the first place when it is well known that while we do control our choice of actions, we cannot control the consequences of our choice.

On the same count, illegal actions may make one very wealthy through illegal means but a time comes when this wealth is meaningless. While normally illegal means of income leave one vulnerable to State action, even when those who have managed to evade such action do reach an advanced age, they retrospectively ponder into the past and wonder whether all their wrong actions were worth the massive wealth accumulated. An old man with a few years to live is much richer with fruitful and constructive past deeds as compared to a fat bank balance or vast properties which he can barely take advantage of.

Life may be a toxic brew of wishes. However rather than having the animal instinct of doing what one wishes, the noble way is to live honestly. We all spin our own fate, good or evil, which is never to be undone. Even the smallest stroke of virtue or vice leaves its little scar. For many the New Year is a time to make resolutions. When making our resolutions for the New Year let us not forget that our good and bad actions silently follow us to the time we die. Let us not forget that mistakes of a few moments may have to be paid for by a lifetime of regret.