Cornered

While the different ways to acquire wealth, power and fame, some of the things that people always yearn for ,may seem like a list of options to an aspirant, the ultimate selection could, however, be circumstantial or owing to some quick thinking. The modern world is in such a state that there is no dearth of cut throat competition in any chosen stream in the pursuit of excellence. While most of the people emerge victorious out of these rat races, some are left behind. This minority, failures in a world dominated by their successful counterparts may feel neglected and marginalized. They are bereft of a hedonic lifestyle that the winners may possess, their questions unanswered, their emotions in a vain search for a vent, their silence often taken for granted by the rest. Even the personifications of humility and altruism among those successful are likely to find a hurdle in a factor called time to reach out to these lesser mortals. So what would one do the day or the exact moment he realizes that he is a complete failure?
As is the case with several opposing forces in nature, failure is in many ways similar to success. Both takes an unsuspecting individual from average to the extreme, to a level he may never have imagined he would be one day. On par also is the span of time within which it could happen, over nightly or with the passing of time. Well, the point is, the answer to the question that I myself raised earlier is that of another similar question. "What would one do if he were a success"? Incredulous it may sound, but one has to learn to take failure in his stride.While one could actually revel in his failure (believe me, it’s possible) any precaution to stop goings over boards, as in the case of instant success, is welcome. What would happen otherwise is now out there for anyone to look at, in the form of a demonic shootout at an American university campus.
Now, what makes a loser? Some end up as losers because they don’t possess exceptional good looks, dizzying heights of academic brilliance or unparalleled sporting excellence. And yet there is a different kind who has always evoked an envious admiration in me. Men who don’t give a damn about taking part in any race for the ascent to the zenith, who are averse to getting themselves sold, rated, listed and classified. In absolute corroboration to the laid back lifestyle that they opt, they never accept that they are failures, in spite of what others may think. Fortunate are these who can come up with a statement on the lines of “this is what I had always wanted”, even in a so-called disadvantageous position.
On a personal note, I feel obliged to say that I try to squeeze myself into that coterie. After all, I’m sang-froid enough to stare back into the eyes of my failures. Putting the blame for one’s failures on others seems as nonsensical to me as terming my out-of-work days wasteful, a time when I learned a lot, most importantly how to live amicably alongside my failures. The gun totting student failed to do even that. For preventing such incidents in future, all losers must be integrated. They could wait for a book I’m planning to write, tentatively titled ‘How to be a Failure: Not just a loser, but a disaster in every aspect of life’.

PS: Clichéd it maybe but, I’m good at nothing and that’s where I’m good at.