Life We Keep Postponing

As children, many of us dreamed of living like a bird to fly, to run, to fall and, above all, never to stop. Then adulthood arrived. Responsibilities came, survival took priority, and most of us quietly stopped asking whether we were living the life we once wanted.

In the Bollywood film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Kabir says, "I want to fly, I want to run, I even want to fall. I don't want to stop." That was the life we wanted. Did we get it? Most people would say no, and they would be right. We stopped dreaming because we had to; survival demanded it. In the Malayalam film Charlie, we glimpse the kind of life many of us once wished for. Charlie shows that life is not meant to be lived according to others’ expectations. He drifts through tea gardens, helps strangers see life differently, and teaches them how to enjoy it. In chasing stability and fearing an uncertain future, we often give up the very life and love we secretly wished we had the courage to live.

Sometimes we try to become Christopher McCandless from the Hollywood film Into the Wild. Like him, we dream of leaving everything behind (people, expectations and responsibilities) and living only for ourselves. But the fear of failing, of being alone, and ultimately of dying alone as he did, pulls us back to the life others expect of us. Slowly, we abandon the dreams we once wanted to live for. Then we convince ourselves that this is the life we wanted all along, and to survive it, we work harder and harder. Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness tells us that sometimes survival is the only dream that exists. We work hard, believing that someday life will be easier and more enjoyable, and that everything will be alright. But working hard without remembering why we are working can cost us the very life we are working for. In building a better tomorrow, we stop living today.

Kung Fu Panda offers a gentle correction. Master Oogway tells Po, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present." Most of us spend our energy worrying about the past and the future, yet we cannot change the one and cannot see the other. We only have today, and it is the only thing we can truly cherish. Forrest, the beloved character from Forrest Gump, takes the lesson further. His life rarely follows a plan, yet when he goes with the flow and moves forward peacefully, the journey becomes deeply meaningful. We worry so much about how far life will take us, which is uncertain anyway, that we forget to enjoy the day in front of us.
Sometimes life makes us Kabir, Imran and Arjun from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. It shows how often we postpone living because of careers, responsibilities, expectations and the fear of losing control. Like the three friends, we eventually realise that life cannot be experienced later. Some moments must be lived now, before they become memories we wish we had made. 

So, what is a suitable life? Perhaps it is a little of each: the courage to dream, the discipline to work, the wisdom to rest and the habit of noticing small joys along the way. Responsibilities are real, and stability matters. Bills must be paid, and families must be cared for. But a life built only on tomorrow slowly forgets how to enjoy today. We do not have to leave everything behind to be free. Sometimes freedom is a quiet evening with people we love, a long walk without a destination, a phone call or simply the decision to be fully present in an ordinary moment.

Therefore, what does life mean to you? Who would you want to be- Kabir, Charlie, Christopher, Chris, Po, Forrest, Arjun or Imran? If someone asked me, I would borrow from Forrest's mother: "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." And perhaps that is the beauty of it. From Charlie, I would take the way he finds happiness in small things and absorbs life’s beauty. From Arjun, his sense of responsibility. From Imran, his tremendous capacity for love. From Kabir, his steady calm, and from Kabir, his spirit of never stopping. To these I would add the hard work of Chris Gardner and a little of Forrest's innocence. Combined, perhaps that is the life I want: free yet grounded, hardworking yet able to enjoy the present, brave without losing its kindness. Not a perfect life, just one that feels real.

For the time being, and for the sake of stability, we leave our dreams unattended. With time, they fade, and we become a different person, one we can hardly remember. Let that not be our story. Dreams do not have to be big. Start small, and start today, because the present is the only place where life truly happens.
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The writer is a development communication expert. She can be reached at 
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