‘Never’ is only a question of time

We never know how high we are / Till we are called to rise; / And then, if we are true to plan, / Our statures touch the sky… “
~ Emily Dickinson. From the poem: We never know how high we are.

Never: not ever; not at all; not at any time; not under any condition; at no time; certainly not; positively not; by no means; to no extent or degree; is a word we use a lot in our life. In addition, many idioms and phrases such as: better late than never; it never rains but it pours; lightning never strikes twice; never more; never-never; never the wiser; never say never; now or never; watched pot never boils; wonders will never cease; you never can tell; and many more are also derived from ‘never’; and are in common use. Such wide usage of this word, mostly given to without thought or compassion, also goes to show how sadly uncompromising or lost of hope we can be as human beings.

We use this word at all times, in all state of mind, in regard to passion or feeling; fits of morose or sullen behaviour; in anger; in humour or disposition; or in whatever moods.

However, the widest usage is in its use as an angry retort, as rhetoric, or in a mood of haplessness, helplessness, and hopelessness.

It is an accepted norm that, all human beings were never intended to be, all were equal in colour, size, intellect, moral developments, or social capacity; but the enlightened among us did consider all men created equal - equal in certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

However, the folly of fools refuses to grant or acknowledge, that we are born free; and will roam free fashioned only by our thoughts. If the mind is pure, joy is bound to follow like a shadow that never leaves. When our disposition is evil, all the negative emotions such as anger, greed, hatred, jealousy, sadness, take hold.

These feelings make us lose confidence and feel miserable about ourselves, and others. Thus, in order to hide these negative emotions, we tend to take refuge in words such as never and ever, without realising that in reality, there is no such thing as never or ever. These are mere words that denotes a concept Never is not for ever. Never and ever is only a question of time, not eternal, but conditioned by time.

We live in a world in which, society is doing its best, night and day, to turn us into everybody else but ourselves. To be nobody but ourselves in such a world is to fight the hardest battle, which any human being can fight; and we never stop fighting as long as we live.

This is a battle raging everyday, fought inside of our mind, because we put it there by succumbing to the pressures of society.

Many of us lose the battle and become an imitation of somebody because we realise not that the world is what we make of it. Not what someone else wants it to be. It is also well worth remembering that it is never too late to be what we might have been even if for the moment we have lost the fight to be ourselves.

The best way to win this battle against society and self, and be ourselves, is to be thankful for what we have.

That way, we will end up having more. If we concentrate on what we do not have, we will never ever have enough; and as a result, will feel either sad or angry with ourselves, or the world at large. Thus being,

we only lie to ourselves by not realising happiness only lies within ourselves. If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, I suppose, the most likely explanation is that we probably were, made for another world.

Life does not happen to us, it happens from us. It is not in looking that we find life, but in the looking, it finds us. From time to time, life can look hopeless; and so, some of us give up in life too easily and say I am never going to make it, and realize not, that never is only a question of time. If we persevere, eventually the wheel of fortune will turn.

What we need is the mental ability, the strength, to carry on and not give up. To illustrate this, here is a story that is true as it is about resilience of a man who lived through this:

Born into a nondescript middle class family, he lost his mother when aged nine.

While young his formal education consisted approximately of a year's worth of classes from several itinerant teachers, he was mostly self-educated and was an avid reader. At age 22, ambitious and seeking a better life, he stuck out on his own and started a business.

Failing in business soon after, he took to politics as a profession. Lost in his effort to become a legislator at age 23; he started a business once again aged 24. This business too fails. His sweetheart dies by the time he enters age 26. Has a nervous breakdown at age 27.

Re-entering politics, he is defeated once again by age 28. Trying his luck for Congress, again he is defeated when age 32, and again at age 36.

Though he manages to win a seat thereafter, vying for the Senate seat, he gets defeated when age 46. Not giving up his ambition, and aiming higher even though he lost at a lower level, he again loses in his effort to become the Vice President, the same year. Not giving up, he again tries for the Senate seat when aged 48, but loses.

However, in spite of all his defeats, he gets elected as the President of the country at age 51. The remarkable aspect of this story is that, even when he lost at a lower level, he feared not to aspire higher. This man was Abraham Lincoln: The man who changed the history of the United

States of America by redefining the Republic, and Republicanism. In surveys of scholars ranking Presidents of the USA since the 1940s to date, Lincoln is, consistently ranked in the top three, often at number one. Generally, the top three presidents are rated as: 1)Lincoln; 2) George Washington; and 3) Franklin D. Roosevelt, although Lincoln and Washington, and Washington and Roosevelt, occasionally are reversed.

Thus, never is just a question of time, and the story above is the best proof that for a man not falling short of hope and expectations, the universe will eventually fulfill. And, on the question of time; what is time anyway? If we seek a precise knowledge of time, the infinitesimal flash of now dissolves into a scattering flock of nanoseconds. Because we are, bound by the speed of light and the velocity of nerve impulses; our perception of the “present” is only a reflection of the world as it occurred an instant ago, even if human consciousness pretends otherwise. Relativity dictates that, as strange as it may sound, time flows slower on moving trains than in the stations; and faster in the mountains than in the valleys. Time permeates and guides both our physical world and our inner selves.

That knowledge should enrich the imagination and provide practical advantages to anyone hoping to succeed, in spite of failures.

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking; keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

For views, reviews, encomiums, and brickbats: [email protected]