Is there a 'THE END'?

THE END?

When i was asked to write my views about ‘ The End’, I wondered what could be written about the topic. 

May be a story that ends differently? Or a story that never ends? :P Some more such mulling over, and I realized its not about some story with a twisted ending, but really my personal beliefs about 'The End'. So I decided to look around and within, and write a few lines about it. Before I take you through my reflections, I wonder if there is something called as ‘The End’. What do you think?

You’ve seen the recent biggest news – Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement, the much talked about episode of the year. Do you call that an end? In terms of scores, may be yes. But in terms of his journey with cricket, not at all; On the contrary, post-retirement career options haven’t been this bright and prosperous, for any other sports figure in India. Consider another one – Nelson Mandela! Is this the end? No way! He is an idea that inspires generations world wide, and he will continue to 'live on' even more gloriously after his death. 

They are legends, but what about the rest? You may ask. So, lets take an example of mundane every day affairs. The work that AzimPremji Foundation in the field of education or any well intended Not-for-Profits' work towards the betterment of society. Is there a real ‘end’ to this? Not really. There may be clear milestones that seem like an end, an important event, or a noteworthy change; but not really an end. Take a look at our age old eastern philosophy, leaping a few steps deeper to say that even death is not considered as an end; rather yet another cyclical beginning.

There is no real ending, it’s just the place where you pause the story. And we can choose how to embrace that pause in our life; accept gracefully or deny its very existence. Unlike the movies, this pause isn’t as dramatic, and may not even be a major event in life; it could be as routine as our daily, month, quarter and year ends at workplace, or as eventful as your successful weight loss! It could be anything from small to significant. Just take a moment to notice, and to experience. 

An End, A Finish Line, Closing Chapters, Shutting Doors, it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to appreciate the pause, reflect and gather strength to move forward with hope. In a way, the end awaits a beginning; and some things are never-ending! So I concluded that there is no such thing as THE END in real life.

And I now truly understand Ruskin Bond; that the adventure is not in the arriving, it’s the on-the-way experience. It’s not the expected; it’s the surprise. Therefore, the end is as important as a beginning, as important as the journey. In fact, like the writer and philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti, I believe that the Journey is more important than the destination. Some even say that the journey in itself, a destination. And they also say, everything turns out well in the end :-)  

'Although the road is never ending, take a step and keep walking; Pause and look up the sky, on this path let the heart be your guide'

Wishing everyone a meaningful end of this year, and a great beginning of 2014!!

This was first published in Azim Premji Foundation in December 2013.