How do you define a good life?

“What is this life if full of care, we don’t have time to stop and stare,” said William Henry Davies. William Wordsworth, the English Romantic poet, wrote: ““We must reflect on the gift of life first and foremost and be grateful for it… Life in its myriad forms, shapes and colors unfolds every day before us. But our weary eyes see it not.”

The origin of life, and its purpose, has also been referred to in several religious scriptures. According to the Holy Quran, the central religious text of Islam, for example, life is in the hands of God; and it is God who gives and takes it away. Likewise, the revered Hindu scripture, Bhagavad Gita, preaches that one ought, constantly, to strive for the welfare of the world; and that, by devotion to selfless work, one attains the supreme goal of life. Likewise, according to a verse in a Psalm of the saved scripture of Judaism and Christianity, Holy Bible, “the days of our years are three years and ten.” All life comes from God, both physical and spiritual.

A good lifespan of a human being, according to the Vedas, is about 100 years. In today’s world, however, confidently expect to live a reasonably good life for far in excess of 80 years. While that may not look very long, compared to the Greenland Shark, whose life can go up to 400 years, it is certainly far longer than that of the Pygmy Goby, for which life is something that barely lasts for eight weeks. But, then, as the Telugu movie matinee idol, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, once said it is not how long one lives that matters, but how good the quality of life is. As the saying goes, it is better to live only for six months as a swan, rather than forever as a crow.

Having said that, the fact remains that, after all, as one gets older, it becomes necessary to take steps to ensure that one remains physically fit, mentally active and emotionally stable. One thing that helps in sustaining the ‘feel good factor’, is to maintain healthy relationships with friends, family and the community in general. That is also the time when one has more time for things one always wanted to do, such as visiting new places, taking of new hobbies or spending more time with people.

I, for example, always wanted to meet Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, astrophysicist and the hero of my postgraduate days, in Osmania University. I had never watched the launching of a rocket either. I fulfilled both these ambitions recently, years after my retirement from service.

Everyone has their own reasons for feeling stressed on occasion, such as being overworked, or finding no outlets for pent-up emotions caused by frustration or disappointment. One method of reducing the impact of stress is to go for a good workout in the gym, or take a long walk, often called the mother of all stress busters. Listening to music, watching a dance, a play or a movie, or taking time off to relax with a hobby, can also be very effective. Taking a break from professional duties, and going away on a short vacation is also an excellent way of combating stress. Spending quality time with pets, or visiting a zoo or a museum, is another good way, of taking one’s mind off things that cause tension. Stress can also be dealt with by letting off steam. If you feel angry at someone, just shout at that person, and be done with it, rather than brood about the matter, causing stress to build up.

I was once going through a period of mild depression, when my lifelong friend, philosopher and guide Agnihotri, suggested a way out. “Get obsessed”, he counselled me, adding, “and stay obsessed”. It is such single-minded concentration on achieving an objective that often becomes an obsession in the long run and wins lifetime achievement awards. There are many examples of such great people, such as David Attenborough, who has been recognised this year as a ‘Champion of the Earth’, by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). They in the truest sense of the expression, worked for a goal as if their very life depended on it. And, what is more, had the time of their lives, pursuing that objective! UNEP announces such Lifetime Achievement Awards yearly in recognition of decades of consistent action on behalf of planet Earth and its inhabitants.

Similar awards are also given in other areas of activity, such as cricket. Ravi Shastri, the legendary cricketer, for instance, received the lifetime achievement honour from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last year. Also belonging to the same genre is the Mensa Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which is presented every other year, in recognition of a lifetime of contributions in the field of research in human intelligence and related subjects.

The word ‘life’ has also other connotations in different contexts ‘Life’, was for instance, the name of a popular American weekly magazine, which, during its Golden Age from 1936 to 1972, was a wide-ranging general interest magazine, known for the quality of its photography, and reaching nearly a quarter of the population of the United States of America. Another interesting usage, to which the word ‘life’ lends itself, is what a batsman gets in cricket, when a chance to get him out is squandered by the opposing team. An even more interesting usage of the word is description of three consecutive value cards, of the same suit, in the game of rummy, a must for a successful show! Likewise, the game, ‘Life’, simulates a person’s travels through his or her life. An example of a cellular automaton, one can do any computation that can be done on any computer using the logic on which it is created.

There can be no such thing as a universal formula for happiness. Everyone needs to find the right mix of profession, persons, activities and daily schedules that best serve the purpose of making them happy. Whatever floats their boat, in other words.

The story goes that, in a party one evening, a pretty young thing approached a formidable looking former army major, who was also a famous hunter, and, somewhat timidly asked him. “Did you have any exciting hunting episodes in your service sir?” “Many my dear,” the man responded. “There was this incident when”, he continued, “I was having an eyeball to eyeball confrontation with a man-eating tiger. Our faces were so close that the tiger’s whiskers were brushing my moustache. Then the tiger opened its mouth and bit my head off.” Somewhat nonplussed, the girl exclaimed, “But, sir, you are still very much alive!”

“Ha!,” the man snorted, and said in a disgusted tone, “You call this a living!”

My father was a great one for one liners. On one occasion, when a friend hailed him saying, “How is life”? His prompt retort was, “Better than the alternative!”

(The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)