The Downside of Living on the Edge

Ups and downs exist whilst living on the edge, just as with a tightrope walker.

When we refuse to accept our limits and push ourselves to the edge, we endanger ourselves, being enslaved to the enemies within. Thereby, inviting self-created addictions and dependencies for us to counter. But as we know, the edge is the only place we should be. What should we do?

The hardest to thwart are habits first, wealth and power next, and finally, love. As previously mentioned, living on the edge is not simple, it can sometimes become unstable, oscillating with higher frequencies or amplitudes, and at times, both. However, the desire and dedication to keep going help to stabilise it from time to time. Ensuring that living on the edge is the only way out of the worldly trap.

Having said that, let's go with the downsides to see how we cope with each independently.

The Eternal Battle Within

I say I say, why're you hard on yourself?

Because I have to toughen myself

To learn to develop compassion for one another

To make both of us better for ourselves.

Sadly, flattering acts as an ego booster

Caught in an ambush by a slimy looter

It's a pity that flattery overshadows blessing

Harden yourself as there's much evil to counter.

Sometimes befriending and sometimes with daggers drawn

It's the two of us within us, that we are invariably on

The others are not our problem; they have their own

Let's be wise, as the eternal battle within goes on and on.

Habit

Habits, good or bad are all binding. No habit, no routine and no duty; all this amounts to freedom.

Let's now address the undoing of habits, may it be drinking tea or coffee, smoking or drinking. Breaking the addiction all at once is never the solution. The withdrawal symptoms can be more harmful; besides the habit only builds up to come back with greater intensity.

Be a Rishi

A free soul develops a free mind

And keeps all our thoughts aligned

But mundane thoughts of a controlled mind

takes you into a bind.

For a burdened soul, detachment from the path is not free

It lingers in the body, despite its fervent plea

Whereas a free soul helps you to persist in peace

Be a rishi, live boundless as the vast sea.

Love is nothing but positive energy

With purpose, it works as a synergy

The blending of this spirit, purpose, and discipline

Is the perfect trilogy.

Wealth and Power

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The well-known saying is pertinent; as the power increases, the moral sense diminishes. Wealth is the source of power, but money is the ultimate power. This is the highest form of addiction that makes you wish for more money and the more you get, the more you want. It makes you needier than the needy. You tend to beg, borrow or steal to achieve your target and in the process, you lose yourself. Greed is the biggest trap and on the other side is the fear of losing what you fought for.

This life where you tend to be anxious for results is not worth living. The best that can happen is to fall gracefully and survive the fall. The upward journey after the fall is that of a struggler who has learnt from his mistakes. You go all out, as you have nothing to lose. This time you go with your passions and money is only the secondary objective. You can change your ways and be a nonconformist; the edge is the only place to be.

Get into the problems so that you can learn to get out of them. Living is learning until the end, and people who think they have learnt have stopped living. Combining discipline and flexibility without a routine is living on the edge.

There is also an upside to chasing money, where the pursuit is for a higher cause such as corporate social responsibility, youth empowerment and vocational training. However, the pursuit of money in old age is rare, and being passionate about a noble cause, is more so.

A man for all seasons is seasoned enough to enjoy the changing moods, whims and fancies of his companion.

The Man for All Seasons

Why do we say old is gold?

Because gold cannot get old

The metal that cannot corrode

It is gold that can easily be sold.

The older you get, the deeper is your knowledge

The older the gold, the better it gets acknowledged

It protects against inflation and the erosion of major currencies

In the highs and lows of life, you can quickly put gold on a mortgage.

An old man chasing gold must have a good reason

He could be working his heart out on a special mission

His consciousness is well aware of the logic beyond the mundane

In all and for all, he would be the man for all seasons.

Love

Love is both, a weakness and a strength, it lives at the edge of the abyss. Love and being happy ever after is a fairy tale.

Devdas is a Bengali romance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. A highly acclaimed book with many screen adaptations, it is about a wealthy family that forbids their son Devdas to marry the woman he loves. His life plunges as he takes to alcohol to alleviate his pain. Heartbreak associated with hitting the bottle is a universal fact.

The word ‘Devdas’ means a slave of God. However, God is love and therefore it means a slave to love. God resides in all of us and we all should be slaves of love within us and others. Love has therefore nothing to do with heartbreak. Love is purposeless and has nothing to do with marriage. Love and marriage don't jell together as there is a purpose to marriage, whereas love is free and without barriers.

Detached Attachment

Detached attachment is giving up control and letting your possessions come and go. You are not the owner, only a caretaker. Enjoy while it is yours and when the time comes, let it go as if it was never intended for you. No possessing, no attachment, no addiction, and yet there is a certain intimacy.

Let us hear a private conversation between a couple who had a break-up, but kept in touch for fifteen years.

Harry: Have you any feelings left for me?

Swapna: Not the kind you have in mind.

Harry: I see that you’ve become heartless.

Swapna: No, not heartless. Love is beyond a relationship. This was your idea; Harry and I think you were right. This is what saved us.

Harry: Sorry, it’s not easy, we have to take turns saving each other.

Swapna: Yes, I know the time I was making many demands on you, yet you did not lose your cool, nor did you succumb to mine.

Harry: One part of me was dying to take you in my arms.

Swapna: Oh, yes, I was dying to see that happen.

Harry: We won the battle. Now we’ve gotten over everything.

Swapna: I like the way you flirt with me nowadays.

Harry: Yes, we’re detached. The attachment is in our control.

Swapna: You mean we can have our cake and eat it too?

Harry: That is exactly what detached attachment is all about.

Saying that he took her in his arms and the fire was ignited.

Detached Attachment

Why limit your love to a person when God in each one of us resides?

Love is God is the credo by which every creed abides.

If life is a teaser, flirt with that which you cannot possess.

When we say God is with you, it's the other way around.

If you can't possess life, why not flirt?

The way out of the worldly cage is to be on the edge that allows you to be sometimes in or sometimes out of it.

Living on the Edge

Flirting with life is living on the edge

Living to the fullest is crossing the hedge.

Flirting is free love, and therefore detached

The relation is enslaved and gets you attached.

Flirters love God in each one of those that reveal Him

Not attached to them they love the blush of purity within.

God is love and love is God, and loving God through them

When God is within each one of us, why is polygamy condemned?

Love is a soul connection, that may only survive

With the togetherness of the mind, that consistently thrives.

Some Thoughts

• The way to conquer life is to live on the edge - the edge of the precipice called love.
• To conquer love is to eradicate attachment.
• To conquer love is to make it purposeless.
• Love is a process, not a goal. Enjoy it while it lasts.
• Don’t try to understand love, just sense it.
• Everything good in life is temporary. Move on to other good things instead of miserably clinging to what is gone.
• A flirt is one who does not limit his love to one, as God resides in everyone.

Copyright ? 2023 Haresh Sippy

(This article is subject to copyright.)