Daddy, Tell Me More

Daddy, tell me some life lessons
That you have experienced and seen
The good, the bad and the ugly
And how I can live it any better.

Forget it Darling
For we all live our lives
The way it comes our way
No one can plan, no one can predict
No one can teach, no one learns
I have lived mine
You shall live yours
Live it, feel it and move on with it.

No dad but I am sure
You’ve lived a full life of almost sixty
Maybe I may understand the world better
Even if I cannot change it, avoid it.
Not too many, a couple and some more.

So listen Darling
The first rule is
Life is never fair
Fair and lovely exist
Only in the cosmetic world
And even there that is a myth
Do not seek fairness in everything
For it is never there
For a blinkered person
The love of a father to his two children
The discipline of a teacher for his students
The appraisal of a manager for his workers
Will always seem unfair
You may even question the fairness of the creator
Why did you give such fortune to one
Why did you forget me when
You were giving away your goodness
The more you seek fairness
The more unfairness you see
The depressed and cynical you become
The scales of life are never evenly balanced
There will always be a tilt
One way or the other
So Darling, forget fairness
Just do what you have to do
And do it well to the best of your ability
And leave the fairness question aside
And move one with a smile.

The second rule of life is
You cannot be a winner always
What goes up must come down
What is down one day
Will come up the next day
No matter how good you are
At school, at home and at work
You will not always taste success

Failures will also kiss your feet

As they tread on in life
One day you will be over the moon
Next day you suddenly find
Yourself on the dark side of the moon

So learn to accept defeat and failures
Yes these can be hard and depressing
But the art is to quickly recoil, rebound
Tomorrow is yet another new day
A new day for new trails and fights
Just keep at it and never tire, never give up
Learn from the failures and defeats
Jump into the boxing ring again
And punch away to glory
Just learn to keep your head high
Learn to stay positive

Don't ever let anyone or anything dull your sparkle
Accept defeats as you enjoy success.

The third lesson of life is
Love what you do
When your mother cooks for you
She pours in her love
And food turns into ambrosia
That is the secret sauce of life
When at play
Play as if your life depends on it
Give in your best efforts
Stretch beyond endurance
And you will be able to do it
Only when you love playing more than anything
When I was a kid, even if I had fever
I would go out to play
Because that’s what I loved the most
When you love your work
You will do it with utmost dedication and honesty
Eight-hour schedules are for regulars
For people who love their profession
Hours do not matter
They just go on and on
Till the work is done
Till the patient is healed
Till the paper is published
And when people talk of work life balance
That’s another myth
Don’t fall for it
It doesn’t exist
Work hard with all your heart
Yes, enjoy the little hours left
With people you love
With food you enjoy
Music that makes you happy
With books that give wings to your imagination
Just be the mother in the kitchen
Of all you do.

The fourth and most important lesson of life is
Just be kind and do good to all
And you will never regret it
Don’t worry whether you will get repaid
In this world or another
Just be good and do good
You will sleep well at night
You will have the moral courage
You will have love as your protector
Do good to people
Make the place you live and work
A happy one
Your broad smile in the morning
Your warm shake of the hand
A tight hug to someone
A loud laughter when you hear something funny
All these will brighten the space you live
And when you’re out in the open
A little help to the stranger
No more than offering your seat on the train
A penny to that outstretched hand in the street
Will make you happy from within
And when that happens
Happiness comes out in the open
No matter how the world treats you
No matter how the people behave

Just be nice for no reason
And when you’re good,
Rest all falls in place
So Darling just do good and be good.

SS