Second best....
The starting gun fires, and they are off... eyebrows knit with concentration, sinews bursting to extract every ounce of strength and before you can say 'Moby Dick' the 100m dash is all done - all under 10 seconds. The winner exults in the adulation of the crowd, a standing ovation before the packed stadium and the millions more watching him/her on television........... but what about the rest? Difference in times are only fractions of seconds - yet all the others are cast into the commonality of 'also rans'. Welcome to modern day competition.
The survival of the fittest - as codified by the likes of Darwin among others is as paramount today with the human race - as it is with every living organism in nature - only that the survival is at an altogether different level. But this essay is not targeted at those winners - but the also rans. In a subtle way their crucial importance cannot be underemphasized - without them - there wouldn't be any winners, there wouldn't be that extra effort to push the human body and mind to it fullest extent and beyond.
Most of us who call this world home belong to this commonality - if you so would like to refer to it in that way. No matter how hard we try - we do not seem to be able to meet or beat the best of best - no matter which area or field we pursue. In the same breadth - the winner himself cannot rest on his laurels - for fear of winning the battle but losing the war. The fortunes of both the winner and loser are thus entwined in each other - inseparable in some respects. For the losers - the winner serves as a goal to the achieved - a record that stands to be broken. For the winner - the losers are the only reason that he has to continue to train and better himself - just to maintain status quo, at the back of his mind being the ultimate reality that one day he will be successfully challenged on his own turf.
In all its quirks - therein lies the beauty of our existence. No matter how we look at it - the symbiosis continues to prevail - its something we cannot live without. Therefore - in whatever our struggles are - we should take heart that they are not all in vain - and never give up the sight of that elusive goal which we all seek - which makes all of us winners
The survival of the fittest - as codified by the likes of Darwin among others is as paramount today with the human race - as it is with every living organism in nature - only that the survival is at an altogether different level. But this essay is not targeted at those winners - but the also rans. In a subtle way their crucial importance cannot be underemphasized - without them - there wouldn't be any winners, there wouldn't be that extra effort to push the human body and mind to it fullest extent and beyond.
Most of us who call this world home belong to this commonality - if you so would like to refer to it in that way. No matter how hard we try - we do not seem to be able to meet or beat the best of best - no matter which area or field we pursue. In the same breadth - the winner himself cannot rest on his laurels - for fear of winning the battle but losing the war. The fortunes of both the winner and loser are thus entwined in each other - inseparable in some respects. For the losers - the winner serves as a goal to the achieved - a record that stands to be broken. For the winner - the losers are the only reason that he has to continue to train and better himself - just to maintain status quo, at the back of his mind being the ultimate reality that one day he will be successfully challenged on his own turf.
In all its quirks - therein lies the beauty of our existence. No matter how we look at it - the symbiosis continues to prevail - its something we cannot live without. Therefore - in whatever our struggles are - we should take heart that they are not all in vain - and never give up the sight of that elusive goal which we all seek - which makes all of us winners
posted by Joseph Noronha @ 2:08 PM
0 Comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home