Assuming that life starts at five, here are 4 stages of life, grouped by age, which I think describe an ideal kind of life.
This age is childhood. Characterized by playfulness, innocence, curiosity, basic education, and a lot of initial conditioning. One is not concerned about the big issues of life. Childhood is a dreamland.
One has reached puberty by this age. Once that’s happened, childhood begins to cease, as one gets a whole new set of emotions to feel, and one’s motivations of life take a big shift. It’s exciting, but at the same time fraught with dangers. Ignorance of childhood and vigor of approaching adulthood (marked by arousal of powerful sexual forces) has a tendency to give rise to a lot of stupid behavior. One goes through rapid changes of character in this age.
The changes are bitter-sweet. This is the age in which one also becomes face-to-face with the reality of life. Sex, romance, relationships, breakups, heartbreaks, jealousy, greed, self-destructive thoughts and actions… Blaming society, God, and life itself for its unfairness and cruelty… Career, money, future plans, and dreams. The focus is on fun, pleasure, enjoyment, narcissistic wishes.
There’s so much happening, but one doesn’t usually have enough understanding of life. There are frequent periods of euphoria and extreme sadness. This is the most hectic time of life, and ideally I would say it’s better if one goes through all sorts of experiences of life in this age. I have called it “age of foolishness” in the sense that one’s character is not solidly shaped yet. One’s thoughts and actions are not always reconciled. It’s not possible to feel at ease and contented in life with such state of mind and affairs. But it’s a necessary turmoil, and ideally, it should help one become sorted on what life really is and what is really important to do in life.
Although I think most people (yes, most people) never make it beyond the age of foolishness, an ideal life is when one understands life quite well. Having seen and felt enough of life in the age of foolishness to shape one’s worldview and define one’s character, this is now high time for perfecting the both – worldview and character.
Learning and understanding about life, human nature, politics, how societies and everything in it works etc should now be the primary focus of life. (No, it doesn’t require one to be jobless, but just observant and reflective.) Understanding the human condition is a key to most worthwhile, rewarding and fulfilling life. The only truly happy man is a wise man; otherwise a drunkard is also happier than the average.
Worthwhile living is when one adds value to the world. After understanding life, and having cultivated wisdom, it’s time to create something out of it. One may write a book, become a public speaker, or teacher, or politician; or at the least a good example of an ideal and virtuous life holder for the people that surround one. The idea is to influence minds and to change lives for better. To do something great with all the knowledge and understanding one has attained in life. It’s not an obligation, but a wise man would know that it’s a key to most fulfilling life.
These are the four stages of an ideal life. They are not strictly age-bound. A lot depends on what kind of surrounding one grows up in, and what conditioning one is given. For example, to the people in a free and developed country like US a lot of things happen very early in their life – like losing virginity – compared to the people in a relatively conservative country like India. But an ideal life is one which contains roughly all four of the stages described above.
5-15, Innocence
This age is childhood. Characterized by playfulness, innocence, curiosity, basic education, and a lot of initial conditioning. One is not concerned about the big issues of life. Childhood is a dreamland.
15-25, Foolishness
One has reached puberty by this age. Once that’s happened, childhood begins to cease, as one gets a whole new set of emotions to feel, and one’s motivations of life take a big shift. It’s exciting, but at the same time fraught with dangers. Ignorance of childhood and vigor of approaching adulthood (marked by arousal of powerful sexual forces) has a tendency to give rise to a lot of stupid behavior. One goes through rapid changes of character in this age.
The changes are bitter-sweet. This is the age in which one also becomes face-to-face with the reality of life. Sex, romance, relationships, breakups, heartbreaks, jealousy, greed, self-destructive thoughts and actions… Blaming society, God, and life itself for its unfairness and cruelty… Career, money, future plans, and dreams. The focus is on fun, pleasure, enjoyment, narcissistic wishes.
There’s so much happening, but one doesn’t usually have enough understanding of life. There are frequent periods of euphoria and extreme sadness. This is the most hectic time of life, and ideally I would say it’s better if one goes through all sorts of experiences of life in this age. I have called it “age of foolishness” in the sense that one’s character is not solidly shaped yet. One’s thoughts and actions are not always reconciled. It’s not possible to feel at ease and contented in life with such state of mind and affairs. But it’s a necessary turmoil, and ideally, it should help one become sorted on what life really is and what is really important to do in life.
25-35, Cultivation of Wisdom
Although I think most people (yes, most people) never make it beyond the age of foolishness, an ideal life is when one understands life quite well. Having seen and felt enough of life in the age of foolishness to shape one’s worldview and define one’s character, this is now high time for perfecting the both – worldview and character.
Learning and understanding about life, human nature, politics, how societies and everything in it works etc should now be the primary focus of life. (No, it doesn’t require one to be jobless, but just observant and reflective.) Understanding the human condition is a key to most worthwhile, rewarding and fulfilling life. The only truly happy man is a wise man; otherwise a drunkard is also happier than the average.
35-beyond, Contribution to Goodness
Worthwhile living is when one adds value to the world. After understanding life, and having cultivated wisdom, it’s time to create something out of it. One may write a book, become a public speaker, or teacher, or politician; or at the least a good example of an ideal and virtuous life holder for the people that surround one. The idea is to influence minds and to change lives for better. To do something great with all the knowledge and understanding one has attained in life. It’s not an obligation, but a wise man would know that it’s a key to most fulfilling life.
These are the four stages of an ideal life. They are not strictly age-bound. A lot depends on what kind of surrounding one grows up in, and what conditioning one is given. For example, to the people in a free and developed country like US a lot of things happen very early in their life – like losing virginity – compared to the people in a relatively conservative country like India. But an ideal life is one which contains roughly all four of the stages described above.
"most people never make it beyond the age of foolishness" ? You sure? Most means more than 50% or most of the people you know?
ReplyDeleteAnd I fully agree that our lives are dependent on our surroundings. And why only country related, it could be like Jharkhand born and Delhi born thing as well. Yesterday I met a bihari majdoor working in Himachal , now he is poor by birth, isn't that a random quality he has achieved randomly.
Nice article btw. :)