A friend called me the other day, and I pleaded I was too busy to meet him, “Balance your life Bob,” he said, and proceeded to tell me a story:

                     "A long time ago, there was an Emperor who told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and cover as much land area as he likes, then the Emperor would give him the area of land he has covered."

                      "Sure enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and rode as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could.  He kept on riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. When he was hungry or tired, he did not stop because he wanted to cover as much area as possible. Came to a point when he had covered a substantial area and he was exhausted and was dying. Then he asked himself, "Why did I push myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only need a very small area to bury myself."

                    "The point, I'm trying to make," said Ramesh, "is that the story is similar with the journey of our Life. We push very hard everyday to make more money, to gain power and recognition. We neglect our health, time with our family and to appreciate the surrounding beauty and the hobbies we love. One day when we look back, we will realize that we don't really need that much, but then we cannot turn back time for what we have missed."

                    I grinned and listened to him, and the next day we met for lunch, "I thoroughly enjoyed lunch with you," I said, "and I'm going to see that I'm not too busy to enjoy life!"

I realized that day that life is not about making money, acquiring power or recognition, or even writing away to an extent that everything and everybody else is forgotten.

                  Life is definitely not only about work!

                  Work is only necessary to keep us living so as to enjoy the beauty and pleasures of life.

                  Life is a balance of work and play, family, personal time and also spiritual time. You have to decide how you want to balance your life.

                  We need to define our priorities, realize what we are able to compromise but always let some of our decisions be based on our instincts.  We need to realise that happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim of human existence.

                  So, take it easy, do what you want to do and appreciate the things around you. Life is fragile, Life is short. Do not take life for granted. Live a balanced lifestyle and enjoy life fully!

                  This is not just a message for you dear reader, but also to myself..!

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