Have you imagined how would you want your life to be when you are 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or a 100? Well, we hear quite a few wanting to retire at 40 or 50. But then I wonder, what will you do next if you retire at 40? How long will you or can you chill? But that’s not the most important question, however. What I wonder the most is, why do we want to retire at 40 itself? Are we not enjoying what we do or doing what we enjoy?
I have the huge privilege of coming across someone phenomenally inspiring in this regard. He inspires us to think, challenge ourselves and live more beautifully. He is a Padma Shri awardee (the 4th highest civilian award in India) and a Sangeet Natak academy awardee too. He knows scriptures in such great detail that it might take most of us a few lifetimes to get that kind of command. If you see him, you’ll automatically be filled with reverence. He is a living legend in Kathak (an Indian classical dance form).
If you are wondering who is it – it is the one and only, Guru Dr. Puru Dadheech. He is 80 years young and if you see his passion and commitment to the art form, it is so inspiring and heartwarming. He is actively working towards reviving ancient Kathak which literally meant showing a katha (story) (sometimes, people think it’s about footwork and spins, but there’s much more to it). Last year, on his 80th birthday, he danced an entire 40 minutes presenting the famous ‘Kevat Prasang’ from the Ramayana. (To see his magic for real, please click on the link below. You just shouldn’t miss this dose of inspiration).
While most of us plan for retiring at 40- here’s a man who breathes his passion and pours life into an art form at 80. All in the name of true passion and dedication. He truly demonstrates that only jobs have retirement. Not passion. And it is passion that keeps us not just alive but happily, healthily and inspiringly alive.
- We don’t move from our seats because there’s no incentive to move. So our limbs give up early on in life.
- We miss thanking the universe for all the gifts we have because we are busy getting stressed about what we don’t have, so our heart gives up early too.
- We don’t give ourselves enough challenges that make our brain exercise its full potential, so it goes to sleep sooner too.
If you want your limbs to be active and functional, if you want your heart to actively beat for you, if you want your brain to healthily work for you, then don’t waste another moment. Find your passion and fill your life with it. Life becomes so meaningful and beautiful. There’s never a right time to wait for life to happen. It’s always time to make life happen. That’s one of the learning when we see Guruji.