A film, a book, an advertisement and a way to live

My journey towards a bad-habit-sans life is one of the classical chronicles of will fighting weakness. Millions of similar struggles have existed since life came to exist on earth, in myriad contexts, all tied together with a binding thread- will to survive. Three of these struggles stand on stark contrast as having a very appealing message for the modern days.

The most recent I witnessed was Rocky VI Rocky by now had become 60 years old and came back out of retirement to fight the world heavy weight champion. He fought against all odds, for gaining his own self-respect. The essence of the film lay in this one scene with Rocky speaking to his son –You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done.

This film is one of those rare mirrors that provide a simple message- Will. The will to survive, the will to fight, the will to win. It’s a mirror which makes you see what might have been, and what is missing. What is missing? Many things- for many of us. For those intellectual types who think they are smart because they have brains; are fun because they are witty; and know life because they know the world.

Millions of the white-collared bureaucrats, including yours truly, end up looking at situations ass-backwards! The word “will” was long back deleted from the word-list and replaced with words like with strategies, tactics, paths, and tricks. We are blinded to the simple messages with simple expressions like Rocky Balboa.

Or Ernest Hemingway.

Yet another story of the ten round fight of will vs. weakness. Round 10- the old man looses the battle against the sharks, but his will wins the battle over his weakness. Do the sharks of the sea really win? Maybe—but so does the old man- it’s about how hard you can get hit.

The old man Santiago, though, is a different animal from Rocky. While Rocky was out to hunt his prey, the old man was out to play a game. Both men saw duty in the game, but the old man also saw humour in it- He enjoyed it. After loosing his battle, the story ends with this line: And the old man dreamed about the lions. Another slightly different way learning is the Nike ad line- Just do it. No fights, no humour, no rounds- just go and do it!

Three ways to get inspired, three ways of traversing the journey to life in what is, according to many ancient (Indian) beliefs, the only path to redemption. Millions of people today draw comfort from the fact that happiness lies in job security, eating, and fucking. Don’t get into that fight because you might get hurt. Don’t quit smoking because it is too hard. Don’t do something on your own because it might end your career. Don’t stand up for yourself for the fear of being pulled down!