Caught up in the maddening pace of life

Are you caught up in this maddening pace of life? I am too, at times.  Being extremely busy has now become our normal lifestyle, very few are exempt from it. Those few are the wise and the well lived

It appears as though we have fewer choices in life, we are subsequently forced to either fall in line or perish. There  seems to be some kind of concealed threat looming large over us which fills us with a constant trepidation that we would be trampled upon if we ever slowed down. Menacing as it seems, yet there are those who live a rather peaceful existence of no worries, no frills and no thrills. Do we dare think that they may not be the happy and or lead rather mundane lives ? I believe they could be some of the happiest people on the face of this earth. They compete with none, live life at their own pace and  on their own terms.

The decisions we take regarding our lives make us happy or unhappy. However it is rather sad to think that many of our decisions are often influenced by parameters such as finances, career plans accumulation of  possessions etc. 

Simple living has taken a back seat today. This has been replaced by material and mental clutter. To walk away from it all is rather difficult, and yet, this is true freedom. Freedom from social and cultural expectations, freedom from worry and freedom to do what we want with our lives. 

This reminds me of an incident from the Bible where Jesus said to a rich young man, sell what you have, give it to the poor and come follow me ( I am only paraphrasing here) the rich young man as virtuous as he was turned and went away sadly. This kind of sums up the angst of our times.

A journey to freedom involves the greatest of struggles. However the struggle ceases to exist once the decision is made, all that remains is just another challenge to be faced and conquered. It's a matter of personal choice.