So Far And No Further

Mar 26, 2010, 12.00am IST
Janina Gomes.

It does not take many years or deep wisdom to realise that we all have our limitations. These limitations differ from person to person. Some are able to push back physical barriers by performing feats in athletics, weight lifting or hard manual labour. Those who are physically weak may turn out to be achievers intellectually and go on to become good scholars and researchers. Similarly, we have emotional, affective and spatial limits. We can go so far and no further.


Instead of being hamstrung by these limits, they come into our lives to help us grow. Until and unless we are tested by circumstances and events, we do not know our own limits and how far we can go. When confronted by difficulties, there is an inner force abiding within us all that makes us rise up and overcome the obstacles we face.


Obstructions and difficulties are challenges to growth. One becomes wise after learning from experience, for instance. And that generates inner strength.


When we watch games and matches on the fields, we see cricket, tennis or hockey players at their best, having spent long hours training and developing skills, and we have not been privy to their learning process. It is the same with an author, musician or artist- we see the finished product, not all the long hours that went into developing their skills.


However, whatever the field of endeavour, sooner or later we discover that we have our limitations. We learn, especially if we have lived for around 50 years, that there is a slow degeneration and decline of our physical bodies. We may be intellectually alert and prolific, but some things are just beyond our grasp. We find, perhaps, that relationships that have been fulfilling in the past no longer mean anything to us.


Slowly, we learn to let go and stay on with things and persons with whom we are comfortable. While a comfort zone is healthy, we still need to stretch ourselves beyond it, if we want to live a peaceful, purposeful and meaningful life. Sooner or later we begin to draw away from activities and work which are stressful and perhaps not a great priority for us any longer.


We prioritize our time and redeploy our resources. That is often what human wisdom consists of to know what to do, when to do it and when not to expend our energies and resources on what may be meaningful to others, but which no longer make sense to us, with our limited time, attention and resources.


Although our knowledge domains have expanded over time, we still cannot find answers to many questions. As medical science progresses, with it the number of illnesses increases. Technology produces all kinds of wizardry. Young children have the kind of exposure to life that was unthinkable a few decades ago. But, along with the exposure come many attendant problems.


So, whether it is spatial, physical, emotional or spiritual, our limitations will teach us to be truly human. We will not wallow in our weaknesses but learn to acquire strength and courage to live with them. We cease to look at the achievements of others as competition and instead look at how we can evolve, and give our best, notwithstanding our limitations. We will acquire stature and grow precisely because we have created for ourselves a purposeful life with and despite our limitations.