Which Way? Can I take both?

The American economy is whooping and spitting blood like a man who indulged too much in his amorous pursuits. CEOs are busy washing their bloodstained hands after axing countless jobs. Like an old joke goes when your neighbor loses his job, it is called an economic slowdown. When you lose your job, it is a recession. The situation is there for you to interpret depends on the situation you are in.

The American dirt is slowly seeping to the rest of the world. The stink in India is still mild as we are at the extreme end of the sewage pipe. The terminations of employees by IT and other private companies are triggering a debate on the fragility of employment security in private sector. What in this world made people to believe that employment in private sector is secure? It’s like believing that a government job offers steep salary.

But more than the economic slowdown I am intrigued about one of the tragedies of being human. We are forever the victims of this intolerable feeling of wanting to be in two extremes at a time. We wish the glamour and fat pay of the private sector employment and the security of government jobs. We wish the thrill of being out in the mid sea and the safety of being anchored in the harbor. More prevalently, we wish the peace and solidity of family life and delightfully fantasize about the pleasure of melting with innumerable bodies. It’s like a metal’s wish to be in a solid and liquid state at the same time. No, I am not talking about the middle path here but that hapless wish of living in two extremes at the same time.

But life unfailingly forces people to take one path. It compels us to cross the territory of security if we are looking for excitement and glitter. It’s the same edict at work if you are looking for security or peace of mind. Eternally the humankind (especially men) chased this illusionary possibility of converging these disjointed paths but burnt out miserably. The struggle is on. The thought of best of both worlds is a comforting belief but like most of the beliefs it’s too just a mirage.