Self Realization

There was a scene in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara where Arjun (Hrithik) was telling Laila (Katrina) about his life plans, saying that he would retire at 40. Laila interrupted him and said, "Dude, how do you know you'll live till 40?" Like everyone else, I got goosebumps when I first watched that scene. But then my logical brain kicked in and said, "Of course, I'll live till 40." Recently, however, I realized that Laila wasn’t talking about dying at all! Five months ago, one night, after coming home from outside, I suddenly noticed that I was struggling to breathe, coughing up blood, and couldn’t stand straight. It felt like the world was spinning faster than I could keep up with. For a moment, I thought, "Is this the end? Is this where my life ends? Maybe the angel of death is waiting for me in the corner of my house." The doctor diagnosed a lung infection. I took medication continuously, along with an inhaler. After 20 days, I was back to my normal life—until I visited Bandarban and realized that I would never be the same again. My lungs no longer allow me to go trekking. I can no longer trek for three to four hours straight. The air pressure at high altitudes is something my lungs can no longer tolerate. The ironic part? I had been to Bandarban many times before but never went trekking. I used to relax in the resort, enjoying the view of the mountains while my friends went on treks. I was lazy and thought, "Oh, I can go trekking some other day." But who knew that some other day would never come for me? That’s when I realized—the thing you can do today might not be possible tomorrow. Maybe one day, I’ll take the risk and go trekking anyway. Or maybe I never will. But one thing is certain—I will never postpone anything for later. If I can do something today, I will do it today. When death finds you, may it find you alive, not dead inside.