Love, longing and loneliness...

"Believe me, it has been a solitary journey", said a friend of mine sipping his cafe latte. I was astonished to hear that! He is a great example of one of the most successful rags to riches story, I have ever heard in my life! We were discussing how he felt about his business empire that he created over two decades; spawned across the globe. He is a respected name in the industry that is considered to be glamorous.

"Of course, it feels great when I look back. Being able to create an organization of value, the recognition, all the attention, the "power", people wanting to know you, be with you, the proximity with them and I love every bit of it! But you know what, it is all ephemeral! At the end, there is this strange alienation from everything, kind of emptiness inside! Despite being surrounded by so many people, a very few really understand me outside my work. I wonder how many of them are really interested to stay invested in me beyond realm of my profession. And with work and travel schedules like mine, the only free time I get, is at the airport lounges. It is almost impossible to find any time to bond with people I would love to be with really!" When he said this, I could feel streak of loneliness in his eyes and he wasn't just talking about his professional life in those very comfortable moments of candid confession.

Last week, when I learnt about suicide case of the supermodel Viveka Babaji, I remembered that conversation with my friend and his views about how lonely and depressing certain careers like his, made people feel. I was glued to the television and watching the details of Viveka's suicide, with deep shock and disbelief. We often read about success stories, listen about  people reaching giddy heights of fame and recognition and we sometimes believe that life must be fairy tale for them! After all, that's how the media projects them!

I just can't comprehend why some successful people from glamour industry, like Viveka (or from recent past, Nafisa Joseph and Kuljeet Randhawa), went into spiral of self destructive abyss! For some, the same situations might have served as genesis of learning, understanding and growth.

Agreed, there is tremendous pressure in glamour industry to get work and stay in limelight amidst fierce competition that leads to great insecurity. Not necessarily everybody who reaches super stardom goes through alcohol, drugs or leads a decadent life that is so often proclaimed by media. There have been very successful people, who have managed to have a very healthy approach to fame and all it entails. One has to have a good support system and know transience of glamour, money, recognition or the perceived "power".

All of us, no matter how educated, sometimes create undesirable outcomes in our life due to our actions and behaviour. In our journey of life, we are sometimes treated badly by people whom we trust and love deeply. At some point of time or other, we all take bad decisions, trust wrong people and end up paying monumental price. Don't these very experiences make us human?

In today's times, when there is so much pressure from every possible area of our life, it is all the more important to know that failure is just a mindset. It depends on what meaning we assign to certain outcomes of the events. If we process our experiences in healthy manner, we can evolve and manage ourselves amidst the mayhem that surrounds us.

There is nothing wrong in being grotesquely fascinated by very ambitious personal or professional goals in life. But if these ambitions cost anyone's life, it is high time to do a reality check!