Climbing up and coming down

Our survival depends on roti, kapda, aur makaan. One who is struggling for these will not be distracted by anything else. But once a person attains financial and social security, the desire to move further may diminish. Many, however, feel compelled to move up—not merely for material reasons, but because their current stage begins to feel limiting, contradictory, or simply exhausting. This dissatisfaction breeds a deep dissonance.

This insight, perhaps, lies in the gap between what we truly seek and what reality offers.

Introspection and meditation help bridge this gap. We move forward only when the next stage promises greater delight or fulfilment.

We reach the top of the ladder through competence, hard work, and a touch of luck. We feel happy, but not necessarily content. We strive to climb higher, yet we rarely know where the ladder ends.

As we ascend or descend, we encounter the same set of people—only their attitudes toward us shift.

Climbing up is far harder than coming down. They are not mirror images, just as rain returning to clouds is not the same as clouds turning into rain.

And in a spherical world, can one be certain whether they are rising or falling?