Unchain these shackles?

Met up a couple of guys during my last trip to a God-forsaken (definitely not God's country as it had suffered too much carnage to be under the patronage of any supernatural force) place. Cracking up small talks amid this idyllic setting and too much time to spare, I came to realise that they were in no hurry. In fact, they had no plan. They decided their life as they went along, depending on the side of the bed they got up on that day. A few were on long sabbatical with no job to go back to.

One particular couple had been disillusioned with the trappings of modern living and the lie perpetuated by their employers, the pharmaceutical companies, to the rest of the world that they decided to go on a soul-searching experience in Indo-China, Thailand, India and subsequently plan to settle down manning a simple guesthouse somewhere in Central America!

Another guy decided one day when he got up from bed to have a revelation that he was wasting his time with pressure cooker work and lifestyle. (Much like how Doc had a knock of his head and thought of the 'flux capacitor' in 1955 in 'Back to the Future'.) He had a garage sale to sell off all his belongings including his Porsche and Ferrari and decided to move lock, stock and barrel (of what was left) to Bangkok. He, however, is still trying to get rid of his wife! He now lives day to day, moving from town to town, watching people, experiencing the life, sounds and smells of all of them. He finds this experience liberating. He says that this gives him meaning to his existence!

They make it sound so easy. Like a sage embarking on a pilgrimage at the drop of a hat. As if there are no familial commitments, social obligations and filial duties to perform. That may be the exact problem with us. That we are led to lead, indoctrinated, to live structured lives. We are expected to follow the paved path most travelled with the least resistance to mimic the same mundane, uninteresting lives that our ancestors were made to tread within the confines of their vicinity. For our forefathers, the limit of their experiences was bound by the edge of the shores and the heights of the unscalable mountains. On the contrary, our imagination and the borderless world with the ease of transportation make us all crave for insatiable experience and more experiences. The only thread that seems to drag our desire is the invisible bond of duty expected of us. We are supposed to work unabatedly for a rainy day as we never know when it might pour. We are expected to be physically present to provide emotional support to the offspring. There is an unspoken expectation for us to care for our elders. With all these duties hanging above head like the sword of Damocles, the last thing on mind is a bit of self-indulgence and guilty pleasures! There is no need to find the meaning of life, they say. It is all simple truth, as mentioned by our existence. Your birth on Earth is for the continuity of the species. Period. There is no place for individualism!@#