True objective

An interesting character was made known to me recently. What started out as mindless chit chat about cars turned out to be deep heavy stuff about one's journey through time.

The chance conversation took place at a highway rest area. A middle aged man, elegant with a confidence that could only be provided by being well educated and well travelled approached me to ask about my car. He knows the brand but not the model. The top was down so that attracted him. I am not a very social person and most of the time would balk at being approached by strangers. This guy though was different. We started talking as if we had known each other for years.

From cars we moved to work. He runs his own business after leaving government service. Doing quite well and expanding hence his need to be on the road. Has a home in a nice area with a doting family and friends by his side. He seems to have a perfect life which led me to ask what is his objective in life now as most if not all goals has been reached. His answer stunned me. He said "my objective is to die". Then he explained that there are no certainties in this world, the only thing that is certain is that we will one day die. Therefore, that became his ultimate objective. However, we can't just wait for that day to come. We were put on this earth for a purpose, we are humans not animals so we need to behave like one.

Behaving like one entails being involved in society, having a role and function which in turn will determine your level of comfort as you bid your time in this world. Do you think you deserve the car you are driving now ? He asks. If you do, then did you plan on getting it or was it somehow delivered to you as you go through your life ? If you did plan then the car became your life's objective, is your life that cheap ? Then he smiled and says, go for the ultimate and everything else will seem inconsequential. With that we shook hands and parted ways.

I stood there finishing off yet another Marlboro Lights, thinking about his words as he zoomed by and waved from his shiny Porsche Boxster. I didn't even get his name nor he mine.