He had not stopped his habit of venturing the sea in a small canoe to catch fish even at the age of 75. But, things were not so pleasant. For many days, he had not even been able to catch a single anchovy. Still, he had not stopped going fishing.
He hoped that a massive fish would come and fall prey to his fishing rod. One day a miracle happened. Something swallowed the hook of his fishing rod. Elated, he began to pull the fishing rod.
He was astonished when he knew what had fallen prey to his rod. An enormous Marlin fish. A fierce fight took place between the old man and the fish. The fish tried to escape him, but he was not ready to give in.
Eventually, he defeated the fish and rowed back to his shore. Unfortunately, on his way back, something terrible happened. A shoal of belligerent sharks ate up the whole fish! Nonetheless, the old man won the reputation of catching the largest fish ever caught by anyone in that village. Santiago was the name of that old man.
This is the summary of the world famous novel ‘The Old man and the Sea’ authored by Earnest Hemingway.
When you are tired and depressed, take ‘The Old man and the Sea’ and read it. You will be energized. This literary masterpiece tells us the way to fight against adverse situations and to prevail over despair.
It is true that Santiago could not bring ashore the fish alive. But, that does not mean that he failed. All of us have a tendency to withdraw from the fight, putting forward several reasons for it. Age is one among them. We often think: I am aged. How can I do that?
Santiago also had a choice to become inert telling he is old. But, he chose to be different. At the age of 75, he caught the greatest fish anyone has ever caught in that village. This is not a small feat.
Age is just a number. If our mind says we are aged, we will become aged. Be youthful in your mind. Then we will be able to make an effort at any age.
Let us try to spend every moment and every day of our life creatively. Let us not withdraw from ventures recounting reasons for it.
Let success be with us.
Wish you all success!