Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “A Useless Life is an Early Death” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

A Useless Life is an Early Death

All great men have left their “footprints on the sands of time” . This has been done because they all led lives that contributed something positive and abiding to society. That is why they are still remembered with awe and affection; they continue to inspire generations to excel themselves in their chosen field of endeavour. Sometimes their personalities and deeds appear much larger than life; they become legends in their lifetime.

There must have been countless, brief less lawyers before and after Gandhi; teachers before and after Mao; sons of rich parents before and after Jawaharlal Nehru. Yet only these have made a name for themselves. Scientists before Archimedes had entered bath-tubs, and apples had fallen on the heads of people sitting under trees. But it was left to Archimedes to discover the law of specific gravity and to Newton to formulate the three laws of motion. People before Galileo had climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it was only Galileo who could challenge the existing scientific theories. These were the people who really led useful lives which were useful to society for all times to come. That is precisely why they are remembered to this day. Napoleon had thousands of subalterns with him in the Army, yet why did he alone become the Emperor of France? There must have been some driving ambition in him that made him the pride of his nation. Such people are not born every day.

On one hand, there are millions of men and women trying to eke out a meager existence for themselves and, on the other hand, there are others enjoying untold wealth and luxuries without any thought for their neighbours, leave alone the society, the nation or the world. These people are the ones who lead ‘useless’ lives. They are born, bred and die like worms. There lifespan is short, not in terms of years, but in terms of the memories they leave behind. Contrasted with them, people who strive to make’a mark in life are remembered long after they die; they become immortal even though they died young like Alexander (33), Jesus Christ (33) or John Keats (26). They are the people, who “live in deeds, not in years”. They are remembered for the ‘useful’ lives they led even though they were cut short in the prime.

We must all realise that we have been entrusted by the Almighty with something concrete to achieve in our lives. Each one of us has been equipped with unique abilities and sensibilities. The need is to realise them and exploit our potential to the full. According to James Mason Brown, “The joy of living comes from immersion in . something that we know is bigger, better, more enduring and worthier than we are”. Life, therefore, is not only a struggle for survival of the fittest. That would tantamount to an animal existence.

Nobody was never honoured for what he received. Honour has been bestowed on people for what they gave. Great thinkers and trail blazers like Buddha, Muhammad, Jesus, Guru Nanak and Ramakrishna taught us this. But one can safely question that all human beings cannot be as great as these immortal souls. True. But we can strive, in our own way, to make this world a better place for ourselves as well as others to live in. We can, at least, follow the path shown by them. We can inculcate in ourselves the virtues of compassion and tolerance. We can strive with a tenacity of purpose to achieve the goal we have set for ourselves. Idleness and indolence paralyse life, leading to an avoidable death-wish. That is what a ‘useless’ life is; it is certainly worse, than death because one keeps vegetating over the years. Freud has called it “death instinct”. There is no purpose, no’ commitment and one just drifts from one thing to another.

One must face life with all its trials and tribulations. One must be optimistic. Only then can one check the feeling of uselessness. To quote Thomas Carlyle,

Here hath been dawning,

Another blue day.

Think, will thou let it

Slip useless away ?