VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

Life is journey where one travels and enjoys every moment. Yes it is a journey, so it cannot be monotonous one. Life has ups and downs. If it were a straight road without any turn or twist then it would be very boring. This world is a stage upon which the drama of life is played by men and women. It is a very interesting drama.  That is why nobody, however miserable, likes to leave this world.  This drama is so gripping because the scenes are changing every moment.  Light changes into darkness; childhood changes into old age; life changes into death; dry seeds change into lovely tall trees and rosy lips and cheeks change into wrinkled faces. Change or variety is a part of life.  In fact, it is variety only that adds flavour to life. Change is constant but essential for human life. When a child is born, it must grow and learn. A child cannot remain a child forever. Time changes. That change brings variety into life.

Change has its own thrill and delight.  Look at nature.  Does it not undergo a change every moment? Everything is changing.  The sun rises and sets. The sun scorches the earth and rain cools it down—every second is unique. Every moment, there is a change. The change in the universe and the nature is so sure and so constant that night has to change into day. The proverb “Variety is the spice of life”, stresses the need to introduce changes in life to make life more meaningful and enjoyable. Spices are of different flavours and they add to the taste of the food. Different flavours are used for different dishes. If the same spices are used for different dishes, the taste is lost. The variety of spices makes food more palatable. Thus, eating becomes a pleasure. As spices are to food, so is variety to life. The repetition of the same routine makes life dull and monotonous. But variety of things and ideas brings fun and joy into life. Coarse, unbleached cloth is enough to make dress for a man. But there are superfine, bleached cloths also. The wearing of dresses made of such cloths makes us more elegant and acceptable. Variety is needed in every sphere of life. If the same food is served every day, eating becomes unpleasant. If the same routine is followed in a family, life becomes monotonous and less enjoyable. Picnic, shopping, watching good films and engaging in good hobbies provide variety to life. Monotony kills the pleasure of life. But variety of scenes, people, places, food, clothing, art and entertainment can make living a pleasure. Change brings happiness and happiness makes people lively and cheerful. Thus, variety fills our hearts with joy and pleasure. In life, there is  always change of conditions. One may be happy and the next second one may turn sad. The uncertainty and unpredictability of life make us want to live. What change is to nature, variety is to life. Life without variations is death. 

Suppose you go to a marriage function, there you are served with best quality sweet dishes all the time. How will you feel? May think the people are mad and do not know there must be some sour, spicy, salty things in food. So that there is some variety of flavour in eating. If we want variety in our food, then it is obvious that we also want variety in life. One cannot be always healthy; similarly, one cannot be always sick.  Everyday life can get mundane. Variety is the spice of life means that life could be made more interesting by making some significant changes. The message conveyed by the above phrase if taken seriously could change the course of our lives. It is good to try different things. If one is used to having lentil and rice everyday for lunch, for a change a plate of Biryani is very welcome. A cook uses different spices, different garnishes; each rendering the same dish a different taste. Similarly, if we make changes in our life we could challenge the sameness and lead more meaningful lives. Variety in our lives does not necessarily mean that we go about making drastic changes. That would be disastrous. We must look for all options and then decide which one is right for us. When children study a particular subject over a period of time, they get bored. A good way to keep the child’s interest up would be to introduce some variety. A picture book or a game that teaches the child while he plays. The youth are probably the most active and replete with energy. Because of young age, they are adventurous and make variety of decisions both good and bad. The decisions which they make certainly show a new world to them. They travel a lot, they do trekking and other activities. This way they are very happy and smiling. All the happiness is due to the spice variety.

One might get old physically but if the heart is young then the body will follow and try to keep pace with it. So what can keep the old, young at heart? Going for a walk day after day could get really boring. One would see the same faces and the same surroundings. Instead, one could go swimming, or join a yoga class, maybe. Many oldies who have joined dance classes have found that they have brought back the missing zing into their lives. Learning a new activity is not just fun, it gives you the opportunity to make new friends. Just like a spice could ruin food if it is used in excess, as well as variety could ruin our lives if we started applying it indiscriminately. Imagine a scenario where parents decide that they are fed up with each other and want to try new partners.

Although this might sound interesting and exciting to them, it would be morally unethical and would damage the fabric of their family’s existence. However, that does not mean that they must lead a lacklustre life. They could introduce variety by making some changes. Instead of eating dinner every day, day after day with the family they could opt once in a week to go out for a candlelight dinner.

Life would have been dull and dry, dismal and dark, if there had been no variety in it. Variety plays the same role in life as the spices play in the preparation of dishes. In fact, it is not possible to think of life in which there is no variety.  Any action, however interesting at first, becomes monotonous in the long run.  For example, a person wants to bring some change in his life, then the first of all he will adopt new fashion. It is the common human behaviour to get attracted to new things and these innovations emerge from exploring things. If people stop exploring the ideas, then life will become stagnant and no thrill and excitement will remain in life.

Variation is the only thing which makes life interesting and worth living. Life needs constant variation. Without it, life becomes boring and stagnant. New innovations, technologies and knowledge are the ingredients of variety. Experiencing new ideas and innovations broadens one’s vision and increases efficiency. When a person  has new ideas, he will also make them part of his life and try to benefit from them. Similarly, in the field of knowledge on every stage in life there is desire to learn new things. This learning process continues throughout the life. Successful persons in life are those who always remain busy in learning in every field. By this process of learning new things, they not only satisfy human nature but also become successful in their life. In addition to it in daily life, we sometimes want new friends to make it more enjoyable and interesting. However it does not mean that we become bored of our old friends. We just want something new in our life. This desire is fulfilled by making new friends in addition to old friends. So process of friendship continues in the whole life. Summing up it may be said that variety is the spice of life. Change or variety in its all forms makes life attractive, bearable and worthy to live. Monotonous life without any variety would be dreary and not worthy to live. So in order to make life attractive some room or space should always be kept empty for variety, change or innovation or in other words, change or variety should be welcomed in its all forms. Without change nothing is beautiful. A river has to flow, it cannot be still. A tree has to grow, it cannot be always a sapling. Sorrow and happiness are like the wheel, one has to go up and other has to go down. With variety and change, life will surely be more beautiful.                

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