Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | The Sunday Guardian | June 28, 2020

According to religious traditions, God created the human being and settled him in Paradise. But after some time, man committed a grave error and was sent down to earth.

According to this story of creation, we lost our initial advantage and since then only the second best has been available to us. This story shows us the right direction for our lives.

The human being is an idealistic creature by birth. Everyone tries to find his ideal goal, one that is the best for him.

But it is a fact that no one succeeds in doing so. If this is the case, what should we do? The only course open for all men and women is to accept the second best as the only available choice. This is the only way to have a tension-free life in this world.

[Highlight1]

If you are not ready to accept the second best and you would prefer to keep straining for the ideal, the result could well turn out to be disastrous.

The best principle to adopt in life is: Try, try by all means to achieve the very best, but when you feel that you can only get the second best then accept it gracefully.

The same applies to nations. This is a competitive world, and this could be a formidable obstacle to everyone getting the absolute best in life. In such a situation, the only safe option is to accept the second best. When you try to have the very best, then you are compelled to engage in continuous confrontation. The only risk-free option is to accept the second best. So be a realist. If you try to get the very best, it means your approach is unrealistic, but if you accept the second best, it means that you have opted for a realistic approach. And in this world of competition only a realistic approach can save you from disaster.