The Mountain and the Mirror

Be Happy. Be Content. But Never Satisfied.

A few years ago, I met a man while trekking in the Himalayas. He wasn’t a guide, nor a fellow traveler. Just an old shepherd, living in a stone hut high above the tree line, alone with his goats and a view most of us only see on postcards.

After a steep climb, I sat down outside his hut, exhausted. He offered me chai—simple, strong, full of ginger—and we began to talk. His Hindi was slow and poetic, as if shaped more by silence than speech.

I asked him, “Don’t you ever want more? A house in the city? Something bigger?”

He smiled, not offended—amused.
“Zyada chahiye toh har waqt bhaagna padega. Sukoon chahiye toh yahin kaafi hai,” he said.
(If you want more, you’ll always be running. If you want peace, this is enough.)

At that moment, I thought he had it all figured out. Contentment. Peace. A view of the sky worth a million dollars.

But just before I left, I asked him if he ever felt bored.

He laughed and pointed to a small hand-carved mirror hung beside his door.
“Roz subah dekhta hoon. Sochta hoon, aaj apne aap ko thoda aur behtar kaise banaun.”
(Every morning I look into it and ask—how can I become just a little better today?)

That hit me.

Here was a man with no Wi-Fi, no office, no LinkedIn profile—and yet, he lived the mindset most of us strive for. He was happy. He was content. But he was never satisfied.

That mirror wasn’t about vanity. It was about growth. Quiet, personal, undramatic growth.

We often think ambition and gratitude are opposites. They’re not. Gratitude grounds you. Ambition expands you. The two together? That’s balance.

The goal isn’t to chase endlessly or to settle too soon.
The goal is to wake up each day, look into your own mirror, and ask:
"How can I be a little better today?"

Stay grateful. Stay grounded. But always stay hungry for growth.