Where do you envisage yourself to be in twenty years time?

This is a common question in corporate interviews to gauge the learning curve & vision of the applicant. While it is good so far as material aspirations are concerned, "Man shall not live by bread alone" says Matthew (4:4). Though the biblical injunction refers to spirituality, culture, which separates man from animals, is also important.

Though climbing the slippery pole of the corporate hierarchy may bring a bigger house, car & a higher position in the pecking order, these still are aspirations which we share with animals. Whereas spiritual aspirations are the privilege of the lucky few, more can aspire for a richer & more varied cultural life, which alone, it should be emphasised, make us human.

So, to rephrase the subject question, every person, who has cultural aspirations, should ask & answer the question, preferably with a "bucket list" of classic books & great music, which he should promise himself to get better acquainted in the next 20 years. It definitely does not mean to have a vague idea of things which are perennially the last priority & never get done in this lifetime. One should monitor this list every year & make up slippages as & when they occur. Unless one has the focus & mental discipline to have a cultural roadmap in addition to a fiscal one, one may be doomed to wallow in primordial ignorance, hardly a human attribute.