Life, is an Ice Cream

How often have we heard this, Life is an ice cream, enjoy it before it melts? Aplenty right? I’d always wonder, if there was ever more to it than the ‘time is precious, enjoy it while it lasts’ angle. So recently, I was enjoying the wonderful spread at Haagen Dazs’ outlet, when an observation made me realize the deeper meaning to this age-old cliché.

As the creamy fruity flavors burst in my mouth registering their presence one after the other, I wondered, what separated great ice cream from a good one? For, all the good ice cream vendors I knew used fresh ingredients, the best quality milk and international standard procedures. But what actually separated the better one from the good ones was their texture. It’s insanely important to understand, what actually works for Ice cream is the texture, much more than flavors. I could have the best burst of berries and the sin of a chocolate in my ice cream, but it’d all be lost if it weren’t thick, creamy and left a buttery residue in our palette that enabled the flavor to actually linger. The secret to great ice cream, I understood, lies in the texture.

This is actually where it all got more interesting. If thought about deeply, the definition of texture, is nothing but, the way it feels. So, the idea of greatness lies, not in the way we are or what we’re made of, but how we make everyone else feel. Mind you, I’m not saying what we are made of doesn’t matter, but the transition from Good to Great relies on how we make the others feel.

I’d once read a Zaheer Khan interview where he said, we know when Sachin Tendulkar is upset or angry, he takes a second helping of ice cream. Which brings me to the calming aspect of ice cream. Here again, it’s the texture that works. Another example would be, the same ice cream, kept in the freezer for too long would crystallize and despite the ingredients, its magic would be lost. Sachin Tendulkar, as a batsman made us Feel good. Not that there weren’t batsmen of his caliber, but a when he scored runs, the nation slept well. His greatness lay in making a nation feel good. That’s the magic of texture.

Some of the best brands on earth are not necessarily the ones that make the most advanced products, but the ones that make us feel good about using them. It’s not about the mystery of an idol at a temple. It’s about what we feel once we’re in the environs. Faith again, is a feeling. The most effective marketing communication and the most successful movies, are actually the ones that make us “Feel”.

So, the point of this observation was Life, as an ice cream, would be enjoyed only if we made everyone else around us feel good. A kind gesture, a genuine compliment, a thoughtful deed, some support and just being a good human being would go a long way in adding the texture to the ice cream that our life is. Ingredients make one good, but the Texture, will make them great. There’s a limited time for it. So enjoy this, before it melts or crystallizes, else, the magic would be lost.