Hurried lives, perfunctory lifestyles, often leave us with little time to ponder over the beauty and brevity of life. Our slapdash routines take us away from the primary purpose of life, that is to enjoy life in its complete form, to experience Joie de vivre, the joy of living....
We keep looking for reasons to enjoy ourselves, more so trying to create them. What we forget is that Happiness comes from relishing the moments that bring glitter in your eyes, a smile on your face and joy to your heart. Happiness comes from living the everyday incidents that brighten up your day and maybe someone else's too, and fill you with hope and courage to face whatever may come your way.
I'm thankful my heart is still alive with colours of such feelings that touch it every now and then. Often when I'm depressed, I remind myself of some beautiful happenings in my life that re-instilled my faith in the Almighty, gave me hope when I was at the end of the cliff, gave me courage when I had to jump off the cliff and needed to trust my wings and most importantly, gave me a smile when I had none!
About a year ago, I was walking down a busy road one evening when I realised I was running late for an appointment. I thought of taking a cab(riksha) but couldn't afford one due to insufficient funds. It was already dark and I was getting a little worried. Suddenly, a riksha driver stopped by me to ask if I would like to hire. I asked him how far he could drop me in the amount of money I had in my pocket. He laughed and said that that wouldn't even take me a kilometer. I started to walk away but he kept following me, insisting that I hire the cab. Finally i agreed on the condition that he'd drop me the moment he finds another customer. Since I was already in the riksha, no customer stopped him. He dropped me to my destination which was 8 kilometers away. Embarrassed, I offered him the money I had. He refused to take it, saying that I might need it on my way back home. He told me he had a daughter who was about my age. Seeing me alone on the street, he helped me just as he would have helped his daughter. I was touched. My eyes got watery. In this time, when most people are trying to fool you to get maximum benefit from you, here was a man who helped me in return for nothing but a simple thank you that I couldn't even say properly because of the lump in my throat that developed from the surprise at his goodness.
This incident might not have meant so much to a lot of other people as much as it meant to me but for me, its something I'll take to my grave. I saw the purity in his eyes that people talk of in great and noble men. I saw the selflessness in his tone when he said I was like his own daughter to him. He made me believe in humanity, in love and in God.
I'm thankful I got to live that day. I'm thankful I didn't have money that day. I'm thankful for the smile that spreads across my face every time I think of that man. I'm thankful for the welling up of my eyes then, and now, reminding me of the purity that somewhere still prevails inside me.I'm thankful for the liftman's banter when he takes me up to my class at my coaching center. I'm thankful for the watchman who takes pains everyday to help me find a place to park my car. I'm thankful for the kids in my neighbourhood who gleefully shout my name whenever they see me expecting I would just say 'Hi!'. I'm thankful for some sweet and stupid friends who never go out of my life even when I don't make an effort to make them stay. I'm thankful for that friend who took better care of me than anyone I know ever could when I spoilt his evening by throwing up for hours without an end, then becoming unconcious and leaving him destressed as to how to wake me up and safely drop me back home, making it a night that I would never forget even if he does not stay in my life. And most of all, I'm thankful for having such wonderful parents and grand parents who have literally dedicated their lives to me. I just cannot thank these people enough for the difference they have made to my life. Its hard to even imagine being without these daily doses of smiles. With even the slightest of these influences missing from my life, I would never have become the person that I am today. :)
Me.....
- Ipshita
- Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
- I love the stillness of the wood: I love the music of the rill: I love to couch in pensive mood Upon some silent hill. Scarce heard, beneath yon arching trees, The silver-crested ripples pass; And, like a mimic brook, the breeze Whispers among the grass. Here from the world I win release, Nor scorn of men, nor footstep rude, Break in to mar the holy peace Of this great solitude.....