“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted
or take them with gratitude.”
– Gilbert Keith Chesterton
It's that phase again.You want to pen down your thoughts but you are too lazy to formulate it or even type it,and you keep postponing it until you have many things to, but have no clue exactly what to pinpoint on! It's like hitting the gym for a couple of days with hard core workouts and then the laziness that creeps in slowly, makes you say "oh,i shall take a break today and go tomorrow" and when the next day dawns, you wonder "Hmmm, should i get a day's more rest?" and if you give in that easy, then you can very well say goodbye to your healthy lifestyle! In my case, to both...my writing and my workouts! :D
So here, before i get too detached from my thoughts and my will to stay healthy...I shall forcibly pen down something long wanting a text-form and then drag myself down to shake off some extra calories! :)
From very young I remember my parents especially my dad teaching us not to take anyone or anything for granted. The lessons were quite strong enough to last me a lifetime. Even when i started writing, my Achan (dad) , who was, is and always be my biggest patron cum critic advised me to try cut down on first person speech, especially the word, " I ". The reason being that too many I's make one sound Narcissistic. I, for one, never realized how traumatizing it would be for a listener or a reader until one fine day I spent a whole evening with a girl who went on "I this... I that" that by the time we bid adieu, the day didn't seem as fine as it did before! Yet I learned a valuable lesson and cut down a whole lot on I's! :D
Now, something which disturbs me still is how everything and everybody is taken for granted by almost everybody! Be it any relationship- personal, family, at your work place, one always laments on how he or she is being taken for granted! Makes me wonder, are we taken for granted because we allow ourselves to be bullied? Will it make a difference if we stand up, and firmly say -"No thank you.I do not care less"? Or do we keep mum just to maintain peace and harmony?
One thing which always bothered me is how people,so called "friends" take you for granted. Because they know that you would be there for them any time they need you. But the moment you need them...Vamoose, it's so easy to disappear when needed ,right?! Or even worse, they are there but have no clue you need them! And of course of those lovely personalities who ask you to go out of the way to do things for them without hesitating to ponder for a moment if it is inconvenient for you but never the less expect it done! Well, this blog, can elaborate on minute little details of "wonderful" people who have made others cringe before, and still shamelessly do so.... but I rather take a smart turn here without having to painfully recall and dwell in their loathing self indulgent acts!
I'm here to pen down a more serious "taking for Granted" issue. Taking Life for granted. It's sad to see how people ignorantly waste their time on earth! Be it by physical or emotional uselessness.
The other night we were startled by a big BAAAM at around 12.30a.m just to find a white swift ( the car! ) upside down right in front of our building. The first thought which ran to my mind is that "Oh my Gosh, some one might have died inside." I see some 20 something year old guys run from a car following behind, cry out loud and then someone squeezes through and crawls out from the window of the upturned vehicle. It took us minutes to realize that these guys had a late night out and were totally drunk. As usual a huge crowd gathered to see the drama. Once they found out that none of their buddies were fatally injured these fools began to laugh and hug each other all the while staggering about the main road. Initially we thought,Okay! They are just happy they got out alive! But as time lapsed and an ambulance sent back without casualties and a couple of sleepy policemen "sent" back "happy in their pockets", their frightened, saddened and shocked emotions confidently grew bolder, audacious, and irritatingly boisterous! I guess, they had a "big" story for their friends the next day or even a very cocky face book status which fetched them a few more "likes" and "comments" of their 'near death experience'. SAD!
As the tow truck towed the car away and as they dispersed cheerfully in their friends' cars I felt angry and upset that they didn't and wouldn't realize how lucky and close they were!And how many out there, were begging for another chance to live...just to spend a few more precious moments with their loved ones. But cant ,as their time was up.
It took me back a few years ago, when I met Mr. and Mrs.K in the surgery ward. Like all sad stories, they were below poverty line and He was diagnosed with brain cancer, been on chemo and radiotherapy.To top it, he had a painful hernia and an urinary stone the size of a rock!!! And again,of course, like any poor man's story, had to have unexplained, uncorrected anaemia! Due to his falling blood counts further cancer treatment and possible surgeries were halted indefinitely! His wife seemed chattery and I got to know she was an orphan brought up in a convent who in her late 30s met the man of her dreams, and converted to his religion, changed her name. Being married so late and due to their financial crisis, she sadly stopped trying after one miscarriage. And you wouldn't believe what Mr.K told me. "I believe my good fortune is here because of my wife". My eyes nearly welled up. Here's a dying man with multiple problems, poverty being the least, and he genuinely believes he has good fortune! How many of us would have been lamenting with a common cold or a migraine?
Another story which haunts me dearly is of Mrs.O. A young woman, in her 30s ,she had been diagnosed with a severe heart condition years ago,which made her heart stop thrice before. She and her husband, a daily wages worker, adored and worshiped her physician who was the reason she was brought back alive not once, but thrice.They were even more obliged since they werent treated as "poor" but were given consideration all the time, being treated as equals over the years. But sadly, now, as if her ailing condition wasn't bad enough, she had got a nasty infection and gangrene on her leg, which the surgeon very ruthlessly and without tact told her she needed an amputation. I remember how aghast she was and the few hours I spent with her counselling that it was a must, if not she could even die! She finally agreed to do so, and was discharged. I went on leave for two weeks after that. Sometime later I heard she was re admitted for the surgery but she had some further heart abnormalities that were being taken care of. One fine day I get a call from her husband telling me she was no more. She died of a final heart failure but till the end she was happy. She had many a times asked about me and wished I were near her. He thanked us for our service and was grateful that the hospital let him go home for the funeral without paying a single note, trusting that he'd pay the deducted bill on a later date.The tone of pure courage in that man's voice made me feel like an ant! The next day, he came to visit me and he had a packet in his hand. I could not accept his gift. But he was convinced that his late wife would be happy wherever she was, only if he gave it to me. He was brave when he told me about her last days, how she had lasted more than her given time, how the family was coping with the loss and again their everlasting gratitude to everyone who took care of her. I checked the packet when I reached home.Inside were some foreign soaps, sweets, and pens. I remembered how he had mentioned that his son had gone looking for a job in the middle east to ease his father's difficulties and presumed that the boy was back before his mother had died. Here was a man and family larger than any of us! And then I remembered how on my third day visiting her on rounds, she took my hand and kissed it with her broken dry lips! Recalling that, i hopelessly began to cry like a fool.
Life! When will we stop taking it for granted? When will we stop taking our loved ones for granted? We are lucky to wake up to embrace a new day, everyday...but till when? Be grateful to Life. Be happy that you are a part of something, that there are people around you who loves you,who count on you. Be there for them! It is not easy to not-complain, not to find fault...but try! In the end, you and I have only one Life...make it meaningful!
Stay Blessed and loved! :)
or take them with gratitude.”
– Gilbert Keith Chesterton
It's that phase again.You want to pen down your thoughts but you are too lazy to formulate it or even type it,and you keep postponing it until you have many things to, but have no clue exactly what to pinpoint on! It's like hitting the gym for a couple of days with hard core workouts and then the laziness that creeps in slowly, makes you say "oh,i shall take a break today and go tomorrow" and when the next day dawns, you wonder "Hmmm, should i get a day's more rest?" and if you give in that easy, then you can very well say goodbye to your healthy lifestyle! In my case, to both...my writing and my workouts! :D
So here, before i get too detached from my thoughts and my will to stay healthy...I shall forcibly pen down something long wanting a text-form and then drag myself down to shake off some extra calories! :)
From very young I remember my parents especially my dad teaching us not to take anyone or anything for granted. The lessons were quite strong enough to last me a lifetime. Even when i started writing, my Achan (dad) , who was, is and always be my biggest patron cum critic advised me to try cut down on first person speech, especially the word, " I ". The reason being that too many I's make one sound Narcissistic. I, for one, never realized how traumatizing it would be for a listener or a reader until one fine day I spent a whole evening with a girl who went on "I this... I that" that by the time we bid adieu, the day didn't seem as fine as it did before! Yet I learned a valuable lesson and cut down a whole lot on I's! :D
Now, something which disturbs me still is how everything and everybody is taken for granted by almost everybody! Be it any relationship- personal, family, at your work place, one always laments on how he or she is being taken for granted! Makes me wonder, are we taken for granted because we allow ourselves to be bullied? Will it make a difference if we stand up, and firmly say -"No thank you.I do not care less"? Or do we keep mum just to maintain peace and harmony?
One thing which always bothered me is how people,so called "friends" take you for granted. Because they know that you would be there for them any time they need you. But the moment you need them...Vamoose, it's so easy to disappear when needed ,right?! Or even worse, they are there but have no clue you need them! And of course of those lovely personalities who ask you to go out of the way to do things for them without hesitating to ponder for a moment if it is inconvenient for you but never the less expect it done! Well, this blog, can elaborate on minute little details of "wonderful" people who have made others cringe before, and still shamelessly do so.... but I rather take a smart turn here without having to painfully recall and dwell in their loathing self indulgent acts!
I'm here to pen down a more serious "taking for Granted" issue. Taking Life for granted. It's sad to see how people ignorantly waste their time on earth! Be it by physical or emotional uselessness.
The other night we were startled by a big BAAAM at around 12.30a.m just to find a white swift ( the car! ) upside down right in front of our building. The first thought which ran to my mind is that "Oh my Gosh, some one might have died inside." I see some 20 something year old guys run from a car following behind, cry out loud and then someone squeezes through and crawls out from the window of the upturned vehicle. It took us minutes to realize that these guys had a late night out and were totally drunk. As usual a huge crowd gathered to see the drama. Once they found out that none of their buddies were fatally injured these fools began to laugh and hug each other all the while staggering about the main road. Initially we thought,Okay! They are just happy they got out alive! But as time lapsed and an ambulance sent back without casualties and a couple of sleepy policemen "sent" back "happy in their pockets", their frightened, saddened and shocked emotions confidently grew bolder, audacious, and irritatingly boisterous! I guess, they had a "big" story for their friends the next day or even a very cocky face book status which fetched them a few more "likes" and "comments" of their 'near death experience'. SAD!
As the tow truck towed the car away and as they dispersed cheerfully in their friends' cars I felt angry and upset that they didn't and wouldn't realize how lucky and close they were!And how many out there, were begging for another chance to live...just to spend a few more precious moments with their loved ones. But cant ,as their time was up.
It took me back a few years ago, when I met Mr. and Mrs.K in the surgery ward. Like all sad stories, they were below poverty line and He was diagnosed with brain cancer, been on chemo and radiotherapy.To top it, he had a painful hernia and an urinary stone the size of a rock!!! And again,of course, like any poor man's story, had to have unexplained, uncorrected anaemia! Due to his falling blood counts further cancer treatment and possible surgeries were halted indefinitely! His wife seemed chattery and I got to know she was an orphan brought up in a convent who in her late 30s met the man of her dreams, and converted to his religion, changed her name. Being married so late and due to their financial crisis, she sadly stopped trying after one miscarriage. And you wouldn't believe what Mr.K told me. "I believe my good fortune is here because of my wife". My eyes nearly welled up. Here's a dying man with multiple problems, poverty being the least, and he genuinely believes he has good fortune! How many of us would have been lamenting with a common cold or a migraine?
Another story which haunts me dearly is of Mrs.O. A young woman, in her 30s ,she had been diagnosed with a severe heart condition years ago,which made her heart stop thrice before. She and her husband, a daily wages worker, adored and worshiped her physician who was the reason she was brought back alive not once, but thrice.They were even more obliged since they werent treated as "poor" but were given consideration all the time, being treated as equals over the years. But sadly, now, as if her ailing condition wasn't bad enough, she had got a nasty infection and gangrene on her leg, which the surgeon very ruthlessly and without tact told her she needed an amputation. I remember how aghast she was and the few hours I spent with her counselling that it was a must, if not she could even die! She finally agreed to do so, and was discharged. I went on leave for two weeks after that. Sometime later I heard she was re admitted for the surgery but she had some further heart abnormalities that were being taken care of. One fine day I get a call from her husband telling me she was no more. She died of a final heart failure but till the end she was happy. She had many a times asked about me and wished I were near her. He thanked us for our service and was grateful that the hospital let him go home for the funeral without paying a single note, trusting that he'd pay the deducted bill on a later date.The tone of pure courage in that man's voice made me feel like an ant! The next day, he came to visit me and he had a packet in his hand. I could not accept his gift. But he was convinced that his late wife would be happy wherever she was, only if he gave it to me. He was brave when he told me about her last days, how she had lasted more than her given time, how the family was coping with the loss and again their everlasting gratitude to everyone who took care of her. I checked the packet when I reached home.Inside were some foreign soaps, sweets, and pens. I remembered how he had mentioned that his son had gone looking for a job in the middle east to ease his father's difficulties and presumed that the boy was back before his mother had died. Here was a man and family larger than any of us! And then I remembered how on my third day visiting her on rounds, she took my hand and kissed it with her broken dry lips! Recalling that, i hopelessly began to cry like a fool.
Life! When will we stop taking it for granted? When will we stop taking our loved ones for granted? We are lucky to wake up to embrace a new day, everyday...but till when? Be grateful to Life. Be happy that you are a part of something, that there are people around you who loves you,who count on you. Be there for them! It is not easy to not-complain, not to find fault...but try! In the end, you and I have only one Life...make it meaningful!
Stay Blessed and loved! :)
