In Dependence Lies The Key

A hand cart tied securely around a tree trunk and a rusty big lock ensuring its absolute protection is a memory from many years ago, glimpses of which often come to mind and still fill me up with guilt.

I hadn’t had a very good day. Everything seemed to be falling apart and the over crowded bus packed with sweaty, smelly people made it worse. I was busy cursing life and losing heart thinking of its many misgivings when I noticed this cart.

It hit me hard-a slap on my face. What was I complaining about?

The rickety wooden cart was everything some man possessed; His livelihood, his profession, his asset, his investment and possibly even his home. Everything about his life revolved around his cart. I wondered what was it that he looked forward to? How did his family get by? Did he even have one? In those moments I learnt what I consider one of the most valuable lessons of my life so far.

We are no different from the frog who lives in his well, oblivious to the existence of a world beyond his own.

We enjoy the best of cuisines, clothes and cars, and still find time to complain and fret. It is never quite enough, never satisfying for almost all of us. In our heads, things always fall short of our expectations. We are chasers in our own ways, running after materialistic treasures and imaginary Nirvanas.

Unfulfilled desires and unaccomplished dreams- we spend so much time pondering over the `what ifs’ that we ignore `what is’.

All we need to do is take a look around us, get out of the well for a bit and take in the enormity of the world that surrounds us. A world so different from our own and yet, a world very much our own. A world in which priorities are what we label as redundant, luxuries are unknown, existence is a daily struggle.

Every time I feel life has been unfair to me, I close my eyes and take myself back to that moment in the bus and then all am left with is a sense of gratitude.

We are so fortunate, so blessed to be where we are today. There are choices we can make, we get our second chances; there is so much good that has happened to us.

Shouldn’t we then undertake a mission to ameliorate all that is within our realm of possibility and practicality? Do our bit not as an act of charity or philanthropy but as a heartfelt and moral responsibility? We are capable of remedying a part of the anguish, pain, sorrow and limitations of many around us.

Can we then pledge to make a conscious effort to change our `life in the well' outlook once and for all?

Hope this Independence Day unfurls the spirit of oneness in us-let us pledge to help them, not judge and forget them.