The 365 things to do
...
I am travelling back from Kolkata to Delhi. My
co-passengers are a family of three.
Husband , wife and their 13 year old son who studies in class 9 in Alwar. After
dinner , the lady started some small talk with me and casually mentioned that
they are returning after visiting their brother-in-law who has met with a
terrible accident . He is a state of coma for the last 3 weeks and the doctors
have not given any hope. Multiple organ failure has started. But they have to return. The summer vacation is over,
the husband does not have any leave , son's tuition is waiting .
As
she was describing the condition to me , I was struck with a strange feeling .
Nothing very new, but somehow I felt the impact of how life will go on for them
as well as the brother-in-laws family. A grieved daughter studying
Engineering and his wife are slowly coming to terms with the situation. No one
really is indispensable.
I thought about the person who is lying in a coma
... on his death bed, the people surrounding him praying for his peaceful
death. He must have had plans for tomorrow, for vacations with his
family. Plans and worries regarding his daughter's
education, marriage and retirement planning. While leaving for office
at 8 am in the morning and coming back at 9 pm, thoughts of leisure and
"adda" with friends must have come to his mind which he must have
postponed for a later tomorrow . That tomorrow never came.
All of us plan for tomorrow. Small things like
talking to our parents, laughing with our kids, going for hike are planned.
Some of the things do not need postponing - but we feel that these are small
things which can be planned for and done anytime. " I will do it
tomorrow". A very dangerous 5word sentence ! Our parents and child might be waiting to hear just a few words from
us which will make their day joyful. In our stressfull day to day life, we forget
that small things make a big difference.
Most of us usually plan our finances meticulously
and we know exactly how much money we will get and plan for spending it. Why
can't we the same with the priceless things in our lives ? Why don't we make a
list of 365 things to be done before we die
? Not 10 or 101. I want 365 things . At least one year of my life
to do the things which really matter to me rather than living in daily transactions. I do not want
to postpone buying the long awaited gift for my childhood nanny and take
my parents for a five-star vacation.
I pray to God that the ailing person can live so
that he can enjoy the simple pleasures of life and can complete his 365 things
which he might have wanted to do before his final goodbye from this
earth.
I will start the 365 list today and make sure that
I complete at least a couple of them every month.
June 14, 2012
Amen
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