The “ANTIDOTE”

 

“Oldie uncle” as we fondly address him, is our dearest family friend with whom we share a bittersweet relation but mostly sweet. He is the oldest acquaintance of ours who, a month ago was triumphant in witnessing his 91st revolution of earth and is too dependent on himself, oops! I think we call such people “independent” right? He’s one adamant champ who wants everything his way because he assumes to possess an unblemished clarity about life as he has had the longest travel of this ultimate journey than any of us. Uncle holds this invariant opinion that most of the millennials are living an intensely decadent life without possessing any will to sincerely comprehend its (life’s) beauties and realities. Hence he is always ready with the “master advices” based on his own hypothesis which he randomly throws at us, where most of the times, it seldom fits the situation and turns out to be a “zero utility” moment, however, he always renders his explanations with utmost humility and sincerity.

Let me give you a small demonstration of his strong opinion as well as why we share a bittersweet relation. Since years, it’s customary for oldie uncle to visit us during the first week of every month as that’s when he undertakes the circumambulation of absolutely not temples but banks and depositories to manage his inexhaustible wealth. The other day when he was here, I was talking to my mother where I just said, “She’s not responding, something must be wrong with her”. This mere statement triggered him and immediately turned on his “ free advisory channel” saying “We should not expect instant response from anyone, we never know their current state, there might even be an emergency, please be patient and empathetic, empathy is the key to strong relationships, being judgmental is not fair, do not take anyone for granted blah blah……………”. I held my nerve with all my might and patiently educated him that we were talking about ALEXA and not complaining about anyone. As he was caught red handed and had nothing to justify, he simply said “same applies to her too, we can’t take things for granted”. Hmm! That justification indeed proves the pure magic of his age and experience!

Yet another time, it was one of those rebooting days, my brain was shutting down a number of times by superfluously slipping into deep thoughts, no clarity about what though I was trying hard to restart it. Oldie uncle arrived, noticed my blank face and with the aid of his talent, drew his own assumption that I was figuring out my next blog topic, as he believes, since I have taken up writing, I am supposed to carry it out 24/7, because according to him that’s what is determination. Comfortably settling in his usual place next to the window, oldie uncle began quizzing me, “what are you deeply engrossed in? See, you can’t redefine life and recreate meanings all by yourself. Young and inexperienced souls like you need to interact with oldsters like me for some real substance. Come on! Tell me what’s going on in your mind?”

Not to trigger anymore suppositions and to keep the conversation afloat, I straightened by back and answered “Uncle whenever I sit idle, just like the proverb, though not of devil’s, my mind turns into a workshop of analysis about all the mysterious bottlenecks we encounter in this overwhelming, incomprehensible truth called life.”

Before I could continue any further, raising his eye brows in astonishment, Oldie uncle jokingly replied “hey girl I was expecting a blog topic and you’re talking about bottlenecks. The reason I visit you all is to feel young & replenish some fresh spirit within me. And you expect me to think about problems and slip into despair? Anyway, before we get to the bottom of this, tell me some of the adversities you or your nearest ones have encountered.”

Just like how a heavy cloud is ready to pour any moment, I began my breathless narration, “Uncle within the proximity of my cognizance, I’ve noticed certain catastrophes in life which are intensely grueling viz. extreme poverty, fatal/perennial diseases and disorders, broken relationships, faded friendships, demise of beloved ones, repeated failures, oblivious times, delays & denials, missed opportunities, loneliness, incomplete journeys/unreached destinations, fears/ insecurities/complexes, victims of unrighteous deeds etc. Being in any of the above or similar situations, often buries our good spirits and resilience to look forward to the upcoming days with fresh will. Some problems are so grinding that we fail to gather a meaningful explanation for its occurrence. One question that constantly lingers in my mind is how to condition ourselves to stoically accept and absorb such adversities rightly? There must be some way to counter this, but who is aware of it, is another question? If we don’t attempt to decode the" ‘master mind-set’ required to face these uncertainties, just living with perpetual perplexity makes our existence frivolous.”

Oldie uncle who was tired listening to my non-stop speech took a deep breath, managed a subtle giggle and said “Dear, I feel, you have all the traits to become a seminary and it comes with an added advantage, you can ring fence yourself from at least half of the above mentioned problems ha ha! How do you find the hack?”

He noticed the sarcastic expression on my face and began “Okay girl! Let me tell you, in my infinite rendezvous with people throughout life and also due to the passage of time, when I scan through the repository of my experiences, I don’t feel anything you’ve mentioned above is NEW. My ancestors have faced similar issues, my generation has encountered these issues and now I notice the current generation also experiencing them. Every moment you’re experiencing now has already existed before and shall exist in the future too, in the life of another “New” being because the world is old and so as its features. Every time a new soul comes to this world, it is ought to brush past every feature of the world whether painful or delightful, worthy or unworthy, wanted or unwanted. Not only impediments, every happening in life has its own “life cycle” and vanishes once it has rendered its duty because “life is transient and so its happenings”. Now, according to this young nonagenarian champ, whenever you come across a clog, just remember one simple statement “NOTHING IS NEW, EXCEPT FOR YOU”, trust me it instantly offloads the weight from you and excites you to look forward to its culmination. Also, sit back and try to experience life as an audience of a magic show, because life itself is a spell, nothing is real here except for your experiences, treasure only them and nothing else as that’s the only treasure which is forever. Are you satisfied with my answer? If not, you’re free to travel to the Himalayas, conduct a deep penance and get your answers from supernatural beings. Ah! I know your answer, okay I shall book the tickets to Himalayas?”

This 2 minute explanation by oldie uncle instantly fortified my limited understanding about this “entirety” with the awareness of the limitless majesty of the greater deal called “life. The satisfaction we as children would enjoy when we understood a toughest math problem, with the same feeling, accompanied with pure gratitude I replied “Oldie uncle, you’re guess is right. Please sponsor my Himalayan expedition, I am definitely going there, not to find answers but to amuse myself with a fulfilling encounter with Mother Nature. I must tell you, I’ve never felt this feather like until I heard your analysis. To be frank, I used to always ignore your constant advises assuming it to just be the pride you possess about your age to which I will sincerely apologise. You’ve so casually unveiled the ultimate mind-set that shall undoubtedly augment our “immunity” towards not only the hurdles but the entire package of life events, yes! Just practicing to feel “NOTHING IS NEW EXCEPT FOR OURSELVES” is the ideal “ANTIDOTE” for human melancholy”.

By waggishly nodding his head, Oldie uncle responded, “hmm! I accept your apologies. Don’t worry it’s your innocence and ignorance that cajoled you to devalue my life experiences. Since you’ve voluntarily admitted that the same has untied your blindfold and polished your wisdom, I shall double my lecture from this minute itself, I am at your service for life.”

I buried my head in my hands as I was trapped for life!  

  

Simple thoughts to live well     

It was a bright spring morning, I set off for my morning walk to the park I normally go every day. As usual, I was warming down after a 45 minute cardio and I accidently noticed a peepal leaf which was of lush pink colour. With a sense of surprise topped with perplexity, I looked up to check the rest of the leaves of the tree and was thrilled by what I witnessed. For the first time in life I was seeing a new version of the same old peepal tree that was bejeweled with thousands of lush pink tender leaves. I couldn’t wait to share this unforgettable sight with my family so I immediately captured it in my phone. When I reached home, I dramatically convened a meeting of all my family members and showed them the picture of the tender leaves expecting a unanimous surrender to this enchanting natural phenomenon. Instead it turned out to be an eye opener for me when dad said “Girl! We see this every year, this must be your first time”

Yes !Whether its success or failure, bliss or sorrow, clarity or ambiguity, “Nothing is new, except for you”. Let us attempt to make it our ATTITUDE, because that’s when it works as an ANTIDOTE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 [VA1]