I love people who teach me something about life. No matter the Call Center Executive at a Cab Office, my housekeeping lady or the cabbie that drops me homeJ. I LOVE ALL OF THEM. Life for me is just loving and loving people who live with high spirits and right attitudeJ. They give me positive vibes.
It is a strange thing when you board a cab and the driver asks you about the book in your hand. I am reading ‘The Alchemist’, these days. There is something about the book that keeps you bound to read. The basic but the biggest thought – Realize Your Dreams.
The cabbie was quite affluent in English and the way he inquired about the book, I took time to relate everything. Before, I could utter something, he said, “Wow, you are reading, ‘The Alchemist’. It is a nice book by Paulo Coelho.”
My eyeballs were rotating like a pendulum, listening to his Americanised accent. I have never met such a cabbie in last two years in Hyderabad. A nice ironed, linen lemon shirt with a black trouser and hair all set with a gel. There was nothing not to notice him. Indeed, I actually noticed him. His voice was like droplets of water and each word was like a musical note.
I felt to listen and just listen to him, when I realised he asked me a question, a same question for the third time, “Where is your drop, ma’am?”
I answered him followed by my question, “Why do you drive a cab, when you can do something better than this. I mean, I appreciate your communication skills, client handling and your presentation of yourself. It seems, this is not your only work.”
He took a look at me and smiled. He shrugged saying, “I am like one of you. I work for a call center at night catering to US outbound calls and I drive a cab in the day. I lost my father when I was 12 and life was like a tough journey for me with 3 younger sisters. I had to fund my education as well. So, beggars are not choosers and I decided to do two jobs to support and sustain myself. It is true; I hardly get time to sleep, maybe just 4 hours a day. But life demands and I have to serve. BTW, this book is about realizing your dreams. If you take challenges of life as dreams, your tough journey is like a smooth road to your goals.”
I was speechless and thoughtless. I was trying to figure out, is he happy or making me feel better by explaining handle challenges as your dreams. Whatever, it was a pleasure meeting an industrious, young gentleman who funds his education and supports his family. He has no time to sleep but he gave me a good reason to be happy and sleep well, tonight.
With due respect to him, I post a saying –
Life in itself is an empty canvas, it becomes whatsoever you paint on it. You can paint misery, you can paint bliss. This freedom is your glory.
~Osho, Indian Spiritual Teacher
This blog is about living. I want my readers should live the way I wanted or I want but could not. But the cabbie and the above saying gave my infinite reasons to live and live to the fullest. I will paint my canvas of life with all the colours possible in this lifetime. Just close and think for once in context to this post – ‘So You Think You Are Living’..;!!
Buona Notte!
