I just got thoughtful for a moment today morning. I mean, I do get thoughtful most of the time but for nonsensical reasons mostly. This time however, something struck me.
As I walk into my office building every morning; I see janitors mopping away the floor. Today, I saw a lady who was rubbing hard the metal beading on the lift floor entrance. She was not using any mops with handles which could have made her job easy, she was using a piece of cloth and was rubbing hard with her hands; she was kneeling down.
That was when I realized how we take things for granted. Simple things, basic things....its natural isn't it? As in, each day, I walk into my office, hop onto the lift and get to my work. I have not one day wondered how could the lift be so clean, the side panels, the lift floor and as I enter my cube, my things are organized, my docking station neatly placed, my trash can emptied, my phone, my stationery orderly kept, my empty coffee cups disposed. I just cant get to think how I left it last evening, all messy; now its speck less. I don't think for a moment what hard work has gone behind these orderliness.
How we take things for granted? The daily sunshine, the sunset, the rain, the sky, the water, the night, the stars, the thunderstorm, the nature, our family, our friends, our pets, our jobs, our home, each breathe we take in, our body, our well-being, our country..............Things have worked in a way, we expect it to work the same everyday; water flowing out of your taps when you turn them on, your lights burning when you turn on the switch, your bus arrival on time when you wait for it....
Human beings have that magical capability to get annoyed if things go wrong. But do we really take a second and appreciate the good things that we are showered with? I am no saint. I crib about my family, my job. How shameful of me! The next moment I do think of people who have lost their job in these tough times. Am I not blessed to have mine? Think of people who don't have a family. Am I not much better.....
We are annoyed we are fat, but how blessed we are to have good health. We smoke, we drink, we abuse our body and still its patient with us. Why do we take it for granted?
Parents are old-fashioned to the kids and kids are way too bold to the parents. Isn't it natural to complain? Parents say "Your time is easy. We provide for you all. We didn't have all these facilities that you are showered with". But do they realize the competition and the survival instinct the kids develop in this dog-eat-dog world?
Kids say parents are old. They didn't struggle as kids do now. It was lot easier back then. They don't understand what we go through. But don't you realize how blessed you are that they provided you with basics and a good education that has empowered you with thoughts and intellectuals?
We blame the government. Can we do anything other than complaining? Government is corrupted and so on. Do we think how privileged we are to live in a democracy where you can spew fire over the government, blame them freely, have freedom to express your thoughts.
Hmm, thought what would happen if you lived in a country where you cant blabber what you want, freedom of expression curbed?
One can go on and on...The list is endless. As things are available with just a snap of your finger, we fail to notice its importance, we take things nonchalantly. Oh yeah, its well there and its well going to remain. YOU CANT SEE IT ANYMORE. When things become familiar to us, we lose interest; its frivolous, the mystery that it held once no more entices us. When was the last time we enjoyed a sunset? Or felt the rain drops on your skin? When was the last time we appreciated the beauty of a flower?
Thought anytime what would happen if you wake up one morning and figure out you have lost visual power? Anything could happen in a flash of a second.
We work hard, we dream to buy a car. How excited we are to have bought the first car, clean the car everyday, protect it from the rain and the sun. Then its there with you. You have lost interest. The mean machine loses its charm as its familiar now. Most of us feel the same with our family, friends. They are there and hence you are bored. Think what would happen to you if they were not there just for 5 minutes. How shocked would we be to feel boiling water flowing from your tap when you expected cold water? Or how annoyed we would be to get a no signal when we switch on our TV?
What happens if the sun did not rise for a day. What happens if your skin loses its sense of feel? What happens if you are given a pink slip? What happens if an earth-quake occurs or there's a flash flood? Your home that you complained would seem cozy then.
But the irony is we get bored by the very things that used to excite us once upon a time. The once new hobby that you pursued astutely, your boy friend, your pet....is that due to the expectation and then the disappointment thenceforth?
What are we taking for granted at this very moment? Right now, I expect my keyboard keys to respond well as I type this.....i expect my eyes to get adjusted to the monitor glare.....
Why don't we count our blessings and be thankful?
Lets remember.......
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