Lessons Learnt in Life

Life teaches you many lessons, but the best are those learnt in childhood. As we grow up, we tend to loose the essence of those learnings. However, Nature has got a magical way of bringing back Life’s crucial lessons to you by way of your kids.

“It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.” — W. Somerset Maugham

Did we not learn this? Or we forgot it on our journey of growing up and encountering soul battering experiences in life.

It was on a bright sunny morning when, Nandika, her mausi and I, went shopping. Well, having nothing particular in mind to shop, we just went around window shopping. You get everything from clothes to footwear to accessories and all there is. We explored the far corners of the market and realized that Nandika is cooperating with us and playing along in our endeavour of aimless shopping and their negotiations. So we decided we should get her something as well. We approached a small establishment carrying watches of all kinds. We were trying out a very pretty watch for her, when she said, “I want purple watch”. My My… the shopkeeper did not have a purple watch but all other colours were there. There were various watches, simple, sober, cartoon watches, bright coloured ones but none Purple. So, we started moving further in search for a purple watch. One, two, three and four shops down the line, we encountered another shop having watches. We zeroed down on an interesting watch, which could project Barbie doll images. Yes, She liked it too! But, to our utter dismay, it was available only in pink!

Mumma – “Nandika, shall we take this one?”

Nandika – “Yes mumma, I Like this one, but I want a Purple Watch”

Mumma – “But beta, it is available only in Pink!”

Nandika – “But I want Purple.”

Masi – “Beta, Purple is not available anywhere”

Nandika – “But I want Purple.”

And Tears rolled down her cheeks. Mausi’s heart melted. We started looking for more. We were tired, but we went ahead forcing ourselves in the scorching heat in the midst of the masses, for a purple watch! We kept on exploring shop after shop for the purple watch, but without any success. We were nearing the last few shops of the market and we decided to head back to the car, since, the purple watch was nowhere to be found. As soon as we were at the last shop of the market, we saw it! There it was, hanging and dangling from a thread at the entrance of the shop. The projector watch, in Purple.

At Last, Mission Accomplished, but the learning was too big to be ignored.

And in the words by John Greenleaf Whittier,

Success is failure turned inside out, 
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far, 
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.