Last Sunday, at around 8 AM, I was standing atop Nandi hills. The 10-member-group I had traveled with was some distance away, enjoying the aerial view.
I was more interested with the view above my head. It made me feel closer to the universe. "Hey you! Are you somewhere out there?" I asked, looking above. I had a lengthy list of topics I wanted to talk about. I had a lengthier list of questions I wanted answers for. "I badly want to believe in you but you seem to be putting very less effort to convince me" I explained. A mild breeze blew in response.
Before me, a lonely tree swayed. It had nothing special about it but I could sense a poignant poem dancing around its leaves. As I looked at it, I was reminded of 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' that had played during the car ride to the top.
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
"You remind me of myself" I told the tree. It continued swaying - I took it as a smile in return.
"Do you feel grateful for your life or do you feel it could have been better?" I asked the tree. The swaying stopped. Maybe it had not expected the question. Maybe the answer was a painful one.
I asked myself the same question. Standing closer to the sky, surrounded by a group I loved - it seemed the right place at the right time for the question.
The journey had not been an easy one. But it had also made me meet travelers who had traversed harsher roads. "Why couldn't you have just made it easier for everyone?" I asked, looking above. This time, there was not even a breeze.
I thought about the roads I had crossed. I thought about the roads my friends had crossed. Each of our paths had been different, the starting points had been different, the fellow travelers and the unexpected shelters and the overwhelming hardships had been different. But somehow, we had all reached the same road now.
Some of us had less baggage and some, more than one could carry.
While I felt happy that we had all chanced upon this road, I also felt bad for not accompanying some of my fellow travelers upon their journeys.
"You cannot accompany every traveler you meet. You have to travel your own journey. And not accompanying everyone does not also mean that you go around carrying them in your baggage. Always travel light" - I remembered a friend's advice.
I thought about the journey that would have resulted had I taken alternate roads every time I had been presented with the option. Maybe I wouldn't have reached Nandi hills. Or maybe I would have reached Nandi hills but the group I had traveled with would have been an unknown crowd.
I thought about the journeys that would have resulted had every member of my group taken alternate roads when he/she had been presented with the option. Maybe none of us would have reached Nandi hills. Or maybe we all would have reached the top and we all would have been strangers to one another.
I couldn't help smiling thinking about the scenario.
I also realized that the answer to my question lay in me wanting or not wanting the scenario to be a reality.
Without thinking further, I walked ahead and joined my group. There was an ongoing discussion about the path to take to reach the other side of the hills.
"Let's take that path. It seems more adventurous", shouted one friend, pointing to a steep, rocky road. "No! Let's take this route. This seems a better path to roll this guy down the hill, the next time he cracks a shitty joke", commented another friend, pointing to a route along the edge of the hill, and looking at the shitty-joke-guy standing beside him with a sheepish smile. One friend seemed more interested in selfies than in the discussion. And another friend seemed more interested in recording the beauty of the aerial view from all possible angles.
As I looked at the group, I couldn't help smiling. I had gotten my answer unlike the tree.
I looked above and gently whispered, 'Thank you!'.
Few seconds later, a mild breeze started. The lonely tree behind me swayed, smiling.
I was more interested with the view above my head. It made me feel closer to the universe. "Hey you! Are you somewhere out there?" I asked, looking above. I had a lengthy list of topics I wanted to talk about. I had a lengthier list of questions I wanted answers for. "I badly want to believe in you but you seem to be putting very less effort to convince me" I explained. A mild breeze blew in response.
Before me, a lonely tree swayed. It had nothing special about it but I could sense a poignant poem dancing around its leaves. As I looked at it, I was reminded of 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' that had played during the car ride to the top.
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
"You remind me of myself" I told the tree. It continued swaying - I took it as a smile in return.
"Do you feel grateful for your life or do you feel it could have been better?" I asked the tree. The swaying stopped. Maybe it had not expected the question. Maybe the answer was a painful one.
I asked myself the same question. Standing closer to the sky, surrounded by a group I loved - it seemed the right place at the right time for the question.
The journey had not been an easy one. But it had also made me meet travelers who had traversed harsher roads. "Why couldn't you have just made it easier for everyone?" I asked, looking above. This time, there was not even a breeze.
I thought about the roads I had crossed. I thought about the roads my friends had crossed. Each of our paths had been different, the starting points had been different, the fellow travelers and the unexpected shelters and the overwhelming hardships had been different. But somehow, we had all reached the same road now.
Some of us had less baggage and some, more than one could carry.
While I felt happy that we had all chanced upon this road, I also felt bad for not accompanying some of my fellow travelers upon their journeys.
"You cannot accompany every traveler you meet. You have to travel your own journey. And not accompanying everyone does not also mean that you go around carrying them in your baggage. Always travel light" - I remembered a friend's advice.
I thought about the journey that would have resulted had I taken alternate roads every time I had been presented with the option. Maybe I wouldn't have reached Nandi hills. Or maybe I would have reached Nandi hills but the group I had traveled with would have been an unknown crowd.
I thought about the journeys that would have resulted had every member of my group taken alternate roads when he/she had been presented with the option. Maybe none of us would have reached Nandi hills. Or maybe we all would have reached the top and we all would have been strangers to one another.
I couldn't help smiling thinking about the scenario.
I also realized that the answer to my question lay in me wanting or not wanting the scenario to be a reality.
Without thinking further, I walked ahead and joined my group. There was an ongoing discussion about the path to take to reach the other side of the hills.
"Let's take that path. It seems more adventurous", shouted one friend, pointing to a steep, rocky road. "No! Let's take this route. This seems a better path to roll this guy down the hill, the next time he cracks a shitty joke", commented another friend, pointing to a route along the edge of the hill, and looking at the shitty-joke-guy standing beside him with a sheepish smile. One friend seemed more interested in selfies than in the discussion. And another friend seemed more interested in recording the beauty of the aerial view from all possible angles.
As I looked at the group, I couldn't help smiling. I had gotten my answer unlike the tree.
I looked above and gently whispered, 'Thank you!'.
Few seconds later, a mild breeze started. The lonely tree behind me swayed, smiling.
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