The journey of life!
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Praveen Amancharla | Nov 27, 2008
Monday 8:00 AM. Standing near the sign post of the bus stop, I noticed the bus approaching the bay; it reaccelerated and came to a complete halt in front of me. I pulled out the bus pass from my wallet, and as the doors of the bus opened I stepped forward and flashed the pass to the driver; she didn’t glance at the pass but looking at me, wished me good morning with a lively smile and signalled me with her hand to get in. Close to eight months, daily I ride in this bus as a commute to my office and it is a routine, my day usually starts with a warm greeting and a smile from her.
For my upcoming trip to India, I wanted to capture some pictures of my routine life in San Diego so that I could show those to my folks back home. With this in my mind I approached the bus operator and asked her if I could take a picture with her. The bus operator gladly came forward for the picture; I took couple of shots by setting the timer on my digital camera. After we were done with the photo shot she told me “This is the last week and that’s it! I am out of this job.”
I didn’t know how to react! Because for the past few weeks, every Friday I received these “good bye” emails from my office; colleagues who got laid off due to the current economic turmoil which is more of a saddening and helpless situation. However, the bus operator’s words of leaving the job sounded different. The words were filled with more of content and joy.
So I asked her, “Are you leaving this job voluntarily?”
“No! I am 55 and in America, 55 is the age of retirement. I drove this bus for 30 years in this same route, and I have completed my full time of service,” she replied with a jubilant smile.
Some times life is so monotonous: taking the bus everyday; going to work and coming back home and through out the day, thinking and planning about the tasks to be done in the next few hours and actively involving in doing those tasks. Little do we pay attention to the people around with whom we live our lives, on whom we depend for our work to get done. So I thought, it is time to introduce my self to her. “I am Praveen,” I told her extending my hand.
“Oh! Nice to meet you “Raveen. I am Linda,” she replied. We shook our hands. Later I helped her with how to pronounce my name.
“Linda, how do you feel, now that you are retiring from this job, did you like riding this bus for so many years? Are you feeling happy?  Are you going to miss any thing?” I asked her.
“I love this job, Praveen, but I am not sad that I would be leaving this. I am content; I have enjoyed driving this bus. I will certainly miss the ‘passengers’ with whom I rejoiced interacting every day. The interesting part is that I drove this bus every day in this route over the years. It might be a single route but I traversed the paths of so many people, they are from different countries, different backgrounds, attitudes, behaviours and they have boarded my bus to reach their destinations. By profession I have to interact with them. There are no shortcuts, no escape routes to avoid people whom you might perceive not amicable and we can turn them to be amicable by showing kindness and love and that’s how we go a long way in our lives. Be kind to people; love and help others and that’s the way it works in this world; actually that’s the way we should run this world.”
I was so touched by her take on life, and what struck my mind was that man’s greatest invention was the wheel.
We have scaled the length and breadth of the world with his invention. Be it the machinery in an industry, a locomotive, a plane or a bus, without the invention of the wheel we wouldn’t have seen so much progress in our lives in the realm of mobility. However, this wheel as such and its creation doesn’t have any meaning unless it is propelled by some energy to roll, with a destination to roll towards, controlled by navigation and lubricated to be in sync with other wheels in the form of gears for a frictionless long journey. With no navigation, the wheel would roll on its own, directionless, and the destination will turn into a mirage. With no lubrication, the journey would be marred with friction and frequent break downs.
Human life is the creation of the creator (God, for those who believe in God or any other entity for those who are non-believers). The wants, the desires and realizing one’s dreams fuel the urge to progress and lead a better life. The life gets its meaning when it has a direction, a controlled navigation and working in sync with other people, lubricated with the behavior of being kind, loving and helping one another. Else, the journey of life will be rough with frictions and all dreams and desires will become mirages.
Day in day out, we might feel independent in our lives, choosing what we want and achieve. But for every step that we put forward, we depend on other people directly or indirectly and this is where real life lies. How much importance do we give to the person who fills our vehicle’s gas tank, the cop who controls the traffic at the intersection as we approach it, or the person who fixes our broken network, or the telephone line?
Here is a quote from John Lennon:
“Life is just what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans….”
Filed Under: Miscellaneous
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That’s superb Praveen!
Hmmm. I was sitting on my verandah which caught the sun. I was sitting the peace,watching the green leaves of the trees wave in the hot afternoon breeze. The only sound was the whir of the fan blades. As I come up for air from the book I was reading,my mind registered that this moment is what life is all about-for me. To be in a state of peace,doing what you like best,where all the world is contained in that second of deep and abiding peace,of serene grace. During these moments,I dont have to think of my faults and foibles,or of my endless need for material things.
At these moments,I feel one with the world,wordlessly caught up in the rythm of the universe itself. That is when I forget the “I”. So insignificant. Sometimes its painful to see how we refuse to acknowledge the truth- most of what we do is insignificant.
My grandmother died recently-I was close to her and she was a nice lady. But as life picks up and goes on,I was reminded of this-though I really dont know who said it:
It amazes me how human beings live as if they will never die and die as if they never lived.
So I decided to live and here another surprise awaited me. It was not all about the dress I really needed,or the perfume I must have or the house to equal my cousins/friends. Its something unique to each person. For me,I decided to care for the other people in my life. Really care not the selfish love that is more concerned with ones own wants and comforts.
Another thought helped me. Mary Angelou says-People will forget what you do and what you say. But they will never forget how you made them feel.
So I am on a crusade to be more conscious of others,to make each of one of the folks I know realize that they are accepted and cared for. And that is one of the legacies I hope to leave behind.
Praveen and Aathi, both of you illustrate your point very well indeed ! It is important to connect and touch the lives of those we meet and know. We are all travellers through our own lives and need to make our journey interesting and useful to ourselves and others.