This entry has been a long time coming, but it almost seems like the Gods are against me making it! I have had this in my mind for such a long time, but took me ages to get down and put it into words. My apologies to my loyal readers (if such a species does exist, which I very seriously doubt ).

After recieving comments (offline ones, unfortunately) about my last entry being depressing, and even morbid, I decided to write on something different. I wont claim that this entry is very uplifting. However, it differs in the sense that it isnt about questions which cannot be answered...its more about the ones which we raise unnecessarily. It is something relevant to each of us, about a way of life. Sound like tall claims, like I have figured out "The Meaning of Life", but I really wish to make no such claim. Still, I must insist that all of us have given this a thought at some stage, and if not, should.

The germ of this thought was planted in my mind after reading a really incredible Readers' Digest article (wish I knew where they come up with this stuff from!). It was about a guy was born with all four limbs missing. It was about his outlook to life, his hardships, his accomplishments. I dont remember which month, think it was June or so. If you haven't read it, try to get a copy. They call him a human anti-depressant...but its almost an understatement. You can't help but feel inspired by his life. There is a catch though. It also makes you feel utmostly pathetic about the way you are leading yours.

Here is a picture of my average day. I crib about having to wake up early. Crib about being late. Crib about how crowded the train is. Crib about the idiot rickshaw driver who almost got me killed. Crib about the grime and filth around. Crib about the boring lecture. Crib about the professors' idiosyncrasies. Crib about how much work I have left. Crib about not having enogh time. Crib about not being able to get enough sleep. Crib about mum and dad's seemingly relentless admontions. Plus not fewer than 20 other assorted things.

Moving on to a more general view. We crib about not having enough money. About not being popular. About not scoring enough. About how much work we have. About how much we need to travel. About how badly people behave with us. About lost opportunities. About foolish mistakes and seemingly unending misfortune.

And many many more.

But on any given day, look around, and you will see no fewer than a 100 people who are a lot worse off than you are. If you cant eat out at fancy places, many go to bed hungry. Many dont have a bed to go to! If you have to travel a lot, there are people who spend nearly 8 hours travelling Mumbai-Pune everyday. If you dont have enough money to spend, there are those who dont even earn as much as you spend.

Think of all that we have. Parents. A good home. Food and clothing. An education. Friends. Books to read. A good life to enjoy. A good future ahead. But it just like humans to take all this for granted. But why?? Speaking of this, we should be simply grateful to be born with all limbs and a full body. I was going to the station the other day, cribbing in my mind as always about being late, and on the railway bridge I saw a blind man. He was about 20-21 years old. He was standing by the railings selling agarbattis. He had no idea of the people passing by. No clue as to how much he would be able to sell. Whether he would earn enough to eat two square meals a day.

It made me feel so pathetic about my petty cribbing. I realised then and there that I need to put my life in perspective. Life is short. To spend most of it on trivial things is dumb. A little more optimism, and you can get more out of each day.

Any time of any day, when you are down in the dumps, give this a thought.