Signals on city roads are known for their impeccable functioning. One such signal episode taught me the meaning of life. As I walked past shops, absent mindedly thinking of insignificant things, I took a look at the signal lights. It clearly showed a Red for pedestrians. Without a second thought I held my steps back, and the next second noticed it was Red for vehicles too! Time left..6 seconds! And who on earth, or at least here, waits upto the last second for the arrows to fall to start off? So, that diminished it to 3 seconds, where 1 second went in deciding. That’s 3-1, 2 to run across the 80 feet road. That’s when I took a hasty decision, to cross, thinking of nothing. When I was almost up to the second half of the road, came a bus. And yes, it ran over me!
I cowered, shivering with no bounds. I thought I was dead, I didn’t know if I was thinking from the earth, heaven or hell. I thought everything was over, but the ideas of my debts bothered me more than my fear of death. Not the monetary debt, but those of some polite keys I missed to use with the ones around me. I have led my life all through these years with ego, anger, vengeance, hatred, self- centeredness (egoism) and impatience. I have caught myself up with these 6 qualities, just like how these 6 wheels have snarled me now, incapable of moving a step further, but to only repent. Thank God, none of the 6 wheels ran over me, so that gave me a chance to ruminate further. Yet I was apprehended, knowing not what the future has in place for me. All I wanted to do is, to get myself out of these wheels, both in the literal sense and otherwise. I wanted to live, at least a day more, so that I go back and make everything right, turn everything straight, admit that I’m nothing, to those upon whom I have shown my ego, apologize with those whom I have messed up with because of my anger, muster up all the negative thoughts I developed toward the others to retaliate and burn them down to ashes, turn all hatred into love without looking for a reason to, to expand my heart beyond horizons to show munificence for simple reasons that only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile, and true joy comes only from giving and not getting things for ourselves, and to be patient no matter who takes me for a ride or what tempest comes my way. I realized how lame I was, how inhuman I have been, and how meaningless a life I have led. So, that one day given can let me make up for all these wrongdoings, so that I have at least a handful of people to cry upon my death. God was boundlessly kind, for the realization He gave within those few seconds, and for the forgiveness He showered upon me by saving my life. He gave me not one extra day, but a rebirth to live to the end of my life. So I decided to shun every single wheel of the 6 as I came out from under the bus. It’s just a single vertical line that needs to be drawn to transform any negative into positive. So why not begin life (I have not been actually living all these days) from this very second? Yes, let me do. And thanks to those 6 wheels that entangled me, that made me realize into which 6 of them I was actually intertwined in reality.
To readers:
All of us humans have been blessed with good qualities. Some of the negatives as above may show up in varying intensities at various points in time. We lose patience, show anger and commit actions that eventually become irreversible, plunging us into deep gorges of regret. While sitting back and thinking about them, those memories can kill! Why wait till the last day of life when (God forbid) the future is always uncertain? It’s still the right time to apologize with anyone whom we have hurt so far, to whom we haven’t shown as much care as we needed to have, to those whom we have neglected for no reason, overlooking their happiness upon our own interest. This would definitely ensure a peaceful last day of life, on which we needn’t worry about having done actions we need to reverse the effect of, or crave for another one last day. Make peace with everyone around. Be it your family, relatives, a long lost friend, or even an acquaintance. Do the best from your end. If they understand, all is fine, if they don’t, they are still caught amidst the wheels. So better leave it to them to decide upon their coming out of the tangle of vines.
