Small moments in life

The below mentioned experience is true to the best of whatever knowledge I have.

One day, in the evening, I was coming back home. There were many man-made barriers that I had to cross / survive to reach home. It happens everyday. You name it - traffic, road bumps, road search, driving on stuffs you feel are terrain-like, random tensions about work, life and many things. Coming back home in Mumbai is a challenge in itself. You feel you have contributed and given your all at work - and then you start your travel completely oblivious of the fact that the worst is yet to come!! That day was on the same lines.

Anyways, after getting down from the bus, I started walking back home, kinda relieved that the day is about to get over. I saw one guy riding a bike with his child (a 1-2 yr old boy). The boy was very happy, and there were valid reasons for that. The boy was holding a balloon and was playing with it. The father seemed happy too. So, we can guess that the boy might have been crying for a balloon and the father got it for him. There was a lot of honking happening (as is always the case in Mumbai - we hardly hear any birds chirping). I hate it when people start honking for no reason! They see a vehicle in front - they honk. They see a guy in front - they honk. Damn, they see a girl who's not even in front - they honk!

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Amidst all this, the small boy lost control of his balloon and the balloon fell down on the road. And, needless to say, he started crying. His father stopped the bike. He, however, was unable to decide if he should get down and collect the balloon or he should just leave and a buy a new one. He stood there motionless while rickshaw's started piling up behind him. I was nearby. I don't know what happened, I just went right in the middle of the road (yeah right, my heroic moment), took the balloon and gave it to the boy. You should have seen the smile on his face when he got hold of his prized possession!! His father asked him to thank me. He said something - which I still think, resembles a 'Thank You'. Meanwhile, all the rickshaw's, that were behind the bike, didn't honk! YES! They didn't honk. They stood there waiting for the scene to get over! No one honked! Not a single machine moved. It was as if, for that moment, the world around me stood still!!

After all this got over, I continued my journey. The guy started his bike and they continued. The rickshaw-wallah's continued theirs. And the world was back to normal again.

There is a reason why I am writing this. I learnt a very valuable lesson. Maybe this had to happen with me as I was going through some tough times (self made, I guess). God's way of explaining life - I must add. You see, we all go through problems. Some earlier in their life, some later, and some throughout their lives. Some a little more than others. But problems are something no one can avoid. Even the wealthiest and the most powerful king will have his own problems to deal with. All you need is one small moment - just the way I had. The moment may not always come to you. Sometimes, you have to approach the moment yourself!! I was fortunate enough to approach the moment and experience it first-hand. Just look around. I bet something is happening which commands your attention.

Just grab the moment. And you won't regret it.

And here ends my philosophy. Back to life. And in search of that moment again!