Are we really living our life?

Get up! Dress up! And Run! 

This has become my way of living for the past 5 years now. It was one of those mornings again (well, all of my mornings) I got up in a hurry, hurriedly got ready and rushed to catch the 8 am bus to my work.  I didn’t intend to go to work today as my mother was ill and I had decided to see her but an important meeting came up and now I am here. The bus came to the stop, but that was not all, I have to walk two lanes to reach to my office building as the bus won’t go that far. 

I was rushing down the lane but suddenly something brushed against my leg, I stopped to look what it was. A boy around 6-7 years old had tapped on my leg to get my attention, I looked at him to get an answer, “Your shoe lace” he said. One of shoes had its lace untied but I had no intention of tying them as I was already late. “You might fall, you better tie it, getting late is better than falling on your face” he said to me

The surprise on my face was quite visible, “How do you know I am getting late?” I asked

“You were running, in full clothes and leather shoes, surely you are not jogging are you?” he answered with equal innocence and cheekiness. I gave him the “grown-up” look, you know when you look at a kid who is intelligent but as you are older you become more knowledgeable by default (even if you are not).

I went on without another word. When I reached my office my hurry changed into anger and disappointment. The boss had called off the meeting without informing us! I stormed out of the office and man was I angry! The panic, the hurry, my mom all for nothing! You serve in a company for 5 years and they don’t even bother to inform you they cancelled the meeting! 

As I was walking down the lane towards the bus stop I saw that kid again, sitting on the side of the sidewalk. I went up to him, “I forgot to say thank you” I said to him

“Oh, it’s alright” he said smiling 

“Can I sit here with you?” I don’t know why, but I felt like talking to him. He nodded.

I felt this compelling need to ask him questions, so I did. 

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” 

He thought for a moment then he said, “I want to help old and blind people cross the road” 

I was surprised that the answer wasn’t the usual ‘Doctor, engineer, scientist, or even superhero’ 

“Ok, that’s good, but why?” I asked him, my curiosity levels rising at an alarming rate

“Because no one helps them or cares for them” the boy said with a hint of the obvious in his voice

“Yes, that’s true, but is that all?” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he cannot earn money and survive by such a thing.

“I also want to help stray dogs, I love dogs and I don’t like seeing them hungry and homeless” he answered 

I saw the boy with a sense of happiness in my eyes, I knew if the boy stayed the way he is then sure he can make the world a better place. 

I remembered that I had to go to see my mother. I got up to go

“Where are you going?” he asked

“I have to see my mother, she is a bit sick” was my reply

“Where are flowers then?” he asked innocently 

“What flowers?” 

“You should take flowers when you visit someone who is sick and extra special for your mother” he answered. The boy in fact was right; I should take something for my mother. 

The little boy who had hardly seen the world had a better understanding of it than a man like me. All of my so called “life lessons” and my “goals of the future” meant nothing in front of this boy’s simple thinking. I work so hard in proving myself and to become someone important in this world but all of it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t touch the life of a single person. If my being here is not making someone’s life better, not even mine then I don’t think I am fulfilling my true purpose. 

From that moment on I decided to make at least one person’s life better. The first person that had a smile on her face because of me was my mother, she was so happy that I came to see her and brought her flowers. She had tears in her eyes, tears of happiness and fulfillment that the little boy she raised and loves was still in there.

P.S. I wrote this story for my school magazine when I graduated. Now I am publishing it again on my blog I hope you find your heart's calling.