Friday, January 23, 2009

Another chapter

Do you still remember the day of Semester results? Sem result day I always felt as if there were a tight knot in my stomach. I couldn’t ever eat in the morning and if you know me, you know I cannot leave home without breakfast, morning tea is a ritual. Every step I took towards the university made me want to run home. And then there was this whole thing, where everyone you meet is either biting their nails, throwing up or lost is some eternal thought. There were also those who would constantly talk and ask over and over again “I think I did well in DB, do you think I did well?” But I am scared; everything was out of the textbooks. I mean really how could they do that to us? I really, really don't want a KT, less score would screw my class for the year. On campus interviews are coming up, life just sucks man, I hate the result day.

And remember how you would try putting up a brave face and tell the person it would be just fine. Only a couple of hours and the results would be out. While deep down you would pray that either the time stops or just jumps to future when everything’s over. And then the results would be out. Some would jump with joy, some would just sit quite, and some would be really sad. At one point or the other I have experienced one of the above. And also felt as if it was one of the stressful moments ever. But yesterday changed my perception all together. Yesterday was the day of layoffs here. 1400 people slashed. I got the news in the morning and as I prepared to go to work all those result-day fears came back. Just this time they were stronger and scarier.

Why does life keep getting complicated as we grow older? I mean now the result-day fear feels like a joke to me. I knew and kept telling myself that like all, this will pass too. But yet the moment was there and had to be faced. A lot of people were let go and some more will be over the next 18 months. I couldn't get the thought out of my mind- what will those people do, the stress, the loss, what if that person was the sole earner, what about the mortgage and so on. I know its kinda silly to keep thinking of this, I also know that nothing stays, that time heals and such but yet I think helplessly, you know what I mean, right?

So well, life doesn’t get any easier and isn’t meant to. Remember how parents, grandparents, all elders talked about –lessons of life. Yep, these are it. The only peace I found was talking to parents, inlaws coz somewhere it felt as if they have seen it all, been there-done that. I just added one more chapter to the “lessons of life”. How about you? Did you add any over the last few years?

9 comments:

Music7 said...

Imagine days of the world wars and the great depression. people simply lost 3-4 years of their lives, protecting themselves and their family, just wasted those years doing nothing, but just this. I hope people learn just like we are learning!

Erika said...

The only life lesson I've added to my repertoire has been that "This too shall pass." No matter what's going on, it won't be forever and all you have to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Perception said...

Ganga: Yeah so true, there have been tougher times and something to learn from those. Maybe this isn't as bad as it looks,history teaches us a lot- another lesson.

Erika: This too shall pass is one of my life lesson too. Hope is what keeps all our us going.

SUMI said...

It's always easier to look at bad times in hind sight and feel they were not as big as we'd envisoined. It's only when you're in the middle of it all that you really feel the gravity of a situation. However, of course, all we can do is to remind ourselves that the bad is as temporary as the good.

Perception said...

Sumi: Well said : "The bad is as temporary as the good". Also this make me think of "Would the good feel as good without the bad to compare?"

SecondSight said...

Perception... this reminds me of the very lovely quote that someone ;) left on my blog a while back..

"When you put your hand in a flowing stream, you touch the last that has gone before and the first of what is still to come." - Leonardo da Vinci

Keep the faith, it does work :)

Perception said...

SecondSight: :). Hanging in there, and holding on tight to faith.

shefusohani said...

Calm seas donot make skillful sailors..

Perception said...

ShefuSohani: So well said