Wake up!!

For me travelling is a period when you have time just for yourself, to clear the clutter in the mind, prioritize activities and tasks, to get the focus right. Nothing can move me away from being with me - not even a snoring co-passenger or the pressure of work, and not even my Boss. That is the “ME” time on the flight. During one of those “ME” times you tend to think about where we are in life, what we have achieved, which peaks we need to scale, what peaks we need to give a miss…. This time, it was different, the thought which came up struck my head, was focused on “why we are the way we are”; “ what makes us strong or weak?” ; “how our being strong or weak redefines our lives”; “How our life affects the life of our loved ones”; “ How we can be the change in the life of others – not only our family but the less privileged ones” and so on… It was a surprise, because (we) tend to be selfish, and focus on ourselves, our lives, our family, what is in it for me and et al. It was a good change for my mind; to think about something which is was not selfish, giving me an opportunity to do something for others, who are not privileged enough.
It soothed my mind, it made me feel proud of being helpful to others (like we have read in our books); following the great gurus and saints, something to differentiate me from the “others”… I was Happy, really Happy… that I was helping others in providing them with material goods, means for them to live their lives better, providing them money to buy medicines, giving off my used (in good condition) clothes, providing toys for them used by my child (some of them broken). I was Happy, and felt really proud of myself, had a boom in my voice, I towered amongst the lesser mortals, I was sure the Almighty was happy and I will have a good Report card to take back home – when “my time” comes.

Even when we pray to God, we have a need, a desire, to achieve something, to reach a certain goal and we need divine help to be there. Even when we go to our “Guru” – to pay our respect, we may not talk about our aspirations but somewhere in the heart, in the mind there is a dormant desire, which we expect the “Guru” to read and grant us the wish.

That was till it dawned on me – that what the lesser privileged people need – it is not to feed them only, but also to make help them strive for independence. It dawned on me that these kids / adults do not need charity, they need a compassionate shoulder, encouraging words for them to stand up despite their deficiencies. They need very little to survive and do well unlike us, who need all the luxuries in life and we still complain about how bad things are. Then, it realized on me what I was doing was just massaging my ego, trying to win some brownie points from the Almighty, trying to be a Robin Hood to the people who could teach us so much more about life.

Why are we so foolish? Why are we so Selfish? Why are we so naïve? Why are we so self- centered?
Now I understand the meaning of what my Guru had told me - The key to a happy and successful living is to be selfless, to be focused on others welfare, It is us who can make our destiny, it is us who can help us achieve our desires. It is us who can make a difference in our lives and others lives too.