Wake Up, Life is Calling

by Preeti Shenoy

breaking on the phone the day I had called him. This is the problem with life, I thought bitterly. It snatches away people who do not deserve to die. It destroys everything when you least expect it. It takes away all that you value and hold dear, leaving you with scraps of longing and regrets that gnaw at your soul.

Sometimes, it is only when you lose what you had that you begin to value it.

You are such a help,’ I said,

And when you lose love, it feels like you have lost a part of yourself. Forever.

Love dies, and there is nothing you can do except endure the loss. It is the most painful feeling in the world.

Live life according to how your parents want you to, and you might end up frustrated. The norms they lay down, the things they tell you to do – these are things they have been told by their parents. Your parents come from a different generation, a different time. Though their love for you is unquestionable, their methods are not. What worked for them may not work for you. The only way to get over this hurdle is to prove to them that you were right. How can you do that? By your actions. You have to act, and SHOW it. There is no use arguing with them. They won’t get you. But actions – those cannot be ignored.

Often when we think we have got it all sorted, life plays a trick on us. It takes away what we expect. There might be no apparent meaning to it. Life doesn’t care if you have worked hard for it or not. Life doesn’t play fair. Life doesn’t play by the rules you make. Life has its own way of doing things. Life is not a science experiment in controlled laboratory settings where you can study cause and effect. Life is so much more. Our defeats are magnified in our own heads, because we focus on what we have lost rather than on what we actually have. If we have the love of our parents, if we have people who care for us, if we have a hot meal on the table, then we are blessed. Often it is the small things we overlook. I think that is what life is trying to teach us. That little things matter. That we have to be grateful for them. We have to notice them. And sometimes we notice them only when the big things are taken away from us.

If love should thrive, communication is a must. If you do not communicate, love dies. Also, being busy is just an excuse when people do not want to keep in touch. If you really want to keep in touch, you will find a way. You will prioritise the other person over everything else.

‘We all need to create beauty in our lives in all the ways we can. Life can be so hard,’

‘Our mind is our biggest enemy, Ankita. But it can also be our biggest friend. There’s so much beauty in life. We only have to look.’