Did you leave behind enough happy tales?

Yesterday night while returning from work, I witnessed a freak accident where a large truck in an attempt to take a sudden U-turn rammed into a speeding car on the highway. My instant reaction was to help the lady who had come out of the car and was standing in a tizzy surrounded by uncouth truck drivers. After trying to calm her down and guiding her with the course of action ahead, we got in touch with the police and I insisted that the lady should come with me to the hospital as she had an ugly bump on her forehead. While the doctor was attending to her, I finally had some time to process the events of the past hour and suddenly I realized the fragility of our lives. One moment we are alive and so full of life and on the other hand we are so unaware of what the next moment holds!

This thought was terrifying to say the least and then I wondered if all of us are living our lives on lease. There is so much to do in such a short time and we humans have the innate ability to royally mess up our lives in the name of ego, betrayal, cheating, anger, pride and envy and that is to list only a few.

Another thought which struck was what if I was in that position and just died so abruptly. The though of dying did not scare me as much as the fact that I would have left my life abruptly. I could have fought with a friend or a family member before the accident and do I really want that to be the last memory that they have of me? This innocent thought transported me to the conversations and memories of my recent past and I immediately wanted to reach out to my family and friends and tell them how much I love each one of them despite the odd hour.

Later when recounting this incident to my best friend she has an interesting phrase to use, she said ‘ego will not fill the bloody coffin’. Definitely something to ponder upon, right? I am not proclaiming that this incident has changed my life and hence I am preaching. I am sure I would continue to have off days and horrible arguments in the future as well because I am human and I cannot live a saintly life, but maybe just maybe somewhere I do appreciate the goodness of little things more now.

Make a little more time for family and friends, spend an extra minute listening to them because it is these memories which make a person and not the money you earn nor the career you have built. Ultimately, when you are gone, all your near and dear ones should at least have one happy tale to tell about you. Lastly and this is important, it is okay to say sorry once in a while even when you are not at fault, because you value the relation more.