Beneath the scorching June sun rays the dark tar road was sweltered and made road seem to wobble from afar. I was standing underneath a thicket by the road talking about the tests we gave, when I noticed a person walking almost aimlessly. Though it is not a usual seen as poverty still reigns here amidst those who were left behind by the "progressive world". An impulse nudged me to observe him. He was a middle-aged man but his state seems to age him, his hair ran down from the back of his head, his eyes seemed other worldly to me as it seemed to be looking for something but he was not observing anything. All of a sudden, he stopped and looked down. A look of curiosity and confusion bore on his face as he slightly tilted his head from side to side as if wondering what he is seeing.
After observing for a few moments,
he stood and looked up. I followed his gaze but nothing was there. He bent
slowly and picked the object up; it was then that i saw what it was. It
was a ten-rupee coin which must have been lost by a passerby. He looked at it
with dearness and his countenance became jolly he held it against his chest
looking up again he thanked. His eyes were like an empty space but it felt
as though it looked for something. After thanking a few times, he carefully
kept it in the pocket nearest to his heart and gave it a few good pat. Then
again, he set on in his way, I had not known him there was a lesson. To be
happy is a choice, to be grateful is a choice and our character is thus made by
our choices. Situations are unpredictable but what we do in turn are our
choices, and so are we defined.
Aati Pema
St Thomas College
Image Courtesy- Science News