A day in a hospital

I was recently in the OP, blood test center and casualty of a hospital.  As I waited in each of these places along with my mother I kept noticing the others around. 


Some of them will stay with me forever like the time I was offered a sweet by a new father who didn’t know that I had just lost mine.


A young mother getting told that she needn’t worry but few more tests and scans are required before the final prognosis.  She instinctively reached out to pat the head of her child and with the other caught hold of her husband's arm. 


A patriarch is being rushed in to causality.  The stretcher is surrounded by family and close ones.  Everyone is anxious as they get told to wait outside the emergency ward.  The man's wife alone is inconsolable.  In a matter of 30-45 minutes her fears come true.  Others break down, she calls out to what looks like her eldest, whispers something and then asks to be allowed inside the ward.  After a while she emerges tells those trying to console her that everyone should be strong and do what is needed...this is what he would have done and wanted.


A young husband and wife come in with an old couple.  They the old ones are clearly lost and not at all in their comfort zone.  The young couple is very audibly arguing as to why it has become their headache to care for these two.  Why can’t that brother, the other sister and so on do this!  The old man and woman are ashamed, shaken and probably wishing they weren’t around to hear these.
As all of this and a multitude of other things happen I take to watching the hospital staff.  The new age doctors (some of them still getting trained) are stuck to their mobiles, hardly have the time to even look at patients who have asks of them.  Some of the seasoned nurses and other support team members exchange knowing looks seeing the doctors busy on their mobiles.  The senior doctors are so busy there is hardly any - 1 on 1 time with patients.  The so called assistants are supposedly doing tasks to help.  The help usually results in the names of medicines being wrong spelled, incorrect tests get prescribed.  As colleagues meet them talk about their day, their home, their family, go for breaks, food. 


As I left the hospital I wished the young mother all the courage and strength she would require. To the family who lost their elder I wished that the departed one's soul rests in peace.  The state of the old couple haunts me.  I hope the young ones they are with will have a change of heart.  Realize that had it not been for those who brought them up and are old now the young and able would have had no today.
    

In 2013...

look at the haves
rise up stronger from a fall
live each day as if there is no other
do unto others as you would have them do to you
to be educated and not instructed
know nothing is forever...this too shall pass
to not criticize, complain and condemn
to smile a lot more
be thankful for what we are
to give more than we get

Another end...a new beginning

Another year is nearing its end.  A lot has happened some which should not have and some that really made a difference.  Personally it has been a roller coaster of a ride.  Many firsts this year - had my first bike accident after more than a decade, my car broke down for the first time ever and the most exciting one - celebrated this year's birthday in the place I was born - Bombay, Mumbai whichever name one calls that never say die place.  Few of those I got to know after I joined Ugam and relocated to Coimbatore have now moved on.  I do not remember that many numbers saying good bye ever before.  Fortunately most will be in touch :-)

My mother had yet another bout of illness like in 2010 got hospitalized for about a good 10-12 days.  I got to see a side of her that I had not before.  She was like a helpless child.  I brushed her teeth, combed her hair, changed her clothes and all that one has to for a child. I consider myself lucky for having been there when she needed someone most.

Thanks to my mother's illness I reconnected with my sister and brother in law.  It is not for nothing that people say happiness and sorrow bring down walls (or at least some seem to think so!).  Feels good to be back in touch and knowing that there are more people who care and to care for :-)

Professionally this year has been one of the best.  I have got to work with world class clients, fantastic team members and towards the end of the year have been given more responsibilities.  The way it came to me I would not have asked for it to be so.  Regardless I will do the best I can and want to deliver the best I can.

Last, not the least my friends.  Managed to spent some quality time with the few friends I have.  They are still the same though all of us have some grey hair here and there :-)  We are the same boisterous bunch when together.  Loved the time spent with them.

Look forward to 2013 and what it has in store.

May there be peace in the world.

The things we do

As long as we keep getting what we want of what we do, we will continue. Once this stops then we will do all we can to stop. Look at everything and anything this cycle will be very visible. To me what this suggests is that we have to be smart at deciding on what to do, how to do and for how long. As the Oracle said or someone in the movies said - everything that has a beginning has an end.

We tend to deceive ourselves into believing that everything or most of what we are doing is worth continuing with. Rarely is there any introspection. When reality strikes on those of us who are this way there is hardly anything left.

Think about it and so will I.

Expectations

Of all that happens in relationships 'expectations' are by far the ones that set predicaments. They arise out of nowhere and sometimes for no reason. Aren’t always based on past experiences either. When they pop up, they are tricky and more often than not leave certain bitterness in the parties involved.

Not a day goes by when one isn’t faced with it. Everyday then becomes a struggle to meet or exceed, leading to a vicious circle of frustrations, ill feeling, regret and sometimes happiness. As with everything else that is difficult to handle, expectations can’t be made to go away. They are what keep the wheels running.

Those of us who have learnt to handle it to their advantage live an enriched life. The lesson to be learned is that we need to set the right ones in the first place. Having none could mean that we are like the frog in a well. Setting none in others could lead to a life that is less purposeful.

So here is to expectations, and to meeting them head-on.

Years...

Do the years that go by hold any significance? When I look back at the last two there sure have been significant happenings. Year 2008, my son came along, towards the end of 2009 I took the decision to take a new job and shift from Chennai to Coimbatore.

2008 ended a lot sooner than I expected and 2009 took its own sweet time. January 25, 2010 found myself in Coimbatore, away from friends but closer to family.

If I take it back a little longer then things look like  they were destined to happen. My mother tells me that at the age of one, I was in Coimbatore with my parents. I came to Coimbatore after my son turned a year, a month and four days. Coincidence I guess.

I really haven’t been keeping a good track of the years and the events that took place in each of them. Maybe it suited me better that way. All of a sudden I am so aware of each day. It is also seems a lot more meaningful, with purpose now than ever before, surreal as it may sound.

Every moment must count, as will then the years.

What it takes to change

I think it clearly has to do with mindset. Some among us dont take feedback in a positive sense. Instead of analyzing what others have to say it is ignored. I am not one who thinks others should decide what I do and say. However I also do not want to be someone who is misunderstood and mistaken all the time. Those who are persistent are almost always taken as those saying - My way or the highway. It isnt true. One has to be persistent yet open to change.