A Reflection Note from Manoj K Sharma:
The silence
in the cremation ground broken by the sound of the cricket calling its mate,
the sound of water flowing in the stream, the yellow flowers in full bloom, the
overflowing fields of paddy stretched out till where the twain meet, are all so
full of life, so vibrant, so alive that it makes me wonder does life actually cease? Does it end? I know not.
Seemingly a
life ends; the wailing of dear ones is audible. Next door maybe the first cry
of a child is heard, the people are joyous. Is it the end of one life and
beginning of another or the continuation? I know not. Let the Gunijans, Gyanis, Dhyanis, ponder over it, let me live
this present moment for this is what life is about.
Why should
death be sad? One day it will surely come.
So let me live life to the fullest. Let me eat, drink, be merry, dance, flirt,
build and break relationships, make and
break hearts, love and be loved, cry and laugh and why not? Why be
scared? Live life consciously, conscientiously, make mistakes, make corrections,
do para gliding, river rafting, climb trees, swim in the ocean, run on the beach, share a
peach, live out fantasies. A log house covered with snow, the sound of
crackling wood in the fire place, soft music, piano playing waltzes, the smell
of freshly shampooed hair, the bright smiling eyes, the tinkling laughter, the
roses strewn all around, the beautiful
smile, the warm embrace. And why not? Let me love, let me live.
Let me be with
my people, the communities I work with, help them, make them smile, wipe their
tears, walk with them, hold their hands and assure them that I will be there
for them!
If I have
not loved and lived, why on earth have I come in this world for?
Sometimes I
reflect back over the times I have lived
through, who have I hurt, what had I said,
what I shouldn’t have said, what I
should have listened to, what I should
not have not listened to? I feel like a
bird out of a cage sitting on the branch of a
tree looking at the yonder hills
where the wind seems to be flirting with the leaves. Reflecting back on the
previous day, previous week, months, or years left behind, far behind,
travelling through the journey of my life.
It is a strange feeling, a strange indescribable phenomenon. How far have I come, how far have I left to
go, sometimes come into my mind, but
then softly like a gust of wind passes over as if whispering “this is what life
is about”. A journey seemingly directionless at times, seemingly moving in a
direction, but slowly with soft footsteps like ripples in the stream it carries
on and on.
Even this
too shall pass and then…….
It has
happened before and will continue to happen when I have prayed lifting my hands
above, “Oh lift me as a wave, as a leaf, as a cloud, I fall upon the thorns
of life I bleed”. At times I have felt
as if I am floating like a cloud, a leaf, a wave experiencing bliss.
I do not
know but if I could I would put a tomb
stone on my grave to say “Here lies
a man who lived his life to the hilt. Who loved and was
loved. A satisfied man. A happy man. A crazy man”.
