It was a usual Sunday afternoon. My wife woke me up after I had taken a short afternoon nap. Though I never take a nap on holidays, this time the day before had proved very hectic for me physically and mentally and hence due to the tiredness, I had dozed off for half an hour. After waking up I with my wife drove out in the car to do some shopping. My Wife had to buy certain items for the household and for that she needed to go to different places and hence I decided to help her out. After shopping at some places, my wife asked me to stop the car outside a shop where she had to purchase some groceries. She got out of the car and walked towards the shop and I parked the car on the side of the road. It was very hot outside. The heat wave was unbearable and hence I decided to keep my car’s engine on so that I could enjoy the chill of the air conditioner. After a few minutes my wife returned with some plastic bags filled with groceries in her hand. I put them on the backside seats. My wife told me that the shopping was over now. She too complained about the unbearable heat outside. I told her let’s eat some kulfi (Ice cream) to beat the heat and she immediately agreed to the idea.
I drove the car towards the spot where our favourite Kulfiwala stands with his handcart. We gave our order for assorted kulfi and started relishing it on its arrival. Again I kept my car engine on to keep the air conditioner running inside. The coolness of the kulfi was delighting to the senses. While savouring the kulfi my wife casually peeked outside the window of our car and suddenly she became a bit gloomy. I asked her “what’s the matter”? She just pointed her finger at a man who was walking on the opposite side of the road. I looked in that direction. I saw a man appearing to be in his late fifties carrying lots of heavy jute bags on both his shoulders walking on the road. Some bags were in his hands too. He was perspiring profusely but was carrying on. Both me and my wife were saddened and felt highly dejected due to the plight of the man. I felt ashamed that I was enjoying the ice cream within the cool comforts of my car and here was an elderly man toiling hard in the sweltering heat just to earn his daily bread. My eyes became moist.
This incident happened last Sunday, but still it is fresh in my mind. I felt sad about the plight of that elderly man and at the same time thought how lucky I am to be in a good position in my life. How lucky my family is. How God is kind to me every day. How I am fit and fine by the grace of God. How I am free from any serious problems and troubles in my life. God has given me every thing that many crave for but do not get.
Friends, most of us crave for many materialistic things even when we are blessed by God with some. People don’t get a meal even once in a day and sleep foodless. Some have to toil hard to obtain their daily bread just like the man I saw on Sunday. We never thank God for what he has given us but will regret about what we don’t have and the things that we don’t have are not necessities but mere luxuries to be precise and sometimes we do fulfil our desires and obtain that too. We always make our comparisons with the rich, but not with the poor. We overlook the fact that we are not put in the below poverty line group where millions of people sleep foodless everyday. We ignore and overlook the fact that what we today possess by the grace of God, millions of them lack it in their whole life span. Doesn’t that mean that God has been very kind to people like us? Don’t we have to thank God for his extreme kindness?
I personally think that if you want to thank God for his kindness, then the best way to thank him is by helping the needy in your own affordable way. Always try to be compassionate, empathetic and kind. We spend thousands on our luxuries, but wouldn’t it be nice if we spend some part of it for the needy too? Just try it friends and the blessings that you will get from such people will just like be a blessing from God. Such blessings can work wonders in your difficult situations. You never know which blessing in disguise has saved you from agony. Apart from their blessings the mental peace and joy you get from doing such deeds is just unsurpassable which can not be obtained by even spending millions and after all good and noble deeds never go in vain, isn’t it? Remember God is always watching.
Thank you God.
Peace, tranquillity and equality to all.
