Lessons with Death

I think the post here will speak for itself. So, I don't see the need to summarize or enlighten you about it before hand. And as always, different perspectives are welcome.

I hit, I fell. I hit again. This time it was worse. I cried out in pain. Knew exactly where I was bunged up. But as my mind raced through the episode, I knew I was lucky to be alive.

Sometimes life’s like an allegory. It teaches you a lesson. I learned them too.
Maybe in the next couple of lines I will outline the lessons. For some, I maybe just talking through my hat. Some may see it as a means to think about their future. Some may understand and there’ll be only a few who will empathize.

Those who saw death watched it closely, dealt with it and came out dauntless. I am not just talking about people here who have some ailment, or had an accident of sorts. I am also talking about people who saw their comrades die right in front of their eyes. Doctors who couldn't save the new born infant or a soldier who kept pleading with them to save his life. Those who carried their fathers’ bodies to the crematory knowing that that’s a face they won’t see alive again. I am talking about those mothers whose kids have died in their arms. I am talking about those unknown colleagues who ran alongside each other in order to save themselves when the World Trade Center came crashing down. But later, their bodies were never found.

The Indian Para Commandos have this special training system. For those of you who don’t know, it’s called the ‘Buddy’ system. Each soldier undergoing training is assigned a buddy. Definition of a buddy – ‘friend’. Definition of a friend – ‘one attached to another by affection or esteem. A favored companion.’ Definition of a ‘Buddy’ in Paras’ – “When I first look into the eyes of my buddy, I know he’ll be beside me at all times during an operation. He’ll give me water when I am injured and thirsty. He’ll carry my body back home if I die. He’ll have my back and I’ll have his.” That’s just a superficial way of putting it. I am sure it goes much deeper than that.
And only the troopers themselves will be able to give you a better outlook on this structure.

The efforts here are to elucidate the fact that these are the kind of people who see death more closely than anyone else. LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND. The orders are simple. A soldiers’ or a doctors’ life is the mother of all epitomes where man has to deal with death more often than not.

To make the subject a little lighter, I wonder if any of you have seen the movie ‘Meet Joe Black’? A simple movie, but worth a watch. The urge is to engage in confabulation about the movie, but I’ll spare you readers that. ‘Death takes a vacation and falls in love’ is all the movie is about. You might as well see it and unfurl the mystery yourself.

Getting back to our serious death talks, I’ll give you a small silhouette on the lesson I learned. Rather, the LESSONS I learned.

Would it be too lackluster a way for me to put them down in points? I'll do it anyways.

1. Life’s beautiful is the first lesson I learned.

2. I learned to love my parents and try to quit taking them for granted.

3. I learned that if there are 1000 things you are careful about, there’ll be a 1001 thing that’ll spoil it all. But it does not mean that I have a laid back attitude towards those 1000 things. (My dad taught me this)

4. I learned that when I was in pain, I was not the only one. There were strangers around who were going through much worse.

5. The true test of any relationship is in adverse situations. I had wonderful parents, a lovely family and great friends who cared immensely for me. I learned to try and respect them.

6. I learned to be brave, strong and independent even in disability.

7. I learned to laugh at my own stupidity, at the situation I was in and also during it. (I had some help there, for there were folks who did their best to make THAT activity happen! But I can’t begin to tell you how much my shoulder smarted because of it shaking in absolute mirth. You see, I had broken my shoulder bone.)

8. I learned that no matter how bad I looked on the outside, when I smiled, I looked beautiful and well enough to anyone who passed by.

9. I learned to believe in that external force, which decided that the Angel of Death did not need me yet.

10. And lastly, I learned to be happier with whatever life had to offer to me. It takes efforts, it is still taking efforts, but I am getting there.

These are just one odd of the major ones. Humans deal with catastrophic situations at some stage of their lives or the other. What they uncover from it is what makes a difference. The whole idea of writing this is not to preach or sermonize, but to send out the usual message which may sound like a cliché to most of us.

‘Sometimes God gives you a long time to live. Sometimes He snatches it away way before than expected. It’s not what you did that made it worthwhile; it’s what you cultivated out of whatever you did that made it worthwhile. The thrill of living is in being satisfied and living with no regrets.’

Cheers to all.